You’ve waited long enough.

Thanks to an overwhelming response on Twitter this week to the SuperBracketology project — the quest to find the Best Section 1 Boys Basketball Teams of the 2000s in bracket form — we continue with the opening round of (simulated) competition.

Please, remember this is all for the sake of entertainment during this stressful and agonizing period of our lives. It’s supposed to be fun and debate-provoking. My goal is simply to distract and entertain you. In the end, this bracket doesn’t mean anything.

With that said, we are off to my career-defining exercise!

Here’s the pre-tournament bracket that I posted on Selection Sunday. All 21 of the Section 1 championships from Class C (and D from 2000-2003 when there was only four classes) earned automatic bids. I also chose 11 at-large teams to fill out a 32-team field.

SuperBracketology of the 2000s: Class C/D First Round Results

Sassone Region

No. 1 Hamilton 2004 vs. No 8 Children’s Village 2013

Records
Hamilton (21-4) – Won NYSPHSAA Class D Championship
Children’s Village (19-2) – Reached Section 1 Class C Final

Starting lineups

The buildup: The 2004 Hamilton team was loaded and had been building for a run like this for three seasons after losing in the 2000 state final in triple overtime (longest game in NYS tourney history) to Hamilton of Section 3. This Hamilton squad beat Blind Brook, which won the Class C state title the same season, in the regular season and lost only to North Salem by a point, to Tuckahoe and to large school programs Nyack and Carmel.

This is the best Children’s Village team in program history. They split with Palisade Prep in the regular season before losing the Phoenix in the championship and averaged nearly 70 points per game. CV was an electrifying, guard-oriented squad that had four players averaged in double figures, led by Jones (18 ppg) and Padgett (17.2 ppg).

KDJ’s Pick: Hamilton was such a well-oiled machine in the second half of the season and into the playoffs. Paladio masterfully ran the offense, Redd was a clutch knockdown shooter and the 6-foot-4 McDuffie, who went on to play at Adelphi, dominated the interior. Children’s Village lacked the size and athleticism to contend with Hamilton inside.

FINAL SCORE: HAMILTON 74, CHILDREN’S VILLAGE 68. Big game out of McDuffie (27 points and 14 rebounds) against the smaller CV team and Paladio dishes out seven assists.

No. 4 Haldane 2015 vs. No. 5 Blind Brook 2000

Records
Haldane 2015 (18-5): Won Section 1 Class C title; lost in state semis
Blind Brook 2000 (18-3): No. 2 seed in Section 1 Class D tournament, lost to champion Hamilton in the semis

Startling lineups

The buildup: Get used to seeing these names on Blind Brook. This is the nucleus of the team that won the Class C state championship two years later. They suffered some tough losses in the preceding years before an undefeated 2002. Haldane was a group that had broken through the previous year and won a Gold Ball, then took another major step by repeating and reaching Glens Falls. Peter Hoffmann was among Section 1’s breakout stars in 2015 and headlined a young core of Blue Devils that would reach the state championship game the following season.

KDJ’s Pick: Interesting matchup here. Blind Brook’s Jason Stein always played bigger than his 6-foot-4 frame. This, though, would be a difficult matchup against the front-line of this Haldane team. Stein and Hoffmann would be a stellar head-to-head showdown. But in the end, a Haldane team that had two gold balls has to get the edge over a Blind Brook squad two years away from winning its first.

FINAL SCORE: HALDANE 64, BLIND BROOK 62. Hoffman and Stein both go for 20 and 10. Tucker Beachek hit five 3s, including the go-ahead score in the final minute to win it.

No. 3 Lincoln Hall 2005 vs. No. 6 Hamilton 2018

Records
Lincoln Hall 2005 (16-7): Won Section 1 Class C title, lost in regional semis
Hamilton 2018 (17-6): Won Section 1 Class C title; lost in regional final

Startling lineups

The buildup: This is an interesting buildup. In 2005, Lincoln Hall was a first year program that nobody had ever heard of. Hamilton was a storied program in 2018 that hadn’t won in 11 years. The Red Raiders had been knocking for a few years under coach Keith Wright and finally busted through behind a deep rotation and many interchangeable parts. Frederick really came into his own as a shot-blocker and low post threat, and Barrera and Green were clutch from the outside. Lincoln Hall was built around Ricardo Pierce, a do-it-all threat who ended up in 2005 among the elite players in the entire section by March.

