Borough Championships: Final Four … and here’s a vote for Boys & Girls (video)

http://vimeo.com/18692997

Even though there will be five champions after Saturday’s marathon of Borough Championship games, the road to the city championship probably goes through Brooklyn. And since I’ve been covering them all season long, I feel more confident picking Boys & Girls as the team to emerge out of Brooklyn. To do that, they’ll have to beat Thomas Jefferson, a big and physical team that beat the Kangaroos by its second largest margins of defeat on the season. But that was also before it went on a out-of-league, cross-country tear, beating several nationally-ranked teams. Even when the team loses, as it did twice in a row against No. 2 St. Anthony’s and Lincoln a couple weeks ago, you’re not going to put them away easily. The team is fit and fast and aggressive.

Of course, the giant elephant in the room is the absence of senior guard Mike Taylor, a guy whose contributions probably weren’t fully realized until he was gone. Coach Lovelace built her team around balance and depth, and even if that balance lies mainly in the top six players (Taylor, Slaughter, Fludd, Nichols, Neverson and Hemingway), all players have picked up and carried the team for at least one game this season.

So with or without Taylor, the Kangaroos are contenders. But getting him back could be the key to unlock their second consecutive city championship.

We’ll be reporting live from the Borough Championships this Saturday, beginning at noon and probably not getting out of there until 8pm. Keep checking back for updates.