February 6, 2002
OC girls will be on the road in Group 3 opener
By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist
That loud sigh you heard last Saturday night came from high school basketball coaches. The NJSIAA
deadline had passed and they had either qualified or not qualified for the tournament. Either way, the
pressure was off for another year.
With a few exceptions, these coaches construct their schedules to have the best possible chance of
qualifying for the NJSIAA tournament and, if possible, getting a game or two at home by trying to limit
tough games in the first six weeks of the season.
Unfortunately, this eliminates some great games that cannot be squeezed into the few weeks between the
cutoff date and the end of the regular season.
There are some of us who wish all high schools could play in the basketball tournament. It was like that
until the late 1970s when a minimum of .500 was first required. It dropped to .400 for a season or two, then
was eliminated again for a year before the .500 requirement was reinstated.
Opening the tournament to all teams would eliminate “not before the cutoff” from the language of coaches.
It would only add one round to the entire tournament and would give every team a goal at the end of the
season. It would be especially fair to small schools that might struggle with bigger schools in their league
but could compete with schools their own size in the tournament, if they could just qualify. And it would
reduce the impact of early-season injuries.
But, lets be honest, no change is imminent. So, lets accept that fact and take a quick look at some of this
year’s probable pairings as they impact the 13 boys teams and 11 girls teams from the Cape-Atlantic
League who qualified.
The Ocean City girls, back in the field after a one-year absence, are likely to visit Deptford in a first round
game. That is not too bad. But the winner of that game will visit No. 1 seeded and undefeated Willingboro
in the second round. Willingboro is paced by 6-2 sophomore Crystal Langhorne, the most devastating
inside player in South Jersey, and should be quite a challenge.
Holy Spirit’s boys, who upset St. Augustine in the week before the cutoff, seem to have gotten a tougher
draw because of the win. The Spartans will probably open against Christian Brothers Academy in the first
round with the winner going to Camden Catholic. The Prep should open at Msgr. Donovan with Notre
Dame probably waiting in the wings.
The Wildwood girls are No. 1 seeds and Holy Spirit No. 2. Spirit will open against the St. John
Vianney-Donovan winner. Wildwood should meet the Gloucester-Glassboro winner. But neither the Holy
Spirit nor Wildwood girls will have to play a game on their opponent’s court.
Atlantic City’s boys, South Jersey finalists the last two years, should open at home against Millville
The winner should visit Southern.
Egg Harbor Township’s boys might have an interesting situation in Group 3. George McNally’s Eagles will
probably play the winner of the first round game between Woodrow Wilson and defending champion
Camden. These two teams have not had the impressive seasons expected of them, mostly because of
academic ineligibility. But most of the regular players who have been ineligible all season, are expected
back this week. If they do return, EHT could be in for a serious test right off the bat.
Oakcrest, which hasn’t won a tournament game since 1978, should get its chance to end that streak of
frustration (during which it has lost five straight games) against Camden County Tech. Mainland,
incidentally, qualified for the Group 3 Tournament for the fourth straight year by beating Oakcrest and
should open at Highland.
Among other streaks, the Middle Township boys have qualified 25 straight years and Pleasantville 11
straight. Atlantic City and St. Augustine have never failed to qualify. Hammonton’s boys have failed 10
straight years and Cape May Tech came close but failed to make it for the first time.
Among girls teams, Mainland made it for an 18th straight year, Holy Spirit for the seventh and Absegami
the sixth. Middle Township’s 24-year streak and Wildwood Catholic’s five-year streak have both ended.
Pleasantville failed for the 14th straight season, Buena for the ninth and Oakcrest the seventh.
The official pairings should be announced within a week, allowing time for records to be double-checked
and compared for tie-breaking purposes.
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There was great basketball over the weekend at Atlantic City High School during the annual Battle by the
Bay. Some of the best teams and players in the East demonstrated their skills before good crowds.
That starts off February’s impressive list of basketball showcases and playoffs in Atlantic County.
This weekend the spotlight shines on Mainland, which offers 12 games over Saturday and Sunday
featuring top teams from the tri-state area like Marlboro, Our Lady of Lourdes, Archbishop Carroll, Toms
River South, Rumson-Fair Haven, Red Bank Catholic and Gloucester Catholic. The lineup also includes
CAL powers Wildwood, Holy Spirit, Absegami, Sacred Heart, Lower Cape May, Ocean City, St. Joseph
and Mainland.
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