The Cardinal Fanatic Top 10 teams in NJ – 2009-2010

A cynical & critical review where the stroke of the pen was mightier than a 3 point swish at the buzzer of the 2009 – 2010 NJ basketball season.

The Cardinal Fanatic Top 10 teams in NJ – 2009-2010

1) St. Patrick
2) Trenton Catholic
3) Camden Catholic
4) St. Anthony’s
5) Paterson Catholic
6) St. Peters
7) Cherokee
8) Plainfield
9) University
10) Shabazz & Mendham

1) St. Patrick – They have 2 future NBA players on their team whose skill level is so far and beyond any other players in the state of NJ. They crushed the TOC winner by nearly 30 points without Michael Gilchrist and played many of their role players nearly half way through that game. St. Pat’s played their last game of the season as the dominating team the Cardinal Fanatic saw in the beginning of the season (Union County Tournament victory over Plainfield) when they dominated the NYC Catholic League Championship runner up Bishop Laughlin by 45 points in a pre-season game. The NJSIAA had this information concerning the early practice for some time and hesitated with a decision that was not good for NJ basketball. Since St. Patrick was not ban for the season, they are the best team in NJ. They beat the best and are the Cardinal Fanatic best team by far.

2) Trenton Catholic – A very talented team that brought the title to Trenton. The TOC champion shocked the state with their triple overtime victory over St. Anthony’s. This victory along with their TOC victory over Camden Catholic should have given them the #1 ranking but their lop-sided defeat to St. Pat’s was the deciding blow.

3) Camden Catholic – Camden Catholic only suffered 2 defeats all season. Their first loss was to the Cardinal Fanatic top rated public school, The Cherokee Chiefs in overtime, and their second loss in the TOC finals to Trenton Catholic. With signature victories over Cherokee and St. Peters, a convincing victory over Trenton Catholic would have made a good argument for Camden Catholic earning the #1 ranking.

4) St. Anthony’s - Legendary Coach Hurley had this team at the brink of being the #1 team in the state. St. Anthony’s defeat of undefeated Paterson Catholic gave them a shot at the subjective #1 ranking but Trenton Catholic threw a monkey wrench into the pot. The possibility of a #1 ranking was erased with their only lost to a NJ team, Trenton Catholic in a dramatic triple overtime contest.

5) Paterson Catholic – The #1 ranking was theirs for the taking with St. Pat’s disqualified from the state playoffs. A top 10 national ranking and an undefeated season going in to the state playoffs made it seem that Paterson Catholic was the one to earn the title of the states best team. Their loss to St. Anthony’s may have been the most devastating loss of the season for any team in the state. Their loss to St. Ant’s and how they loss had a factor in their dropping in the rankings. It probably would have helped them with some tougher in state opponents during the season.

6) St. Peters – The experience of this team seem to give the Jersey City school a chance at the state title. After suffering only 2 defeats to two nationally ranked teams – St. Anthony’s (St. Peters should have won with a 10 point lead and 2 minutes remaining in the game) & Paterson Catholic (a dead even game until Plainfield native Miles Davis suffered a concussion late in the game). Their defeat of power house Oak Hill Academy lifted St. Peters to the pinnacle of the top team in NJ. The 2nd biggest upset of this season, a loss to Camden Catholic knocked the Jersey City school down the rankings.

7) Cherokee – The favorites to take the title of top public school did just that. Their early season overtime victory over Camden Catholic proved that this was a top ten team in NJ. Another signature victory over Plainfield put the Chiefs in position to battle for a TOC title. With their victory over Newark power house Shabazz, the Chiefs just needed to repeat what they did early in the season, beat Camden Catholic. Cherokee came up one game short from the championship round. Several early season defeats were the only thing that prevented the South Jersey power from achieving a higher ranking.

8) Plainfield – Loosing only twice during the regular season to national powers, St Anthony’s and St. Patrick, did not dampen the Cardinals season. The Cardinals defeated over a dozen teams that were ranked or at one point were ranked in the top 20 in the state. This was even more impressive considering the main core of this team were 15 year olds. The Cardinals crept up to their highest ranking in nearly 30 years, #5 in the state. That was all ruined by a wounded Celtic in the Union County Championship. The Celtics made it a point to show the MSG televised audience that they were the top team in the tri-state area. This came at the expense of the Cardinals. This defeat dropped the Cardinals in the rankings for the first time all season and their loss to Cherokee in the Group 4 finals did not help their cause.

9) University – The top basketball program for the 2009-2010 season out of the largest city in NJ had to battle day in and day out with its cross town rivals of East Side, Shabazz, Science Park, and up and coming Central to just make it out of its own town. Seton Hall Prep gave them all they could take to make it out of their own county with the Essex County Championship. This alone was very impressive from the Group 1 power that made a run to become the smallest public school to win the TOC. Their run was ended in the semi finals by eventual TOC champion Trenton Catholic.

10) Shabazz – Loaded with size, The Group 2 champions seem to be the perfect match up against the Cherokee Chiefs in the TOC Championship 1st round. The Bull Dogs gave the Chiefs all they could handle and just loss on a miss 3 at the buzzer.
Mendham – The Morris County power surprised many to win the Group 3 title. With a young team, this could be a team to watch for next season. Mendham run ended with a defeat to Newark power University in the 1st round of the TOC.