BCL Playoff Headlines
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The postseason is upon us and now that Mount St. Joseph has claimed the MIAA A Conference title, it’s now time to turn the attention to the prestigious Baltimore Catholic League tournament where eight teams will battle it out for…
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Continue ReadingThe postseason is upon us and now that Mount St. Joseph has claimed the MIAA A Conference title, it’s now time to turn the attention to the prestigious Baltimore Catholic League tournament where eight teams will battle it out for supremacy. For this article, I’ll take a look at some headlines surrounding the teams competing and their current outlooks.
Can St. Frances regroup?
The Panthers were 31-3 coming into the last week of the regular season before losing two of their last three games in that final week. They followed that up with an opening round loss that is arguably the biggest upset of the season after Gilman stormed back to win by one in the MIAA Quarterfinal game in St. Frances’ gym. Head coach Nick Myles then found out that he will be without the services of 2024 guard Daquan Davis Daquan Davis 6'1" | PG Overtime Elite (GA) | 2024 #119 Nation GA for the rest of the season after suffering a fractured radius during the loss to Gilman. This all leads up to stating that St. Frances isn’t in a great place at the moment despite entering the BCL Tournament as the No. 1 seed. The shouldn’t have an issue handling No. 8 Calvert Hall in the first round, but then they’ll have to face the winner of Mount Carmel/Archbishop Spalding, both of which are looking to revenge losses taking in the MIAA playoffs (Mount Carmel lost in the championship while Spalding lost in the semifinal round). Their fate now rests on the shoulders of ’22 Bryce Lindsay Bryce Lindsay 6'2" | CG St. Frances | 2022 State MD (South Carolina commit), ’22 Cortez Johnson Cortez Johnson 6'7" | PF St. Frances | 2022 State MD (UNC-G commit), ’23 Jahnathan Lamothe Jahnathan Lamothe 6'3" | CG St. Frances | 2023 State #204 Nation MD , ’23 Carlton Carrington Carlton Carrington 6'4" | CG St. Frances | 2023 State #84 Nation MD , ’25 Tyler Jackson Tyler Jackson 6'2" | CG St. Frances | 2025 #40 Nation MD and others. Still a very formidable rotation with the talent to win it all, but it’ll take immense mental strength and total buy-in to complete the job. I’ve seen head coach Nick Myles prove people wrong again and again. Let’s see if he can pull off one of his best tricks yet.
A Gaels sweep?
The MIAA Championship game was one that won’t be forgotten anytime soon with the late game theatrics that took place. In the end, it was the plays made by the trio consisting of ’23 Amani Hansberry Amani Hansberry 6'7" | C Mount St. Joseph | 2023 State #52 Nation MD , ’23 Ace Valentine Ace Valentine 6'2" | PG Mount St. Joseph | 2023 State MD and ’24 Bryson Tucker Bryson Tucker 6'7" | CG IMG Academy | 2024 #15 Nation FL that help lifted them victorious. This team is operating at a high level offensively no matter if it is in transition or in the half court. They can run sets to completion or take immediate advantage of mismatches when they present themselves on Tucker or Hansberry. ’24 Tyonne Farrell has been the secret weapon that head coach Pat Clatchey has unleased over the last couple of weeks and he was extremely valuable in the postseason run. His versatility at 6-foot-5 gives them a valuable forward off the bench who can provide high-energy plays on both ends. It’s always difficult for teams not to get too high off winning the MIAA and prevent a hiccup in BCL play, but despite being young on paper, this is a savvy and seasoned group led by one of the best high school coaches the hoops scene has seen.
A Mount Carmel bounce back
There’s a difference when you make it to the championship game and feel flat-out overmatched then when you felt like the game was yours with less than 30 seconds remaining. The Cougars felt the latter, which means they certainly feel like they belong mentioned with the cream of the crop in the BCL. If there is a list of players performing at a higher level than ’22 Deon Perry Deon Perry 5'8" | PG Mt. Carmel | 2022 State MD (Loyola MD commit), that list doesn’t consist of many names above his. The 5-foot-9 floor general averaged 29.3 points per game in the MIAA postseason play while controlling his team for the entire 32 minutes of each contest. His supporting cast consisting of ’23 Allen Mordi, ’23 Drazen Sinigoj, ’23 Mitchell Kalu Mitchell Kalu 6'5" | PF Mt. Carmel | 2023 State MD , ’24 Luke Bamgboye Luke Bamgboye 6'10" | C AZ Compass Prep | 2024 State #110 Nation AZ and ’24 Andrew Dixon Andrew Dixon 6'1" | PG Mt. Carmel | 2024 State MD all had moments that help boost confidence heading into tonight. The face a huge test in the opening round against Spalding. It’ll be interesting to see if the MIAA run drained them or fueled them to prove their worth once again.
Spalding’s last chance
Don’t take the headline to heart. It’s more so regarding the amount of seniors this team has and this being their last shot to end things with some hardware in hand. Led by back-to-back BCL Player of the Year and McDonald’s All-American Cameron Whitmore Cameron Whitmore 6'7" | PF Archbishop Spalding | 2022 State #30 Nation MD , the Cavs enter the BCL bracket on paper as the team that should have the best chance of winning despite being No. 5. The were outdueled in the MIAA semis by the eventual champions and were sent back to the drawing board to figure things out. They’ll have to open up against a hungry Mount Carmel team that will host in their small gym, which always seems to play a factor to the visiting team. For others like ’22 Jordan Pennick Jordan Pennick 6'1" | CG Archbishop Spalding | 2022 State MD , ’22 CJ Scott CJ Scott 6'4" | SF Archbishop Spalding | 2022 State MD , ’22 Tyheil Peterson Tyheil Peterson 5'10" | PG Archbishop Spalding | 2022 State MD and ’22 Josh Rivers Josh Rivers 6'4" | SF Archbishop Spalding | 2022 State MD , it’s time to prove that experience and maturity still weight heavily on determining a winner. We’ll see if they’re up for the task mentally.
Can John Carroll make another run?
Even though this John Carroll team is made up of almost all of the same parts, this isn’t the same team that made a cinderella run last year for the BCL crown. ’22 Tyson Commander Tyson Commander 6'4" | SG The John Carroll School | 2022 State #203 Nation MD leads the attack as the primary scorer while ’23 Jeannot Basima Jeannot Basima 6'3" | CG John Carroll | 2023 State #200 Nation MD complements Commander’s scoring ability from outside with a slashing mentality on top of being a top-notch defender. ’22 Cesar Tchilombo Cesar Tchilombo 6'9" | C John Carroll | 2022 State MD can be an anchor defensively and control the glass. ’22 TJ Vaughn TJ Vaughn 5'10" | PG John Carroll | 2022 State MD has progressed steadily this season as a floor general and is becoming accustomed to hitting timely shots from the perimeter. ’22 Terry Long Terry Long 6'4" | SF John Carroll | 2022 State MD is a do-it-all wing/forward who provides values that don’t show up on the box score. They’ll need to be dialed in as a group especially on the defensive end to establish a run. The opening round game will not be easy, as they host a scrappy Goretti team who has the ability to stage an upset.