I must admit I'm a little taken aback by the rash of scathing accusations of favoritism posted in my comments section. While I appreciate you posters keeping the language clean, I have to defend myself.
I was very surprised to hear about this belief that I favor Immaculata's Lindsay Melone over other area players.
While the nature of the job forces me to see some teams more than others -- I regretfully only saw Piscataway twice this season -- I don't think this accusation is valid.
I appreciate all the talent in the area, and think I do a good job assessing it. Melone is a floor general, her team did make an improbable run to the SCT championship and sectional final. They were the favorite in neither tournament, so I'm not sure where anyone sees "editorializing."
It so happened Melone played terrific games each of the four times I saw her play this season.
In response to the poster who compared my writing on Melone and Kopecki, I don't know if you saw both games this week but they couldn't have been more different.
Watchung Hills trailed by 22 in the fourth quarter and made a great near-comeback LED IN PART by Kopecki.
Immaculata had a state power on the ropes until Melone got hurt, then lost by 21. To compare the final scores is unjust.
I have written plenty about Kopecki, Laub, Jenkins (my preseason feature last year), Kutch and Carr, all of whom I find to be very likable as kids.
People always are accusing the Courier News of Immaculata/Bridgewater-Raritan bias, and I hope this is no more than another example of that.
I covered at least one game for 30 of my 36 local teams, and tried to give as much blog/podcast/notebook coverage to them as well. That's spreading the wealth, not focusing on one player.
Hopefully all the anonymous posts are little more than a few angry parents or coaches. I again urge people to sign their names to posts, especially if you are going to rip me.
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Ryan: I've been reading the girls' high school results here for the past couple of years and I must tell you in all honesty that your coverage of Lindsay Melone at Immaculata this year has been a bit more extensive and emotional than it has been for the other top players in the county. Was it here that I read the Melone/Laub "What if" article? What was that all about? I'm new to this discussion (didn't write any of the other posts), and am just giving you a frank opinion. And I think it's unfair of you to ask people to be signing their name to some of these posts. Most of the people that read this stuff and post are parents with kids that play in the county. Why would anybody want to make their child a target of some of the crazies out there? No criticism of Lindsay Melone is intended in my post. I have no criticism for you, either. I'm just telling you I personally can understand why people think you have a bias for this one whether you do or not.
Ryan, you must know that the Ville/Lata rivalry is probably one of the more heated ones around. Lots of bad feelings by Ville towards Lata...in fact if you read the NJ forums, especially the boys side, you'll see definite (and sometimes hateful) bias against them espec. from BW. I'll bet comments about LM are coming from one main group, other than the parents of the other POY candidates. I think possibly you did focus on a couple of players more than others but as a reporter you went where the news was and let's face it Lata made news this year. Incredible run by small group of not too tall girls, new young coach and lots of side stories. It's JOURNALISM 101 PEOPLE! It's about telling a good story! It's a good job they didn't beat MC, you would have been tarred and feathered more than you're being now.
I don't think Dunleavy is insisting on people using actual names, just a nickname or something so there can be some sort of response given to someone other than "anonymous." - Anonymous
Um, Lata made news once it hit the county and state tournaments at the end of the year. The drum beating went on ALL YEAR.
As far as the Lata/MC game goes, you can say with just as much accuracy that the first time MC played Lata without Melone they beat them by about 20. And when they played them the second time, Lata had her for half the game and they still lost by 20.
It's all about how you want to tell the story. That's how legends are created.
Side stories about Lata? Like what? Only thing I remember reading about here was about Melone.
A number of people kept telling me about the debate occurring on this BLOG regarding POY and suggested I should take a look. At first glance, I thought it was exactly what I’m sure Mr. Dunleavy intended, a little fun that people were having plugging their teammates, friends, opponents, and in some cases even their child (nothing wrong with that either). Unfortunately, as I read through more of the comments it became clear that negativity towards the kids (usually indirectly, but sometimes very direct), toward Mr. Dunleavy, and even toward parents in general was the predominant theme.
