North-South game

In case you haven't heard, North Hunterdon's Emily Tewksbury, Piscataway's Brittany Myatt and South Plainfield's Blaire Houston have been selected to the North-South All-Star game. Tewskbury will play for the North team against the two Middlesex County stars on the South side. The game is scheduled for 12 p.m. March 22 at the Ritacco Center in Toms River.

(For an update on the state tournament, scroll down to today's first post)

State update

To the poster who asked where the roundup from Wednesday's games are, I have attached the link below:

http://c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080228/SPORTS03/802280372/1013

To no surprise of mine, it has been an enormously successful first three days of the state tournament for local teams.
The area has only had seven teams (Plainfield, Mount St. Mary, South Hunterdon, Governor Livingston, North Plainfield, Franklin and Montgomery) eliminated, and North Plainfield and Franklin each lost to another local team (Somerville and Piscataway, respectively).
I attended three games so far (Montgomery vs. South Brunswick, South Plainfield vs. Union Hill and Somerville vs. North Plainfield) and must say I was wowed by South Plainfield's performance. I had not seen the Tigers play since late December and was surprised at just how good some of their lesser known players have gotten.
The Somerville vs. North Plainfield game was as good of game as I've seen all year for the following reasons:
1) The atmosphere was great. Both team's students and fans did a great job showing up and being loud.
2) It was competitive from start to finish, no big leads.
3) It was well-officiated. The free-throw disparity was huge, but that is not the officials' problem here. It was a result of Somerville attacking the basket and North Plainfield settling for too many jumpers.
This is a candidate for my "Game of the Year" in the postseason wrap-up.

Have you seen any really good games? Or really good plays? Tell me about them. I will be at Watchung Hills-Piscataway on Friday night and Saturday remains TBA.

Start talking state tournament...

You saw my bracket-by-bracket predictions and analysis in Saturday's Varsity section. Now it's time for you to tell me who you think is going to win what sections and why:

To review, I picked:

Piscataway in North 2 Group IV
Shabazz in North 2 Group III
Trenton in Central Jersey Group IV
Rumson Fair-Haven in Central Jersey Group II
Highland Park in Central Jersey Group I
Morris Catholic in Non-Public North A
Marist in Non-Public North B

My rankings of the five local teams with the best chance of winning a sectional title (in order):
1. Piscataway (North 2, Group IV)
2. Middlesex (Central Jersey Group I)
3. North Hunterdon (North 2, Group IV)
4. Watchung Hills (North 2, Group IV)
5. New Providence (Central Jersey Group I)

Congratulations to winners & a personal gripe

Congratulations to Hunterdon Central and Rutgers Prep on winning their respective county tournaments Saturday night. My preseason number one and three made me look good, and my preseason number two (Piscataway) and number five (Westfield) can keep it going today in their respective county finals.

But the real reason for this post is that I want to put out there something that the area coaches are to classy to talk about.
I thought the officiating in the Somerset County Tournament this season was notably disappointing.
People always say that officials are doing a good job if you are watching the game and don't notice they are there. Well, that was impossible in the SCT. Whether it was ticky-tack calls in crunch time or whistles blown every five seconds for an entire 32 minutes, the SCT officials certainly made their presence felt in every game I attended.
I admit I attend more SCT games than any other county tournament, but in the few games of the Union County Tournament and Hunterdon/Warren Tournament that I did see in person, this was not a problem.
Yet in the SCT, officials owned the spotlight. Officiating is a tough job and one I am not cut out for -- seriously, I did it for a while at the junior high school level and could not hack it -- it just seemed like the officials in this tournament played too big of a role in dictating outcomes.
Some examples:
-- Rutgers Prep shot 18 free throws to Watchung Hills' four in the SCT final.
-- Rutgers Prep had a similarly large advantage in free throws attempted (I don't have the exact numbers) against Franklin in the SCT semifinals.
-- While the foul calls were evenly distributed, there were far too many in the SCT semifinals between Bridgewater-Raritan and Watchung Hills. Several fans in the area of the stands where I was sitting could not believe how often one particular official blew the whistle. It literally was every possession down the stretch.

