New Jersey Star Ledger Rankings Analysis
by Alex Schwartz
The Star Ledger has released its high school basketball rankings, and I just wanted to take a little bit of time to give you an overview of them. First off, to see the rankings yourself, go to http://blog.nj.com/hssportsextra/2009/01/boys-rankings.jpg.
In the Top 20—which does not include prep schools such as Blair Academy and St. Benedict's—the number one team is, not surprisingly, St. Patrick's. The Celtics are easily the class of New Jersey if you are not including prep schools. Led by North Carolina-signee Dexter Strickland '09 and sophomore superstar Michael Gilchrist '11, Kevin Boyle's team won the Beach Ball Classic and was the runner-up at the City of Palms event. At number two was St. Anthony's, which has been without three of its most talented players (juniors Derrick Williams, Ashton Pankey, and Devon Collier) due to transfer rules, but will get them back soon. Although the Friars lost a shocker to O'Dowd (CA), Bob Hurley has coached his shorthanded team to success thus far and that will likely continue. Trenton Catholic is the lone representative of Mercer County in the Top 20, coming in at number three. The Iron Mikes have just one loss on the year, to #2 St. Anthony's, and are as deep as anyone in the Garden State. Camden Catholic, which has flown under the radar a bit thus far, is at #4 on the list, with Newark Science—led by Kenneth Ortiz '09—rounding out the top five. Holy Spirit picked up the #6 spot, while Shabazz used a victory over powerhouse Plainfield to get to #7 on the list. Despite a poor record that includes three losses—one of only two teams in the Top 20 with that many defeats (the other is Plainfield)—the Cougars are #8. The squad's losses have all come to big time teams, Plainfield (NJ), NJ #1 St. Patrick's, and Arlington Country Day (FL). Expect PC to improve as the year moves along. Football stars Raymond Graham '09 (Pitt) and James Frazier '09 have led the Elizabeth basketball team to the number nine spot, while youngsters Isaiah Morton '11 and Charlie Monaghan '11 are key cogs for #10 St. Augustine's. Ridge, which has knocked off Rutgers Prep and Piscataway, is at #11 and is having a great season, led by Andrew Madlinger '10. Monmouth Regional comes in at #12, while Steve Rennard '10 and St. Joseph's Metuchen are #13. Sterling Gibbs '11, Stephon Treadwell '09, Jimmy Burke '09 and the rest of Seton Hall Prep comprise the #14 team in NJ, according to the paper. Plainfield, which has three straight losses (Bishop Loughlin of NY, #7 Shabazz, and #14 Seton Hall Prep) is at #15. The Cardinals are led by Tyrone Johnson '11, Isaiah Epps '10, and Anthony Baskerville '09, and have really fallen off since wins over #8 Paterson Catholic and #16 St. Peter's Prep to start the season. One of my personal sleeper teams, St. Peter's Prep, is at #16. The interior play of Ron Roberts '10 and Keith Lumpkin '11 combined with the shooting ability of Myles Davis '11 make SPP—which has lost to #15 Plainfield—a deadly team. Piscataway, which features an interior combo of Tristan Benjamin '09 and Wayne Newsom '10, is at #17 after a tough loss to Ridge. Don Bosco Prep, which is led by Vaughn Gray '10, taking the #18 spot after loosing to #16 St. Peter's Prep. Freehold Borough and St. Joseph's Montvale—which features Central Connecticut State-bound Joe Efese '09—round out the Top 20.
