Who’s No. 1? CBA vs. Holmdel

As soon as Holmdel lost in the SCT, not only did we miss out on a potential classic final, but now I have to pick a No. 1 between an SCT champ that lost in the toughest section in N.J. and a state champion that beat one very good team (Chatham), two solid teams (Hopewell and Hightstown) and three okay teams.

I know most of the people clamoring for either side have some sort of bias, so as an independent observer, I’ll give you my take on the matter and you can cheer or applaud as you see fit.

In all honesty, I just don’t see how I can rank Holmdel ahead of CBA. I think a head-to-head game would have been a virtual toss-up, but if you’re judging by what actually did happen this season, CBA has the stronger resume. The Colts won the more difficult division, won the Conference Tournament without ever really being up against the wall and technically did not lose since Sept. 11. The only teams CBA did not beat were top 20 teams in the state – St. Joe’s Metuchen and Delbarton. If you switched CBA to Group III and Holmdel to Non-Public A, I feel pretty certain that CBA would have won a state title. Holmdel might have made the championship game, but I think that outcome is a lot more certain.

That’s why state championships – while they mean a lot to the school – don’t mean as much in regional rankings. In fact, you will probably see Holmdel ranked ahead of CBA in the state rankings. The Star Ledger doesn’t have the luxury of matching up all the teams on an even playing field. They have to rank them based on a significant degree of subjectivity, which is not easy, especially when you don’t see much of some of the teams. In my case, or Josh Newman’s case for that matter, we’re ranking a set of teams that ultimately participate in the same tournament just before the state playoffs. This year, CBA won that tournament and in being eliminated from the state tournament, technically did not lose. Holmdel, meanwhile, did lose to someone else in the conference.

I’m also not saying that winning the SCT automatically gets you the No. 1 ranking. Last year, Marlboro won the SCT but Toms River South won Group IV. If Raritan had won the SCT, I would have ranked Raritan No. 1 in the Shore, but since TR South won the same group in which the SCT champion lost, I gave the nod to the state champs, not the SCT champs. In Holmdel’s case, subjectivity does come into play. Non-Public A is tougher than Group III and because of that, CBA’s SCT holds up in the ranking.

A nice little Tournament of Champions would solve the matter, but how do you work that? Thanksgiving is this week, so the semis and finals wouldn’t be until almost December. Maybe you suck it up and do it. They’re playing a senior all-star game on Dec. 5, so they can play meaningful games as well. The Basketball TOC goes to March, which cuts into the spring practice season, so making basketball, wrestling, and other coaches wait a couple days isn’t a big deal.

I can understand the frustration on the Holmdel side. The Hornets have a case to be the No. 1 team in some ways and I think it’s possible that they may have been the best team this year. If hypothetical scenarios dictated the rankings, I might pull the trigger and put Holmdel No. 1. But the rankings have to reflect reality, and in reality, all we can say is that CBA’s 18-1-1 and SCT title stacks up and ultimately exceeds Holmdel’s 22-1 and Group III title.

I’ll be posting the final Top 20 in the next 24 hours and when it goes up, CBA will be the No. 1 team in the Shore.