Alright, let me tell you about how I tackled this Morris County boys basketball preview for the upcoming tournament season. Woke up Thursday morning actually remembering that big county coaches meeting was happening that night at the Randolph High gym – nearly forgot entirely, which would’ve been the blunder of the year for this piece. Rushed through my coffee, grabbed a seriously stale granola bar, and hauled myself over there.
Getting My Feet Wet at the Coaches Gathering
So I walked into that gym cafeteria – place was buzzing already. Chairs squeaking, coaches laughing, definitely smelled like burnt coffee and stale fries. Found a spot near the back next to a guy from Parsippany. We started chatting, basically complaining about refs like everybody does, but then I steered it towards the crucial stuff.
Asked him straight up:
- “Who’s got you losing sleep this year?”
- “Any new kids making waves nobody saw coming?”
- “What’s the one team everyone’s underestimating?”
His eyes lit up. Talked about Mendham’s size being unreal, a young guard at Delbarton lighting up practices, and how Morris Hills, his own team’s rival, was playing way tougher than their record showed. Jotted all that down furiously.
Connecting the Dots Afterwards
Meeting wrapped up late, close to 9 PM. My brain was mush, but I had pages of messy notes. Headed home, fired up the laptop, and just started dumping everything from the night into a doc. Names, rumored game plans, which teams had key injuries healing (or not). Then I took a breath.
Next day, Friday, the real work began. Needed to back up all that gossip and coach-speak. Spent hours glued to MaxPreps and some local news sites.
I was hunting for:
- Actual win-loss records against tough opponents.
- Who were the actual top scorers and assist guys – not just the big names everyone knows.
- Any surprising scores from December/January that signaled a team finding its groove late.
That kid the Parsippany coach mentioned at Delbarton? Found his stats – hadn’t played much early season, but last five games? Putting up double-digits. Confirmed that Mendham beast on the boards too.
Putting Fingers to Keyboard
Finally, Saturday morning, dove into writing. Didn’t try to be fancy. Just asked myself: “What would a fan wanting to understand the tournament landscape really need to know?”
Started with the absolute locks – the teams like Chatham and Mountain Lakes everyone expects to see deep in the bracket. Explained why they’re solid using the stats and what the coaches basically admitted about them being “problems” to play against. Then shifted to the ones causing headaches, the teams people are arguing about – Morris Knolls climbing fast, Morristown-Beard flying under the radar but dangerous because they share the ball so well.
Made sure to shout out some players too, based on who the coaches kept mentioning when they thought nobody was paying attention to their bench chatter. Saved the “dark horse” section for last – that Morris Hills team everyone keeps overlooking. Didn’t just say they were tough; pointed to specific close losses against top teams to back it up.
Hit publish Sunday afternoon after one final read-through to check I hadn’t just parroted pre-season hype. Felt good to get it out there before tournament talk really kicked off. Time to see if these teams play like everyone’s whispering.