By Anthony Bosco
The Public School Athletic League held its annual seeding meetings Friday to determine the layout for the upcoming citywide playoffs. And wouldn’t you know it, not everyone is pleased with the outcome.
With controversy heading into the meetings — the Cardozo boys team having to forfeit two wins in the Queens Borough Championships — the seeds are not a true reflection of strength from top to bottom. But had Cardozo won the Queens crown, which was expected, things would still be a little muddied.
Why? Because this is the PSAL. Despite all of the advancements made under the Kevin Gill regime, the PSAL is, and in all likelihood will forever be, a dysfunctional entity.
The Catholic High School Athletic Association — regarded by many as the top high school basketball league in the country — is still a few weeks from the annual tournaments, including the Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan tournament, which determines the seeds for the intersectionals.
Seldom is there controversy in the CHSAA regarding seedings in the intersectionals because the seedings are based on how teams from around the city finish in their respective tournaments.
Sure the CHSAA has it a lot easier by dealing with fewer teams, but having a concrete way of determining where a team will be seeded is a heck of a lot better than the semi-subjective way the PSAL does things.
Cardozo shot itself in the foot by playing two games with Vic Morris, who was deemed ineligible, albeit with extenuating circumstances. Apparently there was a communication breakdown among some teacher, the athletic director and the coach, and the wrong message led to Morris’ playing.
Cardozo took its medicine and Beach Channel won the title, beating August Martin in the championship game.
As a result, Beach Channel got the No. 4 seed in the city and Cardozo got the No. 5 seed, setting up a possible meeting in the quarterfinals between the two schools.
Ironically, that is about as good as the PSAL could have done. Beach Channel is certainly the weakest of the borough championship winners and deserved no higher rank. If form holds, however, Cardozo will have to beat Beach Channel for the right to play Sebastian Telfair and the defending PSAL champion Lincoln Railsplitters in the semifinals.
Lincoln, for those who do not know, is regarded as the best public school team in the city, if not the best overall in the five boroughs. Telfair, a junior and cousin to Stephon Marbury, is also regarded as the top player in NYC.
Rounding out the Queens teams vying for the PSAL ‘A’ title are Forest Hills, Jamaica, Far Rockaway, August Martin, Bayside, Aviation and Long Island City. Only Martin and Far Rock garnered seeds (15 and 14, respectively) higher than 25.
In the ‘B’ seedings, Academy of American Studies, Robert Wagner and Richmond Hill will represent Queens, but no team is seeded higher than No. 14.
On the girls side of the ledger, Francis Lewis leads the charge, picking up — as expected — the No. 2 seed in the city, second only to Murry Bergtraum, the four-time defending PSAL champion. But that also means that Francis Lewis earns a bye in the first round, something that wasn’t exactly music to head coach Mike Eisenberg’s ears.
But what else can he expect? The team has played well all season, including a win over three-time Class B state Federation champs Our Lady of Lourdes, and have more than earned the rest. Unfortunately, the rest stacks up to more than three weeks following the Patriots’ victory in the Queens Borough Championships title game back on Feb. 4.
August Martin and Cardozo are the only other two Queens teams expected to make it past the first round, with Townsend Harris the only other Queens team, clocking in at No. 20.
Bayside has a legitimate shot at the ‘B’ crown, having sailed through the year without a loss in league play, while Bowne, Van Buren, Newtown, Forest Hills and Edison round out the borough representatives.
Most of these seedings are based on the opinions of coaches, league officials and the media, who submit their own citywide rankings for the PSAL to tear through at the annual meetings. It is an imperfect system, but even so, besides Cardozo’s necessary bump out of the top four, there is not a lot of glaring seeds I would disagree with.
Still, I prefer the CHSAA way of doing things, which seeds on merit alone, with no room for subjectivity. Anytime someone’s opinion gets thrown into what should be an impartial process, things can get a bit screwy.
Say some coach on one team seemingly has it out for another team for reasons all his own? Those involved have to hope that the deck is not stacked against them and they are treated fairly, lest their seeding is toyed with in such a manner that advancement through the playoffs be tougher than it need be.
I think the PSAL could do things better on this end. But flawed process and all, when the playoffs end the best team usually comes out on top. And that’s what it is all about in the end.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 1-718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
