High School Basketball Intro 2010-11

Today is a day that I anticipate every year since I've been following high school basketball because on the third Friday in December, is when the games finally tip off across the state of New Jersey. To me as I'm sure I've stated in one of my prior blogs, basketball is the best sport amongst all high school sports. The excitement in these gyms come county or playoff time or whenever a team is playing one of their biggest rivals is unmatched. There's so many different styles of play and background stories--stories waiting to unfold, how a team's chemistry is coming along, etc. This year I've decided to sort of create a story involving 7 teams, all having their own background story behind them. One of the team's is St. Patrick's in Elizabeth, currently ranked #2 in the USA Today nationally while one of the other's I follow is Wardlaw-Hartridge, who has just joined a conference this year and is now part of the NJSIAA so they are eligible for the state tournament. Here's a breakdown and a couple facts about each team I will follow...

• St. Patrick's-Several tournament of champions titles, consistently ranked nationally by various polls, several pro players such as Al Harrington have played there, one of the favorites again this year.
• CBA-Dominant in the Shore Conference, one of the state title contenders perenially, a few NBA players as well, will be in the same state tournament bracket as 2 of the other teams in this story.
• St. Joe's (Metuchen)-My alma mater. Looks on paper like a rebuilding year but have one new transfer. Has to sit out the first 30 days of the season. Lost one of our players due to being ineligible cause of age. Only starting 2 seniors currently but our best two players are arguably underclassmen. Plays in the GMC and is one of the favorites there.
• Monsignor Donovan-One of the best teams in Ocean County. Led by one of the best guards in the state in Sean Grennan who is getting some Division I looks. The rest of the team is solid and could make a run in states. CBA, St. Joe's and MD all play in the same bracket in states.
• Linden-Probably the best Public School team in the state, plays in Union County, usually has very good guards, well coached, tough defense, etc. Depending on the year their state tournament bracket could be very tough because of schools such as East Orange and Elizabeth.
• Plainfield-Huge rivals with Linden and play in the same conference and county as them. Similar teams. Generally have good guards as well and are well coached. Their defense probably is a little weaker than Linden's but nonetheless solid. Much easier state bracket and at first glance, should have no problem winning their section this year.
• Wardlaw Hartridge-Newcomer in the GMC and first year in the NJSIAA making them eligible for the state tournament. Will be interesting to see how this team comes along during the season. Very manageable schedule with predominantly Vo-Tech Schools.

Inevitably some of these teams will cross paths throughout the season and it should be a very interesting and enjoyable one. I hope to show in this story why I think NJ is amongst the best high school basketball has to offer and through these 7 teams why I think this is the most exciting and fun of all high school sports.