FOOTNOTE: This is not meant to taint Rutgers Prep's victory. I've said all year that I felt RP was the best team in Somerset County, and its method of attacking the rim certainly lends itself to attempting more free throws than its opponents. This is just a recurring theme I am left with after watching seven SCT games.
Care to comment?

County/Conference Finals Predictions

(THIS IS THE THIRD -- AND HOPEFULLY FINAL -- POST OF THE DAY. MAKE SURE YOU SKIM DOWN TO CHECK OUT THE OTHER TWO)

I'm hoping the tournament finals bring more juice to this blog than the semifinals did.
Debate with me. Debate with each other. That's what the comments section is for, but I urge you to hold off talking about the state tournament until Monday. It's too much for me to think about right now with a crazy weekend ahead.
Saturday's Varsity section will have scouting reports for each of the four games, a full story advance on the Somerset County Tournament final and a section-by-section preview of the state tournament.

Here is the link to the basketball podcast where boys basketball writer Jerry Carino and I talk about the games and mention the state tournament:
http://www.c-n.com/specialsections/podcasts/frezza/frezza0221.htm

Now for predictions. I warn you the scores might here be a little different than on the podcast, but I will keep the same winners. I threw those podcast scores out without much thought.

Somerset County Tournament final, 1 p.m. Saturday at Franklin High School:
Defense and rebounding will rule in this much-anticipated game. The fewer fouls whistled, the better the odds of a Watchung Hills victory.
***Rutgers Prep 49, Watchung Hills 44

Hunterdon/Warren Tournament final, 7 p.m. Saturday at Voorhees High School:
Hunterdon Central has the more talented roster, but picking against Voorhees in this game is dangerous. Carmen Cook's teams always overachieve and winning here would be another example of that.
***Hunterdon Central 46, Voorhees 42

Union County Tournament final, 3 p.m. Sunday at Roselle Catholic High School:
Westfield beat Elizabeth by double-digits twice during the regular season. I see no reason why this is different.
***Westfield 44, Elizabeth 34

Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament final, 1 p.m. Sunday at South Brunswick High School:
I've been saying it all season and some of you have been disputing it all season: Piscataway is very good. Good enough to make a run in the state tournament and definitely good enough to win a third straight GMCT crown.
Piscataway 66, Cardinal McCarrick 59

Hillsborough's Jim Reese retiring....

In case you missed it in Friday's papers -- which probably are buried under six inches of snow somewhere on your doorstep -- Hillsborough coach Jim Reese retired Thursday after 14 years at the post.

Here is my story with two quotes and Reese's record and background:

http://c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080222/SPORTS03/802220394/1013

Reese was great to me during my three years covering girls basketball. He would talk after a win or a loss, or I could call him at home anytime for a quote about anything. Personable coaches like him make my job easier and more enjoyable. He will be missed.
As my friend Geoff Mosher, who preceded me covering girls basketball and had the beat for six years, said upon hearing the news:
"They should hang his sweater from the rafters."

Reese's last act of good will as a head coach was to help me preview the Somerset County Tournament final. Hillsborough lost to Rutgers Prep and split two games against Watchung Hills this season. Here is what he said:

"The key for Rutgers Prep is if they don't turn it over a lot, I'd give them the edge. They have a freshman point guard (Jacquie Pizzuto) who is going to be a great player -- she is a very good player -- but she is a freshman in the finals for the first time."

"I would think that (Jessica) Zigarelli has to have a big game for Watchung Hills to win. She's the one player on their team can really step up and deliver a big game."

Key matchups: Forwards Stephanie Lupo (Watchung Hills) vs. Ranait Griff (Rutgers Prep) & point guards Susie Schaffer (Watchung Hills) vs. Jacquie Pizzuto (Rutgers Prep)

"I think given the two (Rutgers Prep's one senior but a deep bench versus Watchung Hills' five seniors and small bench) I like the depth factor, but you're talking to a coach who won two county championships in the last three years with no depth."

"I think (Watchung Hills coach) Sandy (Whelan) has done a great job. That program was terrible when she took over."

"Being in many finals, the one thing I've noticed is most of the time both teams play well."

Reschedulings....

