All-time St. Patrick vs. St. Anthony showdown

When St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) and St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) lock horns Wednesday night, it will not only be a battle between the nation's top two teams, but a showdown between two of the more consistently-talented programs over the last three decades.

The schools also feature two of the top coaches in the country in St. Patrick's Kevin Boyle and St. Anthony's Bob Hurley.

While the Celtics and Friars have had numerous memorable battles through the years, what would it look like if the best players from each program suited up in the their prime to form two mega-teams comprised of many of the state's all-time greats?

MaxPreps gives a position-by-position breakdown of this fantasy matchup that could only take place in the virtual confines of a video game.

Point Guard
St. Patrick
Starter: Kyrie Irving 2010 (Duke)
Bench: Shaheen Halloway 1996 (Seton Hall)
Jerome Holman 2002 (Wichita State)
Mike Nardi 2003 (Villanova)
Corey Fisher 2007 (Villanova)
Jermel Jenknis 2008 (Iona)
St. Anthony
Starter: Bobby Hurley 1989 (Duke, Kings, Grizzlies)
Bench: Mandy Johnson 1981 (Marquette)
David Rivers 1984 (Notre Dame, Lakers, Clippers)
Kenny Wilson 1985 (Villanova)
Danny Hurley 1991 (Seton Hall)
Elijah Ingram 2001 (St. John's, New Mexico State)

Breakdown
This is arguably the deepest position for each team. Both St. Anthony and St. Patrick have churned out prolific point guards at an impressive rate. For the Celtics, starting Irving is a tough call, as he narrowly gets the nod over Shaheen Halloway, a McDonald's All-American game MVP who helped St. Patrick establish itself as a national power.

Nardi was a true court general and ran Boyle's offense to near-perfection at times. Fisher was a dominant high school player who was deceptively fast and excelled in big games. Jermel Jenkins was a relentless defender who never seemed to tire.

For St. Anthony, Bobby Hurley is the pick to start over a field of extremely accomplished Friars. In his final two seasons, St. Anthony lost only once and beat a number of nationally-ranked programs. Johnson, Rivers, and Wilson elicit fond memories from old school St. Anthony fans, as they helped push the program toward national prominence.

Danny Hurley and Ingram were both All-American-caliber guards and superb marksmen. Each won his share of big games, with Hurley coming just short of leading St. Anthony to a Tournament of Champions victory in 1990 over Elizabeth.

While any of the Celtic point guards could change a game, St. Anthony's crew is deeper, and at their peak, slightly better.

Advantage: St. Anthony

Shooting Guard
St. Patrick
Starter: Dexter Strickland 2009 (North Carolina)
Bench: Jason Patterson 2003 (Fairleigh Dickinson)
Reuben Guillandeaux 2006 (La Salle)
Derrick Gordon 2011 (committed to Western Kentucky)
St. Anthony
Starter: Mike Rosario 2008 (Rutgers, Florida)
Bench: Terry Dehere 1989 (Seton Hall, Clippers, Kings, Grizzlies)
Anthony Perry 1997 (Georgetown)
Tyshawn Taylor 2008 (Kansas)

Breakdown
Strickland was one of the most athletic players in the school's history; he attacked the rim ferociously but also possessed a deadly perimeter game. Patterson was a terrific 3-point shooter who could also handle the ball when needed.

An unheralded component to some great St. Patrick squads, Guillandeaux was a fearless shooter and hit more than one big shot against the Friars.

Living up to the hype he created when he enrolled at St. Patrick as a ninth grader, Gordon has had a solid career, culminating with a senior season in which he was occasionally dominant.

Picking between Dehere and Rosario to start for the Friars is a toss up. Some believe Rosario was the only member of the 2008 national champion team that would have started on the legendary 1989 Friar squad. He gets the slight nod.

Perry also deserves consideration. A combo guard who could handle the ball but did a bulk of the team's scoring with Rashad Burno distributing, he was one of the country's top recruits as a senior.

Taylor blossomed into the team's premier athlete in 2008, throwing down several monster dunks throughout the season. Indicative of the Friars depth, 2009 graduate Dominic Cheek, now at Villanova, doesn't make the cut.

Advantage: St. Anthony

Small Forward
St. Patrick
Starter: Michael Gilchrist 2011 (committed to Kentucky)
Bench: Jeff Robinson 2007 (Memphis, Seton Hall)
Paris Bennett 2009 (George Mason)
St. Anthony
Starter: Rodrick Rhodes 1993 (Kentucky, Rockets, Grizzlies, Mavericks)
Bench: Roshown McLeod 1993 (St. John's, Duke, Atlanta Hawks)
Kyle Anderson 2012 (Undecided)

Breakdown
For both schools, the small forward position has been one of quality more than quantity.

Evolving from a passive but promising freshman to a dominant and assertive leader, Gilchrist is one of the more celebrated players in Celtic history. He's been integral in victories against teams from all over the country, helping St. Patrick win numerous games at holiday tournaments and events, earning his reputation as one of the country's best.

Robinson was a high-flying wing man with nice touch from deep. Along with Fisher, he was responsible for sending St. Anthony home in March on more than one occasion.

Though he often appeared unassuming on the court, Bennett was an extremely cerebral player. At 6-foot-7, he was proficient at both shooting and rebounding.

A ninth-grade starter for St. Anthony in the fall of 1988, Rhodes impressed Hurley early on and developed into a national recruit who signed with Kentucky, like Gilchrist. McLeod was a big-bodied forward for the Friars, capable of dropping down to stick opponents' post players.

Anderson, a Hudson County native who spent two years at Paterson Catholic before enrolling at St. Anthony last spring, has already made his mark. His uncanny ballhandling ability for his size makes him extremely dangerous. He's a better player than either Robinson or Bennett and gives St. Anthony an edge here.

