Connecticut Week in Review 2

by Mike Yagmin | Sunday, January 8th, 2012

Mike Yagmin's second installment of the Connecticut Week in Review looks back on the week that was in the CIAC:

• The state's top teams stayed undefeated on the young season. St. Joseph moved to 8-0, culminating their week with a milestone victory over Harding-Bridgeport. Timajh Parker-Rivera scored 20 points, including the 1,000th point of his career. Pat Hopkins added 18 for the Cadets in the 87-35 victory. Hillhouse (8-0) cruised this week, overwhelming both Guilford and Law, with point guard Andre Anderson leading the way. Northwest Catholic (6-0) won their three games by an average 27 points this week. The Indians starting five is as athletic as anyone in the state. Windsor (7-0) averaged over 103 points per in their two victories against Glastonbury and Wethersfield. Ken Smith's squad is averaging 96 points per game and is as deep as any team in Connecticut.

• East Hartford's combo-guard Cane Broome pumped in 34 points early in the week on the road against East Catholic. Broome showed off his well-balanced offensive attack by getting to the rim and drawing fouls, piling up 11 points from the charity stripe. He also hit three three-pointers for good measure in the Hornet’s (5-3) 67-56 win. He is currently the leading scorer in the state, averaging 27.1 per game, one-tenth of a point more than Capital Prep's Kahlil Dukes.

• Kurt Reis is once again proving why he's one of the best high school coaches in the state and why Hartford Public is ecstatic to have him on the sidelines. Despite losing some talent from an 18-3 team in 2010-11, the Owls are off to a 7-0 start behind a steady group of scorers led by Daylon Ore's 17 points per game. Without a true post presence, Reis' crew has been successful shooting the three and wreaking havoc defensively. Public capped off their week with a 73-50 victory over Rocky Hill.

• Classical (Hartford) senior Jaquann Starks continues to set quite the standard in the early years of the school's record book. After battling head-to-head with Kahlil Dukes in an early season loss that saw him score 47 in the Doc Hurley Classic, Starks went off for 37 points with nine treys in Tuesday night's 50-point win over Parish Hill. Classical (5-2) can pencil Starks in for 30-points night in and night out but will need to find another viable option in order to cause a stir come tourney time.

• Career-New Haven (6-1) is once again looking like a contender after reaching the Class M final last season. Kenny Armstead had a dominant performance against a steady North Haven (5-2) team, scoring 21 points and pulling down 18 rebounds. After losing to Hillhouse in the opener, Career has rattled off six consecutive W's and had their best performance of the season at home in the 72-48 win on Friday over NH. Billy McDonald led North Haven with 21 points and 11 boards.

• Kolbe Cathedral is 7-0 on the year and improving behind six-foot-two shooting guard Ian Gardner, who is averaging 16 points and 5 boards per game to start his sophomore season. Gardner, who needs to improve his three-point stroke in order become a legit college prospect, has led the way for the Cougars with help from senior Elton Perry, who is averaging 15 per game to go along with 4 assists and 2 steals. Kolbe has a big match up with Notre Dame-Fairfield coming up this week, a team that they beat by a single point in the second game of the season.

• After a disappointing loss to Xavier, Fairfield Prep (6-2) bounced back to beat Guilford by 40 points. Speaking of bouncing back, William & Mary commit Terry Tarpey rebounded from a scary ankle injury to score 19 points in the Guilford contest. Tarpey's ability to will his squad to victory will make Fairfield Prep a tough matchup against anyone in March.

• Former All-State point guard Freddie Wilson welcomed his home state school to his new stomping grounds this past week, as UConn traveled to Seton Hall and went back to Storrs with a loss. Wilson only played a total of five minutes but connected on a three with his only shot of the game. He is currently backing up Northfield Mount Hermon alum Aaron Cosby and Jordan Theodore at the guard position for Pirates, and has played in 14 games while averaging about seven minutes per contest.