Bergen County Jamboree Final: Paramus Catholic And Bergen Catholic Go For The “CHIP”!

Teaneck……….. Paramus Catholic H.S. and Bergen Catholic H.S. will go at it Monday February 22nd at the Fairleigh Dickinson University Rothman Center gymnasium at 7:00pm. Paramus Catholic was the 4th seed in the tournament and beat the #1 seed St. Joseph H.S. 69-62 in the semis. Bergen Catholic was seeded #7 and reached the Championship game by beating #6 seed Don Bosco Prep 53-50.

The Deal On The Teams:

Paramus Catholic :

Strength :………….Have two D1 type players in 6’0 Senior guard Andre Blackwood(pictured) and 6’8 Junior center Justin Harris. A team with good depth, can go 10 deep without it affecting the squad, but need Blackwood or Harris in the game to stabilize the lineup as they are the go to players. Good team speed, led by Junior Manny Hernandez and Senior Brandon Perez and best bet would be to push the ball against the slower Bergen Catholic team. Have good defenders in Senior’s Jordan Wade and Eddie Johnson and tough guys in the paint in Senior’s Aiden Collins and Johnberry Badio, which could be the difference in the game if they compete equally on the boards with the Crusaders.

Weakness:……………… Maybe in trouble if game is played slow and gets to be a halfcourt battle. Harris should be able to get his in the paint, but if Bergen doubles down will need someone besides Blackwood to hit shots from the perimeter. Who would that be? Half to be smart in their substitution pattern.

Bergen Catholic :

Strength:……………. A physically strong team that makes you play grimey. If you fall into the trap, you’re done! Runs the flex offense as well as anyone. Led by 6’4 Junior center Mark Richard(pictured), who is slowly expanding his game, he gets his help inside from West Virginia football recruit 6’1 Senior Doug Rigg and 6’3 Junior Zach Sparber off the bench. Strong backcourt play from 5’10 Senior Sean McGuire and Sophomore guard Charles Wingate. Perimeter shooting comes from Junior Eric Flanagan, one of the better three shooters in the area. Junior Maurice Grant may be best athlete on squad.

Weakness:……… Have trouble with quickness and speed. Will need to find another perimeter shooter to go with Flanagan. Besides the guards, the other players sometimes get out of control when putting ball on the floor. Game needs to stay in the 50 point range. Will have trouble if game gets in high 60’s or 70’s