By Mitch Stephens & Stephen Spiewak
MaxPreps.com
Today’s debate: Boys basketball.
Specifics: Better play in 2007-08, New Jersey or California.
Sides: Stephen Spiewak (representing New Jersey), Mitch Stephens (representing California).
Important background: Spiewak was born and still resides near Jersey City. Stephens was hatched in Hollywood and lives in Northern California.
Let the cracking begin.
Mitch Stephens: Yo Stevie (all ‘Jersey greetings begin with Yo, correct?). I was up close and personal last week in Milwaukee with the 48 best senior hoopsters in the country at the McDonald’s All-American game. Got to spy out all the morning practices and marvel at all the skill (girls) and athleticism (boys). Honestly, I think if you could rate athleticism by some magical scale, today's high school kids would score higher than the NBA guys from the 60s. Better players? No. Better athletes yes.
Anyway, enough of my old-man rant. I hear you want to debate some 'Jersey-California hoops. Wrong year my friend. The talk of the camp was the West's backcourt which featured no less than five native Golden Staters, led by pretty much everyone's Player of the Year Brandon Jennings, who left Los Angeles to ramp it up at Oaks Hill Academy. He’s THE single-season leading scorer all-time at THE Academy 35.4 points per game. West Co-coach Tom Diener called him the best prep guard he's ever seen. An Allen Iverson with a great attitude, he called him. Throw in another national Player of the Year candidate Jrue Holiday (Campbell Hall, North Hollywood, headed to UCLA), his future teammate Malcolm Lee (North, Moreno Valley), North Carolina-bound Larry Drew II (Taft, Los Angeles, headed to North Carolina) and, oh yes, that USC-signee DeMar DeRozan (Compton) guy who absolutely lives up to his spectacular name, and we're talking, well, five McDonald All-Americans from one California section. Forget the teams just yet, but how can your boys, as good as they are, from 'Jersey match that?
Stephen Spiewak: My main man Mitch, I'm afraid to say that I think the strong Southern California rays of sun adversely affected your normally flawless evaluation of high school hoops. I agree that today's athletes are immensely athletic, and will have to take your word that they are superior to the players of the 60's. You are, after all, talking to an 80's baby. Having spent four years of my life in the Windy City, I have a tremendous amount of faith that the crisp, Midwest weather of beautiful Milwaukee breathed some fresh, albeit frigid, air into your opinion of this coast-to-coast comparison.
I certainly can’t deny the talent of the California back court burners. I saw Jrue Holiday go head-to-head with Brandon Jennings at the Elite 24, and came away impressed with Holiday’s poise and Jennings’ flash. I've seen Larry Drew pass like Larry Bird, and I've seen Demar Derozan dunk on pretty much everyone except my Aunt Sally (a mean defender that Sally. They were playing shirts and skins in the summer, and she wasn’t allowed in the game.) However, I just can’t see anyone from your left coast posse stopping Samardo Samuels. This guy is the Dwight Howard of the high school scene. He is simply unstoppable down low, and at one time or another, has outplayed many of the other big men in his class. 'Mardo is built like Mike Tyson, only a foot taller, and plays with the same type of tenacity as Iron Mike in his prime. When he rises for a dunk, I seriously fear for the rim’s life.
On the perimeter, Mike Rosario is the Garden State's top gunner. A sharp-shooting guard from Jersey City, he’s hit countless huge shots against the stiff competition of the New Jersey non-public B. With the game on the line, I'm not sure there’s a guard from any state that I’d rather have attempt a Jimmy Chipwood.
One quickie about Mr. Jennings. The last season he played for a California school, his sophomore year at Dominguez, his Dons suffered a 28-point loss at the hands of one of New Jersey's top programs, St. Patrick. The Garden State may have his number. Jennings with his new Oak Hill teammates lost to St. Patrick this season as well!
MS: Stephen, Stephen, my young whipping child Stephen. I’m not even going to debate you about the great history, play, players and coaches of New Jersey. Likewise I’m not even going to debate our nation’s top ranking of St. Anthony – the Friars just about doubled the score of their opponents and deserved the No. 1 spot. HOWEVER, and you knew I was going to get to HOWEVER, I’m afraid all that sun has only energized the Golden boys who TRIPLED your Springsteen homies with six top 25 teams, including five of the top 12. New Jersey had only No. 5 St. Benedict join the Friars among the elite. Though the cream of ‘Jersey is rich – especially among its private schools – it can’t touch the overall froth and depth of California.