The Prep rankings are headed off by St. Benedict's, arguably the best team in the state, and in the nation. The Gray Bees are stocked with big-time DI talent, such as Myck Kabongo '11, Aaron Brown '10, Texas-commit Tristan Thompson '10, Pitt-bound Lamar Patterson '09, and Rice-signee Tamir Jackson '09. Blair Academy is the #2 ranked prep team, and is led by Rutgers-bound big man Austin Johnson '09 and speedy guard Hakeem Harris '11. St. Benedict's Prep—the school's "other" team, which features post grads, while the aforementioned one does not—is at #3. The squad has players such as Andrew Misters '11, Kelvin Amayo '11, JP Kambola '10, and Steven Frankoski '09, and won the Peddie School (NJ) Invitational Tournament. Speaking of Peddie, the Mercer County school is at #4 in the prep ranks. Dave Memmott '10, John Golden '10, and Will Kernan '09 are just two of the team's talented players. Lawrenceville, which is led by Leonard Hayes '09, Hayk Gyokchyan '09, and Lamar Hayes '11 amongst others, is another Mercer County prep power, and the Big Red are at #5 on the list. Mercer County's final Prep A school, Hun, rounds out the top six and is the last Prep A school to be listed, though all five—#1 St. Benedict's is not in Prep A—will fight for the crown. Hun's key players are Rice-signee Egheosa Edomwonyi '09 and RJ Griffin '09. Solomon Schechter, the highest rated Prep B school on the list, comes in at #7. Coach Sandy Pyonin always has his team ready to play, and this year is no different. At #8 is The Pennington School, which has one loss on the year, and is led by Harold Spears '10, Dontae Johnson '10, Anthony Gaffney '11, and Chandler Fraser-Pauls '11. The #9 ranked team is Rutgers Prep, which has come on very strong since a blow out home loss to open the season against #8 Pennington. Jordan Robinson '09 and David McDaniel '09 carry the Argonauts.
West Windsor-Plainsboro South is the lone Mercer County public school in the rankings, listed at #6 in Group IV and #5 in South Jersey. Traditional powerhouses Linden and Rancocas Valley are at #8 and #9 respectively in Group IV due to early season struggles. Group III is very strong, with three teams in the Top 20, just one less than Group IV. As well, #4 Neptune, #6 Mendham, #7 Pt. Pleasant Boro, and #10 are all very strong and will compete for the Group III crown. Group II has just one team in the Top 20, but that one team, Newark Science, is very good. The team should have little competition from its foes withing Group II. Group I has no one in the Top 20, with Woodbury and University at #1 and #2 respectively, but both are very strong teams. Other Group I teams to watch out for are #3 Salem, #4 Newark Tech, #9 Pt. Pleasant Beach, and unranked New Egypt, which is #9 in Ocean County, are all teams to watch out for. Every team in the Non-Public Top 10 is in the state Top 20. In fact, there are 12 Non-Public teams in the Top 20.
It should be a great year in New Jersey hoops!
The Star Ledger has released its high school basketball rankings, and I just wanted to take a little bit of time to give you an overview of them. First off, to see the rankings yourself, go to http://blog.nj.com/hssportsextra/2009/01/boys-rankings.jpg.
In the Top 20—which does not include prep schools such as Blair Academy and St. Benedict's—the number one team is, not surprisingly, St. Patrick's. The Celtics are easily the class of New Jersey if you are not including prep schools. Led by North Carolina-signee Dexter Strickland '09 and sophomore superstar Michael Gilchrist '11, Kevin Boyle's team won the Beach Ball Classic and was the runner-up at the City of Palms event. At number two was St. Anthony's, which has been without three of its most talented players (juniors Derrick Williams, Ashton Pankey, and Devon Collier) due to transfer rules, but will get them back soon. Although the Friars lost a shocker to O'Dowd (CA), Bob Hurley has coached his shorthanded team to success thus far and that will likely continue. Trenton Catholic is the lone representative of Mercer County in the Top 20, coming in at number three. The Iron Mikes have just one loss on the year, to #2 St. Anthony's, and are as deep as anyone in the Garden State. Camden Catholic, which has flown under the radar a bit thus far, is at #4 on the list, with Newark Science—led by Kenneth Ortiz '09—rounding out the top five. Holy Spirit picked up the #6 spot, while Shabazz used a victory over powerhouse Plainfield to get to #7 on the list. Despite a poor record that includes three losses—one of only two teams in the Top 20 with that many defeats (the other is Plainfield)—the Cougars are #8. The squad's losses have all come to big time teams, Plainfield (NJ), NJ #1 St. Patrick's, and Arlington Country Day (FL). Expect PC to improve as the year moves along. Football stars Raymond Graham '09 (Pitt) and James Frazier '09 have led the Elizabeth basketball team to the number nine spot, while youngsters Isaiah Morton '11 and Charlie Monaghan '11 are key cogs for #10 St. Augustine's. Ridge, which has knocked off Rutgers Prep and Piscataway, is at #11 and is having a great season, led by Andrew Madlinger '10. Monmouth Regional comes in at #12, while Steve Rennard '10 and St. Joseph's Metuchen are #13. Sterling Gibbs '11, Stephon Treadwell '09, Jimmy Burke '09 and the rest of Seton Hall Prep comprise the #14 team in NJ, according to the paper. Plainfield, which has three straight losses (Bishop Loughlin of NY, #7 Shabazz, and #14 Seton Hall Prep) is at #15. The Cardinals are led by Tyrone Johnson '11, Isaiah Epps '10, and Anthony Baskerville '09, and have really fallen off since wins over #8 Paterson Catholic and #16 St. Peter's Prep to start the season. One of my personal sleeper teams, St. Peter's Prep, is at #16. The interior play of Ron Roberts '10 and Keith Lumpkin '11 combined with the shooting ability of Myles Davis '11 make SPP—which has lost to #15 Plainfield—a deadly team. Piscataway, which features an interior combo of Tristan Benjamin '09 and Wayne Newsom '10, is at #17 after a tough loss to Ridge. Don Bosco Prep, which is led by Vaughn Gray '10, taking the #18 spot after loosing to #16 St. Peter's Prep. Freehold Borough and St. Joseph's Montvale—which features Central Connecticut State-bound Joe Efese '09—round out the Top 20.
