NCN LAX/BASKETBALL BLOG

These rankings are as of noon, Jan. 27

1) Peekskill (14-0)

First off, a correction.

Mike Sabini, whose mind is essentially a Peekskill basketball Wikipedia page, alerted me that the Red Devils’ last home loss was not against Newburgh Free Academy in the 2006-07 season.

The loss was actually during the 2004-05 season against Spring Valley, 78-75, in the finals of the John Moro tourney. When I saw Coach Panzanaro at Friday’s Yorktown vs. Lakeland game, he told me Spring Valley beat them on a screen play at the end of regulation, which was still burned in his mind.

Speaking of Mr. 501-and-counting, his Wikipedia page was updated with the milestone. Yes, Panzanaro has a wiki page, which, in some circles, means you’ve made it.

But as it is every year, Peekskill’s ultimate goal is to capture its sixth state title — a ring for Panzanaro’s other thumb. To do so, they will have to get past upstate nemesis Jamesville-Dewitt (16-0), who is riding the state’s longest winning streak at 35 games. The Red Rams are the No. 1 team in NYS Class A rankings and are 30th in the ESPN Rise Fab 50 national rankings.

It’s almost like the roles from last year are reversed, as Jamesville has the highly touted Syracuse recruit in point guard Brandon Triche. It will be interesting to see how the Red Devils feed off the underdog role as they move toward a clash with JD.

Speaking of upstate updates, here’s a brief blurb on Mookie Jones: According to a Ryan Miller’s SU blog on Syracuse.com, Mookie will have season-ending hip surgery on Feb. 4. The article states that Mookie had been hampered by the hip injury since his junior year of high school. More importantly, Miller explains that Mookie will “probably” be granted a medical red shirt, meaning he won’t lose the year of eligibility. If he had played in two more games (30 percent), it would have been a lost season.

This is a perfect time for Mookie to go back in the lab and transform himself. Next year — when the masses have written him off — I expect big things. Don’t sleep on Mookie Jones in the next decade.

2) Mahopac (13-2)

Despite losing a one-point game to League I-C foe Arlington, Mahopac has already secured a share of the league title with John Jay/East Fishkill. If the Indians defeat JJEF on Feb. 4, they would win the league outright. Mahopac already took care of JJEF handily earlier in the season, so get your Michael Jordan celebration cigar ready, Indians.

That’s right, the Mahopac basketball team is on pace to win a league title. According to Head Coach Kevin Downes, the feat hasn’t been accomplished in over a decade.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you, as I succinctly remember saying, “Pac basketball is back.”

With that said, the task of maneuvering the Class AA playoffs is the equivalent of Kurt Warner sprinting past James Harrison around the edge. Mahopac actually reminds me a lot of the Arizona Cardinals. Downes and Whisenhunt are both young coaches, the Cards also hadn’t won a division title in forever (1975) and both squads play in a league/division that is an afterthought.

Downes said he thinks the top tier of Class AA — MV and NR — is clearly defined, but the rest is wide-open. Coming from the hinterlands league could actually work as motivation. Downes admitted that most Southern Westchester teams don’t take the Dutchess league seriously, which the Indians have used to fuel their fire.

Now, can they eventually blaze a Cardinals-esque path through the playoffs?

Right now, it’s best to concentrate on a potential championship match-up against Lakeland/Ossining in their tourney this weekend.

3) Yorktown (10-3)

“Win or lose, I’m just happy to be a part of this,” Coach Veteri said after the game. It was noisy and loud; it was a great place to be tonight. I felt like it was a college basketball game.”

It wasn’t a good job; it was a great job out of both schools.

Now, I have two things to mention.

First off, Tom Kelly deserves recognition for sinking those two free throws with 15.5 seconds left in regulation. He had a nightmarish meltdown against Scarsdale and redeemed himself in a big spot.

Second, the play of Keith Thomas can’t be understated. I was talking with former Yorktown player Brian Soirhando (’02) about Thomas at halftime.

“Never seen anything like it,” Soirhando said.

“Not around here — at least,” I said.

Thomas (pictured right) said he’s developing more trust in his teammates, meaning this could be the tip of the iceberg. After losing to New Rochelle in last year’s sectionals, Veteri admitted it was tough to compete with the athletes from the Southern Westchester schools.

Now, one has fallen into his lap.

“He should have been playing tonight with Mt. Vernon tonight in NYC,” Veteri said on Friday. “But I’m happy to have him here.”

