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Sports

New London Poised For Perfect Season

27-0 Record, No. 1 Poll Ranking, Class L Title, NL's 9th State Crown On Line Saturday

A state championship is the ultimate prize for any scholastic team, so if New London beats Northwest Catholic 6:15 p.m. Saturday at Mohegan Sun, the Class L title is a glorious achievement that stands on its own merits.

A victory, though, would put the Whalers in elite company, perhaps alone on a pedestal in the storied annals of the Whaling City's basketball history.

New London would finish 27-0, an untoppable record. The Whalers would remain No. 1 in the New Haven Register State Final Poll, another unbeatable distinction. Yes, if New London wins what would be the school's 9th state hoop crown, the question beckons, "Is this the best NL team in school history?"

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Talent-wise, the current Whalers feature two Division I players in 6-3 senior swingman Torin Childs-Harris (20 ppg) and 6-3 junior guard Kris Dunn (26 ppg). Rhode Island is among the teams recruiting Childs-Harris. Dunn is attracting interest in Big East schools and is in line to become the program's second Gatorade State Player of the Year winner (Alan Chaney in 2008).

New London is a backcourt-oriented team with a deep group of athletes behind its two Division I standouts. Its frontcourt is young and at times inconsistent, although not to the team's detriment. New London's big guys are simply not as spectacular as Dunn and Childs-Harris.

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The sum of all the pieces, says NL teacher and former (Class of 2000) All-State guard Tom Poblete, makes an argument that this team does belong in the coversation of who is the best in school history.

"Dunn and Childs-Harris are two of the all-time greats, and in my opinion, Kris Dunn is the second best in New London history behind Tyson Wheeler (NBA player)," Poblete said. "I think they have all the elements of a great team. I don't want to speak too soon, but if they run the table they're the best team. They have size, athleticism and they play well together. This team could definitely hold its own with the other state championship teams."

Poblete asserted that his view is not universally shared. Some, including former NL three-sport standout Troy McKelvin, point to the era in the late '80s that produced a run of a Class M finalist in 1987-88, and consecutive M titles in '88-'89, and '89-'90. 

"Troy thinks they were the best teams," Poblete said. "The '88 team, which lost once, had Gary Lancaster Jr., a 6-6 three man, Peter Gittens, a 6-11 center and Matt Rollins, a 6-8 power forward. Jamal Johnson, one of the greatest athletes in school history, was the point guard. They were really big and really athletic. The '88-'89 team went undefeated and won the state final (against North Haven) by 30."

Tyson Wheeler, NL's all-time leading scorer with over 1,700 points, paced the '93-'94 and '94-'95 Whalers to Class M crowns. The 5-10 guard, who later starred at Rhode Island and made the NBA for one game, keyed perhaps the biggest single win in school history, engineering an upset of No. 1 ranked Trinity Catholic, a team with three Division I players including UConn's Rashamel Jones, in the M final in Parker's first head coaching season of '94-'95.

Based on the current New London squad establishing itself as the state's best early and beating down all competition, there aren't many who consider the Wheeler-led squads superior to this one. Certainly this nucleus matches up favorably Parker's two most recent champions in 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, which were won in a revamped Division III and Division II not solely based on school size.

The '04-' 05 squad was undefeated, featuring Division I guard Kareem Brown, who has bounced around to play at Coppin State and Division II Gannon in college, Lee Mitchell, who played at , and 6-3 center Aaron Bryant, a UConn football player.

Mike McLaughlin, local radio broadcaster who has followed the area sports scene for more than half a century, thinks the best team hasn't been mentioned yet. He points to New London-Bulkeley High's 1951 team as the best ever.

Bulkeley, which became New London High a year later, beat Bridgeport Central, 50-40, in the L final and went on to win the New England Championship - a tourney which hasn't existed for several decades. Bulkeley featured two players who later played at UConn, including 6-5 center Art Quimby, who became one of the Huskies' all-time leading rebounders, and Donny Burns.

"They were New England champs and sent two players to UConn," McLaughlin said. "No New London team since can compare with that, but this team stacks up with any New London High team."

Six-seven John Delagrange, a high-scoring forward who later played briefly at UConn, led New London High's first state title in 1975 when the Whalers beat a powerhouse Warren Harding squad that featured NBA player Wes Mathews.

A number of people in New London and state wide feel that Connecticut basketball in general is weaker today than it was 15 to 25 years ago and beyond.

"Back in the day, we played in the Capital District Conference against Wilbur Cross, Hartford Public, Weaver, New Britain - all the big teams from the inner city," said Gary Lancaster, Sr., who once held NL's single-game scoring record. "The ECC schools today just don't have enough to compete at that level and you have teams opting out of playing New London. But these boys today have a great team."

 The advent of the New England Prep School scene has taken away some prized talent from public schools. Plus the economy has contributed to the decline of Catholic schools as a major force in state basketball, such as St. Bernard, South Catholic and St. Paul, over the years.

"New London stepped up to play some good non-league teams this year, but the competititon in the area has declined in the last 10 to 15 years," Poblete said. "They've been tested in Class L, which has the strongest field (three 20-0 regular season teams). If they run the table, you can argue that they are the best New London team ever."

Northwest Catholic (25-1) can end the discussion. The West Hartford Catholic school lost just once, 90-65, to Windsor in the Central Connecticut Conference semifinals. Windsor went on to beat Maloney by 15 in the finals but then suffered a Class LL second round upset loss. Maloney lost to New London, 72-57, in the Class L semifinals.

Six-eight sophomore Kiran Iverson paces Northwest with 18 points a game. Iverson can handle the ball and is rated as the top sophomore college prospect in the state. Northwest is a big team, with 6-8, 6-5 and 6-5 across the frontline, a big history (six state titles) and a high profile scholastic coach, John Mirabelo, who has won 440 career games.

It's No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the polls, and for New London the prize will be not only a state title, but a spot perhaps alone on a pedestal within Whaling City basketball lore.

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