KDJ’s Pick: Lincoln Hall in 2004-05 struggled early. But the season really turned around with an OT win at Hamilton mid-year. Pierce found his perimeter threat in Jazzian Jenkins, while Watts and Rodriguez committed on the defensive end. Once they emerged, Pierce flourished and he would in this game also.

FINAL SCORE: LINCOLN HALL 66, HAMILTON 60. Ricardo Pierce has a solid 16 points and nine rebounds and Jenkins locks up the 3-point specialists on Hamilton enough to win.

No. 2 Haldane 2016 vs. No. 7 Hamilton 2007

Records
Haldane 2016 (17-10): Won Section 1 Class C title, lost in state final
Hamilton 2007 (13-11): Won Section 1 Class C championship; lost in first round of state tournament

Startling lineups

The buildup: Of the three Haldane teams that won back-to-back-to-back titles, this team went the furthest but probably was probably No. 3 in the order. What this Blue Devils squad had was guts, evidenced by their state tournament wins by five points or less. Hamilton had one of the section’s best players in 2007 in Jamal Lightbourne.

KDJ’s Pick: You can look at resumes in this matchup. Or you could look strictly at the talent. Haldane went to a state final. But this Hamilton team had a bonafide star in Lightbourne and a really strong nucleus of players around him. They had their ups and downs. Lightbourne averaged 18.4 points per game that season and took his game to another level in the playoffs.

FINAL SCORE: HAMILTON 64, HALDANE 62. Upset! Lightbourne goes for 30 and the Red Raiders are moving on.

Watson Region

No. 1 Tuckahoe 2012 vs. No. 8 Croton-Harmon 2005

Records
Tuckahoe 2012 (25-0): Won NYSPHSAA Class C state championship
Croton-Harmon 2005 (17-6): Reached Section 1 Class C final

Startling lineups

The buildup: This was supposed to be Croton-Harmon’s year to win a title. But Lincoln Hall, a first year program, ruined that. Tuckahoe in 2012, meanwhile, was a team built to win a state championship. And they did that in convincing fashion. Nobody in the playoffs came closer than seven points of the Tigers, who went down as one of the dominant teams in Section 1 history.

KDJ’s Pick: In my opinion, Tuckahoe had the best player in the section in 2012 in Sky Williams and a terrific supporting cast. Justin Nolan and Shyheim Nixon flourished in the postseason. Nick DiMaggio was a talented scorer and the DiMaggio vs Williams would have been fun to watch. But this game goes to the Tigers.

FINAL SCORE: TUCKAHOE 77, CROTON-HARMON 65. Sky Williams scored 33, Justin Nolan added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

No. 4 Tuckahoe 2019 vs. No. 5 Tuckahoe 2000

Records
Tuckahoe 2019 (17-7): Won the Section 1 Class C title, lost in the regional finals
Tuckahoe 2000 (18-5): Upset No. 1 Haldane in the Section 1 semis, lost to Hamilton in the Class D final

Startling lineups

The buildup: Love a good Tuckahoe vs Tuckahoe matchup. Amazingly, none of the players on the 2019 team were likely even born when the 2000 squad had its playoff run in 2000. What I respect most about the 2019 version was the fact they overcame ridiculous adversity in the state playoffs when they were forced to play their state regional semi with Millbrook two days early and on 8 hours notice because of a communication error at the section level. The Tigers won that game in OT before falling to Greenport in the next round. Tuckahoe in 2000 was stocked with veteran, multi-sport talent. Greaves was a dynamic scorer, and they brought all-state football star Audwin Davis and Mike Mulhearn off the bench.

KDJ’s Pick: Tough one here for the orange and black. It really comes down to the the prolific scorer ability of Malik Moore vs. the depth of talent of the 2000 team. When in doubt, go with the team with the best player. That’s Moore.

