The NJSIAA state basketball tournament tipped off this week with several of the local teams in the area participating.
While there are perhaps 25 or so local teams, both boys' and girls' squads, that earned berths in the respective brackets of the state tourney, only a handful have legitimate shots to win the elusive state sectional title in the coming weeks - or beyond.
In the NCAA, the upcoming tourney is called March Madness, but it's equally as maddening on the high school level as well.
Let's take a closer look at the teams that have solid chances to win a state championship sometime this month. We'll start with the girls' brackets.
In Group IV, where Memorial and HCIAA Coviello champion North Bergen qualified in Section 1, and where Ferris and Bayonne qualified in Section 2, there are some huge obstacles for the locals.
First, the team with the best chance of making noise in that group would be North Bergen, thanks to the balance the Bruins would receive inside and outside from guard Vanessa Quiroga and powerful center Lauren Jimenez. But who did the Bruins get in the first round? None other than Paterson Eastside, with one of the state's premier players, Essence Carson, ready to hoist up shot after shot. That first round pairing just may be too much for the Bruins to handle.
Memorial, thanks to an explosion from its 1-2 punch of Alexis Demby and Mercedes Nunez, had a nice opening round win over Ridgewood, but now, the Tigers get No. 2 seed Montclair. Sayonara there. No hopes for a title in that bracket.
In Group II, HCIAA Seglio Division champ Hoboken and Lincoln qualified, but both suffered losses in the first round, so their respective seasons have come to a close.
In Group I, Secaucus defeated Bernards in the first round, thanks to a solid all-around game from Cory Roesing, and will now face top-seeded County Prep in the second round. But County Prep's season came crashing down when leading scorer Erica Fischer went down for the year with a severe knee injury. If Secaucus continues its fine play of late, then perhaps they are headed for a showdown with BCSL rival North Arlington in the sectional final. So the hope there lies with the Patriots of Secaucus.
In the Parochials, in particular the Parochial B North bracket, Marist and St. Anthony both qualified. While St. Anthony has one of the best all-around performers in the county in junior guard Naeemah Ricketts, getting past top-seeded Morris Catholic is a tall order.
On the other hand, Marist has to be hell bent on succeeding, ever since they lost to North Bergen in the county finals. With players like Angela Fitzgerald, Janelle Biamonte and Christina Smith providing balance and point guard Renee Vales running the show, the Lady Knights prove to be a tough out in the states every year. They're headed for a showdown with St. Mary's of Rutherford in the sectional semifinals.
So if we're making predictions, we'll say that Secaucus has an outside shot and Marist has a good shot, but will probably fall short to Morris Catholic in the sectional finals.
Now, on to the boys.
In Group IV, Emerson, the HCIAA Coviello champ, earned the top seed in Section 1 and was slated to face the high-scoring explosive Paterson Eastside in the first round. If the Bulldogs could somehow get past that first game, then past Randolph in the second round, then coach Drew Morano's dream season might even include a state sectional final. The Bulldogs certainly didn't get the draw that a 22-1 state-ranked team should get in the states, but at least the first two rounds were in the humble confines of Union City.
In Section 2, Ferris and Bayonne both qualified. Bayonne may make some noise, with the Elam brothers leading the way, but eventually, the Bees will see Elizabeth and the Union County champs are just too tough.
The hopes for a state sectional title lie solely with the Bulldogs in Group IV.
In Group III, Snyder won its opening round game against defending champion Franklin in Section 2, but the fun run stops there, because top-seeded South Plainfield awaits.
Hoboken and McNair Academic were already eliminated in Group II. The Red Wings lost all hope of making a solid state tournament run when senior Terique Miller severely injured his hand in a plate glass window after a loss to St. Mary's of Jersey City.
In Group I, Weehawken is the top seed in Section 2 and would have a legitimate shot of winning a state sectional title in any other year. But since the state reshuffled the sectionals this year, Weehawken is now in the same bracket with Bloomfield Tech, the defending overall Group I state champion who began the year ranked as the No. 23 team in the entire country.
While it's been a magical league championship season for coach Jake McNish and the hard-working Indians, beating Bloomfield Tech is a mighty tall order and too tall for the Indians.
Secaucus is also in the same sectional, but they will have a tough test against University High of Newark in the second round.
In the Parochials, Hudson Catholic was the lone local team to qualify in Parochial A and pulled a major upset in the first round, knocking off Delbarton. But the Hawks now get the state's No. 5 team in Don Bosco Prep and that's too much for the upstart Hawks to handle.
In Parochial B, St. Mary's of Jersey City and St. Aloysius have already been eliminated, Marist had a first round game against Montclair Kimberley, but then faced the huge obstacle of Paterson Catholic in the next round.
The team to watch, as always, is St. Anthony. The fabulous Friars are the top seed in the sectional, are undefeated (24-0) and rolling as the No. 1 team in the state and No. 2 in the nation.
Nothing stands in their way. Look for the Friars to once again hold the torch for all of Hudson County as the state playoffs wind down.
It should be an exciting run for the Friars, one that will lead to a ninth Tournament of Champions title in the Continental Airlines Arena in a few weeks. - Jim Hague
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