SURVIVE AND ADVANCE
It's that time of year once again! The city playoffs are here and it's time to separate the contenders and pretenders. The seedings have been determined, here's a review of the top four seeded squads:
#1 seed: South Shore
After taking their lumps early, the Vikings have lived up to the hype as the team to beat in the PSAL. While Lincoln was stung by PSAL technicalities, South Shore reclaimed Brooklyn and began playing their best basketball at the right time. They are stepping into the playoffs boasting an extremely athletic squad that is balanced with both deceptive guards and bruising big men. Leading the charge will be a four headed monster of Kadary Richmond, Femi Odukale, Sekou Sylla, and Isaiah Richards. What separates this team is its role players though. Studs like Kareem May and Dwight Davis Jr can do work and change the course of the game.
#2 seed: Jefferson
Jefferson is loaded with talent and toughness, especially in their freshman wunderkind Jaquan Carlos. They boast a solid resume against both PSAL and Catholic League teams, proving they can play with any high level team in the city. The only knock on the Orange Wave is their lack of experience. With the brightened lights of the city playoffs, we hope to see Jeff rise to the occasion and showcase their ability when it counts.
#3 seed: Cardozo
Cardozo hears it every year: The strength of schedule in Queens is weak, they haven't been tested, etc. The Judges did what they were supposed to do though, which was wipe the floor with the teams they had to play. They did take a loss to Jefferson a couple of months back, but we're pretty sure Coach Naclerio would much rather take that L in the regular season, than the playoffs. The Judges have been rolling even without their senior star Dejavaughn Utley who was out due to suspension. He's back now though, and for the rest of the city, that could be bad news.
#4 seed: Boys & Girls
Coach Ruth Lovelace has done a fantastic job with this Kangaroos squad, which lacks some of the high profile talent the school is known for, but boast a serious blue collar mentality. The squad clawed it's way to a 8-6 record in the Brooklyn AA, before getting hot and knocking off Jefferson on the road in the borough playoffs. The Roo's then ran into a brick wall in South Shore, but by then, they had already made a statement as a dangerous team to encounter in your bracket. Marcus Patterson and Richard Martelly are two standouts, but they can easily get hot and see contributions from all over.
Final thoughts and notes
While there are some elite level teams, there are none that are so far from the pack that they can't be beaten. Don't sleep on Lincoln, as Coach Tiny will surely reach into its bag of tricks when it matters most. The same can be said about Wings. While they're having a bad year, that winning tradition and experience is still alive. Recent borough champs like Eagle and WHEELS are both dangerous matchups, we expect them to come in with plenty of momentum and swagger. Lastly, teams like Paul Robeson and Brooklyn Collegiate are battle tested and can be a nightmare to face up against. Oh and Curtis has been on the cusp of something special for a while now, this may finally be the year that their dominance extends past Staten Island. Needless to say, we're in for one hell of a ride...
