D1-D2 Predictions

[noknight]

Doesn't matter now. You guys were seeded higher in Norcals and Newman will be traveling to Hayward for there 3rd road game in a row. Trust me beating Whitney and Serra on the road is no joke. This will be a good game. Don't expect Beyer.

I don't think anybody can or should expect a cupcake in a Norcal semifinal game - you have to have beaten at least 1 good team along the way, so nobody has a right to be overlooking anybody.

That said, I think it's time for you to retire the mistaken "Knight's an awful coach" take. He came in from Fremont, where he'd posted 5 consecutive winning seasons, and took over a moribund Moreau program that had won 10 games combined in the previous 2 seasons, and immediately had them above .500 and in NCS - something he's managed to do every season since his arrival. Oh, by the way, Fremont responded to him leaving by promptly going 2-24 the following year. Now he's won 3 NCS titles in the last 4 years, including one each in Division IV, Division III and Division II, won a Norcal title and is vying for another two divisions higher than their last one. Really, with the exception of the loss to Serra 2 years ago, it's hard to make the case that he and Moreau have really underachieved at all.

 

[noknight]

By the way, the south brackets in D2 are pretty screwy, too. #9 Harvard-Westlake vs. #13 Pasadena in one half of that bracket, though the other is chalk (#2 Esperanza vs. #3 Crossroads). D1 is exactly as seeded (top 4 in). Man, I've got a bad feeling about how the Norcal winners are going to fare in the state finals games...

 

[noknight]

This seemed strangely pertinent...

http://prep2prep.com/feature.aspx?ArticleID=18525

"DIVISION 2

Del Oro and Cardinal Newman reinforced the notion that seeding means very little, as the 13 and 15 seeds advanced to the regional semifinals with wins over San Joaquin Memorial and Serra, respectively.

Dual-sport standout Damian Wallace exploded with 29 points for Cardinal Newman, as the Cardinals continued to prove worthy of inclusion in this field, despite being the sixth NCS team admitted to the bracket. Now, they travel to face a Moreau Catholic team which rolled to another one-sided win, this time 77-54 over Beyer. The Mariners, however, are not taking anyone lightly.

'Cardinal Newman has been all year, and continues to be one of the best Division 2 teams in NorCal. They are not a traditional 15 seed, and that's evident by them beating a two and seven seed back-to-back on the road,' said Moreau Catholic coach Frank Knight. 'I'm sure their unexpected loss in NCS is the driving force in terms of motivation them to show they are good, but we feel we are also good after winning 19 straight, so it will be a very good high school basketball game. We won't take them lightly and will prepare like we normally do. Two good coaches, two good teams. It should be fun to watch.'"

 

[Bob33]

Going to be tough for Newman to match some of the athleticism and speed of Moreau. Newman is deep which helps them out but I think somebody like Milstead or Walker needs to get in foul trouble or have a real off night. Those guys contribute so much of there total offense and at the HS level are really tough to stop. This one has me puzzled to be honest. Newman usually plays the grind it out teams better so this one will be challenging. If newman can rebound and take care of the ball I think they have a shot.

I really don't know if DO can beat St Francis on the road. That is a tough challenge but 3 road wins in a row.....
Good luck to all.

 

[NSBasketball]

My brackets are hosed. This has been one of the wildest Norcal playoffs that I can recall. Just a lot more parity than we've seen in the past. Its great for us though and something we shouldn't forget. You just never know....

I don't think these kids get too caught up in the fact they aren't suppose to be winning. They believe.

People put too much stock in Dublin.. As I had said "what have they ever won?" When You go against coached teams with discipline players they will beat you in the end.

 

[observer22]

People put too much stock in Dublin.. As I had said "what have they ever won?" When You go against coached teams with discipline players they will beat you in the end.

They beat DLS to win the EBAL title this year, and made it to the NorCal finals in D2 a few years ago. They were a good team that was fun to watch. I don't think they were a lock to win D1 this year, but I think they were correctly seeded. With the Open taking the top teams, D1 was wide open.