Uncategorized

Selection Sunday: Super Bracketology – Class B

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 B. The depth of the conference is on full display. The middle years were dominated by the Kennedy Catholic and Albertus Magnus dynasties. But the remaining years saw great parity.

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 B

Automatic Bids – Champions of Class B
Section 1 Champions

2020 – Hastings (23-2)
2019 – Dobbs Ferry (20-5)
2018 – Briarcliff (22-5)
2017 – Pleasantville (17-8)
2016 – Briarcliff (23-2)
2015 – Woodlands (22-4)
2014 – Woodlands (19-6)
2013 – Lourdes (17-6)
2012 – Albertus Magnus (20-3)
2011 – Albertus Magnus (18-5)
2010 – Woodlands (19-3)

2009 – Lincoln Hall (18-7)
2008 – North Salem (22-2)
2007 – Briarcliff (20-4)
2006 – Kennedy (23-4)
2005 – Kennedy (22-4)
2004 – Kennedy (25-2)
2003 – *Tuckahoe (20-5)
2002 – *Blind Brook (28-1)
2001 – *Pleasantville (19-7)
2000 – *Pleasantville (19-5)

* – Won Class C title but is included here for winning the third largest classification

Kennedy’s duo of Tyrell Thompson and Dan O’Connell

The No. 1 Seeds:

2004 Kennedy: The Federation champs are regarded as the best team in school history. Peter Courtney was the MVP, Dan Gumb was a commanding presence inside, and the rise of youngsters Dan O’Connell and Tyrell Thompson set the program up for a dynasty.

2001 Pleasantville: Kyl Jones was an unstoppable force for the Panthers, leading the program to back to back section titles.

2002 Blind Brook: One of the most heralded small-school teams in recent history. Jason Stein and John-Michael Grzan led the Trojans to an undefeated season and a state championship. Kevin Aughavin, Chris Greco, and David Stockel rounded out a talented unit.

2012 Albertus Magnus: Tyler Sayre, Pat McGuinness, Kyle Sullivan, Arnelle Dandridge and Tom McConnell led the Falcons to a dominant two-year reign in the conference.

At-Large Bids: Class B

2000 Croton-Harmon (18-5): The Tigers, led by Greg Muller, Jim Higgins and Wesley Diehl, reached the section final but lost a heartbreaker to Pleasantville despite 27 points from Muller.

2001 Woodlands (18-4): The Falcons were the top seed but lost to Pleasantville in the section final.

2003 Hastings (21-1): This group had an eye on a state championship under first-year head coach Chris Ward before running into Tuckahoe in the semis. George Skrelja, Chris Skrelja and Jimmy Sugrue headlined as 21-0 team that stormed into the final four.

2007 Woodlands (17-6): This was supposed to be the team that broke through and won a section title but the Falcons were upset by Briarcliff in the final. Larry Grant was a superbly talented scorer and had a supporting cast of Taj Everly, Justin Person and Rudolph Lys.

2008 Briarcliff (18-5): The trio of Joe Lombardi, Alex Gulotta and Kyle Beechum won a section title the year prior but was knocked off in an unforgettable championship game to North Salem at the County Center.

2009 Pleasantville (16-8): This team arrived ahead of schedule and nearly faced a Lincoln Hall squad in the final that they beat three times in the regular season. But the Panthers lost in the final seconds in the title game.

2010 Pleasantville (20-2): With Jack Bramswig, Nolan Robinson, Robbie Delle Bovi and Matt Nicolai all back, the Panthers eyed a Gold Ball. But they were again beaten in heartbreaking fashion by a controversial Woodlands squad in the final.

2012 Dobbs Ferry (19-2): This was the breakout season for Eric Paschall at Dobbs Ferry. He was surrounded by a slew of multi-sport stars in Eddie Ritch, John Yozzo-Scapperotta, Spencer Avalos and Thomas Fleming. The Eagles were without Paschall in their championship game loss to Albertus Magnus after he picked up two technical fouls in the semis/

2013 Dobbs Ferry (15-7): Paschall came back for his junior season and carried the Eagles on an epic ride into the championship game. He and Nick Kost put on a performance of the decade but Dobbs Ferry was beaten by Lourdes in overtime.

2014 Putnam Valley (18-4): The Tigers suffered some heartbreakers at the County Center. This was their best team to date. Veterans Jelani Bell-Isaac and Zack Coleman were terrific and Ryan Basso and Zack Nolan were reliable guards and consistent shooters.

2020 Valhalla (19-5): The loss to Hastings in the section final last week still lingers, but this was as talented a runner-up in Class B this decade. Sebastian Pacheco and Marlin Wise were at the top of an insanely deep and athletic Vikings roster.

Regions: Nelligan Region, Delle Bovi Region, Jensen Region, McFadden Region. Named after former Kennedy coach Tom Nelligan, Hastings coach Bob Delle Bovi, former Pleasantville coach Glenn Jensen and Albertus Magnus coach Pat McFadden.

Categories: Uncategorized

Tagged as:

Leave a Reply