BCL Playoff Headlines

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 supremacy. For this article, I’ll take a look at some headlines surrounding the teams competing and their current outlooks. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/Bryce-Lindsay-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1370954" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/Bryce-Lindsay-2-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> 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 [player_tooltip player_id="1089572" first="Daquan" last="Davis"] 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 [player_tooltip player_id="777095" first="Bryce" last="Lindsay"] (South Carolina commit), ’22 [player_tooltip player_id="1110545" first="Cortez" last="Johnson"] (UNC-G commit), ’23 [player_tooltip player_id="957025" first="Jahnathan" last="Lamothe"], ’23 [player_tooltip player_id="1114066" first="Carlton" last="Carrington"], ’25 [player_tooltip player_id="1370503" first="Tyler" last="Jackson"] 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 href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/IMG-7555.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1396641" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/02/IMG-7555-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> 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 [player_tooltip player_id="957018" first="Amani" last="Hansberry"], ’23 [player_tooltip player_id="1049863" first="Ace" last="Valentine"] and ’24 [player_tooltip player_id="1127305" first="Bryson" last="Tucker"] 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 href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/Deon-Perry.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1364429" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/Deon-Perry-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> 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 [player_tooltip player_id="904628" first="Deon" last="Perry"] (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 [player_tooltip player_id="1164829" first="Mitchell" last="Kalu"], ’24 [player_tooltip player_id="1367577" first="Luke" last="Bamgboye"] and ’24 [player_tooltip player_id="1127307" first="Andrew" last="Dixon"] 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. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/Cam-Whitmore-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1368417" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/Cam-Whitmore-2-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> 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 [player_tooltip player_id="837927" first="Cameron" last="Whitmore"], 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 [player_tooltip player_id="954640" first="Jordan" last="Pennick"], ’22 [player_tooltip player_id="1198795" first="CJ" last="Scott"], ’22 [player_tooltip player_id="904646" first="Tyheil" last="Peterson"] and ’22 [player_tooltip player_id="904660" first="Josh" last="Rivers"], 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. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/Tyson-Commander-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1362544" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/Tyson-Commander-2-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> 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 [player_tooltip player_id="837919" first="Tyson" last="Commander"] leads the attack as the primary scorer while ’23 [player_tooltip player_id="957030" first="Jeannot" last="Basima"] complements Commander’s scoring ability from outside with a slashing mentality on top of being a top-notch defender. ’22 [player_tooltip player_id="1215151" first="Cesar" last="Tchilombo"] can be an anchor defensively and control the glass. ’22 [player_tooltip player_id="904680" first="TJ" last="Vaughn"] has progressed steadily this season as a floor general and is becoming accustomed to hitting timely shots from the perimeter. ’22 [player_tooltip player_id="1159451" first="Terry" last="Long"] 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.