Wild and wacky playoffs loom; Hagueini’s picks
The HCIAA basketball playoffs begin Monday night and both the boys’ and girls’ brackets should be interesting and exciting, especially since Marist has been eliminated from contention in the boys’ bracket because of the forfeitures after using an illegal player.
In the boys’ bracket, which is still subject to change pending the final outcome of the Marist forfeits, it’s a complete tossup. For the first time in more than a decade, there is no true favorite, no clear-cut choice to win the title.
The standings alone told the tale of how close the HCIAA playoffs should be this week, with Dickinson, Union Hill and St. Peter’s Prep finishing the regular season all within a game of each other.
The Ramblers of St. Mary’s have somehow moved into the mix. Emerson, which thought it was knocked out of the playoffs with a loss to North Bergen, now benefits from the departure of Marist and gets a berth. The only way to describe the playoff mix is wild and wacky.
In any case, the semifinals will be played Thursday night at the site of the higher seeds, with the finals set for New Jersey City University’s Athletic and Fitness Center next Sunday.
So who’s going to win? Well, the not-so-great Hagueini is going to make a tough call. The Rams of Dickinson have been playing their best basketball of late and seem to be hitting the playoffs at peak performance. Rashawn Wilson is the county’s premier post player and there are no grittier performers than Steve Richardson and Chi Chi Nwadike.
We look for the Rams to take on St. Peter’s in the HCIAA finale, with the Rams emerging victorious.
The girls’ bracket is a little more clear-cut, with Bayonne rolling through the regular season undefeated. The Bees have to be considered the favorite to win the playoff title, with Ewa Kubiak, who scored an amazing 50 points in a win over Marist recently, also hitting the playoffs at peak performance level. Kubiak tallied her 1,000th career point in a win over Dickinson.
Before the year, everything seemed to point toward a repeat performance for coach Bill DeFazio and the Lady Knights of Marist, getting a chance to defend their title. But the Knights have struggled in recent weeks, with the lack of quality depth becoming more and more evident. Although Tara Walker is All-World and Makeda Gleaton is a fine compliment, the Knights will not be able to tangle with St. Dominic Academy in the semifinals. Hagueini would not be surprised if Marist even lost in the first round. It’s been that much of a struggle.
We look for Bayonne to tangle with St. Dominic Academy in the final, with the Lady Bees coming away with yet another HCIAA crown.
But that’s just one large prognosticator’s view. And in the past, we’ve been proven to be wrong. Now, we have to wait and see.