The Section 1 SuperBracketology Tournament, presented by KDJ Media and LocalLive Networks, is here. Our journey to decide the best boys basketball team in each class is since 2000 can begin.

Next up: Class A. This was probably the most wide-ranging field of teams since the turn of the century are broken down into two eras: The Peekskill Era of the 2000s, and the Tappan Zee/Byram Hills Era of the 2010s.

Before we reveal the brackets, a look at the rules, format, and how the field was determined for each class:

• Field is broken down into four: Class AA, A, B and a combined C/D
• 21 Section 1 champions from 2000 through 2020 in Classes AA, A, B and C received “Automatic Bids”
• 11 Section 1 teams from 2000 through 2020 in Classes AA, A, B, C and D were selected as “At-Large Bids”
• Four additional teams received At-Large Bids in Class A (because it was way too deep and competitive), which means there will be four Play-In games to determine the four No. 8 seeds in the bracket
• Each bracket is single elimination
• Before 2004, NYS only had four classifications, the largest being Class A. For the sake of balance and organization, the bids from 2000-2003 were all moved up a class (ex: Mount Vernon won Class A in 2000 but will be placed in the AA bracket for this project; Tuckahoe won Class C in 2003 but will be in the Class B bracket).
• Please print out the PDF version of brackets below and fill out. There will be polls for each game as well as my own simulation to determine the winners for each round. Those will begin on Thursday and Friday.

Now that the rules and format are all mapped out, here are the brackets for each class:

SuperBracketology: Class A

Automatic Bids – Champions of Class A
Section 1 Champions

The No. 1 Seeds:

2006 Peekskill (28-1): Mookie Jones and Derek Dennis headlined what was the deepest team in Class A since the turn of the century. Their only loss was to Wings Academy.

2019 Poughkeepsie (25-4): Still the defending state champions since this year’s tournament was cancelled for the virus. Davontrey Thomas and Co. captured a state title under first-year head coach Cody Moffett.

2012 Tappan Zee (25-1): The only No. 1 seed to not win a state title. It’s a testament to this group, which pulled off the most remarkable wins since 2000 by beating Jamesville-Dewitt in the state semis. The lineup of Pat Peterson, Joe Letizia, Billy O’Shea, Brian McLaughlin and Eric Casey goes down among the best.

2007 Peekskill (25-4): The team that went into Jimmer Fredette’s house in Glens Falls, forced him to shoot 3 for 24 in the final, and won a third straight state championship.

At-Large Bids: Class A

Note: There are 4 extra at-large teams to account for the 4 Play-In Games

Play-in Teams
2011 Tappan Zee (16-5): The team sandwiched in between Gold Ball squads, which hard largely the same roster. This squad only made the semifinals in the section, losing to Pearl River.

2013 Byram Hills (19-2): The forever tandem of Jeff Lynch and Ryan Golden were beaten in their final season in the section final by a surging Poughkeepsie squad.

2018 Tappan Zee (19-5): This team came on strong in the postseason, knocking off top-seeded and heavily-favored Saunders in the quarterfinals before eventually losing to Ardsley in the final/

2002 Lakeland (19-4): This group was part of maybe the best final four of the century (along with 2019). Tom Fazio, Tom Jennings, Henry Weltman and a young Ryan Schneider led the Hornets into the County Center with a loaded Peekskill, Kennedy Catholic and Nyack squads.

2014 Eastchester (19-3): Destiny wasn’t on this group’s side. Jack Daly was the school’s all-time best player and had a cast around him with Mike Milo, Benny DiMirco, Nick Campana, and Andrew Schultz. This team beat New Rochelle and Kingston in the regular season.

2011 Pearl River (17-4): You can’t forget this Luke Houston team in Pearl River. The Pirates knocked off rival Tappan Zee at the County Center before falling to Byram Hills in the title game.

2017 Tappan Zee (22-2): Kevin Lynch guided this Dutchmen squad into the championship before falling in a heart-breaker to Lourdes.

2017 Byram Hills (21-2): Lourdes ended this group’s reign as champs. Skylar Sinon, Matt Groll, Matt Milone, Ben Leff and Willy Samsen were a terrific starting lineup.

Remaining At-Large Bids:

2000 Nyack (21-3): The Indians stormed into the section final with a rising core of Ronnie King, Alvin Carter, Jason Alcin, big man James Smith and Nigel Morris, a group that won a football state title in the final.

2001 Peekskill (20-4): This team was knocking on the door with young stars Rashard Turner and big man Hilton Armonstrong, plus the electric guard play of Keith Staton.

2002 Kennedy (19-3): Donnie McGrath averaged 30.9 points, 7.6 assists and 6.5 rebounds in his final season with the Gaels, leading them into the sectional final four before falling to Peekskill.

2002 Nyack (22-1): Nigel Morris was arguably the best all-around athlete of the 2000s in Rockland County. After winning a Gold Ball the previous season, he had this group undefeated and in the section final against Peekskill.

2004 Port Chester (20-2): This group, under head coach Jeff Charney, dominated the regular season, including a commanding win over Fox Lane in the regular season. While they lost the rematch in the final at the County Center, the nucleus of Melvin “Porky” Calhoun, Chad Charney and Leon Hill.

2006 Port Chester (18-5): Greg Avila and Mohammad Lo transferred into the district and the big men dominated. Lou Larizza was a talented 3-point threat and there was no shortage of quick, dynamic guards on the roster.

2007 Lakeland (18-5): This team should have beat Peekskill. With Lou DeMello, Ralph Watts, Wayne Everett, Victor Lulgjuraj and Joe Mostafa, this team was on the wrong end of one of the most controversial calls in County Center history. The ball did not hit the rim.

Regions: Panzanaro Region, Gaine Region, Repa Region, Santoro Region