Groups II and III Preview

Back again with a preview of Groups II and III today. I never gave my predictions for the GMC Semis yesterday, but I would've went 2-0 with St. Joe's and Piscataway advancing to the final tomorrow night at Rutgers. Anyway onto Group II...

The Favorites

North I, Group II-No one
North II, Group II-Newark Central
Central, Group II-Ewing, Raritan
South, Group II-Middle Twp, Haddonfield, Lakewood

Dark Horses

North I, Group II-Manchester Regional
North II, Group II-Newark Tech, Orange
Central, Group II-Rumson-Fair Haven
South, Group II-Cinnaminson, Lower Cape May

Long Shots

North I, Group II-Pascack Hills, Englewood, Hopatcong, Pequannock, Mountain Lakes, Elmwood Park
North II, Group II-Madison, Ridgefield Park, Rutherford, Cliffside Park
Central, Group II-Shabazz, Matawan, Governor Livingston, Carteret, Roselle
South, Group II-While there are a couple clear favorites in South Group II, the rest of the bracket perhaps might be the most contentious in the state. There are 8 teams ranked within 8 points of each other. Those long shots would be Lower Cape May, Willingboro, Pt Pleasant Boro, Bridgeton, Haddon Heights, Collingswood, Pleasantville, and Sterling

No Shot

North I, Group II-Wallkill Valley, North Warren, Lenape Valley, Ramsey, Pompton Lakes, Westwood, Newton, River Dell, New Milford
North II, Group II-Hackettstown, Bernards, Garfield, Hanover Park, Lincoln, West Essex, Caldwell, Fort Lee, Parsippany
Central, Group II-Middlesex, Shore, Robbinsville, Delaware Valley, North Plainfield, Spotswood, Hillside, Johnson
South, Group II-Medford Tech, Barnegat, Overbrook, Pennsauken Tech

Most of the favorites in Group II are very similar. They all ahve decent guards but the area where they most stand out is their height. Teams like Lakewood have multiple guys 6'4 or taller. Newark Central blew out most of their Essex County competition, but lost by 45 to a little above average team in Camden Catholic. They lost by 7 to Paramus Catholic, so they have experience playing good teams. They do have a loaded team though, with 5 guys having 177 or more points this season. Ramon Johnson, Patrick Cole and Daquan Jones are the stars of this team and ahve helped give Central a 22-5 record. They have a very very favorable sectional draw and shouldn't really receive much of a test from anyone. All three of them are seniors as well which will make them an even tougher out knowing there's no tomorrow. I would be shocked if they didn't represent North I/North II in the sectional final.

A team that has really come a long way in a short amount of time is Ewing. They have been one of the top seeds continuously over the last few years or so. Another interesting thing is the fact as far as I know, the coach is the only woman I've seen coach a boys high school basketball game, so she serves as a type of mother figure to the players, some of which come from broken homes and poorer families. They are another team who shouldn't get tested till Rumson in the sectional semis and who knows how much they'll have left in them after making an improbable run to the Shore Conference final as a 13 seed. Ewing is a very athletic talented team and matches up well against most teams they would see. Dontae' Jones and Darryl Griffin are their best players and are the main reasons they are 20-4. Jones is a 6-5 junior forward so I'm sure he's receiving division 1 looks and Griffin is a fast guard who is capable of having big games.

What could be the Shore Conference Champs a day from tonight is Raritan. Winning the Shore Conference is a hell of an accomplishment yet they still seem like they are flying under the radar and people are underestimating them. Looking at their draw however, I feel their chance for an upset is higher than Ewing's. The emotional run to the championship for Raritan has to had take a toll on them and I think they could be prime for an upset in the second or third round vs. Matawan or Shabazz. On paper, you have to like their chances to potentially win it all. But teams who win counties rarely go deep in states and I just think this team may fall on its face.

North I, Group II
North II, Group II
Central, Group II
South, Group II