All 3 girls basketball tournament finals scheduled for tonight have been rescheduled. Here is the new schedule:

Saturday:
Hunterdon/Warren Tournament
at Voorhees (site change)
Hunterdon Central vs. Voorhees, 7 pm

Sunay:
Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament
at South Brunswick High School (site change)
Piscataway vs. Cardinal McCarrick, 1 pm

Sunday:
Union Couny Tournament
at Roselle Catholic
Westfield vs. Elizabeth, 3 pm

Hunterdon/Warren Tournament quarterfinal results

1-North Hunterdon 45, 8-South Hunterdon 15
2-Hunterdon Central 71, 7-Warren Hills 22
3-Belvidere 62, 6-Delaware Valley 43
4-Voorhees 59, 4-Philipsburg 34

The Belvidere-Delaware Valley box score will not be in the paper because I did not get it until past deadline, but some highlights for the Terriers included 13 points by Candita Curcio and 10 rebounds by Chloe Early.

Voorhees-North Hunterdon and Belvidere-Hunterdon Central are the match-ups for Tuesday's semifinals at Hackettstown High School.

Somerset County Tournament semifinals predictions

Predictions are back...even though I am proving only to be good at picking the obvious winners and bad at guessing the upsets. I do deserve credit for trying to pick upsets, though, don't I? My record would be much better if I picked only the favorites.
That said, I will now pick the favorites, but I URGE YOU TO READ SATURDAY'S NEWSPAPER. It has much, much more on the games, including a coach's analysis for both games. I figure you are more likely to listen to a coach than to me.
Special thanks to Immaculata's Jen Hilgenberg and Gill St. Bernard's Mergin Sina for agreeing to help me with those scouting reports.

Rutgers Prep vs. Franklin, 2

Girls basketball might be a guard's game, but this match-up is for the forwards. There are quite a few on both sides (Darnae Beverley, Taylor Jeffers, Felicia Mgbada, Ranait Griff, Kelsey Rene, Ranjana Chakravarthy) capable of coming up big. Both teams have plenty of experience, too, and I am expecting an extremely well played game. I think it will be up for grabs with 2:00 to play, and the Argonauts execution in the halfcourt makes for the slimmest of differences.
Rutgers Prep 49, Franklin 48

Watchung Hills vs. Bridgewater-Raritan, 4

Before I knew anything about girls basketball in this area, Watchung Hills supposedly was a downtrodden program and Bridgewater-Raritan had a strong program. You can all verify that -- I have, no matter how difficult it is for me to believe. For the three years I've known Somerset County basketball, it's been the complete opposite. Watchung Hills has been knocking -- maybe even pounding -- on the door to the SCT final and Bridgewater-Raritan has immensly struggled. Would I be surprised if Bridgewater-Raritan played another great game with its nothing-to-lose underdog mentality? No. But I think the door opens this year for the Warriors.
Watchung Hills 52, Bridgewater-Raritan 41

Minor-league baseball: The Surf will do anything

Remember the Atlantic City Surf? They were the Somerset Patriots big Atlantic League rival before splitting for the shorter-season Can-Am League after the 2006 season. Well, here is something from The Associated Press that I read today:

"Gov. Jon S. Corzine's proposed toll hikes are influencing even minor league baseball.The Atlantic City Surf will refund the game-day tolls from the Atlantic City Expressway near Exit 4 for fans attending that night's game. Patrons will get $1 off the price of their game ticket, covering the 50-cent toll coming and going at the Pleasantville interchange.The Surf play at Bernie Robbins Stadium, just off Exit 2 on the expressway. The season starts in late May."

Somerset Patriots: Chiaravalloti inks deal

One day after the Somerset Patriots lost their first baseman from last season (Josh Pressley) to the Florida Marlins organization, the Patriots replaced Pressley with former Road Warrior Vito Chiaravolloti.
The slugger from Middletown is a graduate of Christian Brothers Academy and a former farmhand for the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles. He had a career year with the 2007 Road Warriors when he hit .296 with 32 doubles, 18 home runs and 91 RBIs. He also had more walks than strikeouts.
Here are some quotes from Chiaravalloti, who I spoke to Tuesday night via telephone:

"I was fortunate that I set myself up well with a good year and there were tons of teams calling."

