And what a hectic week of girls hoops it was.
First, THANK YOU to all the coaches, assistants coaches, players, scorekeepers, team managers, parents, etc. who call in games. I know our early deadlines (9:45 p.m.) have been tough on you, but you are doing a great job. We are getting more night time girls basketball games in the paper than only other sport.
Second, the girls basketball notebook will be running on Saturdays in our new VARSITY pullout section. Notebooks for all sports run on the same day in that section. Also, Friday night game stories will be in VARSITY, too. So don't thumb through the sports section and figure something went wrong. Look for VARSITY.
Here are some of my thoughts, but for more, read the notebook.
-- Thursday and Friday night I saw two very team-oriented victories. Watchung Hills and Somerville both graduated star players last season, but appear to have adjusted well to their makeover. Interestingly, both teams won by the same score, 44-36.
-- I'm hearing good things about Immaculata's Shauna Mulkerin. The Spartans are 0-3, but people I have talked to who have seen them say Mulkerin is a young Lindsay Melone in the making. That's a scary thought for opposing teams during the next three years.
-- Who is the best team in Somerset County? It's no clear now than it was during the preseason. I have my thoughts, but I'll keep those to myself. You can debate that it is any of four or five teams. And please do, in the comments section.
-- My Top 10 looks surprisingly similar to my first Top 10. I guess I'm more clued in than I give myself credit for.
-- Here is my probable coverage schedule for holiday tournament week:
Dec. 26: Immaculata vs. Piscataway AND South Plainfield vs. Delaware Valley
Dec. 27: Plainfield vs. Franklin
Dec. 29 Dunellen Tournament consolation and championship games
Before that, I'll be covering Voorhees-Rutgers Prep on Saturday afternoon. It should be a very good matchup. As they did last season, the Vikings are surprising me. I clearly underrated them. Rutgers Prep has yet to play a local team, so it is a good chance to see how it measures up.
PREDICTION: Rutgers Prep 48, Voorhees 39
WHY? Junior center Felicia Mgbada will be too much to handle in the post and the quickness of the Argonauts' guards will too many cause problems in the full court.
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2 comments:
Top 5 in Somerset County:
1. Watchung Hills
2. Rutgers Prep
3. Montgomery
4. Somerville
5. Franklin
Unlike last year, there really is no top team or teams. The county is wide open.
And I'd also say watch out for Bridgewater and Gill St. Bernards.
Looks like major rebuilding years for Hillsborough and Immaculata at this point, but it's a little early to say this for certain.
With the "bigger" schools having lost many quality players, this could be the year for "smaller" schools like Rutgers Prep and Somerville to go far, and possibly even win, the county title.
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