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The Ballgame! Jambo Bracket Predictions · NorthJerseySports.com

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Verticalrays.com It's Vertical Rays on North Jersey sports.com.
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Back on the ball game, North Jersey sports.com original
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multimedia series talking all things oops across North Jersey.
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More specifically, it's Jambo time.
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I am Corey Doviak, being joined by the man on the bus, the
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assistant coach at Felician University, on a victorious bus
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ride home from Philadelphia. What's going on?
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Brad Forest, Erie. Corey, what is going on?
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Yes, very good day. Victory Saturday, you know,
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kidding up to 16 and 2:11 and 11:00 in the conference.
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Kind of rolling so. I would say you're a you're a
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top seed in the Burton County Jamboree if all else fails.
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Absolutely. All right, so here.
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Here's where we at. It is Saturday night at 6:36 PM.
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The Bergen County Jamboree was supposed to be seated tomorrow
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night, which is Sunday. Now, I don't have official
1:36
confirmation of this at all, but I did hear from two different
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sources that they may move the seating meeting up to tonight.
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So technically they might even be meeting already.
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I don't know. I'll find out after we get done
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taping here. But so that's why we want to get
1:51
this podcast out here tonight just so we can run it before
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tomorrow when we will do our preview show.
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This one tonight is basically about what we think will happen
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as they are either in the meeting now or will be in the
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meeting tomorrow in a snowstorm. So look for one coming up on
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Sunday. We're going to tape another one,
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Hopefully I have. We have a couple coaches lined
2:15
up. Pat Gabriel from Demarest, I
2:18
think will join us. Chris Gaskin, maybe from
2:21
Ridgefield Park, hoping to get Jeff Cole from Tenafly and maybe
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somebody else who's in contact in Brad or I's phone will try to
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get on and do a little bit more comprehensive preview.
2:30
But for tonight, it's just going to be the two of us.
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And this is going to be fun because just as we were going
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over here, I have my bracket made.
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The Bergen County Jamboree will be taking 24 teams.
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You have yours made. And as we were going over it, I
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found out that I thought I had mine all down.
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There's no way I could be wrong. You and I are totally different
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in a lot of areas. So why don't we start with some
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reasoning in the top? Let's go with the top 4.
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Now, obviously the one that we have no beef, no bones about at
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all is the top seed in this year's Oscar F Thompson Bergen
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County Memorial Jamboree is Bergen Catholic.
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They are the number one. Is that correct, Brad?
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I, I completely agree. I think Bergen's top to bottom,
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although I do have, I, I did hear some news that that may be
3:18
alarming for Bergen as far as the depth is concerned, but we
3:22
can get into that a little bit later.
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But yes, I have Bergen Catholic. I have the number one hands
3:26
down. OK.
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And that's what we agree. Now coming in at the next three
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spots, I believe we have a little bit more of a
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disagreement now. I contacted yesterday.
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We were trying to put this show together for the last 24 hours.
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I was doing stuff, you were doing stuff.
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So we weren't able to make it happen.
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But while I was researching and doing my due diligence to try to
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get the Burton County Jamboree precedes correct, I consulted 2
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local experts who's who shall remain nameless.
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And I thought I was tight, so I came up with #2 Tenafly, the
4:00
only undefeated team in Bergen left in Bergen County, top
4:03
public school all year with a couple with plenty of big wins
4:07
and over some real quality competition, including my #3
4:11
Phoenix and my number 4 Northern Highland.
4:14
So those are my Bergen one, Tenafly 2, Teaneck 3, Northern
4:19
Highland four. I think you have some different
4:22
ideas. What do you think?
4:24
So, so here's The funny thing, right?
4:25
So, and I completely agree. We we talked about this
4:27
previously, right? This is, this is definitely the
4:29
year that the the publics are back in the building and that
4:34
their their rise back to power. I think as far as per county is
4:37
concerned. However, for me and the two,
4:42
it's not, it's not like a a preferential fix that we we
4:45
occupy the same town as far as campuses are.
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Concerned. But I think Saint Mary's is too.
4:53
So they're sitting, sitting at 15 and three right?
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People like, oh, you know, how do you put a team with three
4:59
losses ahead of an undefeated team or a team with less losses?
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Here's my reasoning, right? Because because they're in the
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NBI seat, right? Not as much of A the perennial
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powerhouse schedule as far as the NBI seat is concerned,
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however, right? We're looking at if we're in the
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end semi torrent, we're talking about quad wins, right?
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And losses right off to a top 20 team in CBA lost to a top 20
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team and Gil St. Bernard and a loss to a top 20
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right after the top 20 in Saint Helper, right?
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Yeah, a very good loss. And I I flip over to wins right
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and they had and they've swept Patterson charter, who's been
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perennially in the Group 1 section final year in and year
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out. True, a 20 point win against
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Saint Joe's Montville, a six point win over ranked Saint
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Benedict's and an 11 point win over ranked Union Catholics.
