Gilchrist and St. Pat’s: National Champs?

Sponsored by Guinness and Jordan – very nice

Michael Gilchrist started off on the bench when St. Patrick(23-0) took on Linden for the Union County Championship, as punishment for being late (traffic reasons). No worries, though, because by the time Mike got in, the score was 14-0 in favor of his Celtics. He finished with 15 points (10 in the fourth quarter), 9 rebounds, and 5 steals. St. Patrick got a fairly easy win with a 70-58 final score, despite going 20-40 from the free throw line. Western Kentucky commit Derrick Gordon netted 20. The teams next game comes on March 2nd, against the winner of Marist and St. Mary’s in the New Jersey Non-Public Group A bracket.

While winning New Jersey is first and foremost on Gilchrist’s mind, its undeniable that the idea of staying undefeated and closing out the season as the #1 ranked high school team in America is an attractive goal, too. It get even more interesting, specifically in New Jersey: If St. Pat’s and St. Anthony’s both continue winning, they will face each other in the championship game. While the Celtic’s are #1, St. Anthony sits directly beneath them at #2. In the minds of many, this would be the game to determine who is the “national” high school champion. Adam Zagoria writes:

“In case you hadn’t heard, two small Catholic high schools separated by 14 miles in North Jersey are hurtling toward a collision in the mythical basketball national championship game March 9 at Rutgers. The state’s largest newspaper even reported that The Prudential Center, which houses the NBA’s New Jersey Nets and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, is interested in hosting the game to accommodate more fans.”

Zagoria also writes about the newly vacant coaching position at Monmouth. Michael Gilchrist’s current coach, Kevin Boyle, is listed as a possible candidate.