SS: Quality over quantity, my friend. While there may be more California teams in our top 25, let’s not forget that New Jersey is roughly about 1/20 the size of the Golden State. Not to mention, Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey’s two biggest cities where St. Benedict's Prep and St. Anthony are located, respectively, have a combined population of around 520,000. That's roughly the number of people that lined up to buy tickets to see Hannah Montana perform at the Staples Center.
MS: That’s Miley Cyrus to the real world, obviously a place you’re not a part of in this argument. First off, New Jersey sports almost 9-million folks my friend compared to 36 million, which makes it about four times larger, not 20. If we stretch our rankings out to the top 100, there’s 11 California teams to three for ‘Jersey, which is proportional to population with this caveat. Seven of those 11 Cali teams are public. Nada for New Jersey. In other words, New Jersey produces quality All-Star teams with quality coaches. California produces better hoop teams/players period.
SS: Parochial school powerhouses are certainly important to the lay of the land in New Jersey basketball. In addition to the Holy Trinity of NJ Hoops, St. Anthony, St. Patrick, and St. Benedict's, Seton Hall Prep has also produced powerful teams and a bevy of DI players. This year’s Paterson Catholic squad finished 21-5, and will return more than six players who high major potential. But New Jersey public schools are nothing to sneeze at. Newark’s Science Park made it all the way to the Tournament of Champions final. Lincoln, a Jersey City public school not far from St. Anthony, also won a state championship.
Your population figures seem accurate, but I'd still feel confident putting the top three N.J. teams up against your top teams. St. Anthony, St. Benedict's, and St. Pat’s against Mater Dei, McClymonds, and Dominguez would make for some interesting pairings. But as for Cali having better players...would you really feel confident putting together a five man line up to go up against a Jersey dream team of Dexter Strickland-PG, Mike Rosario-SG, Dominic Cheek-SF, Samardo Samuels-PF, Greg Echenique-C?
MS: Listen, I saw Rosario, Samuels and Strickland all live this year. Fantastic to be sure. Rosario helped will the East past the West in the McDonald’s All-Star game and could have been the MVP. Samuels was dominant in every practice I witnessed. Strickland might have been the best player at the ultra-star fest Nike Invitational at Mater Dei in February. Bob Hurley by every account is as good a coach as there is in the country and was last week honored as so with the national Naismith Award. I applaud and sincerely laud them all. But California has five to match your top quintet times at least four. I’d put out this group to start: Larry Drew-PG, Holiday-SG, DeRozan-SF, Jordan Hamilton-PF, Drew Gordon-C. Then we’ll throw in Lee-PG, Klay Thompson-SG, Hollis Thompson-SF, David Wear-PF and, oh yes, everyone’s top junior nationally, Renardo Sidney-C off the bench. We could go on and on but it would be like an avalanche, though we’d take off the press early in the third quarter.
SS: Avalanche? I don't know which California coaching icon you would pick to lead your team. But if Hurley got to coach and run his full court defense with my fantasy New Jersey squad, I think your Cali boys would be tugging on your shorts before halftime. I suspect next year’s preseason top two teams will be Mater Dei and St. Benedict's Prep, in no particular order. Perhaps we can make a friendly wager who will finish ranked higher. If the Bennies come out on top, you treat me to lunch at a Jersey diner. If the Monarchs reign supreme, I'll change my ring tone to your official state anthem: Tupac’s California Love. BTW, after watching the East go virtually wire-to-wire to knock off your largely Cali kids, did you get a chance to ask Mike and ‘Mardo about Jersey supremacy?
MS: They were much too humble young Steve. Unlike you and I, they could prove their merits on the court. BTW, when are we going to hoop it up one-on-one style?
SS: Any day of the week old-timer, any day.
We’ll save our readers the indignity of that sight, sound or recap, but look for more Crackbacks each week. Crackback is a fun and lively debate about current high school sports topics throughout the country. Let us know who you think won this crack-off or please give us more topics to debate at mstephens@maxpreps.com or sspiewak@maxpreps.com