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So based off of that and with their their strength of
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schedule, I would kind of take to the end there actually out of
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it a little bit, even though that's where most of their games
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are based in this county Jamboree.
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But I think with the with the frame of work, I have Saint
6:13
Mary's at 2 with their three headed monster and Kennedy
6:18
Murkowski and Jamie Ellis. OK, I see your logic.
6:25
I disagree, but we will see what the committee says.
6:28
Who do you got to three at 3? At three, I have 4:50, I have
6:33
4:00. So a bit of a curveball.
6:36
I, I do, I do agree with, with the most part of your one
6:40
through 4. I have, I just think I have a
6:43
bit of a curveball there. So I I just think if you're
6:45
sitting down there to listen to the, you know, the Joe Dionisio,
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is it all the other guys that sit in that room?
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I think that I think that holds some weight.
6:54
I get it. It's non conference and it's
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it's a little different, but you know, kudos to scheduling, you
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know, some of those great powers to try and prepare your team for
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that. Just regular season, but the
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counties in the same room, yes. And Brian Gacchione, when I,
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well, we were in the gym together when we saw him earlier
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this year against the Saddle River Day, he, he was just about
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to embark on that crazy schedule of going to play, you know, Hill
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St. Bernard.
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And they were undefeated at the time and they lost those games,
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but they were competitive. And I do see your reasoning how
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you can definitely make the argument, but I'm going in the
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year of the public school. You are not raining on my parade
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and making. No, no, no.
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I'm with it. I'm with.
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It alright so for I I have Saint Mary as my #5.
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Do you have Northern Highlands as your number 5?
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I have I have Highlands at 5:00. OK.
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So I mean, basically we have the same teams in the top five with.
7:49
One. Yeah, absolutely.
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Alright, so here is where it gets interesting for me.
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The 6th, the 7th and the 8th. And it is, it's so extremely
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important these three spots because a, they are the last
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three that get a first round bye.
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Now we can go over the merits of having a first round bye versus
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not having a first round bye. Some teams, and I don't blame
8:14
them, like to play that first round game, get in the
8:16
tournament, get a winnable game, not saying that they will win,
8:18
but get a winnable game in that first round tournament, a home
8:21
game, get your feet wet in the tournament and then move on.
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So I I do think there's some advantages in that, but you
8:28
know, you would like to be 1 of the 8 seeds that has some
8:31
prestige to it. There are 55 or so basketball
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playing schools in Bergen County.
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So to be 1 of the 8 with a first round buy in the Jamboree has a
8:42
certain amount of cachet to it. And I agree with it.
8:46
So it it's so it's, it's so close, but I'm going to say that
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number six, I have Northern Valley, demarest #7 I have
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Ridgewood and #8 I have Hackensack.
9:00
Now you can pull up all their schedules go by who won this,
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who won that, how much did they lose by common opponents, all
9:07
those other things. I think the margin is so slim
9:11
between all of them, but I think Demarest, as the 16, you know,
9:16
they didn't play today because I sat with our friend Pat Gabriel
9:19
at a girls basketball game that I was at this morning.
9:21
And I'm not going to tell you what he said about where he
9:24
thinks he belongs, but there was certainly some.
9:28
Not no Pat so well Pat probably thinking I'm I'm a 12 seed.
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Yes. Oh, I I think the first word he
9:35
said when he sat down for me, he's like core.
9:37
I'm screwed, you know, not real. So what do you got there?
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I have Demarest, Ridgewood, Hackensack as my 678.
9:49
So I, I have, I have a flip, I have the same team I have, I
9:53
have Ridgewood at six. OK, Group 4, they're playing,
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they're playing a little bit better of a schedule.
10:01
I got Ridgewood 6. I have Denver 7.
10:08
Sorry, who's our 13? Hackensack.
10:10
You have Hackensack. Yeah, I have Hackensack.
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And then I have, I have, I have a close, close 9 as well, which
10:18
I, I could also, I could also throw, I could also throw
10:20
another curveball here and say 8.
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You can make this case with Moscow at 8:00.
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Yes, now. As an now that's, that's as an
10:27
under 500 team, and I know everyone's looking at that, but
10:31
it's also come up, you know, straight to schedule and yadda
10:33
yadda. But yeah, I mean, I, I still
10:37
think, I still think the committee's going to say Moscow.
10:40
Then I still think they get that person.
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I think they have to prove the prove their worth.
10:44
So but I, but I do agree with 6-7.
10:46
I just have to the first. And I agree with 9.
10:50
That's where I have Don Bosco prep.
10:51
But this is an interesting stance because you know it's
10:56
going to be the first time. I believe, I'm pretty sure, I
11:00
can almost say with complete certainty that this will be the
11:02
first time that a team with an under 500 record will be
11:05
accepted into the Jamboree. This is also the first year that
11:08
a 650 winning percentage does not automatically qualify you to
11:12
play in the Bergen County Jamboree.
