PSAL boys basketball beat writer Zach Braziller breaks down this week’s PSAL Class A quarterfinals, to be played at the site of the higher seed. For live Twitter updates, click here.
SCHEDULE
TUESDAY
5 p.m. – No. 9 Brooklyn Collegiate @ No. 1 Midwood
5 p.m. – No. 29 Dewitt Clinton @ No. 5 Graphic Communications
THURSDAY
5 p.m. – No. 7 Acorn @ No. 2 Long Island City
5 p.m. – No. 6 Bedford Academy @ No. 3 Columbus
No. 1 Midwood Hornets
Head coach: Victor Gjecaj
Record: 25-3
Player to watch: Bryan Smith
No. 9 Brooklyn Collegiate Lions
Head coach: Jake Edwards
Record: 16-10
Player to watch: Isiaha Johnson
Outlook: If not for Brooklyn Collegiate forfeiting six games for using an ineligible player – forward Ervin Mitchell – these may have been the top two seeds. Midwood has the best player in the ‘A’ league in Bryan Smith, a highly recruited guard who scored a school record 68 points in a 105-67 victory over James Madison, but the Lions are loaded with lengthy scorers in Mitchell, 6-foot-5 forward Arnold Fripp and point guard Isaha Johnson, a sharpshooter who has a knack for getting in the paint. Fripp and Hornets 6-foot-8 center Enees Nikovic will do battle inside, a matchup to watch. Both sides are playoff-tested as Midwood lost to eventual champion Bedford Academy in this round last year while Brooklyn Collegiate lost in the final eight two years and the second round last March.
No. 5 Graphic Communications Devils
Head coach: Patrick Gaffney
Record: 20-2
Player to watch: Quay Shaun Mitchell
No. 29 DeWitt Clinton Governors
Head coach: Bob Finkelstein
Record: 14-8
Player to watch: Roje Foster
Outlook: Raise your hand if you had this quarterfinal matchup in November. Thought not. Graphic Communications came out of nowhere to go undefeated in Manhattan A Northwest and has cruised to the final eight while Clinton, which finished third in Bronx A West during the regular season, is the Cinderella story of this postseason. Led by seniors Chris Brooks and Roge Foster, the Governors shocked Brooklyn A West champion and fourth-seeded Grand Street Campus in the first round and did the same to No. 13 South Bronx next. Will Graphic Communications be their next victim?
No. 2 Long Island City Bulldogs
Head coach: Harley Watstein
Record: 24-2
Player to watch: Aaron Williams
No. 7 Acorn Panthers
Head coach: Michael Levy
Record: 19-7
Player to watch: Ibra Toure
Outlook: Point guard Aaron Williams, a Christ the King transfer, has meant a great deal to the Bulldogs, leading them in scoring and distributing. He was particularly instrumental in Long Island City’s second-round playoff victory over No. 19 Port Richmond, scoring 30 of his team’s 46 points as leading rebounder Arthur Santanna was out with an injury. If he’s unable to go, LIC will have trouble contending with Acorn, the co-Brooklyn A East champion which has won its two playoff contests over No. 23 Banneker and No. 26 Jamaica by a combined 47 points.
No. 3 Columbus Explorers
Head coach: Roberto Perez
Record: 20-2
Player to watch: Jamail Stanely
No. 6 Bedford Academy
Head coach: Rob Phelps
Record: 23-5
Player to watch: Neil Veira
Outlook: The season started with low expectations for each team; Columbus had never gotten past the second round since coach Roberto Perez took over in 2004 while Bedford Academy graduated leading scorers Anthony Mason Jr. and Brent Jones off its ‘A’ title team. Yet, here both sides are, Columbus led by high-flying junior wing Jamail Stanely and the Panthers behind a rebuilt roster led by freshman point guard Darren Thomas and junior forwards Neil Veira, Theo Everett and Darien Best.