FINAL SCORE: 2019 TUCKAHOE 59, 2000 TUCKAHOE 55. Lots of confusion for the referees and the PA announcers. But Malik Moore goes for 28 and the baby Tigers beat the (now) old men.

No. 3 Valhalla 2009 vs. No. 6 Blind Brook 2010

Records
Valhalla 2009 (20-5): Won Section 1 Class C title, lost in regional final
Blind Brook 2010 (16-8): Won Section 1 Class C title, lost in state semis

Startling lineups

The buildup: These programs in this era really did not like each other. Blind Brook 2010 upset Valhalla in the final despite the Vikings returning the core of the championship team from the previous season. James Jensen was among the most underrated player in the late 2000s, and the showdown inside against Freundlich would be a battle. Valhalla 2009 came up one game short of the 2010 Blind Brook team.

KDJ’s Pick: This is the toughest game in the first round to pick. Saliba and Lavitt took huge steps in 2010 as players, and the graduation of the Yates and Hart were really felt. Also don’t forge in 2010, Valhalla had Annunziata returning from a broken elbow and playing almost with one hand. A healthy Annunziata at point guard pushes the Vikings ahead here.

FINAL SCORE: VALHALLA 58, BLIND BROOK 57. Great game down to the wire. Jensen and Freundlich battle for 32 minutes but it’s the big shot late by Yates to that proves to be the difference.

No. 2 Haldane 2001 vs. No. 7 Leake & Watts 2003

Records
Haldane 2001 (21-4): Won Section 1 Class D title; lost in state semis to eventual champion Batavia Notre Dame
Leake & Watts 2003 (12-9): Won Section 1 Class D title; lost in regional final to eventual state champion S.S. Seward

Startling lineups

The buildup: Both of these teams can stake the claim they gave the eventual state champion their toughest game of the postseason. Leake & Watts, with its imposing front line that averaged 6-foot-4 in height, nearly upset a Seward team (losing 60-58) that won its state final four games by a combined 40 points. Jason Coston (6-5, 260) was a force in the paint for the Lions. Haldane, meanwhile, field arguably the best team in program history. Greg Anderson was on another level in the playoffs and the Virgadamo brothers in the backcourt were relentless defensively.

KDJ’s Pick: Leake & Watts wins this matchup on paper. But when you take a deeper look at an actual game, Haldane 2001 mirrors the Seward team that beat Leake & Watts two years later. Plus they played a ridiculously tough schedule and are prepared for a spotlight like this.

FINAL SCORE: HALDANE 81, LEAKE & WATTS 79. Greg Anderson has the game of his career, scoring 37 and the Blue Devils advance.

Charney Region

No. 1 Hamilton 2020 vs. No. 8 Haldane 2000

Records
Hamilton 2020 (20-3): Won Section 1 Class C title; reached regional final before state playoffs were suspended
Haldane 2000 (16-5): Lost to Tuckahoe in Section 1 Class D semifinals

Startling lineups

The buildup: Another matchup of teams where one group wasn’t even born yet. Haldane in 2000 was coming off a section championship and one year away from winning another. The Blue Devils were tripped up in the semis as the Class D playoffs, and here are up against a Hamilton team that never faltered this past season. The Red Raiders beat Class A champion Rye, played down-to-the-wire with Class B champ Hastings and dominated the rest of the way with a versatile, deep core of talent.

KDJ’s Pick: Hamilton 2020 probably caught some eyes as a No. 1 seed in this bracket going back to 21 years. It shouldn’t be. As good as basketball was in Section 1 back in the early 2000s, especially in the old Class D, this Hamilton squad belongs. The versatility of Belcher and Harris alone make them a brutal matchup over the decades.

FINAL SCORE: HAMILTON 64, HALDANE 59. The Blue Devils get knocked off here by a Hamilton team that, if the state playoffs weren’t suspended, would be playing this weekend in Glens Falls.