11:14
It qualifies you to play in a Bergen County tournament and I'm
11:20
I'm sure if you're over 650, you're getting to the Bergen
11:22
Invitational tournament And we'll talk about that later
11:25
because it does come into play with some of the teams who might
11:27
or might not make it from the NJIC.
11:30
But Don Bosco prep as the nine, I would say you have, it has to
11:34
be there that you put them because of the under 500 record.
11:38
And I don't know if you can say they should get a first round
11:43
buy as you mentioned, but I was speaking to someone else who
11:46
will remain nameless. And his point was, listen, if
11:50
you're going to put Don Bosco Prep in the Bergen County
11:53
Jamboree, then see them where they belong and where do they
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belong at 7:00 and 9:00 going into today.
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I don't know if they played today.
12:03
But at 79? OK, so Brad, if you take take
12:08
the numbers outside, you know in the brackets, the win loss
12:12
record, where do you put Don Bosco prep as far as best teams
12:15
in Bergen County? They're not the 9th best team,
12:18
are they? No, no, I, I, I think, I think
12:21
not. I mean, I think 9 things
12:25
generous because it's Bosco. Yeah.
12:28
Let's all call this Faders Fade, right?
12:30
The powers that be in Bergen County, you know, Glasgow has
12:32
been a perennial basketball power for a good while.
12:36
So I think that's why that's why they're getting those that die
12:41
if we're if we're in, if we're in the room, I think that's
12:43
where they're getting those. Could we sit here say this we
12:47
could also sit here and say theoretically they're at 161616
12:51
based on record and based on wins and losses, right.
12:54
You've lost the seen it. So, you know, you can make you
12:59
can make a stance that, you know, based on their on their
13:02
schedule. So it wasn't a convincing, it
13:07
wasn't a close loss. I mean, it was a double digit
13:09
loss to see that, yeah, you know, and A and A and a game
13:13
against Kroger that they weren't even anywhere near being in.
13:16
Yes, agreed they. Lost.
13:19
They lost the Teaneck on the road.
13:20
Tough place to play. They they beat Northern
13:24
Highlands at home and Northern Highlands, I have them as the
13:27
number 4. You have them as the number 5.
13:29
So obviously that's a quality win there.
13:30
And then when you look at their losses, though, Bergen Catholic,
13:33
Gil St. Bernards, somewhere called
13:36
Forsyth Country Day in North Carolina, Frederick Douglass of
13:41
Kentucky, Rutgers Prep. So really when you look at it,
13:45
though, there's not a bet. Paul the 6th Saint Peter's Prep.
13:50
I mean, Saint Peter's Paul Paul Paul 6 has a 7 foot, 7 foot
13:54
fresh finger sophomore on that team that's supposed to be
13:56
pretty good. So, you know, probably not a
13:58
bad, not a bad loss here either. Not a quality, not a bad loss,
14:03
but quality wins. You know, you could say, you
14:05
could actually sit here and say Patterson East side could be a
14:07
quality win. Patterson could also beat
14:09
Demarest and we just talked about as being in that 6 to 8
14:12
somewhere. Yes.
14:13
So that's my. Point I I, you know, there's a
14:15
Boston that beats East Side who beat Demarest.
14:17
We could play the we could play that, you know, this TV that you
14:20
know, and go on non, non, you know.
14:24
But but that was oh God no. Go ahead, I I could see I could.
14:28
See, well, that's why I, I, I, I, I, I think my point is I
14:31
think you can move Bosco up into the town like because they they
14:35
their one loss. Their one loss is to Teaneck
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when we're for, you know, and Bergen, OK, Bergen is.
14:43
Bergen and locality purposes, yeah, that's fair.
14:46
Those are the I have. I have.
14:48
Bergen as the one and Teaneck as the three and they beat my 4:00.
14:52
So like if I was going to do my math, I would say you could slap
14:55
Bosca win as the the five. The guy that I was talking to,
14:59
he looked at me and he goes, hey, make him a two.
15:03
Yeah. So if.
15:03
Your math is Mathen. Yeah, absolutely.
15:05
You can make a case for them to just at the end of the day, you
15:09
know, we look at, we look at the schedule comprehensively.
15:13
Everybody else that they're supposed to be, they beat, you
15:14
know what I'm saying? Probably you can sit there and
15:16
go, yeah, they shouldn't be seen that yeah, they, they should
15:18
have been in, you know, maybe they look past it.
15:20
But as far as everything else is concerned, they took care of
15:24
business with everybody else. Yeah, I mean, they beat East
15:27
Side by 30. They beat Pascack Valley by 40.
15:31
Yeah, you know, so And a good win their last time out against
15:35
DePaul, too. You know Depaul's going to be in
15:37
the mix in Passaic County, So and.
