by Alex Schwartz

The 2008-2009 high school basketball season has come to an end in the state of New Jersey, one of the main hoops hotbeds in the country. Year in and year out some of the top teams in America are from the Garden State, and this year has been no different. Several teams have been ranked amongst the top squads in the country, with many others getting regional recognition. There were 235 teams that qualified for the NJSIAA state playoffs along with numerous Prep and Independent teams. I recently took the time to rank the best of the best in the state this year. For these rankings, teams with fifth year seniors will be included, but those with post-grads (i.e. APEX Academies, NIA Prep, Blair Academy, Lawrenceville, Peddie, Hun, etc.) will not be on the list. Here's how I broke it down (Note- postseason success, which is noted in parenthesis was a key factor in rankings, but not the only factor):

NEW JERSEY'S POSTSEASON SUPER 70
1. St. Patrick's (Non-Public B State Champion; TOC Champion)
2. St. Benedict's (Independent)
3. Science Park (Group II State Champion; TOC Runner-up)
4. Paterson Catholic (Non-Public North B Sectional Runner-up)
5. Immaculata (Non-Public A State Champion; TOC Semifinalist)
6. Christian Brothers Academy (Non-Public South A Sectional Champion)
7. Plainfield (North II, Group IV Sectional Champion)
8. St. Anthony's (Non-Public North B Sectional Semifinalist)
9. Trenton Catholic (Non-Public South B Sectional Champion)
10. St. Peter's Prep (Non-Public North A Sectional Semifinalist)
11. Life Center Academy (Independent)
12. Lenape (Group IV State Champion; TOC Semifinalist)
13. University (Group I State Champion)
14. Neptune (Group III State Champion)
15. Ridge (North II, Group IV Sectional Semifinalist)
16. Camden (South, Group II Sectional Champion; State Runner-up)
17. Holy Spirit (Non-Public South A Sectional Runner-up)
18. Shabazz (North II, Group III Sectional Champion)
19. Paterson Eastside (North I, Group IV Sectional Champion; State Runner-up)
20. Teaneck (North I, Group III Sectional Champion; State Runner-up)
21. Asbury Park (Central, Group I Sectional Champion; State Runner-up)
22. Paterson Kennedy (North I, Group IV Sectional Semifinalist)
23. Piscataway (North II, Group IV Sectional Runner-up)
24. Elizabeth (North II, Group IV Sectional Quarterfinalist)
25. Cherokee (South, Group IV Sectional Semifinalist)
26. Atlantic City (South, Group IV Sectional Semifinalist)
27. St. Joseph's Montvale (Non-Public North A Sectional Semifinalist)
28. St. Joseph's Metuchen (Non-Public South A Sectional Semifinalist)
29. Camden Catholic (Non-Public South A Sectional Semifinalist)
30. Seton Hall Prep (Non-Public North A Sectional Runner-up)
31. Rutgers Prep (Prep B State Champion)
32. Kingsway Regional (South, Group III Sectional Champion)
33. The Pennington School (Prep B State Runner-up)
34. West Milford (North I, Group III Sectional Runner-up)
35. West Windsor-Plainsboro South (Central, Group IV Sectional Champion)
36. Mendham (North II, Group III Sectional Quarterfinalist)
37. Woodbury (South, Group I Sectional Champion)
38. Scotch Plains-Fanwood (North II, Group III Sectional Runner-up)
39. Pascack Hills (North I, Group II Sectional Champion)
40. Technology (North II, Group I Sectional Runner-up)
41. Rancocas Valley (South, Group IV Sectional Quarterfinalist)
42. Colonia (North II, Group IV Sectional Quarterfinalist)
43. Columbia (North II, Group IV Sectional Semifinalist)
44. Monmouth Regional (Central, Group III Sectional Semifinalist)
45. Sparta (North I, Group III Sectional Semifinalist)
46. Washington Township (South, Group IV Sectional Runner-up)
47. Manasquan (Central, Group II Sectional Champion)
48. Salem (South, Group I Sectional Runner-up)
49. Deptford Township (South, Group III Sectional Runner-up)
50. Cedar Grove (North I, Group I Sectional Quarterfinalist)
51. Verona (North I, Group I Sectional Champion)
52. Newark East Side (North II, Group III Sectional Semifinalist)
53. Orange (North II, Group II Sectional Runner-up)
54. Jefferson Township (North I, Group II Sectional Runner-up)
55. Collingswood (South, Group II Sectional Semifinalist)
56. Spotswood (Central, Group II Sectional Semifinalist)
57. Cardinal McCarrick (Non-Public South B Sectional Runner-up)
58. St. Augustine's (Non-Public South A Sectional Quarterfinalist)
59. Union City (North I, Group IV Sectional Runner-up)
60. Passaic (North I, Group IV Sectional Semifinalist)
61. Linden (North II, Group IV Sectional Quarterfinalist)
62. Union (North II, Group IV Sectional Qualifier)
63. Princeton (Central, Group III Sectional Runner-up)
64. West Orange (North I, Group IV Quarterfinalist)
65. Timber Creek (South, Group III Sectional Quarterfinalist)
66. Freehold Boro (Central, Group III Semifinalist)
67. Middlesex (Central, Group II Sectional Runner-up)
68. New Egypt (Central, Group I Sectional Runner-up)
69. Rahway (North II, Group IV Sectional Quarterfinalist)
70. Shawnee (South, Group III Sectional Semifinalist)

Honorable Mentions (alphabetical order)
Becton (North I, Group I Sectional Runner-up)
Brick Memorial (Central, Group IV Sectional Quarterfinalist)
Cresskill (North I, Group I Sectional Semifinalist)
DePaul (Non-Public North A Sectional Quarterfinalist)
Don Bosco Prep (Non Public North A Sectional Quarterfinalist)
Fort Lee (North II, Group III Sectional Semifinalist)
Freehold Township (Central, Group IV Sectional Runner-up)
Hillsborough (Central, Group IV Sectional Quarterfinalist)
Millville (South, Group IV Sectional Quarterfinalist)
Monroe (Central, Group IV Sectional Semifinalist)
New Providence (North II, Group I Sectional Semifinalist)
Old Tappan (North I, Group III Sectional Semifinalist)
Palisades Park (North I, Group I Sectional Semifinalist)
Pt. Pleasant Beach (Central, Group I Sectional Semifinalist)
Pt. Pleasant Boro (Central, Group III Sectional Quarterfinalist)
Sayreville (Central, Group IV Sectional Semifinalist)
Willingboro (South, Group II Sectional Runner-up)

Note- http://www.njsiaa.org/ used as a source for information