No. 4 Blind Brook 2001 vs. No. 5 Tuckahoe 2008

Records
Blind Brook 2001 (20-2): Reached Section 1 Class D championship game
Tuckahoe 2008 (14-8): Won Section 1 Class C title; lost in regionals

Startling lineups

The buildup: Blind Brook was building up in 2001 for their great run the following season while this Tuckahoe team somewhat came out of nowhere as the No. 4 seed to capture the Section 1 championship. Robert Johnson had a stellar postseason for the Tigers, and Joseph Melendez was just a winner in everything he played. The task of defending the emerging talents of Grzan and Stein, however, would be a challenge.

KDJ’s Pick: The Trojans clicked this season and had everything but a Gold Ball to show for it. They lost to Haldane in the section final. They would not, however, get beat by an eight-loss Tuckahoe team.

FINAL SCORE: BLIND BROOK 57, TUCKAHOE 52. Grzan has 11 assists, Stein pours in 22 points and 16 boards and Blind Brook moves on.

No. 3 Hamilton 2000 vs. No. 6 Clark Academy 2016

Records
Hamilton 2000 (20-5): Won Section 1 Class D championship; reached the NYSPHSAA title game
Clark Academy 2016 (16-8): Won Section 1 Class D title; reached state final four

Startling lineups

The buildup: Hamilton was a team on a mission in the playoffs behind the sharpshooting of Troy Brewster and the emergence of hulking big man Justice Hall. And they were missed free throws away from winning a state title before losing to Section 3’s Hamilton in TRIPLE OT. Clark had a talented group that, after years of winning Gold Balls, broke through and reached Glens Falls for the first time.

KDJ’s Pick: Looking back, we may have been too difficult in seeding this Hamilton team. The Red Raiders were loaded, deep and playing their best basketball in the tournament. If they hadn’t shot under 50% in the state final, they have another banner. As good as Clark was, and Carthorn was among the most underrated scorers in the section in his tenure, it would be hard to matchup with this Hamilton team for four quarters.

FINAL SCORE: HAMILTON 68, CLARK ACADEMY 61. Justice Hall goes for 21 and 14 rebounds and Troy Brewster knocks down six 3s in a Hamilton victory.

No. 2 Martin Luther King 2005 vs. No. 7 Haldane 2014

Records
MLK 2005 (19-4): Won NYSPHSAA Class D state championship
Haldane 2014 (15-7): Won Section 1 Class C title; lost in regional finals

Startling lineups

The buildup: Of all the teams I covered in my career, MLK of 2015 was among my favorite. They were a group that always found a way to bond together when things got tight, which was never more evident than in the state semifinal win over Pine Valley. Lopez ran the point, Keys was a reliable perimeter shooter and the 6-foot-8 Mingo was an extremely athletic big in the middle. Haldane captured the first of three straight Section 1 titles behind a young core of talent.

KDJ’s Pick: MLK was the perfect small school team. The Tigers weren’t particularly deep. But they had clearly defined roles, the experience of losing of a heartbreaker to eventual state champ Hamilton the year before, and a coach in Andre Cook who knew exactly how to focus them. Haldane poses matchup problems with Hoffmann on the perimeter and Zuvic inside. But you cannot discount this MLK team’s ability to always rise to a challenge.

FINAL SCORE: MARTIN LUTHER KING 64, HALDANE 60. Mingo has a double-double and Keys scores 27 in the win.

Virgadamo Region

No. 1 Blind Brook 2004 vs. No. 8 Leake & Watts 2002

Records
Blind Brook 2004 (21-6): Won NYSPHSAA Class C championship
Leake & Watts 2002 (18-5): Won first ever Class D title, lost in regionals

Startling lineups

The buildup: The birth of the Leake & Watts program caught many by surprises as they won a section title in only their second year of existence, beating Hamilton by 15 points in the title game. Their stay in the state playoffs was short-lived but the roster was filled with talent that the program competing for titles for the next four years. Blind Brook was a team that went on a historic run after an average regular season. They molded together in the playoffs, beat top seed Valhalla in the final and never lost.