15:40
So East side. So there you go.
15:42
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, it could be DePaul
15:44
East side in the Passaic County final and absolutely.
15:47
Exactly. I agree.
15:49
With you 100%. OK, so I'm going to put Bosco at
15:54
the 9:00 because I think just history and precedent and format
16:00
and everything else, I think that's where they go.
16:03
But if you're, I think if you're really gonna see them based on
16:07
their strength of schedule, their body of work, I think
16:11
they're a top three or four seats, although that's not.
16:13
Good. I mean, like I said, there's,
16:15
there's seven of nine. I'm just saying to, to look,
16:17
they're not there. Don't be surprised if they end
16:18
up the top five seats. Yeah, it'll be interesting to
16:21
see the way, and I do want to say this too, I don't envy the
16:24
committee at all because, you know, there are years where
16:27
there are blatant mistakes in the selection of the Bergen
16:31
County Jamboree. This year there is so much
16:34
parity. There is so much when you just
16:37
look, if you, you know, go to the Ridgewood, Hackensack,
16:40
Ramapho, Paramus League and just see who beat who.
16:44
See, you know, and you could go around and what is important as
16:48
far as you know, they don't have the advanced analytics that the
16:51
NCAA selection committee has. So, you know, you give them
16:56
credit because they do go out and watch games.
16:58
So the eye test does mean a lot. And I give them credit for doing
17:03
that. And no matter what happens this
17:04
year and whatever, whatever they come up with as a final result,
17:08
there's not going to be any arguing for me because I tried
17:10
to do it this year. And you, whose opinion I respect
17:15
very much. We've got those two totally
17:17
different outcomes. So, yeah, and I can tell you I
17:20
can tell you this based on based on us knowing who's who, right
17:23
and Burton kind of basketball. All right, interesting.
17:25
North Jersey in general, right. I was at the past that guy of
17:28
the game for Moscow, right. That's 40 point win.
17:31
Yeah, and there was there was a committee member in this fan.
17:34
So that's 40 point win who didn't, who didn't stay past the
17:38
third quarter? Didn't need to stay past the
17:40
third quarter. Yeah, correct.
17:41
Correct. Yeah.
17:42
And if you look at it too, I mean, they are four and one in
17:46
their last five. So they're playing their best
17:48
basketball right now with the loan loss being a Palma State.
17:51
OK, probably spent more time on Don Bosco in the early rounds
17:55
than I have in the last 15 years of doing this because usually
17:58
saying one of us doing the semi finals.
18:01
Absolutely, but but this is this is where we talked about it last
18:06
episode. This is the rise of the public,
18:08
you know, with not as as many folks as being strong.
18:11
So you know, where do they fit and and and you know, does the
18:15
committee, does the committee agree with us?
18:17
Do they sit there and go? Publics are playing very well,
18:21
way better than the the parochials and the and the
18:23
beating the parochials. And we need to see it
18:24
accordingly. Not based off of historical,
18:29
Yeah, perennial perennial powers that be.
18:32
Yep. I, I think the great, the as as
18:34
we said last week and we'll do it more when we get into the
18:36
actual breakdown of the tournament tomorrow.
18:40
The I curious to see. All right, let's let's skip it.
18:46
Let's keep moving down the bracket here.
18:48
The other who's your first? Who's your first double digit?
18:50
Seat. OK.
18:51
And this is the point I wanted to bring up where is the NGIC
18:55
versus Big N divide, you know what I'm saying.
18:58
So you got you have some gaudy records in the NGIC, you have
19:03
some battle tested Big North side and where do you start to
19:08
see them? And obviously we have we both
19:10
have Saint Mary's very high in our bracket.
19:12
This is where I put my first MJIC Public school #10 Cresskill
19:17
for me. Wow, I, I completely agree.
19:21
Really. I agree with you at 10, OK, I
19:24
think, I think Cresskill has been tested, right, sitting at
19:29
14 and one I think they've been tested.
19:31
I think they've got some good quality wins.
19:34
You know, we talked about, I think I think Linden Parks are a
19:38
very solid program as JP Graham and those guys I think are
19:41
pretty solid, right? Very convincing win over Linden
19:43
Park, a good win over Waldwick, who I think we're going to see
19:47
later on as we get down these seeds, right?
19:49
Maybe even closer, rather later. You know, that's a sweet they
19:55
slip in the park. So sleep in the park and Waldo
19:57
great. I think, you know, I think that
19:59
those are three quality wins as far as, you know, encounter
20:02
publics are concerned. Yeah, I think, I think 10 is
20:05
where I slot Cresco as well. And for me, I could perform the
20:09
eye test because I saw them play Tenafly in a I, I, I said it at
20:13
the time I wrote it in my story. One as much fun as I've had
20:17
watching a regular season showcase public school game as I
20:21
have in the last 10 years. I mean, I think it was a 10
20:22
point Sprite to finish, but it was not a 10 point game.
