March 29, 2006
Dropping the curtain on another CAL hoop season
By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist
High school basketball in New Jersey ended recently with a doubleheader in the
Meadowlands. One team from the Cape-Atlantic League - Absegami's girls - was just
a win away from the final game for the second straight year. All that is left now
are the CAL All Star Games, which will be held at Ocean City High School on April
8, and the 2005-06 season will find its permanent place in history.
And it will go down as another terrific season with three South Jersey champions
(Gami plus the boys from Atlantic City and Wildwood Catholic) and two other teams
(Ocean City and Holy Spirit girls) in the South Jersey finals. In addition, two
players (AC's Tasha Cannon and Gami's Krissy Rosario) reached the rare 1,000
points/1,000 rebounds level for their careers.
However, before we put this CAL season into the books, it is time for our
basketball buffet, a list of the best of the just completed season from one point
of view.
So, here we go.
ALL CAPE-ATLANTIC BOYS: Dennis Horner, Holy Spirit; Charles Johnson, Lower
Cape May; Andrew Keister, Absegami; Anthony Raffa, Wildwood Catholic; Frank
Turner, Atlantic City.
ALL CAPE-ATLANTIC GIRLS: Tara Booker, Absegami; Tasha Cannon, Atlantic City;
Jaleesa Coleman, Pleasantville; Sara Mostafa, Absegami; Jordan Sykes, Holy Spirit.
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: Frank Turner and Tasha Cannon.
EARLY 2007-08 ALL-CAL BOYS TEAM: B.J. Bailey, Holy Spirit; Ryan Brooks, Oakcrest;
Brandon Jones, St. Augustine; Norman White, St. Joseph; Eric Williams, Mainland.
EARLY 2007-08 ALL-CAL GIRLS TEAM: Tara Booker, Absegami; Jesse Frazier, Holy
Spirit; Sara Mostafa, Absegami; Sally O'Donnell, Wildwood Catholic; Nancy White,
Ocean City.
ALL TRANSFER TEAM: Dan Anderson, Egg Harbor Township (from St. Augustine); John
Farlow, Lower Cape May (from Cape May Tech); Arielle Froumy, Holy Spirit (from
Sacred Heart); Teena Marsh, Holy Spirit (from Sacred Heart); Cliff Spiller, Holy
Spirit (from Pleasantville). Special out-of-CAL mention - Jasmine Crew, Camden
Catholic (from Holy Spirit).
CAL BOYS COACH OF THE YEAR: For the first time in its history, Holy Spirit won
the boys basketball championship of the Cape-Atlantic League. The team finished
the season with just three losses - a two-point decision to Paterson Catholic in
the Battle by the Bay, a controversial buzzer-beater defeat to Shawnee and a
four-overtime loss to St. Joseph of Metuchen in the NJSIAA tournament. Surely
there is a touch of frustration at Spirit about what might have been with three
additional well-placed buckets. And there were some personnel problems during the
season. But Tom Attanasi and the Spirit coaching staff kept this team together to
produce the greatest season in Spartan history. Attanasi earned the nod as coach
of the year.
CAL GIRLS COACH OF THE YEAR: They weren't the best team in a league filled with
some of South Jersey's best teams. But they scratched out 22 wins, the most in
school history, and, without a double-figure scorer, used their defensive
intensity and crisp passing to go undefeated in their division and march to the
South Jersey championship game. They finished with a loss but had a chance to tie
heavily-favored Woodrow Wilson at the buzzer in that championship contest. For
keeping his team focused and believing in each other, the nod for coach of the
year goes to Ocean City's Paul Baruffi.
BOYS GAME OF THE YEAR: You could pick any number of Wildwood Catholic games,
including some of the thrillers in their march to the state final. And Ocean City
had two overtime games and seven others that went down to the last shot. Atlantic
City and Holy Spirit played twice and both went to the wire. And the early
match-up between Atlantic City and Haddonfield created great interest. But there
is no other choice as the season's best game than Holy Spirit's crushing
four-overtime loss to St. Joseph of Metuchen in the NJSIAA Tournament. Even PA
announcer Bob Derbyshire and radio play-by-play guy Tony Blum were reaching for
words to describe the action, sparked by an incredible shooting demonstration by
Spirit junior Brian Crilley.
GIRLS GAME OF THE YEAR: There were some good ones during the regular season -
Ocean City-Atlantic City, Mainland-Wildwood and Pleasantville-Mainland come to
mind. The Absegami-Camden Catholic showdown was widely anticipated but lost a
little luster when Gami had to play short-handed. In the tournament there was
Holy Spirit-Red Bank Catholic, Ocean City-Woodrow Wilson and Absegami-Shabazz.
But the game of the year, the one that may be best remembered, was Gami against
Christ the King. The Braves played the nation's best team so well that Christ the
King was actually using clock in the fourth period. It was the first time an area
team had played Christ the King so tough and it rewarded those who packed the
Ventnor Education Community Center. Last weekend, by the way, Christ the King
clinched its second straight national No. 1 ranking by winning its 57th straight
and finishing undefeated.
The Cape-Atlantic League basketball season was great again in 2005-06. There are
many young players returning again, so things figure to be just as good next year.
And, just think, it all starts in less than 40 weeks.
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Tom Williams' columns