The feeling is mutual.

“I like it here (Yorktown), it’s nice,” Thomas said. “I love my team.”

With Thomas, Yorktown has a legit chance to win its first league title since 1990. Yorktown and Lakeland are tied atop the league right now but have games remaining. Still, I think a Feb. 6 re-match at Lakeland will be for the league title. Can Yorktown do something they haven’t done in nearly two decades?

Here’s a little quote to build it up, which was given by Thomas in reference to Lakeland guard Gary Austin’s unreal third quarter.

“He is a strong player, but I just showed I’m a little stronger,” Thomas said. “And that’s it.”

4) Lakeland (11-2)

I warned people that Austen was an assassin. His third-quarter shooting performance against Yorktown was one for the ages.

It actually looked a lot like Coach Weltman’s son, Jason, circa 2002. I remember Jason going off from downtown in a huge upset over Peekskill.

Talking with Soirhando at halftime of the Yorktown game, Chris Fazio’s older brother, Tom Fazio, came over and remarked that he felt like it was high school all over again. Lakeland could’ve used Tom, who had a habit of sticking the knife in Yorktown’s heart.

As of now, Weltman is ready to move forward.

“We can’t dwell on this loss, it’s not worth it,” he said. “We only have one loss in the league and we are tied with Yorktown. We just have to get back to the drawing board and start all over again.”

5) Lincoln Hall (10-5)

Sir Aaron Taylor turned in a royal stat line — 19 points, 24 rebounds, three blocks and five steals — in a huge win over Briarcliff on Monday.

And he did it after overcoming a serious flu bug.

The Hall is 5-1 in their last six, monster-mashing through League III-A opponents. A loss to Pleasantville, who beat the United for the third time this year, was the lone hiccup.

“It’s a monkey on my back,” Head Coach Henry Taylor said of the struggles against the Panthers. “They just outwork us and do all the little things. Hopefully we won’t ever have to see them again.”

If Tysean Saigo (19 points against Briarcliff) can step it up on the defensive end, Lincoln Hall is going to be a tough out in the Class B playoffs.

Saigo reminds me of a Euro big man. He can shoot from the outside, handle the ball and flat out score. But for LH to come out of the insanely competitive Class B, he will need to add a little more David Robinson and ease up on the Pau Gasol.

“I still need [Saigo] to play a little better defense,” Taylor said.

6) Ossining (8-8)

The biggest enigma this side of Mississippi didn’t disappoint. Ossining escaped with a 64-63 OT win over Panas on Friday, as Jesse Drinks scored a game-high 19 points.

Will Coach Lonnie Drinks punch this team’s ticket to sectionals? He said they had to be competitive down the stretch to warrant a playoff appearance.

The final three games against Horace Greeley, Hen Hud and Cornwall have to be seen must-wins. Do you guys want your season to continue?

7) Croton-Harmon (8-5)

The Tigers ended a four-game skid with a solid OT win over Hen Hud. More importantly, Alex Judge (35 points) and Brandon Sileck (21 points) stayed hot. Combined with Coach Thom, these two kids are far too talented to let their senior season go by the wayside.

I envision some serious Tiger Pride down the stretch, as the Tigers growl their way to a 5-1 finish to the season. Remember, it was at almost this point last year that Thom’s crew turned it around.

And after I just watched the Nate Robinson single-handedly lead the Knicks over the Rockets, well, anything is possible.

8) Kennedy Catholic (8-7)

Did I curse the Gaels by pouring out copious amounts of ink on their behalf? It looks that way, as they dropped their third straight with a lopsided loss to Rye on Monday.

With an average of 43 ppg game in those losses, I’d say a serious shooting practice is in order. The Gaels cap off the season with five games against five high-quality opponents, so it’s effectively sink-or-swim time.

It is also time to burn the press clippings and light a fire, boys.

9) Briarcliff (8-7)

You have to like Head Coach Matt Evangelista’s playoff-coaching experience. Despite some struggles this season, I think the Bears start to peak as the season winds down.

10) Hen Hud (6-9)

For Hen Hud to play in League II-North and have this number of wins is, well, amazing.

In reality, the No. 5-11 teams in these rankings are all on the same level. On any given day, one could beat the other, making my job an utter nightmare.

11) Panas (1-13)

Hanging tough in a one-point OT loss to Ossining shows that the team isn’t quitting on Coach Sullivan.

— Isaac Cass