20:25
I mean, 10 of they were, they were going back and forth.
20:27
And I love the way Cresco plays. They got a big guy, Luke
20:30
Kopchinsky, 6 foot four, and they throw him the ball every
20:34
time, Brad. So, yeah, you know it.
20:37
It's like old school basketball where somebody figured out the
20:40
analytic that the closer you are to the basket, the easier it is
20:43
to make a shot. And Cresskill seems to have
20:47
taken that to heart this year. So I'm looking forward to see
20:49
what they can do. And now my next two more of this
20:52
NJIC Big NI have at #11 I have Ramapo and then at #12 I have
20:59
Waldwick. Funny because Ramapo 8:00 and
21:01
7:00 as of yesterday and Waldwick was 10 and 4.
21:06
You know, Ramaphos had some injuries, but they've also, you
21:10
know, Nick Veer takes 0 steps back as far as scheduling goes.
21:15
Part of his philosophy, and it's worked great for him as they've
21:17
won the North One Group 3 state sectional championship four
21:21
straight years, is to go out and play everybody.
21:23
And not only does it make his team battle tested as the year
21:28
goes along, it also keeps players at Ramapo because
21:31
they're going to play the same schedule as the big boys.
21:33
So Ramapo 8:00 and 7:00, my number 11 and Waldo at 12.
21:38
How about you? I have Ramapo at 11.
21:43
I actually I'm a kind of a smaller curveball.
21:52
I've got Ramsey here at 12. OK, I've got Ramsey in my rack
21:57
too. I've got Ramsey here at 12.
22:01
There are a bit of a slide. There are a little bit of a
22:03
slide the last few games, but came out, came out firing at
22:07
9:00 and 2:00. And obviously I, I, you know,
22:11
obviously they cut off, I'm sure plays a part of it.
22:15
I think it's been playing pretty well.
22:19
You know, not bad losses. You know, they lost to the group
22:21
by double digits. So I think it's unwrought to
22:24
quality win. I think Mawa is a is a solid win
22:29
#galleys, you know, they they've played some deep in competition,
22:33
you know, but I think I just think the way they they're just
22:36
having toughness about that. I think, I think that carries it
22:41
doesn't know what it is. Well, again, that Patriot
22:44
division with Ramsey, Riverdale and Westwood, again, you could
22:48
go by it. It depends which data point is
22:55
the most important to you. So you know, I could see Ramsey,
22:58
I actually. Well, all right, so why don't
23:00
you go 131415 for you then? So from so I guess I'm going to
23:05
flip back over as where I go back, I go back to the edge
23:08
there and see you at 13. At 13 I have 10 or 16.
23:17
OK, All right. There's a there's one that we
23:20
disagree on. We'll talk about that.
23:24
At 13, I have Emerson, at 14 I've got Midland Park and at 15
23:34
I've got to flip back over. I've got to flip back over to 15
23:36
and I have. I've got Westwood.
23:44
OK, All right. And ladies and gentlemen, this
23:48
this is. Where this is where this is
23:51
where it gets a little. This portion of the show is
23:55
brought to you by the NJIC where if the BPSL was going to fold
23:59
into the NJIC, Brad was going to grab on with both hands and and
24:04
be a fanboy because he's putting Emerson Midland Park there at 13
24:09
and 14 where I have 13 I have Westwood, 14 I have Old Japan
24:14
and 15 I have Ridgefield Park. And then I'll just add to my 16
24:19
because that's where I have Ramsey.
24:20
So, you know, Ramsey's on the three-game moves the streak.
24:23
Westwood, I feel like Westwood doesn't have any bad losses.
24:26
I mean, there are three and two in the division, nine and four
24:29
overall, and their losses are at Union City, at Mahwah and at
24:35
home against Riverdale in a divisional match up and then
24:38
against Demarest at home that, you know, they beat Ridgefield
24:42
Park head up, they beat Lincoln beat.
24:46
What's the other good one that they had here?
24:48
They beat Ramsey, you know, yes, in their last game out.
24:52
So yes, yes, that's what does it for me that that puts them up
24:55
there. I so I have West of as in 13 old
24:58
Japan is the 14 and Rich Hill Parks as the 15, Ramsey as the
25:02
16. Who's your 16 now?
25:04
OK, we'll, we'll talk about Emerson a little bit later.
25:07
I I have Emerson in the field, but just barely as a little
25:11
teaser I think. Right, right, right.
25:13
So I'm sure, and I'm sure I'm gonna catch Flack from Westwood
25:16
too, because I have an alumni who is currently coach at
25:19
Westwood and a very good friend of mine who's an assistant at
25:22
Westwood who's team muted be handedly this year.
25:26
So check the stats so you could figure it out.
25:30
Please. I mean I have.
