Year in review: Repeat champions the norm
Foxboro left little doubt come March.
Led by the star backcourt of Camryn Collins and Kailey Sullivan, the Warriors won all five of their state tournament games by over 20 points to capture the Div. 3 state title. Foxboro’s dominance was unmatched across any other division on either the boys or girls side and gave the Warriors their second consecutive crown.
But the Foxboro girls were far from the only team to walk away from the 2023-24 season as a repeat champion. Cathedral ran through the Div. 4 field to win their second straight crown. The Panthers have gone back-to-back three times over the last decade.
On the boys side, Malden Catholic showcased that bumps in the regular season were just that, bumps. The Lancers overpowered the competition in four of their five contests to win the Div. 2 state title for a third consecutive year. Somerset Berkley was the one team to give MC trouble, coming within two points of a state final berth. The Raiders had an impressive season, winning 20 games and knocking off Mansfield in the Div. 2 state quarterfinals.
Somerset was not the only South Coast team that showed out. Wareham and Bourne faced off in the Div. 4 State Final. After falling in the regular season contest, the Vikings got the Canalmen when it mattered most as star AJ Lopes and forward Antoine Crossen led Wareham to a second straight title.
In Div. 1, Worcester North showed that it was best with its back up against the wall. The Polar Bears dominated overtime to defeat Xaverian in the Div. 1 state semifinals and then overcame a 12-point deficit to knock off Franklin and repeat as Div. 1 state champions.
There were also storybook endings. Under the stewardship of alum Hugh Coleman, Charlestown captured its first state championship since 2005 with a win over Old Rochester. Coleman’s son, Jaylen, and his nephew, Jaylin Williams-Crawford, were the stars of the Townies success.
Bishop Feehan girls had one of the more impressive wins of state championship weekend. Less than a month after losing to Wachusett by 31 points, the Shamrocks got revenge by defeating the Mountaineers to win their first title since 2016. The weekend saw notable underclassmen rise to the occasion including Medfield freshman Naya Annigeri who scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Warriors to the Div. 2 state title with a win over Worcester South.
Hoosac Valley sent both its boys and girls team to the state final. While Hoosac Valley’s girls came home victorious, New Mission joined Charlestown in the realms of Boston City League teams to bring home a trophy as it knocked off the Hurricanes, 57-49.
The MIAA State Tournament returned to UMass Boston. For three days fans were treated to thrillers like Sharon boys’ win just before the buzzer and Worcester North overcoming a stingy effort by Xaverian to win in overtime. It was nice to see UMass Boston back as a host, reminding of so many classics over the years before taking a decade-long hiatus from hosting. The Tsongas Center, Worcester State and Taunton all showed once again why they are premier venues come postseason time.
The wildest game of the postseason may have come in the preliminary rounds when Marshfield defeated Lynn English on the road, 100-98, in overtime.
In an unfortunate turn of events, tragedy struck the state tournament when referee Don McGillicudy died after a heart attack in the final seconds of Watertown’s state quarterfinal win. McGillicudy was highly regarded professionally and personally by fellow officials, coaches, and administrators.
THREE GRIPES
Press Row Belongs to The Media
The MIAA has allowed press row to get out of control with numerous uncredentialed supposed “media” members flocking to the sideline at state championship weekend to express their brilliant insights. To make matters worse, these individuals openly cheer, yell at officials, and even look to coach kids on the court from their seats right on the floor. Their stipend from the school must have gotten lost in the mail. It is completely unprofessional to have folks with the lanyards around their necks acting in such fashion. If you are going to have rules in terms of who you allow by the court, then enforce them. Otherwise you may as well have any
other fan sitting there.
Proper Scores It remains an issue that teams do not report their scores to arbiter (or the paper) in a timely fashion. As a result, scores get reported inaccurately well after the fact or even worse there is a discrepancy in the final score. In the old days, this would not have been as big a deal as long as the winner was accurate. Nowadays, with margin of victory such a crucial component of a team’s overall seeding, the final score being agreed upon by both teams and being undoubtedly correct is a necessity. It’s important that each team has books that are thorough, double-checked, and confirmed with the opponent to ensure accurate scorekeeping. Punish the Flop
Too often this season, I saw teams take advantage of an official’s willingness to showcase their favorite charge call by sliding under a driver’s feet at the last moment or fall back seemingly 10 feet when getting backed down by a post player. This is not good defense, these are flops and they are happening a half-dozen times a game. It’s time for these to be punished early in games with more block than charge calls. There is no restricted area in high school, so coaches are encouraging kids to camp out under the basket and slide in under an offensive player’s feet at the last second. It’s dangerous, not basketball savvy but rather cheap, and should be punished by officials, not rewarded.
10 Teams to Watch Next Season
Malden Catholic North Andover BC High Lowell Somerset Berkley Newton North Burke Cambridge Pembroke Attleboro