Pope John does have a chance. They are also very tall with the center going to Syracuse plus another big guy about 6'8" or so. They also have some very good shooters. I have seen both teams play against Linden. Linden beat Roselle Catholic 2 out of 3 times that they played. Linden only played Pope John once and lost on a 3 pointer from just a step or two over half court at the buzzer 62-61. I believe Linden forced Pope John into 29 turnovers and gave Pope John fits. They also caused Roselle Catholic into over 20 turnovers in the two Linden wins. The only reason Linden lost to Pope John and to Roselle Catholic once was because Linden was like midgets against both teams. Isaiah Briscoe is very strong in the upper body and drives very hard to the basket. I think RC has several other D-1 players. Silva is going to South Carolina and is 6'9" and Saar I think is going to Monmouth. They also have a 7' freshman (Reid) who is going to be a major star. He already has many schools after him. On a zone he often plays at the top of the key and his long arms cause the guards to struggle. I think RC will probably win but I am pulling for Pope John. Both teams have so much height and have kids on their teams from a long way away from their school. When I sat with several Pope John fans one man told me he felt bad for the public schools as they couldn't recruit like the parochial schools do. He told me the 2 big guys at Pope John both came from out of the country and just fell into their lap. It is too bad that Linden played poorly against Paterson Eastside. I think they were the only other team that could have given either Roselle Catholic or Pope John a good game.