25:32
Contact information so I could send them to show directly?
25:34
Go ahead. 16 I have Richfield Park.
25:37
OK, Yeah. 16 I have Richfield Park I you know, and then I have
25:44
I've got 17 It's it's I'm staying right there at 17.
25:47
I have I got clip side. OK.
25:50
I have Cliffside. Cliffside got them some ties,
25:54
they've got some good quality wins.
25:56
Obviously kind of fly beat their handedly.
25:58
They're in a tough one that they lost to Trent Hill and Demarest,
26:01
right? Certainly the bad loss outright
26:04
what it is, you know, failure is a tough loss, but everything
26:08
else they got some good quality wins to back it up.
26:12
And they just got a kid eligible too, which to go along with
26:15
Calabrese now they have, you know, 2 legitimate offensive
26:19
weapons versus 1. So not a bad pick.
26:23
I have Glen Rock as my 17, Cliffside as my 18 SO.
26:28
Good luck with BPSL flavor. I'm OK with that.
26:31
Yes, who do you got as 18? My 18.
26:35
Is probably going to be a pick that you're, you're not really
26:40
fond of, but clearly kind of what I, what I do.
26:47
I said I, I, I see different things with different teams.
26:50
That's where I, I kind of get it from.
26:52
Yep, I have AI. I'm making a case here.
26:59
Might be a bit of a stretch, but I think they have talent.
27:03
I think they've got some decent losses that I think is going to
27:06
go It's going to help them a little bit.
27:10
I got Dwight Englewood here. OK, I have Dwight Anglewood as
27:13
my 20 so. Yeah, I got them a little bit.
27:16
I got them a little bit higher. I just think, I just think that
27:18
they have, they have some good young talented guys.
27:21
They they, you know, they've got a couple, you know, a couple
27:24
losses, but then they're not bad losses.
27:27
Columbia who who went to the, you know, the the championship
27:30
and the Jack Stone shootout. Patterson Charter, right, Who,
27:36
who kind of got them heavily, but at Patterson Charter, right.
27:40
So going down there is a little tough, like falling the fall is
27:43
tough. Saint Mary's and you know, feed
27:44
them in Northern Highlands, you know, Union cities are fig, you
27:47
know Fig, you know Yep, group four, group four, group 5
27:50
school, you know, you know the sport.
27:52
Yep. But then they beat past the
27:55
charter at home. They beat Glen Rock, right.
27:56
We were just talking about I think Rutherford's a good win.
27:59
They swept the corner rock actually not I'm looking at it
28:01
and they beat Lindhurst, who I think Lindhurst is a bubble team
28:04
for me. So but yeah, I mean, I think
28:09
Glenn Hearst ends up in the in the BIT.
28:11
But yeah, yeah, I have right here is where I have Dwight
28:14
Englewood. I think the stolen brothers
28:17
playing pretty well. And they also have the kid
28:21
Palasimo, I think, who's not terrible.
28:23
I think they're all that's a pretty solid tandem.
28:26
And, and I just think, you know, I think Kuzar just does a very
28:29
good job over there and gets his guys to play hard and, and
28:31
they're competitive. OK, you slowed me on Dwight
28:35
Anglewood. Maybe I'm a little bit shy with
28:36
them and maybe I should have them up over Glenrock because I
28:39
just pulled up Glenrock's schedule and actually I do have
28:43
to make the flip flop because Glenrock just lost at home
28:48
yesterday to Dwight Englewood. So if you kind of choose between
28:52
the two, there's a pretty good data point to.
28:54
But yeah. But yeah, excellent.
28:56
There's a lot of, there's a lot of measuring sticks out there.
28:58
It all depends on where you where you know where does where
29:01
does one lie and where does one talk?
29:03
The crazy thing with them though, like Glenrock, right?
29:06
So they they lost to Hawthorne at home, they lost to Dwight
29:13
Morrow, which is OK. I mean Dwight Morrow, you know,
29:15
they're ABIT team. They beat Ridgewood in
29:18
Ridgewood's Christmas tournament.
29:21
Then they lose to Ramsey, Dwight Englewood and Saint Mary in
29:24
three in a row, beat Saddle River Day, lose to Patterson
29:27
Charter, then beat Park Ridge, Wayne Hills and Rutherford right
29:31
in a row and lose to Dwight Englewood.
29:32
They are like the the most Doctor Jekyll and Mr. High team.
29:36
Where do you put him? And I think with this loss
29:38
against quite angle, I have him a couple spots too high.
29:41
So I'm going to pull Glenrock down and you know I'm going to,
29:47
I'm going to flip flop them with Dwight Angle in my bracket as we
29:49
go here because you're right. So for my I had Glenrock as my
29:54
17. I'll continue.
29:55
I had Cliffside as my 18, Riverdale as my 19 and then
29:59
Dwight Angle. So as I said, I'm going to
30:01
switch those up. Who are your 19 and your 20?
