Wide-open HCIAA hoop playoffs will come down to who gets the best dice
Here’s a riddle with a local sports theme:
What do the Broadway musical "Guys and Dolls" and the HCIAA Coviello Division playoffs, set to be played this week, have in common?
Give up?
Both are total crapshoots.
Just like Nathan Detroit and Sky Masterson did in that famous show and movie, the 12 coaches in the respective boys’ and girls’ divisional playoffs will grab the dice this week, give the bones a roll and hope that everything comes up Lucky Sevens.
Because in the 20-plus years since the HCIAA has gone to a playoff system to determine the league champion, there has never been a more wide-open playoff tournament – with both the boys and the girls.
Neither side has a clear-cut favorite. There is no prohibitive, dominant team that stands heads above everyone else. Six teams have qualified for each of the Coviello Divisions _ and it would not be totally surprising if any of the playoff teams walked away holding the trophy.
Sure, the Seglio Division has the prohibitive favorites. County Prep is the favorite among the girls and St. Mary’s of Jersey City stands way above everyone else among the Seglio boys. No brainers there.
But the Coviello Division? A complete, unadulterated crapshoot. Anyone can win. Step right up to the table and roll them bones. Certainly makes for an interesting week of basketball, one that was postponed from last week due to the blizzard that wiped out everything.
Starting with the boys, Memorial was the surprising regular season champion and earned the top seed in the playoffs. Considering all of the talent that head coach Wilson Rodriguez lost to graduation, the Tigers are the biggest surprise story of the season.
Senior Cesar Sabino has emerged as a premier go-to player for the Tigers and has been doing a yeoman’s job lately, carrying the Tigers on his back.
Bayonne received the second seed, followed by Hudson Catholic, Ferris, Lincoln and Snyder. The top two teams receive first-round byes, which means that Hudson Catholic faces Snyder and Ferris locks horns with Lincoln in the first round Monday night.
Hudson Catholic coach Steve Ricciardi knows just how wide open these playoffs will be.
"Whoever gets hot will be the team who wins," Ricciardi said. "Anything can happen. It’s wide open. Although Memorial has the best regular season record, I don’t think anyone has run away from anyone else. I wouldn’t be surprised if any of the teams won and I bet you’d get the same answer from the other coaches as well."
Added Ricciardi, "I’m surprised with our guys. I never expected us to be a third seed. Snyder’s coming on. Lincoln’s coming on. Ferris is playing well with [Tyrell] Archibald. I never remember it being this wide open. It used to be that if a lower seed won the playoffs, it would take a Herculean effort. Not this year. It just tells you something about the quality of the competition up and down the county."
Here’s an interesting scenario: If Bayonne and Hudson Catholic both win its respective first round games, it would mean that the two teams that engaged in that horrific brawl last month would meet again in the HCIAA Coviello semifinals, returning to the scene of the first fight.
Rumors have it that if the two teams were to meet Wednesday in the semifinals at Bayonne, there would a closed gym with no fans being allowed to enter. At press time, that rumor could not be confirmed, but that was the apparent ruling handed down by HCIAA officials.
There was also a rumor that if the two were to meet in the semifinals, Hudson Catholic would boycott the game, but Ricciardi insisted that the Hawks will be there to play the game.
Honestly, an easier solution would be to move the proposed Bayonne-Hudson Catholic game to a neutral site, to a gym where that doesn’t feature a playoff team, like North Bergen or Emerson. This way, the fans – parents and students – who truly want to see the game and had nothing to do with the first incident wouldn’t get shortchanged.
Ricciardi feels that his team, led by brilliant senior point guard Ki-Ameer Johnson and talented sharp-shooting small forward Danny Mihalinec, will be ready for the challenge.
"We know that we can compete, but we can’t look ahead," Ricciardi said. "Snyder will give us a tough game. It’s so hard to get through the first two games. The kids know they can win, but it will take a special effort."
Among the girls, coaching veterans Dan Reardon of North Bergen and Bill DeFazio of Marist know that this year is like no other.
"I don’t remember anything like this," said Reardon, whose team earned the top seed by beating Marist by a single point during the regular season, earning North Bergen’s first girls’ basketball title in more than 25 years. "There are six teams in the playoffs and there is no dominant team. There definitely is parity. I honestly have no idea what is going to happen."
"This is crazy," said DeFazio, whose team is the second seed. "Every single one of the six teams can win it. It’s good for basketball, but not good for the coaches. We have to play every single possession like it’s the last one of the game, because it’s going to come down to that. Every possession is so vital."
North Bergen and Marist earned the first round byes on Tuesday, which means that Memorial will travel to Bayonne and St. Dominic Academy will face Snyder in the first round Tuesday. The semifinals are Thursday.
All four championship games will be played Saturday at St. Peter’s College, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
The two top seeds have to be considered slight favorites, because both North Bergen and Marist have three legitimate scorers. North Bergen has top scorer Betty Mendieta (averaging 17.5 points per game), Vanessa Quiroga (13 ppg.) and Melissa Moore (10.1 points per game).
Marist can counter with top scorer Angela Fitzgerald (18 points per game), as well as fabulous freshmen Janelle Biamonte and Christina Smith.
"I would have to say North Bergen is the favorite," DeFazio said. "Their overall team speed is better. They’re tough to match up with."
Reardon knows that getting the top seed meant two things for the Bruins – a first-round bye and a second-round home game.
"We’re maybe a step above, but it all looks very close," Reardon said. "I told the kids that there are three seasons. We won the first season, now that’s over, season No. 2 begins, which is the playoffs. Then season No. 3 is the state playoffs. I never thought we’d be the No. 1 seed in the county and the states. Now I know why everyone wanted it."
Beginning Monday night, we’ll see why everyone wants a chance to have the lucky dice.