So I thought I would write this (and sign my name) in the hope that it represents the opinion of the vast majority of parents and athletes who know all of the kids mentioned.
Over the last several years, I’ve had the pleasure to help coach many of these kids (Melone, Kutch, Laub, Jenkins), coached against some (Carr, Kopecki) through AAU. I can attest that all are gifted athletes, good kids, and all are qualified candidates for POY type honors. And if you put those six together you would have an awesome team. But the reality is, picking one player over another is really tough. Mainly because basketball is a team sport that requires different talents, that must mesh together to be successful. So what you have in this collection of talent is the epitome of basketball balance…playmaking guards, scoring guards, and versatile forwards. So I would ask that we all recognize, whoever does get the award has earned it and should be proud of the achievement and recognition, but the others should not at all feel any less proud of their accomplishments as well.
Some of the comments on the BLOG also insinuate that some of these girls did not get much help from their teammates (as supporting evidence for why they should be POY). Of course, anyone involved in the respective programs knows that these six girls would not have achieved their success without the help of their teammates and coaches. I know in the case of Immaculata, the other 4 starters contributed greatly, some of whom are deserving of their own all-county honors. And the non-starters are every bit a part of the success as well, regardless of playing time, as critical components in practice and general team chemistry. Of course, coaches Hilgenberg, Whelan, Mayo, Reese, Swan, and Milde played a huge role as well
Finally, while I would be the first to admit that Mr. Dunleavy’s coverage of Lindsay has been extremely positive, implying favoritism on his part is a little harsh. As with all of us, he is trying to do his job the best he can and probably is more objective about these kids than we could ever be.
SO Ryan, what time are you coming over for dinner tonight? (couldn’t help but close this long-winded note without some humor).
Hi Ryan,
Don't see the bias & wow ... there's a supposed Bridgewater bias at C-N? What have they done in girls hoops unless people are talking about a bias from the boys hoops side? The fact of the matter is that these teams - IHS (boys & girls) & B-R (boys) may get a little more attention because of how succesful they are. I guess than the boys baseball bias would be towards IHS, H'boro, Pingry & Somerville, Watchung, etc. People talk about bias when they get upset reading about other area programs more succesful than theirs. I was at the counties a few weeks back @ Montgomery HS when a Montgomery boys mom (who didn't know I was from Bridgewater) told me that she was "psyched" that Irvington had beaten Bridgewater. When I pressed her on why, she told me that it's always Bridgewater this & Bridgewater that & that there were other teams - her young Cougars no doubt. So no, I don't think you have a bias.
-skyland11
I recently heard IHS girls refereed to as the Cinderalla Team! I thought that was so appropriate! These girls were an unlikely success story. The entire team contributed to there seasons outcome! One player captained the ship, and that was Lindsay Melone. There were many games when the waters were smooth that Lindsay unselfishly passed the ball all game. When the situation became a little dangerous and it appeared that the Spartans may be taking on water Lindsay with her steals, fast breaks and quick moves would guide her team to smoother waters. Once there, she would play her genuinely unselfish game, the one she is most comfortable with. The night she achieved her 1000 point milestone was more difficult for her then most will ever know. The Spartans were winning by alot and you could tell how uncomfortable she was as her team demanded she keep shooting the ball! They wanted her to accomplish this goal on their home court and nothing else would satisfy them. In all of the Spartan games this year I did not see one point guard who could hold a candle to Lindsay Melone. She is a very unique player with genuine character strength on and off the court! She is a true leader and she makes her teamates games elevate. It is my opinon that Lindsay is probably the most unsong senior player this year. The few articles written about Lindsay were wonderful, yet they still do not give the readers the true story of this gifted unselfish athlete. We know that good reporters go to where the great stories are. Mr Dunleavy is a good reporter who has covered SC girls basketball and Senior point guard Lindsay Melone honestly and fairly. In the end, the most deserving player will recieve the recognition, however nothing can take away from the accomplishments of Lindsay Melone and the success of the 2006 Immaculata Spartans.