30:04
So I agree with you at 19. I have Riverdale at 19, OK.
30:08
I think I, I think, you know, 6 in one and half a dozen in the
30:14
other. All depends on how you slice it.
30:15
Yeah. But yeah, I had Riverdale there
30:18
and then my, my 2020 is, is probably going to be a stretch.
30:25
But I also balance a lot of this based off of scheduling, right.
30:31
So they pass the eye test because what they have really
30:34
make a statement. Could they play, they're playing
30:39
in the in the Jamboree because at the end of the day, right,
30:42
people put a team in there and then how did they even make it?
30:45
Yep. But at at 20 1/2.
30:53
OK, another. 13 and three in the, you know, in the Patriots,
31:00
you know. Yes.
31:02
Yeah, it's, it's tough, but they have a couple decent wins, you
31:05
know, get some some figure and and it's going to hold them
31:09
away, but they have some moves against them, you know.
31:12
You're not. You know, for school.
31:13
You're not, you know. They've got Melville.
31:17
I mean, no, but but, but they do have, but they do have some, you
31:20
know, some wins against some, you know, Midland Park team.
31:24
But we we talked about yeah. And they got some moves to get
31:29
some group preschools, Group 4 schools that you know, you know,
31:33
and maybe I'm a little partial because that comes from a Group
31:36
One, right? You only, you only have X amount
31:38
of kids to pick from, right, in a Group 1 compared to a group
31:41
three, Group 4, like a Barfield or a Belleville.
31:45
So if you're beating those teams and yeah, I mean it could just
31:48
be down years from those schools, but I still think that
31:50
holds a little bit of weight as a as a small school beating a
31:53
bigger school. All right, I'll give you that I
31:58
do not have North Arlington in my bracket at all.
32:01
They would be. They would my bubble teams.
32:03
Well, we'll get to that when we get to the bottom, but alright,
32:06
so the year 20 is North Arlington.
32:08
Alright, so I'll give you my last four.
32:10
This is where I put my 21 is Midland Park, 22 Indian Hills,
32:15
23 Pascack Valley and the last team in on my board is Emerson.
32:20
Now I love Johnny Ziemba. I've been covering them since he
32:26
had those great teams at Fort Lee.
32:28
Sandy Burgos, Josh Ford, the current head coach, I mean, so
32:32
many great players came through Fort Lee in the early 2000s and
32:36
he's what a great job he's done at Emerson over the last few
32:40
years. I just, and through no fault of
32:43
his own, because as we've talked about, they've changed the
32:46
structure of the NJIC to group teams.
32:49
Based on last year's performance, Emerson somehow
32:52
gets lumped into the American division where the other teams
32:57
are Elmwood Park, Saddlebrook Eastern Christian and Hawthorne
33:00
Christian. Now I'm not here, yes, but the
33:08
if that were the case, the BPSL King division would be having a
33:11
down year because Hawthorne Christian O and sticks in replay
33:16
O and 14 overall Eastern Christian five and seven,
33:20
Saddlebrook 6 and 9. I mean, your beloved Crusaders
33:24
are, you know, they're they're on my bubble 2 you know, one of
33:27
the first three teams out of the Jambo this year at 9:00 and
33:30
5:00. And that's Emerson's only loss.
33:33
I look at Emerson's wins and my beloved Palisades Park Tigers
33:40
are not doing much for your strength of schedule, even
33:43
though they're having a a relatively decent year.
33:44
And they'll play in the BIT, which I'm happy about too, all
33:47
sitting aside. But I just, you know, their best
33:50
win, maybe Rutherford, a Rutherford team that's
33:52
struggling, maybe a Mahwah, which, you know, is a lot of
33:56
teams, a lot of lower NJIC team's best win is Mahwah.
34:01
You know, So I have Emerson in at the 24.
34:05
You know, I don't mean to take anything away from them because
34:07
I'm in the field and doing the best they can against their
34:09
schedule. They've played 15 games and
34:11
they've won fourteen of them. So for me, that says a lot.
34:14
I will just say that my 23 is Pascack Valley and Pascack
34:18
Valley, you know, a week and a half ago, I wouldn't have given
34:21
you a nickel for their chances. They've won four, their last
34:24
five at West Milford again against Mahwah, but they lose.
34:29
Their only loss in that stretch is to add Demarest and we have
34:31
them as a, you know, top five, top six, top, however we want to
34:34
do it. They've beat Old Japan and
34:37
Saddle River Day in the last couple days, so for me that gets
34:41
Hashtag Valley, the number 23 seed again.
34:43
My first team's out North Arlington, Elmwood Park, and if
34:47
we have a precedent now where under 500 teams can make the
34:50
Bergen County Tournament, I would put Paramus.
34:52
On my bubble, Paramus there, yeah, that'll put players on the
34:55
bubble. So.
