MIAA D1 Final Four Standouts and Finals Prediction

Over the weekend, I got a chance to take in all of the final four matchups from MIAA divisions one, two, and three. For those three brackets, I'll write about some final four standouts and give my finals prediction.   Read: MIAA D3 Final Four Standouts and Finals Prediction   Read: <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/03/miaa-d2-final-four-standouts-and-finals-prediction/">MIAA D2 Final Four Standouts and Finals Prediction</a>   To finish off, let's look at division 1.    Bumila is comically dominant. Not only is he 6-foot-9 with long arms, a strong body, and above-the-rim athleticism, but he has a nose for the ball and finishes everything in the paint. He's impossible to keep off the boards, so he scores tons of points on put backs after burrowing himself in the paint. In the half court and semi-transition, his teammates will literally toss the ball up to him like he's Calvin Johnson, and he always seems to come down with the rock. He's tough and doesn't avoid contact, but he also knows how to be disciplined when it comes to using his strength wisely on both ends—he can protect the rim better than anyone I've seen in the state. Bumila is having perhaps the most historic run in MIAA basketball history—most recently with 53 points, 22 rebounds, and 6 blocks against Andover—and he'll have a chance to cap it off with a state championship on Sunday night.     Part of what makes Bumila so valuable is that his teammates understand his dominance and have figured out how to effectively use him. Gill is one of a few players who does a good job putting the ball in places where the dominant center can get it—he's basically Stephon Castle and Brody Bumila is Victor Wembanyama. The 6-foot guard can also finish solidly at the rim and has a nice-looking shot.     Whenever I've seen Roux in the past, he has shot the ball well. Against Bishop Feehan, though, his shot wasn't falling and it was instead his pace and skill on drives that really impressed me. The 6-foot guard has a really nice handle and is able to get by his defender while still paying attention to the back line of the defense, and he did an excellent job finishing with contact against Bishop Feehan. He consistently made and-ones and drove aggressively when Andover needed buckets, but it just wasn't enough to keep up with Bumila.     Lopez added another big-time performance to his historic MIAA career when he erupted for 30 points in the semifinal against Springfield Central. The 6-foot-2 guard hit some shots from the outside—and he's always hard to contest out there because of how high he gets on his jumper and how scared defenders are to land under him—but he also excelled as a driver and finisher. Everything was working for Lopez against Springfield, but I'll be curious whether he opts for more pull-up jumpers against Bishop Feehan so that he doesn't have to go against the rim protection of Bumila.     Pena is a fantastic piece for Central Catholic and has continuously gotten better all year. Against Springfield Central, the 6-foot-3 wing/forward scored from inside the paint as well as beyond the three point line. On the inside, he showcased really solid athleticism and body control in the air; on the outside, he continued to impress me with the quickness and fluidity of his shooting stroke. In the overtime period, it was Pena who scored the first 5 points and got Central Catholic off to a good start—in the finals, they'll need him if they want to compete with Bishop Feehan's offense.     Cabrera showed some pretty special flashes against Central Catholic. His first-step burst and ability to use his off hand is advanced, and he consistently made floaters and push shots in the lane when the defense didn't get enough of a contest. He also had a number of really high-level reads of the defense which resulted in easy layups for his big man [player_tooltip player_id='2878176' first='Tahir' last='Bey']. Cabrera also seemed like he was always around the ball defensively and got a few steals.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Prediction: Bishop Feehan win</h2>   I just don't think anybody in the state has what it takes to contend with Brody Bumila. Central Catholic doesn't have the size or strength to keep him off the glass, and I think he'll erupt for a crazy game once again.

Over the weekend, I got a chance to take in all of the final four matchups from MIAA divisions one, two, and three. For those three brackets, I'll write about some final four standouts and give my finals prediction.