Windsor High School’s Amir Spears drives to the basket during the CIAC Division I boys varsity basketball semifinal game at the University of Hartford against Immaculate High School on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.
More than nine months after Waterford held off New Britain to win the CIAC Division II state championship at the Mohegan Sun Arena, we are back for another boys basketball season.
Windsor lost to East Catholic in the Division I state final, but it’s the Warriors that open the 2019-20 season on top. Guards Corey McKeithan and Amir “Primo” Spears are both back. Widsor received 19 of the 20 first-place votes.
East Catholic received the other and is second, followed by five-time NVL champion Sacred Heart and Hillhouse to round out the top five.
2019-20 BOYS BASKETBALL: 25 PLAYERS TO WATCH | STORYLINES TO WATCH | GAMES TO WATCH
Thankfully, Windsor vs. East Catholic, originally scheduled to be played on Dec. 20 has been pushed back to Jan. 28. It’s the only meeting between the two CCC rivals.
Windsor plays at Hillhouse on Jan. 8.
Waterford stands at No. 9 in the poll before it begins its quest for a three-peat – the Lancers won Division III in 2018. Trinity Catholic is predicted to be the FCIAC champion, hence its spot in the top 10 at No. 8.
This year’s championship finals will be March 21-22 at the Sun. That gives us three months to determine the five state champions.
TEAM (1st place votes) | REC | PTS | LAST | DIVISION |
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 | 1. WINDSOR (19) | 24-4 | 598 | 2 | I |
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| Final 2018-19 result:Lost to East Catholic in Division I final. The Bottom Line: Guards Corey McKeithan and Amir “Primo” Spears are back for the Warriors. That’s bad news for everyone else. |
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 | 2. EAST CATHOLIC (1) | 27-1 | 539 | 1 | I |
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| Final 2018-19 result: Beat Windsor to win Division I state championship. The Bottom Line: The Eagles only return Matt Knowling from last year’s starting lineup, but Luke Reilly & Co. will still be just fine. |
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 | 3. SACRED HEART | 23-2 | 454 | 4 | I |
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| Final 2018-19 result: Lost to Trumbull in Division I quarterfinals.The Bottom Line: Nate Tabor and Jamaal Waters have departed, but Connor Tierney and Lorenzo Washington return, still making the Hearts the NVL favorites. | |||||||
 | 4. BASSICK | 20-2 | 408 | 5 | I |
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| Final 2018-19 result: Lost to Windsor in Division I quarterfinals. The Bottom Line:The Lions lost to just the state’s best two teams last year. Lost Kevin Crawford among others, so team may take a couple of steps back, but still a team you don’t want to see come March. |
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 | 5. HILLHOUSE | 13-11 | 347 | NR | I |
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| Final 2018-19 results: Lost to Notre Dame-West Haven in Division I second round. The Bottom Line: Academics hoping to bounce back from subpar season behind Ta’Zhon Daniels and Cinceree Lash. |
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 | 6. NOTRE DAME-WEST HAVEN | 22-3 | 339 | 10 | I |
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| Final 2018-19 result: Lost to Immaculate in Division I quarterfinals. The Bottom Line: The Green Knights lose Connor Raines among others, but still will be a contender in the deep Southern Connecticut Conference. |
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 | 7. IMMACULATE | 21-5 | 324 | 7 | I |
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| Final 2018-19 result:Lost to Windsor in Division I semifinals. The Bottom Line: The Mustangs pick up where they left off in last year’s final poll. Has a leg up in a wide-open South-West Conference race. |
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 | 8. TRINITY CATHOLIC | 8-13 | 290 | NR | I |
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| Final 2018-19 result: Lost to Fairfield Prep in Division I first round. The Bottom Line: Crusaders will have a bounce-back season in the FC IAC behind Akim Joseph. Being ranked raises those expectations. |
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 | 9. WATERFORD | 26-1 | 283 | 3 | II |
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| Final 2018-19 result:Beat New Britain to win Division II state championship. The Bottom Line: Only team not in Division I ranked, and deservedly so based off its two consecutive state championships. Lancers lost its starting backcourt, so making another successful run in March will not be easy. |
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 | 10. NORWICH FREE ACADEMY | 16-8 | 232 | NR | I |
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| Final 2018-19 result: Lost to Weaver in Division I first round. The Bottom Line: Wildcats look to be the favorite inh the Eastern Connecticut Conference after falling to Waterford in the Division I league tournament final last season. |
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| Dropped out: Farmington (6), Trumbull (8) and New Britain (9). First-place votes in parentheses and points tabulated on a 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7 basis. |
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| Others receiving votes: Crosby (15-9), 231; Old Lyme (21-6), 126; Wilbur Cross (16-8), 123; Prince Tech (23-3), 114; Hamden (16-8), 96; Naugatuck (16-7), 61; Trumbull (20-5), 57; Fitch (13-11), 56; Weaver (11-11), 50; Granby (23-4), 44; Fairfield Warde (15-9), 43; Glastonbury (21-5) and Farmington (19-4), 38; Wamogo (23-1), 27; New Canaan (20-5), 24; New Britain (20-7) and Northwest Catholic (9-12), 22; Bristol Central (8-13), 15; Newtown (15-8), 12; Bunnell (20-6) and Kolbe Cathedral (11-12), 10; Danbury (16-8), Holy Cross (13-10) and Sheehan (13-10), 9; West Haven (14-10), 8; Ridgefield (17-7) and WCA (14-10), 7. | |||||||
| The following voted: Paul Augeri, Middletown Press; Bill Bloxsom, Milford/Trumbull Pubs; Mike DiMauro, The Day of New London; Scott Ericson, Stamford Advocate; Dave Grant, WATR-AM; Tim Jensen, Patch Media Corp.; Sean Krofssik, Record-Journal of Meriden; Mike Madera, GameTimeCT; Kyle Maher, Journal-Inquirer of Manchester; Shawn McFarland, Hartford Courant; Joe Morelli, New Haven Register; Keith O'Brien, Game Day CT Sports; John Pierson, WTNH-8; Dave Phillips, Shore Line Newspapers; Kevin Roberts, Republican-American; Dave Ruden, The Ruden Report; Ben Talbott, Bird’s Eye Sports; Richard Zalusky, The Chronicle of Willimantic; Jimmy Zanor, Norwich Bulletin; Joe Zone, WFSB-3. NOTE: The poll is scheduled to return in early 2020. Poll Compiled by Joe Morelli |
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