Hendricken Hawks Soar to 5th Straight State Championship

  (pic-projo)

Jamal Gomes (my former coach) and the Hendricken Hawks (my alma mater) soared to their 5th straight Rhode Island state championship beating Woonsocket High School in Overtime 67-64. Billy Baron hit two foul shots to put the Hawks ahead by 1 point with 20 seconds left in the game. The Hawks then pressed Woonsocket and pressure by Brandford Sowah and Sean Murray caused a steal by Billy Baron who was immediately fouled and then calmly hit 2 free throws to put them ahead by 67-64. Woonsocket had an open 3 but the shot was off and Bishop Hendricken became state champs. Hendricken is now only the second Division I boys basketball team in Rhode Island Interscholastic League history to win five consecutive state championships.

Woonsocket seemed to control the first half and most of the second half. They lead by 5 at halftime and kept that lead deep into the second half.  With Woonsocket up 5 with under 5 minutes left, Hendricken got big buckets from Brendan Degnan, Billy Baron and Kevin McCarty to get the Hawks to OT. In OT it was a back and forth contest but the Hawks intensity and defensive pressure brought them to victory.

     (pics projo.com)

Woonsocket was lead by big man Michael Akinrola who controled the glass and gave the Nova’s some big put back baskets. He fouled out with 1:20  left in Overtime and it hurt Woonsocket big time. For most of the game Woonsocket played with the same 5 players.  Micheal Laplante, who is only a sophomore, had 18 points and Brett Cordere scored 15 and seemed to come up with big bucket after big bucket.

For Hendricken Baron lead the charge with 26 point going a perfect 7-7 from the line. Brendan Degnan had 16 points with a clutch 3 pointer late in the game. Nick Manning, a steady/heady guard chipped in with 9 pts. Kevin McCartey who wore his emotions on his sleeve was a beast on the boards with 14 rebounds, took two charges and constantly worked the crowd.

Going queit in the box score but certainly not in the game were Sean Murray and Brandford Sowah. Brandford Sowah, the Hawks star football player, came off the bench numerous times and locked down Woonsocket’s guards and created multiple turnovers. Coach Jamal Gomes’ strategy to insert Sowah into the game down the strech  was perfect coaching. Sean Murray, a captain and emotional leader was all over the court, coming up with big offense and defensive rebounds. His defensive pressure and hustle throughout the game spurred the Hawks to victory. Those two players are perfect role players and key pieces to the championship puzzle.

As a Hendricken Alma mater and former player I am extremely proud of Hendricken’s big win tonight and dominance over the last five years. Congratulations to Coach Gomes (who is not only a great coach but also a great person), Coach Robert “Commander” Stephenson and the rest of the Hawks team! Go Hawks!

“Fight for the Green, Fight for the Gold Mighty Men of Hendricken!”

Rak’s NCAA Tourney Seed Projections: March 9th

Here is a lil seed projections for the best time of the year, March Madness!:

1 Seeds:

UNC, Memphis, Tennessee, UCLA

Analysis: Duke and Texas fell out of contention for #1 seed with loses to UNC and Texas Tech. I can also see Kansas jumping ahead of Memphis, Tennessee and/or UCLA if they win thier tournament and one of those teams loses early.

2 Seeds:

Kansas, Georgetown, Texas, Duke

Georgetown cemented their position here with a win over Louisville.

3 Seeds

Wisconsin, Louisville, Xavier, Stanford

Wisconsin could also sneak into a 2 spot with a Big 10 tourney championship, Xavier must win the A-10 championship to stay at a 3 or else they would move to a 4-5 spot

4 Seeds

Norte Dame, Purdue, Uconn, Vanderbilt

I like Norte Dame to make some noise in the tourney, Gotee is a beast and they are packed with sharp shooters. Uconn is battle tested and have been came out on top in many close games and could make it far it given the right matchups.

5 seeds

Indiana, Butler, Michigan State, Marquette

Just say No to Pacman.

(pic- Techfunked.com)

ProFootball Talk reports that the Patriots have at least some interest in the Thug Pacman jones.

In a development that either is evidence of the value of a solid cornerback-kick returner or proof that pro football teams are still willing to overlook the turdish behavior of talented players, it appears that multiple teams are interested in Tennessee Titanscornerback Pacman Jones.  According to the Tennesseean, the Cowboys, the Dolphins, the Lions, the Raiders, the Chiefs, the Texans, the Saints, and the Patriots have expressed “at least some level of interest.”

I do not think that this is legit interest and I truly hope not. Pacman is the biggest thug in ALL of sports. I know that the Patriots are a place where thuggish athletes can straighten up but this is going a little bit too far. Just Say NO to PacMan.