Can Saddle River Day School Make It 8 Straight?

The short answer to this question is yes, but there are a lot of factors in play here. Saddle River Day has won 7 consecutive Bergen County Championships. They did this with a model Danny Brown built of bringing in as many of the best players he could find and rolling with the ones that rose to the challenge while, typically, moving on from the others. However, in the last 20 months everything has changed in leadership for the Rebels. They are on their 4th coach in that span but, though the leadership has continually changed, they still have the horses for an 8th title.   4th leading scorer and second leading rebounder Jessica Carter has graduated and moved onto a rowing career at the University of San Diego and guard [player_tooltip player_id='666727' first='Nilah' last='Rivera'], who deservedly was part of a crowded backcourt rotation as a freshman, has transferred to Montclair Immaculate. Aside from that, the core of last year's roster is intact. It all starts with Cristina Parella. The Princeton commit came over as a transfer from Demarest last season and, after sitting out, she led the team with 16+ppg including just under 2 3-pointers per game. With her length and handle she makes it tough for defenders to contest her shots. She is very good at getting into the lane and scoring over people and her mid-range game is rock solid. Navy commit [player_tooltip player_id='325218' first='Julianna' last='Almeida'] is the energy on the defensive side of the ball. She is a tough in your face defender and she plays with physicality all over the court. She is extremely active on the offense end and gets baskets off constant movement and a willingness to attack the offensive glass and get put backs. She has a confident handle and is a consistent mid-range shooter while working on developing a 3-ball. She does whatever it takes as evidenced by her 13ppg, team leading 7+rpg, 2+apg, 1+bpg and 1+spg. Three juniors will round out the starting 5. The sniper on this team is junior [player_tooltip player_id='333330' first='Faith' last='Williamson']. She shoots it with confidence, and she knows how to get to her spots and get open. with 2+ 3-pointers per game in her 1st 2 years, Faith should go over 1,000 career points as a junior. The bulk of her scoring is going to come from the arc as she has almost twice as many 3s as 2s in her first two years. She can also distribute the ball as evidenced by her 2+apg. [player_tooltip player_id='583951' first='Brooke' last='Braen'] is an active player at both ends of the floor. She plays very fast and when she plays in control, she can make a big impact at both ends. She had some good moments on the AAU circuit with [program_tooltip program_id='774068' first='NJ' last='Panthers'] this summer and can score at the 3-point line or driving to the hoop. If she can find the consistency that has escaped, her in the past she can raise the level of this squad. [player_tooltip player_id='583948' first='Isabella' last='Pedone'] brings toughness to the backcourt. The Louisville lacrosse commit defends with good footwork and is physical. Offensively she will push tempo and get layups. In the halfcourt she spaces the floor and is a solid shooter on corner 3s. There is not a lot of proven depth coming back on this roster, but they will get contributions from Tess Dorry and Nia Carrera. Bella Ratsprecher is confident shooter. Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='677063' first='Lucie' last='Schell'] played for the Jersey Gemz this past season. As a small guard, that experience will hopefully help her adjust to the pace Saddle River Day plays. The biggest weakness of this team is that they are undersized. They try to disguise that by getting up and down the court at a breakneck pace and by pressing all game long. [player_tooltip player_id='669307' first='Giada' last='Celetti'] has size and plays hard, but as an interior scorer and defender that could change the dynamic of what they do in the half-court offense.   The biggest question here is if 1st year coach Joe Pedone will change the system. Having only coached some lower-level AAU in the past, I'd expect a lot of what they do to remain the same. They will play with a ton of tempo and try to run teams out of the gym with their press, transition and 3-point shooting like a lot of what you see on the AAU circuit, and they are very good at what they do. They will find a ton of success doing that in North Jersey and if their depth develops then they will compete in what is a difficult non-conference schedule. They are certainly the top team in Bergen County until someone can knock them off their perch and anything less than an 8th straight Bergen County Championship would be a big disappointment for 1st year coach Joe Pedone and an experienced Rebels squad.

The short answer to this question is yes, but there are a lot of factors in play here. Saddle River Day has won 7 consecutive Bergen County Championships. They did this with a model Danny Brown built of bringing in as many of the best players he could find and rolling with the ones that rose to the challenge while, typically, moving on from the others. However, in the last 20 months everything has changed in leadership for the Rebels. They are on their 4th coach in that span but, though the leadership has continually changed, they still have the horses for an 8th title.