34:58
But that's it. I have, I have Hashtag Valley at
34:59
24 and and my bubble team, I kind of alluded to it.
35:04
My bubble team is, is Windhurst 9 and 7.
35:10
They've got some, some losses that are holiday losses, right?
35:14
Saint Mary's twice, I believe they lost it.
35:17
Dickinson over in Hudson County, he's pretty solid.
35:21
So. Yeah, I just think, I think they
35:25
have, they have some pieces there.
35:27
I think they they, they compete. But but I have them as a bubble
35:31
team. I think they're they're they may
35:33
make a run of that BIT. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
35:36
Paramus, you know the BIT could be fun too because you get the
35:39
drop downs, you know 8 teams are going to parachute into the BIT
35:42
that we just talked about tonight as making the Jambo
35:44
field make. Joe.
35:47
Bueno Bergen in appointment as it is now known.
35:52
Go del bueno the. Former head coach of Ram PO, the
35:54
current assistant coach at Ridgewood.
35:57
And the BIT when he it was his idea, it's his baby and now they
36:02
play it in every sport where at the beginning they thought he
36:04
was crazy. And they didn't want to.
36:05
The county coaches association didn't want to sponsor the
36:07
event, so it's grown. It has its place in Bergen
36:11
County basketball. And it's going to be a fun
36:14
tournament, too. I cover the finals every year.
36:16
I try to get to that freshman final and DIC final every year
36:19
because it's fun. And I keep telling Joe that he
36:23
has to delineate the DIT from the Jambo by using the red,
36:27
white and blue balls like the ABA and the NBA back in the day.
36:30
I'm win it. I think that'd be awesome.
36:33
I mean, I played with, I played with that basketball during my
36:35
time in the ABA and playing in the ABA, yeah, I like that
36:40
basketball. Actually, I have.
36:42
I might have one or two at home so.
36:44
All right, so maybe we can start a movement there.
36:46
The only thing is all right, give me again you're 2122 and 23
36:49
all. Right, so I have like I have
36:54
past that galley. I'll work my way from the
36:55
bottom. OK, I had to see.
36:59
I said the same things you want. I just had past that galley
37:01
clip. OK, so go I'm going back to
37:05
that. I have coming back and forth.
37:08
You had what was your your 1-2 and three.
37:10
I had Mid Valley at 23. I had Midland Park at 21, Indian
37:15
Hills at 22, Pascag Valley at 23 and Emerson at 24.
37:19
Right. I had, I had Emerson higher.
37:21
I had Emerson at 21. I had Midland Park at 2, that
37:26
Pascag Valley at 20. 4 OK, all right, so that's it.
37:31
That's the, you know, people listening to this.
37:34
If you just say, you know this is the thought for our thought
37:37
processes of how this could be and.
37:40
There could be four or five teams that we that meet, I put
37:43
in here that you put in here and there could be four or five
37:45
teams that aren't even in the field, aren't even in
37:47
consideration. 100% And I'm very curious.
37:50
I'm very curious at how they handled on Bosco prep.
37:53
I mean, I, you know, I haven't. That's the biggest, that's the
37:55
biggest thoughts of Yep, because you can make a case that they're
37:59
a top five. You can also make a case that
38:01
they're they're, they're A-Team, they're a team.
38:05
And it also matters where you see them because like, say, in
38:08
my bracket, you have Hackensack as the 8 and Bosco as the nine.
38:11
So you know, that makes Hackensack they get the first
38:14
round bye. But then they're, you know,
38:15
round of 16 game is against Mount Bosco.
38:18
Now, again, the reason why Bosco would be down there is because
38:21
they're under 500. So they should be gettable.
38:24
But that's that's the first round game you want if you're
38:26
Hackensack. Aaron Taylor with a young team
38:29
just coming back into prominence after a couple years in the
38:32
wilderness. You know, like you, you want to
38:33
get back there and you want to you want to see a fellow public
38:37
school across the way, you know, so we'll, we'll see how it plays
38:42
out there. And, you know, the committee has
38:45
their work cut out for him when they do it tonight or when they
38:47
do it tomorrow. I wanted to get this on paper.
38:50
You can leave a comment on the podcast site on Spotify if you
38:56
disagree. Or, you know, just wait for the
38:58
next one to come out where we can either pat ourselves in the
39:00
back or tell us how. Long.
39:03
We were in going after them. So Brad, where did you make it
39:06
on our little chat here, which has now pushed into the 45
39:12
minute mark for our 20 minute podcast segment.
39:14
How far did you we are? We are still an hour from New
39:18
York City, so we're still about. All right, bro, I'm sorry I
39:25
couldn't take you all the way home, but I will be on the phone
39:27
with you tomorrow. We will reconvene, we'll bring
39:30
some photos in and we will talk Jambo again tomorrow on the ball
39:34
game. Follow the leader.