"I wanted to play for Somerset all along and I was hoping they were going to come in with an offer. Once they expressed interest, all I needed to hear was that I was going to play every day. I felt in independent ball that's the best place to be. It's a beautfiul stadium, great fans and it's 30 minutes from my house. My family was real excited I was going to be close to home."

He said his disappointing stats from his two Double-A seasons, 2005 and 2006, were a case of injuries, namely a pulled oblique muscle and an elbow injury that required surgery

"Last year was important to me come out and I had to prove that, if I was healthy, I could still hit. Every year, I was healthy I've made an All-Star team in what ever league I've played in."

"It was a matter of me getting back on the map. I think Somerset is going to be the perfect place for me to hopefully make a splash."

"I told my agent I don't like playing the game of wait until the last second and scrounge for a team. Number one, I don't think it's fair to the teams to lead them on. Also, for myself, I want to put my mind at ease that this is where I'm going to play this year. I have a place and I'm ready to go

On being with the Road Warriors:
"I really did enjoy that. I learned a lot about myself and what it takes to grind out a season. For me, it was an experience I'm glad I had, but you only want to have once. The majority of the time you're there just there to lose, so it's nice to have some expectations, and try to win a championship."

Somerset Patriots: Pressley to the Marlins

Somerset Patriots first baseman/designated hitter Josh Pressley has inked a deal with the Florida Marlins and will report next Monday to spring training with the Triple-A team. He was planning on returning to Somerset for a second season and had even begun recruiting other players to the team before the Marlins called.
Pressley hit .281 with 92 hits, 18 doubles, 13 home runs, and 55 RBI in 327 at bats over 102 games played for the 2007 Patriots. During the playoffs, Pressley hit .333 with eight hits, two home runs,and six RBI in six post-season games.
In a gutsy move that proved his desire to win and loyalness to the team, Pressley, who played through various injuries most of the season, delayed knee surgery needed at the end of the regular season until after the season so that he could participate in the postseason.
He was a fan and media favorite for his work ethic and approachability.
Pressley has experience in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, New York Mets, KansasCity Royals, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, and Florida Marlins organizations. He began the 2006 season at the Triple-A level for the Red Sox, then split the rest of the season in Double-A for the Cardinals and Marlins, who liked him enough to re-sign him Monday.
I talked to Pressley over the phone for a few minutes after the the deal was announced and here is what he said:

"I know a lot of guys in their front office. It's a real opportunity to play every day in Triple-A. Spring training is only 35 minutes from my house (in Florida) so it's a really good fit."

"It was going to take a very good opportunity to get me away from Somerset. I just wanted to go into an opportunity where I was going to get to compete and be at as high a level as I was in Somerset."

"I'm at the point in my career where I need to know I'm going to be getting at-bats."

"It was hard for me to make that call to (general manager) Pat (McVerry) and to (director of player procurement) Brett (Jodie) and to tell them. But they were great. They said, 'This is what we're here for.' Their support even now has just been amazing."

"It's going to be weird not playing there. I wish I could play there and at the same time have the opportunity that the Marlins are offering. Unfortunately but fortunately I had to move on."

"When they brought me in to their Double-A team (in 2006) I wasn't really prepared. When they brought me in (this time) they said, 'We know you didnt really have a opporunity here.' I have a relationship with them which is important. It's really all about relationships, and I've know these guys going all the way back to my Devil Rays days."

"The whole (Somerset) atmosphere was so refreshing. It got me back to loving the game of baseball."

"I had every intention of coming back (to Somerset). I've been recruiting. After I had my surgery and came out on other side it was a question of 'How was it going to feel after my third knee surgery.' It felt better than it did all year.'"

Hunterdon/Warren Tournament seeds

I think these are the seeds in the HWT as decided by the coaches Sunday afternoon. I say "think" because a colleague called me but I had trouble hearing the message and no coaches called me. If I hear that I'm wrong, I'll make the changes ASAP.
I must admit that I was surprised that Belvidere jumped ahead of Voorhees even though Belvidere is undefeated and Voorhees has six losses. I thought the level of competition faced made enough of a difference.
That's enough of my thoughts, what do you think of this tournament? It's only a 10-teamer, but some of the best basketball in the area is played out west.

