By Dylan Butler
That's right, I'm talking about high-school basketball. But this is not just any league. Widely regarded as the best HS hoops league in the country, the CHSAA is a bargain at just $5 a pop. That's $5 for three games (freshmen, junior varsity and varsity) with free parking and affordable concession stands. Sure, you'll have to sit in rather uncomfortable bleachers, but the ticket price doesn't skyrocket the closer you are to the court. To sit courtside for the Knicks, you're liable to shell out $350 per ticket, another $15 for a hot dog and soda and another $40 to park. Sure, you'll be close enough to scream at Isiah Thomas, but you're going to see some terrible basketball and really, is taking out a small loan worth that? OK, so at any given Knicks game you'll run into celebrities like Spike Lee, Ashlee Simpson and St. Albans' own LL Cool J. But the CHSAA has rap mogul Irv Gotti at almost every Holy Cross game (he's related to Knights' guard Blaise Ffrench) and there's always a chance to sit next to big-time college coaches like Rick Pitino, Jay Wright and John Calipari.Sure, the NBA has some of the best players in the world, but high school is where it all started. That is where the game is, for the most part, still pure and playing for school pride means something. College hoops is great, but it is down throughout the city this year. Madison Square Garden might be the mecca of college basketball, but the heartbeat of the city game is in high school and nowhere is there a better product than the CHSAA. Don't believe me? Walk into the gym at St. Raymond's or Christ the King or Holy Cross on a Friday night, if the game's not sold out. Every game the bleachers are packed. Every game the action is intense. Every game is its own championship. One of the best things is that you're seeing tomorrow's college stars – and a few NBA stars – today. Turn on any college game on cable this week and the odds are pretty good that some player on some team honed their skills in the CHSAA. On Friday in Middle Village, Christ the King played another epic with Rice and the game featured players going to Florida (Erving Walker), UConn (Kemba Walker), George Mason (Ryan Pearson) and Drexel (Chris Fouch) and a few others, like Durand Scott, James Stukes and Roland Brown, who will also likely play Division I basketball.On Sunday in the Bronx, St. Raymond's and Holy Cross met in a rematch of last year's CHSAA Class AA intersectional semifinal game. That game had players going to Virginia (Sylven Landesberg) and West Virginia (Darryl Bryant), while Ravens forwards Kevin Parrom and Omari Lawrence will be able to write their ticket to the Division I college of their choice. So, don't waste your money on the Knicks and instead of taking a trip to the ATM for a college basketball game, go to the CHSAA website (www.LeagueLineup.com/CHSAAsports), find a game and go. No need to thank me.Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at news@TimesLedger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