The Spartan ladies know there are many reasons why this season was so special and as parents we truly understand and admire the depth of character and support shown on and off the court. Ladies , especially LM, remember the downside to success is that there always those looking to pull you down! I have never been associated with a more unselfish, caring and more sportsman-like bunch of kids...Ever. Indeed a season to remember.
What is the criteria for All County Team Selections. Is it the record of an individual player for that given year or is it their all overall high school performance. Are the fist team selections always the 1000 point pkayers? I know this blog is for comments not questions, but I'm not sure where else to ask this question! Any information will be appreciated.
for those lata parents that complained about the "dirty" play vs mc, . . . go look in the mirror. catholic high schools traditionally field the dirtiest playing teams, hands down. the sport does not matter, whether its hoops, football, lacrosse, soccer. the school does not matter either. old p'burg catholic h.s. was particular bad, very chippy(cheap shots), . . . especially in football as lata has always been. so stop whining, . . . just cannot take u lata parents anymore. why cant u just show up and watch the game be played. be proud that ur kids played their guts out and then win or lose, walk away and just SHUT UP.
Hahaha you must be one of those parents who envy lata. Little bitter are we?
Oh, I am so tired of hearing that. Envy Immaculata? You must be kidding. It's not about envy. It's about the arrogance you see in some of the Lata parents and kids. I think a big part of it comes from the Branchburg people that feel their kids are too good to mingle with the "lowlifes" of Somerville High. They make Lata something of a low-budget local prep school (complete with preppie look-down-your-nose attitude). Another and lesser part of it comes from the moral superiority you sometimes see in the religiously devout. No matter what happens there these people will never say a word against IHS. And when Lata has a sports team that does well, a lot of people in the Lata crowd like to pretend it has more to do with the school and it's coaching staff or something in the water than the fact that they draw players from a large surrounding area, which is a big advantage that public schools don't have. The logic is similar to that of the school's claim that 100% of its grads go on to college (or so they say), hence they must provide a better education. Let's get real. Not many parents are going to lay out $8K or whatever it is these days to send a kid to a private school unless they are getting good enough grades to go on to college. Moreover, a parent who has $8K for high school tuition is going to have the money to send a kid on to college later on. So it's not as much about the quality of the education delivered as it is that the student body is filtered through the money net and academically weak ones are weeded out in advance. That's pretty much how the sports programs work, too. And besides that, everybody in this area knows somebody that has sent a kid to Immaculata and has stories to tell about how there's a priveleged group of insiders (children of the staff, kids that have had brothers and sisters go through the place ahead of them, kids that have come up through the catholic education system, etc.) that win all the prizes for reasons that often have nothing to do with talent or ability. I have no personal knowledge that any of these individual stories are true, but I have to believe that underneath all that smoke (and there is a lot of it) there's at least a little bit of fire. Yeah, keep believing we're all envious. And before you go off an label me a "Lata hater," I'm really not. I know there are a lot of nice parents and kids affiliated with the school. Probably most of them, in fact. But there's also a core of nasty, arrogant, superiority you don't find to the same extent in the public schools (with the possible exception of Montgomery ha ha). Anyway, I'm just tired of hearing from you people about how we're all jealous, another way of saying you have something we wish we had, when in fact if we really wanted it so bad we could write a check and buy it just like you did. You're the ones that make it seem like cheering for a Lata sports team is like cheering for the bad guys.
This is about Girls Basketball not your view on catholic schools. I am not from Lata and have no children that went or go there. However I know many people affiliated with Lata. I am from Hunterdon County and have a close freind who had a child go to Lata instead of Hunterdon Central. Hunterdon Central is one of the richest counties in the state and there child still chose to go to Immaculata. Its a good school and a close community. Yes there are nasty and arrogant people that go there and root for there teams, but come on you will find that at any school private and public. However there are truly good people that are Lata fans coaches, teachers etc. I give there coaches a lot of credit they hardly make any money to coach those teams and they dedicate alot of time doing it. There are some coaches over there that have truly touched the lives of some of those kids. Back off the school because every school in this state can be picked apart. Keep this about basketball or keep your bitter views to yourself!