1. North Hunterdon
2. Hunterdon Central
3. Belvidere
4. Voorhees
5. Phillipsburg
6. Delaware Valley
7. Warren Hills
8. South Hunterdon
9. Hackettstown
10. North Warren

HWT ballot and SCT Quarterfinals Predictions

Here is my ballot for the Hunterdon/Warren Tournament, which gets seeded Sunday. If you want analysis on why I placed teams where, you will have to read the girls basketball notebook in Saturday's paper. It is addressed.

1. Hunterdon Central; 2. North Hunterdon; 3. Voorhees; 4. Belvidere; 5. Phillipsburg; 6. Warren Hills; 7. Delaware Valley; 8. South Hunterdon; 9. North Warren; 10. Hackettstown.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS:

I'll give you a score and one or sentences on each game, but, again, for more in-depth analysis...wait for it...wait for it...READ THE NOTEBOOK. I can't give everything away without getting the company 50 cents in return.

Rutgers Prep 56, North Plainfield 42: A close game initially, Rutgers Prep eventually wears down North Plainfield.

Watchung Hills 50, Immaculata 47: Be careful picking a blowout here. Immaculata plays its best basketball at this time of year on Saturdays and will be hungry to make up for Thursday night's 12-point output.

Montgomery 46, Bridgewater-Raritan 39: This is one of those "How difficult is it to beat a team three times in the same season?" kind of games. I say difficult. But not difficult enough for an upset.

Gill St. Bernard's 64, Franklin 62: To be honest, I don't have any inkling who is going to win this game, and that is why I am picking it close. Franklin can run with Gill St. Bernard's in a way not many teams can, so how will the Knights react to that?

GMC Tournament seeds announced today

The following is from my colleague Mark Spivey at the Home News Tribune:

The two-time defending champion Piscataway High School girls basketball team was awarded the No. 1 seed for the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament for the third straight year with the event was seeded at East Brunswick High School Friday morning.

The Chiefs wrapped up their Red Division schedule a perfect 14-0 by beating East Brunswick on Thursday. New Brunswick and Cardinal McCarrick, which finished undefeated in the White and Blue Division play, respectively, received the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds. None of the top three seeds have gone head-to-head this season.

Five of last season's top six seeds were also seeded within the top six this time around, with South Brunswick and South Plainfield going fourth and fifth.The tournament will commence with a single play-in game between No. 25 South River and No. 24 J.P. Stevens tomorrow and will include eight first-round games on Monday and second-round games on Wednesday.

The quarterfinals will be played at South Brunswick High School on Saturday, Feb. 16; the semis will be played at Middlesex County College on Monday, Feb. 18; and the final is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway.

The seeds:

1. Piscataway (16-6)

2. New Brunswick (16-2)

3. Cardinal McCarrick (19-2)

4. South Brunswick (12-7)

5. South Plainfield (11-7)

6. Colonia (12-7)

7. Woodbridge (14-7)

8. South Amboy (11-7)

9. Bishop Ahr (14-6)

10. East Brunswick (11-9)

11. Edison (10-10)

12. Middlesex (14-7)

13. Spotswood (12-7)

14. North Brunswick (7-8)

15. Sayreville (9-10)

16. Perth Amboy (6-11)

17. Highland Park (13-6)

18. Old Bridge (8-13)

19. Carteret (6-13)

20. Monroe (4-17)

21. Dunellen (11-7)

22. Metuchen (4-16)

23. J.F. Kennedy (3-18)

24. J.P. Stevens (2-19)

25. South River (1-20)

Union County Tournament seeds announced today

Here are the Union County Tournament seeds:

17-Roselle vs. 16-Benedictine, winner vs 1-Linden; 9-Governor Livingston vs. 8-Plainfield; 21-Roselle Park vs. 12-Dayton, winner vs. 5-Roselle Catholic; 20-Union vs. 13-Union Catholic, winner vs. 4-Elizabeth; 19-Oak Knoll vs. 14-Summit, winner vs. 3-A.L. Johnson; 22-Brearley vs. 11-Hillside, winner vs. 6-Scotch Plains-Fanwood; 23-Rahway vs. 10-Cranford, winner vs. 7-New Providence; 18-Kent Place vs. 15-Mother Seton, winner vs. 2-Westfield.

