All of the talk about the CHSAA’s restructuring had to do with the new ‘AA’ and promoted programs Cardinal Hayes, Mount St. Michael and Archbishop Stepinac. The new format has been a boon for that league — and equally good for the ‘A,’ too.
There are little to no blowouts this year in CHSAA Class A. There have been a myriad of overtime games – Bishop Ford beat Cardinal Spellman in OT on Sunday – and buzzer beaters (Monsignor McClancy’s Kevin Wilkins beat St. Edmund Prep with one Saturday). Every game seems to come down to the final few minutes. And they’re impossible to handicap coming in.
“Whoever thought of the change was really smart,” Ford coach Denis Nolan said. “It’s incredibly competitive. The games have been phenomenal so far.”
Iona Prep came in as the veritable favorite, but the Gaels had to escape with a one-point win over Cardinal Spellman last month. Spellman, right now, sits in last place in the Archdiocesan division. Second place and fifth in that division is separated by just two games in the loss column.
“I’d say [Spellman] is a pretty good last-place team,” St. Edmund coach Dan Wiatre said.
Xavier looked like a favorite early, but has since dropped very tight games to McClancy and Ford. LaSalle has a win over McClancy. Moore Catholic has quality wins over Xavier, Regis and St. Joseph by the Sea has and, with a 14-2 overall record, seems like a top contender. The Mavericks travel to Iona on Thursday for a matchup with early playoff implications.
“For the games to be as competitive as they’ve been, it’s the first time in a long time,” Xavier coach Joe McGrane said. “It’s not just a couple of teams. It’s all of them.”
Hayes, Mount and Stepinac ruled the ‘A’ with an iron first the last few years. The teams that are competing now for a title came into the season feeling they might be competitive, but had very little chance to beat one of those teams and win a championship. That has changed now and the energy in the league has been infectious.
“I think the interest is definitely there,” Regis coach Kevin Cullen said. “I think the players are excited. The coaches are excited. Now when you scout a game, it’s worth it. In the old ‘A’ league, it didn’t really matter if you scouted Mount or Stepinac or Hayes.”
And if the regular season is this good, imagine the playoffs. The way Wiatre figures it, his team might play Spellman in the first round, which would be an extremely difficult proposition.
“The next two weeks are really gonna give a good indication of how the regular season is gonna go and the playoffs should be just as wide open,” Cullen said.
The Brooklyn/Queens coaches do have one small gripe. Their teams only have 11 league games compared to 14 for the Archdiocese, because there are only four Brooklyn/Queens teams and the Archdiocesan clubs play Moore and Sea from Staten Island.
“I wish it was a little more balanced,” Wiatre said. “I think it is a bit of a disadvantage.”
But if that’s the one issue, the ‘A’ coaches will certainly take it as they strap in for what should be a thrilling stretch run.
“I think the playoffs are gonna be great,” McGrane said. “We could have lost every league game or won every league game.”
Shak on track: Xaverian senior forward Shakeel Kemp has given the Clippers a true inside presence since the holidays. Sunday was the latest example. The strong, 6-foot-4 forward had 19 points, nine in the third quarter, in a 79-67 loss to Christ the King.
“He kept them in it the whole game,” CK coach Joe Arbitello said.
With SMU-bound sharpshooter Brian Bernardi and C.W. Post-bound point guard Dillon Burns, Xaverian is excellent on the perimeter. The Clippers, after all, did make 11 3s against Christ the King. But Kemp adds another dimension, one coach Jack Alesi wasn’t sure his team would have in the preseason. His production the rest of the way will be vital.
“He’s huge,” Alesi said. “We think he can play that way every game. He’s a good player and he’s a real bright, unselfish kid.”
Kemp showed off his strength down low Sunday and finished adeptly around the basket with either hand. He also stepped out and hit a 15-footer, keeping the defense honest. In the third quarter, he was the only thing keeping Xaverian from getting blown out by Christ the King. Alesi said his recent output – he was also strong during the team’s holiday trip to Arizona – had to do with better conditioning.
“He’s a very, very intelligent player,” the coach said. “He put us in a position to compete with Christ the King.”
Streaking Severe picking up interest: Jon Severe, the talented Christ the King junior guard, has just two scholarship offers, from Drexel and Marist, but that may change soon. He’s scored 27 points in each of the Royals’ last two victories and tied a school record with eight 3-pointers in the win over Xaverian on Sunday.
“He was the best player on the floor,” one assistant coach in attendance said.
Severe has drawn interest from Providence, Rutgers, Xavier and Louisville in addiiton to those offers.
Notes:
Daniel Dingle and Kerwin Okoro, who both tallied their 1,000th career point over the holidays, will be honored for the feat Friday during the St. Raymond home game against Cardinal Hayes. … Archbishop Molloy super sophomore C.J. Davis is starting to show why he has offers from Seton Hall, Washington and South Carolina and interest from so many others. He’s now scored 20 points or more in his last three games against good competition: St. Joseph (Conn.), Trinity Catholic (Conn.) and Holy Cross. Unfortunately for the Stanners, that hasn’t translated into wins – they’re 0-3 in that stretch. … Riverdale and Fieldston had several strong performances in non-league play, making some think the Ivy Prep League was wide open. Yet, just a few weeks into the league season, old familiars, Collegiate and Poly Prep, are the only undefeated teams. The two rivals, however, don’t meet until Feb. 6. … Two of the city’s most unheralded talents will be on display Wednesday afternoon when Columbia Prep and Brian Lissa
k take on Calhoun and Zuri Pavlin in a showdown in the New York City Athletic League. The two sharpshooters, both of them uncommitted, are in search of a destination in the fall.