The Prep rankings are headed off by St. Benedict's, arguably the best team in the state, and in the nation. The Gray Bees are stocked with big-time DI talent, such as Myck Kabongo '11, Aaron Brown '10, Texas-commit Tristan Thompson '10, Pitt-bound Lamar Patterson '09, and Rice-signee Tamir Jackson '09. Blair Academy is the #2 ranked prep team, and is led by Rutgers-bound big man Austin Johnson '09 and speedy guard Hakeem Harris '11. St. Benedict's Prep—the school's "other" team, which features post grads, while the aforementioned one does not—is at #3. The squad has players such as Andrew Misters '11, Kelvin Amayo '11, JP Kambola '10, and Steven Frankoski '09, and won the Peddie School (NJ) Invitational Tournament. Speaking of Peddie, the Mercer County school is at #4 in the prep ranks. Dave Memmott '10, John Golden '10, and Will Kernan '09 are just two of the team's talented players. Lawrenceville, which is led by Leonard Hayes '09, Hayk Gyokchyan '09, and Lamar Hayes '11 amongst others, is another Mercer County prep power, and the Big Red are at #5 on the list. Mercer County's final Prep A school, Hun, rounds out the top six and is the last Prep A school to be listed, though all five—#1 St. Benedict's is not in Prep A—will fight for the crown. Hun's key players are Rice-signee Egheosa Edomwonyi '09 and RJ Griffin '09. Solomon Schechter, the highest rated Prep B school on the list, comes in at #7. Coach Sandy Pyonin always has his team ready to play, and this year is no different. At #8 is The Pennington School, which has one loss on the year, and is led by Harold Spears '10, Dontae Johnson '10, Anthony Gaffney '11, and Chandler Fraser-Pauls '11. The #9 ranked team is Rutgers Prep, which has come on very strong since a blow out home loss to open the season against #8 Pennington. Jordan Robinson '09 and David McDaniel '09 carry the Argonauts.
West Windsor-Plainsboro South is the lone Mercer County public school in the rankings, listed at #6 in Group IV and #5 in South Jersey. Traditional powerhouses Linden and Rancocas Valley are at #8 and #9 respectively in Group IV due to early season struggles. Group III is very strong, with three teams in the Top 20, just one less than Group IV. As well, #4 Neptune, #6 Mendham, #7 Pt. Pleasant Boro, and #10 are all very strong and will compete for the Group III crown. Group II has just one team in the Top 20, but that one team, Newark Science, is very good. The team should have little competition from its foes withing Group II. Group I has no one in the Top 20, with Woodbury and University at #1 and #2 respectively, but both are very strong teams. Other Group I teams to watch out for are #3 Salem, #4 Newark Tech, #9 Pt. Pleasant Beach, and unranked New Egypt, which is #9 in Ocean County, are all teams to watch out for. Every team in the Non-Public Top 10 is in the state Top 20. In fact, there are 12 Non-Public teams in the Top 20.
It should be a great year in New Jersey hoops!
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