You Union County readers have quite te challenge ahead of you. I've had two posts about the Somerset County Tournament generate 30 and 21 comments, respectively. That's quite a lot for a blog of this nature. Can you Union County readers meet that challenge and prove there is as much interest in what happens in that tournament as in the SCT?

P.S. Thank you Terence for the early post on the top nine seeds.

Weekend Review

So I went 3-for-4 on my Somerset County Tournament predictions as Immaculata, North Plainfield, Bridgewater-Raritan and Gill St. Bernard's advanced. The only one I got wrong was picking Hillsborough to beat Gill St. Bernard's, which is ironic because early in the season I was on the Gill bandwagon, saying "Gill and Rutgers Prep could meet in the SCT final" to several of my colleagues.

Also, let us make sure not to lose track of big wins by South Hunterdon and Plainfield on Saturday that qualified both schools for the state tournament at exactly .500. Timothy Christian had an opportunity to do the same this weekend but finished one game under .500 thanks to a loss to Ross Corners (N.Y.) on Friday night. The Tigers responded with a too-little too-late win Saturday afternoon.

***A major theme during and after the game was the play of Immaculata sophomore point guard Shauna Mulkerin, who reminded reporters, fans and both coaches of former Somerville native and Immaculata star Lindsay Melone.
Melone owned the Somerville-Immaculata rivalry for the past four years, not just with points, assists and steals, but with savvy, unheralded little plays.
Mulkerin -- who even looks a little like Melone -- did those same things Saturday during an 18-point effort, and the comparisons couldn't be helped.
I chatted with Melone, who was in the stands as a fan, after the game but did not ask her about Mulkerin.
Hilgenberg did mention after the game that she thinks Mulkerin greatly benefited from battling one-on-one in practice against Melone, who told me she has left Richmond University where she started the year as a walk-on and is attending Delaware.

Here are some leftover quotes from the Immaculata-Somerville game that I attended Saturday night but wrote only a few paragraphs about because of the late starting time.

JEN HILGENBERG, IMMACULATA COACH:

"It was just a huge game for them (our players) because we've been struggling all year. And it's Somerville-Immaculata. They are just more pumpe dcup when it comes to play Somerville."

On her team:
"When they play intense, they are a very good team."

IMMACULATA SENIOR GUARD BRITTANY MUSCATELL

"I've never lost to Somerville and I never want. I told them (my teammates) that. This is a game you don't want to lose. It's all about pride."

On scoring eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter, all from the free-throw line:
"I couldn't score earlier in the game, but free throws are an important part of the game."

SOMERVILLE COACH CORBY SWAN

On Mulkerin:
"I've never seen her play like that. She picked a great game to play like that."

"I can't make it anything else (than just any another game). I can't allow this game to deter our path. We still have the conference and the states to worry about."

Upset Alert

Here are my picks for Somerset County Tournament second-round action Saturday:
(Every year I pick at least one major upset at this level and I've never been correct)

9-North Plainfield (46), 8-Mount St. Mary (42)
The Canucks won the first meeting by three points and Noelle Hynes and Lori Nieves are playing too well right now.

10-Immaculata (39), 7-Somerville (36)
When is Somerville going to beat Immaculata? The Pioneers struggles in this rivalry are well documented (1o straight losses and its uglier if you go back further). They might have the better team, but psychological roadblocks can be tough to overcome and the Spartans won the first meeting a few weeks back.

6-Bridgewater-Raritan (51), 11-Pingry (34)
The Panthers won last season's meeting in the first round of the tournament by 28 points and were nowhere near as good of a team as they are right now. That spells trouble for the Big Blue. Do I expect Pingry to lose by 28 or more? No. Do I expect Pingry to win? Definitely not.

AND THE BIG ONE...

12-Hillsborough (66), 5-Gill St. Bernard's (60)
It would mark the second consecutive season that the 12th seed has beaten the fifth seed in this tournament. The only question is whether or not Hillsborough can score enough points to win a high-scoring game because Gill St. Bernard's is going to get its points. My feeling is the Raiders are a team you don't want to play right now, having won three of four, including beating Watchung Hills. And, as one opposing coach said to me this coach, the mere presence of veteran Hillsborough coach Jim Reese is worth a few points on the scoreboard.