Sports

Plenty of culprits in Wings-Cardozo no show

The gym was full, hot dogs and hamburgers were being grilled in the hallway and a distinctive buzz was spreading throughout Wadleigh for the finale of the Rucker High School Invitational.

Queens’ best against The Bronx’s elite, Cardozo versus Wings, two teams that will be there at the end at Madison Square Garden, the second week in March, if either Lincoln or Boys & Girls slip up.

Then the game started.

Buzz kill.

Neither coach played a single starter. Not one. The crowd slowly filed out. Wings’ subs beat Cardozo’s reserves, 55-46. Preseason scrimmages have held my attention for longer, which isn’t a knock on the kids in the games, but I – along with the crowd and several other media members – anticipated seeing Jermaine Lawrence and Deonte Houston, Amdy Fall and Shelton Mickell, Chris Gayot and Gerrell Martin.

Wings coach Billy Turnage said he was resting his injured players. Cardozo’s Ron Naclerio wanted to give his reserves a chance to show their capabilities, though I’m not sure why they couldn’t do it from the bench. Additionally, Lawrence and Mickell weren’t even in Harlem for the game, Lawrence for religious reasons and Mickell because he missed the team bus.

Wadleigh coach Mike Crump, who has organized the pre-playoff event each of the last seven years, was upset with both coaches and they with him.

Turnage and Naclerio were initially set to face different opponents, Cardozo against John F. Kennedy and Wings opposite Xaverian. When Crump was told mid-week that Clippers star Brian Bernardi was unavailable because a of a right shoulder injury, he switched the games – without telling Naclerio or Turnage, the two said.

Turnage was upset because he scouted Xaverian twice, though he maintained his injured starters wouldn’t have played no matter who the opponent was. The two coaches spoke Thursday night and discussed the possibility of using reserves. Crump was fuming because the game was the main event and he paid three referees – the three games preceding it had two. In the future, he said he would think twice about inviting the teams.

Bottom line: All three coaches are wrong. Crump should’ve communicated better. Naclerio and Turnage should’ve played their starters, or at least informed Crump of the possibility of sitting them. Both said they will likely use their starters in next Sunday’s Kennedy Classic, another tune-up tournament for the playoffs. Yet, they refused to do so Saturday.

I’m having trouble following that logic.

When you enter an event, I’ve always felt there is an unsaid word between coach and organizer that he or she will play their best. All six teams, including Manhattan Center and Bayside whose seasons ended last week, went all out, so why couldn’t Cardozo and Wings?

I can understand why they may not want to. Last year, Gayot sprained an ankle and wasn’t fully healthy when the Judges lost in the city championship game to Boys & Girls, which of course Naclerio pointed out. Yet, then why enter the showcase?

That brings me to another point. Really, the timing of this event – and next Sunday’s Kennedy Classic for the matter – makes no sense to me. The games have no meaning. There is little to no motivation since the playoff brackets are already set. I understand the need to stay sharp, but then schedule scrimmages. Don’t make it an event and charge spectators money if that’s the case.

Either way, the final two hours of the Rucker High School Invitational were a waste of time – for the media, the fans and the two teams.

zbraziller@nypost.com