2008-2009 Season Preview - CHSAA

Well, I guess I kind of forgot about this blog. Not much use for a blog that doesn't get updated!

Last year's champion turned out to be Holy Cross, who defeated my pick for the championship, Christ the King, on the strength of solid team play and the star power of Sylvan Landesberg.

All of the 2oo8 grads have moved on, and it's time for the 2009 seniors to step up and earn their way into CHSAA history.

This off-season has seen the continued exodus of CHSAA star players to New Jersey and the various competitive national high schools and prep schools. Gone are Ashton Pankey from Molloy and Devon Collier from All Hallows to St. Anthony's in NJ. Gone is Doron Lamb to Oak Hill. Gone are Omari Lawrence and Kevin Parrom to South Kent Prep.

But returning to the CHSAA, in something of a shocker, is Lamont (MoMo) Jones of Rice HS, or at least he'll be back if the committee approves his participation.

It's early yet, and the kids have just gone back to school, and practice doesn't begin until November (yeah, right). But the changing landscape and the success of many of these kids during the summer make some observations almost obvious.

James Stukes has stepped up his perimeter game and will be a solid compliment to Durand Scott at Rice. If MoMo is cleared to play, Rice will be the team to beat.

Christ the King is right there with Rice, assuming Roland Brown has recovered from his early summer injury. Sean Johnson will take over the scoring load with Pearson and Walker graduated, but CK has size, depth, and experience on their side. Marion Smith will have to improve his outside shooting if he is to be effective at the point.

Xaverian will be much improved, as their small ball game gives others fits. In the tradition of Rice and St. Ray's, Xaverian can step up the pressure on the ball to a level that most backcourts become extremely uncomfortable. Rasheem King appears ready to step up to the next level, Joab Jerome is a workman in the paint and on the boards, and PG Jamel Fuentes is one of my favorite players to watch. If Derrick King is eligible, this team could contend for the championship.

St. Raymond's has lost a lot with the transfers of Parrom and Lawrence. Antigua is old enough now not to be getting into it with his players. The effect on the moral of the remaining Ravens has yet to be seen, but St. Raymond's has been competitive in summer play with their relentless pressure.

Molloy, Holy Cross and All Hallows are searching for their identities, with a lot of JV and bench players jockeying for the spots opened by graduation and transfer. All Hallows has the height, with developing big man Joey de la Rosa manning the post, Molloy has the shot machine in Russell Smith, Holy Cross has a few players that got state playoff minutes last season, but will need a consistent scorer.

Complementing Russ Smith at Molloy will be Jin Hong, who will probably have to move back inside to replace Pankey at center. Often injured Ryan Dillon will have to stay healthy and pick up a piece of the scoring load to keep Smith from being overwhelmed by opposing defenses.

St. Francis Prep was winless in the league last season, so their graduation losses will not hurt as badly. They'll need Bobby Blazecevic to pick up the scoring load early, Roger Franklin to continue his development into an elite PG, Bob Nacer to continue to hit the boards, score on the block, rebound and flop like Vlade Divac, and some of the role players from last season to step up. They have only one player over 6'4", namely 6'7", 225 lbs. Patrick Walsh, who doesn't see too much PT. Brian Caffrey has a chance to be a solid player, but he's undersized for the 4 and doesn't have a good enough J for the 3. Still the best athlete on the team when healthy.