Hey Branchburg "hater" I have a screen name you should use,,,it's "bigot". You forgot to add that we're inbred and do devil worship! Figuring that rhetoric is indicative of character , thanks for confirming that even though I'm a hypocritical, racist, unsportsmanlike snob that I am superior to "low lifes" like you. Ryan, now you have an idea from where the accusations of favortism came from. Sheesh!!!
Who cares who the player of the year is? Who cares what the C-N says? It's not like they are writing anything bad about anyone. Is it really so important to people that some kid gets mentioned in a local paper? In 2 years who is going to remember anyway? As for Immaculata, my daughter played there this past season before dropping out because of illness. I'm from Hunterdon County and don't know much about Somerset County rivalries and sports politics. I can tell you that her team has been very supportive of her, and I have found my fellow parents to be kind and concerned. Some of them exceptionally so. People are the same everywhere. There are always a few bad ones, but most of them are good. Thanks, Lata parents and other friends.
I can't believe what I'm actually reading in this blog. I've been checking here lately just to see what's being said about basketball and to have it change to hating an area or a school is completely off mark. I'm from Hunterdon also and my two girls go to IHS. Not because we're rich, not because we're snobs but because of their education and future. As a matter of fact it costs more to send our children to our public school through taxes per pupil than to send them to IHS. We have made many friends at IHS especially from Branchburg. Stop making this about religion and school and start getting back to what the blog is about - POY and that person should be Linsay. The loss of her and the other two seniors, Kate and Kristy, will be felt most by not only their teammates but their friends. The team - as well as their stat people and JV players have a closeness that other teams wish they had. They went so far because they worked together. No one wanted to be the star they just wanted to keep playing TOGETHER! They didn't lose by 20 to MC because of refs, they were genuinely upset about their teammate. They tried but MC is a great team that had a better game. (Though there was some major pushing on their part) I have a tape to prove it. IHS as well as all the other teams in our area that made it as far should be very proud of their accomplishments this year. I hope next year proves the same.
That was a nice post by Spartan mom. Unfortunately she proved everyone right when even in a nice post about teamwork,togetherness,unity,concern for their teammate did you notice that she had to get that one thing in..."(Though there was some major pushing on their part) I have a tape to prove it". No disrespect to spartan mom, but this is exactly what people have a problem with regarding people from Immaculata. Her e-mail was going so well and then she turned into a typical Immaculata parent without even realizing it. You people will go to your grave saying that the refs were the reason that you lost to MC. Please stop it. It's okay to lose to a better team. Look at Somerville. They had a very nice season similar to Immaculata and then they lost to Rumson who is one of FOUR TEAMS left in the TOC. The reason that these kind of teams are ranked so high in the state is because they are very tough and strong. I feel bad for Melone that she got hurt, but please stop bringing the refs into it. It puts a downer on the year that the kids had and also downplays the significance of Melone's injury in that game which from what I understand was the REAL reason that they lost, not the refs. Oh and by the way, I understand that they were concerned about Melone's injury, but let's be honest, without her, they are not that good. The other kids play hard, but other than Bay, the others are not real talented players(not to put them down, but just to be honest). THAT is the reason that Melone should win POY. Now, just as spartan mom said, let's end all of this. Somerville and Immacualata should be happy. They both have two of the best coaches in the area, who have both turned their programs around in only two years. I think it should be Hilgneberg #1 and Swan right behind her as a close second for COY.
omigosh.."not to put the other one's down", no way can a team get far with just two talented players...jealous much?? Bet ur the poster who trashed Lata. Ville blamed their BR loss on the refs, so give me a break, you would use any excuse to trash Lata,,,you definitely have a bias..look in the mirror!!!
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