2009 Highlights
It was an unlikely journey with an even more shocking and solemn ending.
Paterson Catholic, a semifinalist in 1994 during the Tim Thomas era, somehow navigated through four games en route to winning the 2009 championship and earning much-coveted national respect.
The Cougars roared past Fort Myers 75-47, Lansdowne Penn Wood (Pa.) 61-60, Montverde Academy 63-51 in overtime and Winter Park 62-54. But along the way, they trailed Penn Wood by more than 20 points in the quarterfinals, needed a technical foul with one-tenth of a second left against Montverde in the semis and, finally, survived a 27-4 run by the Wildcats and two-time tourney MVP Austin Rivers – after PC opened with a 13-0 lead.
A bumpy ride? Yes.
But a simply amazing one.
“It means a lot,” PC forward Fuquan Edwin told ZagsBlog.com, after his 17-point, 7-rebound, 3-assist, 2-steal performance in the final. “Just coming (to Fort Myers), there was a lot of nationally ranked teams here and we came here to ball out and we played hard and we got the win.
“We’re going to eat at Taco Bell.”
The Cougars, while loaded with Division I talent, were as balanced as any high school team you’ll ever see. Whether it was pint-sized point guard Myles Mack, coveted sophomore wing Kyle Anderson or big men Edwin, Jayon James, Derrick Randall or T.J. Clemmings, this was a team that seemed armed with an answer for every question.
Rivers, the unanimous MVP selection for the second consecutive year, scored 45 points in Winter Park’s 75-60 semifinal win over Newark St. Benedict’s, and the star-studded field also included eventual Georgia Class 5A champion Alpharetta Milton, two-time COP winner Los Angeles Westchester – which went on to its sixth Division I state title – and national preseason No. 1 Findlay Prep (Nev.).
Junior guard Trevor Lacey of Huntsville Butler (Ala.) won the Quenzel & Associates 3-Point Shootout. Josue Celestin of eventual Class 4A state champion Fort Myers High won the Edison National Bank Slam Dunk Championship, following in the air space – and footsteps – of the previous year’s winner, Washington Wizards guard John Wall.
For the second straight year, ESPNU televised the third-place game and championship to homes all across the country, showcasing the small-but-crazy high school basketball atmosphere inside Bishop Verot High School, which has hosted the 38-year-old event since 1994. This time, though, the games were in prime time.
Less than four months later, though, after its 28-0 season and No. 3 national ranking crashed to a halt against Jersey City St. Anthony and Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley, the news got even worse for Paterson Catholic.
The Diocese of Paterson announced that the 43-year-old school would close its doors forever, effective at the end of the school year, citing debt of more than $6 million and an enrollment of only 310 students. The Cougars had been scheduled to defend their City of Palms crown in December, but now they would not play another basketball game. Ever.
There is no longer a school website. The championship trophy is … well, somewhere. No banners hang in a gym, because there is no gym or school.
But few in Fort Myers will soon forget the Cougars’ improbable championship run of 2009.
– Donnie Wilkie