Advantage: St. Anthony

Power Forward
St. Patrick
Starter: Al Harrington 1998 (Pacers, Hawks, Warriors, Knicks, Nuggets)
Bench: Herve Lamizana 2000 (Rutgers)
Derrick Caracter 2002-03, 2004-05 (Louisville, UTEP, Lakers)
Quintrell Thomas 2008 (Kansas)
Dakari Johnson 2014 (Undecided)
St. Anthony
Starter: Jerry Walker 1989 (Seton Hall, Nets)
Bench: Ajmal Basit 1996 (UMass, Delaware)
Terrence Roberts 2003 (Syracuse)
Ahmad Nivins 2005 (St. Joseph)
Devon Collier 2010 (Oregon State)

Breakdown
If Holloway helped bring St. Patrick to the national stage, Al Harrington punched the Celtics' ticket. The Orange native was a dynamic scorer who was endowed with tremendous skill and size. He made the jump straight to the NBA and has enjoyed a productive career.

Caracter was a middle school phenom whose commitment to the Celtics as an eighth grader as a newsworthy story. At 6-8 and 280 pounds as a freshman, he showed only glimpses of his enormous potential.

Caracter attended Scotch Plains-Fanwood, where he teamed up with Lance Thomas as a sophomore, only to transfer back to St. Patrick as a junior. He helped the Celtics defeat St. Anthony in an exciting, high-energy showdown at the Dunn Center that season, but was outperformed by Seton Hall Prep's Brandon Costner in the Tournament of Champions final. He later transferred to Notre Dame Prep to finish out his career before heading to Louisville.

Still, his size would make him a matchup problem for almost anyone.

Lamizana, a native of the Ivory Coast, was another intimidating post presence for the Celtics. He teamed with Marcus Austin in the 2000 season to give St. Patrick an extremely solid front court. A transfer from Newark Science, Quintrell Thomas was a bully down low. He played an extremely physical brand of basketball, but often lacked finesse. Johnson has shown glimpses of his enormous potential this season.

One of the more underrated players in St. Anthony history, Walker was perhaps the program's most physically imposing player ever. He was a man amongst boys and earned third team All-American honors as a senior. He put up 19 points on the state's No. 2-ranked team, Elizabeth, in a 28-point throttling.

Basit was the team's premier post player in the mid-1990s before heading to UMass and later Delaware.

Roberts was the perfect complement down low to the guard-laden teams that featured Elijah Ingram, Donald Copeland and Dwayne Lee. Nivins improved more during his time at St. Anthony than perhaps any other player. He was a dominant player for St. Joseph after developing into a difference-maker for the 2005 Friar team.

Collier transferred to St. Anthony around the same time as another forward, Ashton Pankey. He emerged as game-changer in the Friars' 2009 loss to Paterson Catholic.

With Harrington being the deciding factor, St. Patrick gets the nod.

Advantage: St. Patrick

Center
St. Patrick
Starter: Samuel Dalembert 1999 (Seton Hall, 76ers, Kings)
Bench: Marcus Austin 2001 (Villanova)
Grant Billmeier 2003 (Seton Hall)
St. Anthony
Starter: Josh Moore 1997 (Michigan, Clippers)
Bench Luther Wright 1987 (Seton Hall, Jazz)
Jon Paul Kobryn 2001 (Stony Brook)

Breakdown
Most schools have never had a 7-footer in their history. St. Anthony and St. Patrick have had numerous skyscrapers between them.

Dalembert was built similarly in high school as he is now, but his height allowed him to take over games. He spent two Seton Hall, teaming with the likes of Marcus Toney-El, Andre Barrett and Eddie Griffin to give the Pirates one of their best teams.

Austin enjoyed a nice career with the Celtics before heading to Villanova. Billmeier did not move up and down the court well, but he altered countless shots and pulled down numerous carroms. He was vital to the Nardi-led Celtics of the early 2000s.

St. Anthony has had a spotty history at center, with several players showing flashes of greatness but never realizing their potential, at least with the Friars.

Wright spent only his freshman season at St. Anthony. He has size, but as a ninth grader, he wouldn't have made much of an impact against the likes of Dalembert and Billmeier.

He did go on to thrive at Elizabeth, capturing the Tournament of Champions in 1990.

Moore spent three seasons at St. Anthony. He was a legit 7-footer entering high school and could mix it up down low with anyone. He had a short stint at Michigan before heading to the NBA. He was famously profiled in The Miracle of St. Anthony, where he shares his regret for transferring out of the school for his senior season.

Solid but unspectacular would be the best way to describe Kobryn. He was crucial to the Friars' Ingram-Copeland-Lee teams, but was never counted on for much offensive production.

St. Patrick would control the center position by a comfortable margin.

Advantage: St. Patrick

Summary
Although this game could feature terrific players at every position on the court (and every seat on the bench), it would likely come down to guard play as many high school games do.

Both teams would press on defense and run crisp, methodical offenses. St. Patrick would have more depth and talent down low, but an extremely quick St. Anthony defense would make it difficult for the Celtics frontcourt to become a factor.

More than likely, St. Patrick would find a way to get Irving and Holloway on the court at the same time, which would challenge any lineup St. Anthony put on the court. However, the Friars depth, particularly at point guard, might allow them to wear down the Celtics if either Irving or Holloway got into foul trouble.

The most fascinating aspect of this match up would be the chess match between Boyle and Hurley, two of the most well-respected coaches at any level. There's certainly no love lost between them and both would hate to lose such an epic game.

Prediction: St. Anthony 67, St. Patrick 64