Well the CSAA 8th Grade Basketball Preseason Rankings are now old enough to vote. Hard to believe that none of the players playing currently in the CSAA league were close to being born when the inaugural rankings came out 18 years ago.

It’s once again that time of year folks. Time for the sport that is squeezed in right between fall baseball, winter baseball practices, and you guessed it spring baseball. Yes, it is time for the middle school boy’s basketball season – parents getting kicked out of gyms, siblings who crash after eating too many airheads while hanging out at the gym all day, and coaches shouting out their creative inbounds play names such as Chumbawamba and Hoobastank. That's right, it is the best time of the year.

Last season ended with the preseason #1 St. George Dragons taking down the preseason #2 St. Jean Vianney Gators in a blowout championship game. Preseason #4 MBS also defeated preseason #3 CHS in the third-place game. St. George won their record (known) 11th CSAA Elite 8 Championship. This was SJV’s first ever championship game appearance.

As always, if you know of any past results, please add to the CSAA Championship History Thread.

1. St. George – The Dragons are led by their lefty forward who has a highly anticipated high school decision to make this Spring. He is joined by a typical deep Dragon squad which features both size and athleticism. The Dragons had a rough start to this past weekend’s Dunham preseason tournament but came out of the loser’s bracket to defeat Our Lady of Mercy in the Championship Game 42-36. Once again, St. George did not have any major losses in the transfer portal thanks to the strong NIL Dragon Tradition Fund in South Baton Rouge. Their coach employs an NBA style offense which includes multiple sets, that he tailors to matchups throughout the game. The once nearly named Oak Trees are trying to become the first school to win back to back CSAA Championships since they did it way back in 2016-2017. They will have a tough test in their jamboree playing in front of a raucous crowd at the #4 ranked St. Jean Vianney Gators tonight.

2. Our Lady of Mercy – Last year’s 8th Grade Blue Jays had a roller coaster season as they started out ranked 8th in the preseason, won multiple tournaments throughout the year, headed into the Elite 8 tournament as the #3 seed before a shocking 2 and done in that tournament which included a loss to #7 St Thomas More. Even though this current team had an up and down 7th grade season, they will not fly under the radar after a strong performance in the Dunham preseason tournament. This team is led by an aggressive Jimmy Butler type wing and complemented with a crafty Lamello Ball type point guard and center that can finish around the goal. All 5 starters can hit 3’s from the outside and they look to play in your face full court man. This team has as many scoring options as their mid-city area has restaurant options for a pre-game meal.

3. Catholic High School (BR) – The Baby Bears will play Our Lady of Mercy in the jamboree on Friday night, which is the ESPN Game of the Week with Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas on the call. Fans will have to make the choice between watching the Bears football team in the Dome playing for a State Championship or watching the 8th Grade Bears playing their jamboree. Seems like an obvious decision to pick the jamboree. The Bear’s top player was pulled up to the 9th grade team, but this team has plenty of talent and 2 centers that will be like having a twin tower combo of Zach Edey and Tacko Fall down low. This will be one of the fastest teams in the league which will lead to an up-tempo offense and aggressive defense, which fits the coaching style of the son/father combo. After a 30 year championship draught that ended in 2018, the Bears are looking to notch their 3rd championship in 7 years.

4. St. Jean Vianney – The Gators lost 2 starting guards to CHS, but successfully landed the #1 rated player in the transfer portal who came over from Most Blessed Sacrament. They expect this transfer to come in and have a Giannas Antetokounmpo type impact on their team. Due to an aggressive playing style, he has a tendency to get into foul trouble, but he possesses the skills and work ethic to be the preseason favorite for the CSAA Player of the Year award. The Gators program is hoping to become the Gonzaga of CSAA as a school with not much historical success but a recent up and comer who is looking to cut down the nets for the first time in the near future. Their cozy gym creates a home court advantage which will certainly help them notch some regular season wins, and they will look to storm the court tonight against the #1 Dragons.

5. St. Aloysius – In the past 10 seasons, the Lions have more championship game appearances other than every other team outside of St. George, but unfortunately still have not won their first (known) Elite 8 Championship. The Lions lost two key rotation players to CHS but will certainly compete due to their long tenured honorable coach having a knack for getting his players up for every game. You can always count on the Lions to play hard and make it difficult for other teams to get comfortable. This team isn’t void of talent and has some solid wings and some bangers down low. This team is always peaking come tourney time and will not be an easy out for anyone.

6. Most Blessed Sacrament – The Pelicans are out to show that they were not just a 1 player team last season. All offseason, they have referenced Bill Simmons “Ewing Theory” on why they will be even better than last year, when as 7th graders, they won the St. Jude and OLOM tournaments. They look to continue that success this year and do it with an increased emphasis on analytics by their promising young coach including a focused three-point shooting attack and a reduced amount of mid-range jumpers.

7. St. Thomas More – The Eagles lost their slashing point forward who was their spark and aggressor. They do still possess the size down low to keep themselves in games with just about anyone. Their backcourt is going to have to step up and handle the pressure and knock down some outside shots for them to compete. The Eagles mirror Indiana basketball as a program that has classic uniforms, was one of the most feared programs back in the day, and are trying to find a way to make a push back to the glory days of old.

8. St. Jude – The Cougars are looking to secure a berth in the Elite 8 tournament for the first time in 3 years, which is wild to say for one of the top CSAA programs historically. The boys from Highland Road will take on their neighboring parish, St. Aloysius, in the Jamboree on Thursday. It is always a fun rivalry and matchup when these 2 red and blue squads tip it off. They are hoping to get some early season wins and catch some momentum to get them off the bubble and squarely in the tournament field. The St. Jude tournament is typically the final tune-up before the Elite 8 similar to conference tournaments in the college game.