New C-P T20

No preamble this time. Without further ado:

1. Gami
2. CC
3. Spirit
4. Boro
5. Haddons
6. Wilson
7. AC
8. CH East
9. RV
10. Heights
11. Eustace
12. Williamstown
13. Eastern
14. Sacred Heart
15. Wash. Twp.
16. Cumberland
17. OCity
18. Timber Creek
19. Cinnaminson
20. Pitman

Almost: Moorestown, Cherokee, Paul VI, EHT, Holy Cross, Mainland, Hammonton, Pennsauken, Kingsway

I decided to take as much pressure as possible off Wilson and give them the underdog, hunter role they love so much, at least as far as the rankings are concerned. I don't think they're going to easily escape the target that comes with being the TOC winner, but at least they can go into the Spirit game with a lower rank.

This is the first week of the season in which the rankings include all the remaining undefeated teams, Pitman passed its Glassboro test to make it in at No. 20.

The big mover, of course, was Timber Creek, which moved down. I know this team is very capable. In fact, I believe they were the near equal of Willingboro when I saw them play over the holidays, but a loss to 2-5 Clearview is tough to swallow. My faith in the Chargers kept them in the T20, but they're going to have to start winning games to stay there.

The new teams are Ocean City (which got some strategic lobbying from an "unbiased" relative of mine, not that they needed it this week), Eastern, and the aforementioned Panthers of Pitman. Eastern has supplanted Pennsauken as the out-of-the-blue Olympic American contender, thanks to a one-point victory over Cherokee this week. The closest thing to a guaranteed win in that division is Lenape, and they were supposed to be the best team there. I understand that Brooke Keenan isn't playing, but it still goes to show how balanced -- and therefore how exciting -- that division race is; a team can lose one borderline all-star and go from the top to the bottom.

I didn't go out to cover a game today, but I was at the Haddonfield-Collingswood boys' game for about three quarters on another story. Man, that place was jammed. Talking to Nancy O'Neill the night before, I had been wishing that those two school had scheduled a boy-girl doubleheader for today, but after seeing the crowd at Collingswood's gym, I thought, "Maybe next year, when Brian Zoubek's taken his act to Cameron Indoor."

Boy-girl doubleheaders are a great idea, especially for the girls' teams, because it gets more people out to see both games. Every time I've been to a girls' game that goes on just before a big-time boys' game, the girls players raise their level of play to meet the heightened atmosphere. The problem, at least in the regular season, is the JV teams, since there are always a few players who split time between varsity and JV. But this shouldn't be a problem on a Saturday. Simply shedule the girls' JV at 10, the girls' varsity at 12, the boys varsity at 2 and the boys' JV at 4. Those who want it can have a quadruple header of high school basketball, and plenty of people get the benefit of the varsity boy-girl. The only danger is that so many girls' fans stay that some boys' fans get left out in the cold, but that's just more incentive for all the fans to come watch both games.

It would have been a nightmare today, but in general I think it's something schools should do more of. I know it's a pain in the ass, but there's a solid number of families out there with kids on both teams, who never get to see them play on the same day. Plus I know the Collingswood girls were disappointed at not getting to see the big game today.

Anyway, I've been in the office all day long and I'm tired, so I'll see y'all later.