KDJ’s Pick: The athleticism and size of Leake & Watts against the defensive prowess and resiliency of Blind Brook. The Trojans are one of the few teams in this entire bracket that has a matchup for Coston inside thanks to Wethington, who was as physically imposing as any player in the section that season. He would not back down from this style of game. Leake & Watts would have its runs but ultimately would struggle to get good shots against the matchup zone of Blind Brook.

FINAL SCORE: BLIND BROOK 57, LEAKE & WATTS 51. Wethington posts a rugged 15 points and 13 rebounds and Michael Bennett and Steve Gross each go for 14 in the win.

No. 4 Tuckahoe 2011 vs. No. 5 North Salem 2017

Records
North Salem 2017 (17-7): Won Section 1 Class C title; lost in regional semis
Tuckahoe 2011 (19-4): Won Section 1 Class C title; lost in regional final to eventual state champion Friends Academy

Startling lineups

The buildup: This was the Tuckahoe team before the best in school history. Williams, Nolan, and Nixon were all underclassmen who coasted through Section 1 and reached the regional championship. North Salem dropped down to Class C this season and didn’t shock anyone with a veteran core by. winning the section title. The team had the talent to go deep in the state playoffs but suffered a poor shooting night and lost to Millbrook in the first round. Chris Alterio was fantastic in the section final, scoring 27 points, including the 1,000th of his career, to earn MVP honors.

KDJ’s Pick: This is what you’d expect in a 4-5 matchup. North Salem poses so many matchup issues for the Tigers given the size and versatility of Alterio and D’Allessandro, plus an array of strong guards. But this Tuckahoe team had a toughness to them and you could make a really strong case that they were the best Class C public school team in 2011, as well.

FINAL SCORE: TUCKAHOE 56, NORTH SALEM 53. Sky Williams scored 30 and the Tigers move on.

No. 3 Palisade Prep 2013 vs. No. 6 Blind Brook 2005

Records
Palisade Prep 2013 (): Won Section 1 Class C championship; lost in regionals
Blind Brook 2005 (): Reached Section 1 Class C semifinals

Startling lineups

The buildup: This Palisade Prep team might be the most underrated in this entire bracket. I gave them a No. 3 seed and a brutal opening round matchup against a reigning state champion. Pal Prep had one of the area’s top players in Isaiah Ward and a solid, balanced group of players around him. Sabino, Tate, Truss and Williams all had the ability to lead the team in scoring on a given night. Blind Brook suffered a devastating sectional semifinal defeat in 2005 to eventual champ Lincoln Hall. Gross was really the only starting holdover from the state championship team.

KDJ’s Pick: Pal Prep poses enough defensive problems to Blind Brook that not even the Trojans can handle. Ward’s ability to step outside and also attack the rim, plus the shooting of Sabino and Truss would be difficult to keep up with for four quarters.

FINAL SCORE: PALISADE PREP 59, BLIND BROOK 52. Ward leads four scorers in double figures and the Phoenix advance.

No. 2 Tuckahoe 2006 vs. No. 7 Valhalla 2010

Records
Tuckahoe 2006 (14-9): Won Section 1 Class C title; lost in first round of state playoffs
Valhalla 2010 (17-4): Reached Section 1 Class C championship game

Startling lineups

The buildup: Valhalla 2010 is the ultimate ‘What if’ team. The Vikings won a section title the previous season, returned the core and then lost star point guard Dan Annunziata for most of the season, falling to Blind Brook in section final. This Tuckahoe team had all the talent to win but struggled for part of the regular season. They finally turned it on when it mattered most, capturing a section title behind the emergence of multi-sport stars Lowell Robinson, Tristan Alexander and Joe Melendez.

KDJ’s Pick: These are two balanced, deep and talented squads. Robinson had the ability to take over a game. Tristan Alexander was a workhorse in the playoffs and had help inside with Jason Davis and Porter Munroe. As long as the Tigers could keep their starters on the floor, they have an advantage here head-to-head.

FINAL SCORE: TUCKAHOE 60, VALHALLA 59 OT. Robinson and Alexander each scored 18 each and the Tigers move on.

UPDATED BRACKET: