“This was the biggest win in the city in a while, for a public school team to beat a private school,” Nickens said. “And last year we came so close. But I take my hat off to [Coolidge Coach Vaughn] Jones and them and glad they got to do it.”
“It shows that people could give us more credit,” Nickens added. “It’s tough. I give credit to the WCAC and other conferences, but our kids can play basketball here in the city.”
The last time a DCIAA boys’ team won the City Title game was in 2004, when unranked Cardozo capped an improbable playoff run by topping third-ranked O’Connell 75-71. Since then, many teams have scheduled the top private programs, but knocking off the elite programs has proven an elusive accomplishment.
The notable exception was Ballou’s win over Montrose, 64-50, during the 2009-10 season, when the Knights finished No. 2 in the rankings, their final loss coming in the City Title game to DeMatha.
But this winter’s Montrose Christian is generally considered a stronger and deeper team. The Mustangs (14-2) have been a fixture in national polls since the start of the season and brought back much of the talent from last season’s team that finished No. 1 in The Post’s final rankings. They boast All-Met forward Michael Carrera and second-team All-Met forward Justin Anderson, a Virginia recruit.
The Colts’ win offered a measure of vindication, though longtime DCIAA observers were measured in their response.
Said Theodore Roosvelt’s longtime athletic director Daryl Tilghman: “We haven’t had a lot of really standout guys in a while. It seems like the talent level has gone down, not just in basketball but in the city period. I say that because that’s how people feel. Even when we lost to DeMatha by two, it was kind of a shock to everybody. I think we’re underestimated because of all that’s been going on.”
Other than a few standouts teams every few years, the DCIAA has generally lost much of its talent. It’s also a league that chided for its high turnover rate among leadership, scheduling mishaps and eligibility quirks.
“The talent is pretty much spread around,” Cardozo’s longtime athletic director Bobby Richards said. “I don’t think there’s a much talent in our league as there used to be. We have so much competition for the public schools kids with the charter schools and the privates schools.”
The Colts (19-6) may be an exception. It’s rare to find a DCIAA team nowadays with two Division I basketball players — guard Khalen Cumberlander (Central Connecticut State) and center Maurice Jeffers (Delaware) — and with a third player (De’Shaun Morman) being recruited by Division I schools. “To have three D-I’s is very rare for the DCIAA,” Jones said.
Cumberlander made the decisive free throws in Thursday’s win and Morman had 28 points. After Cumberlander’s second free throw went through the gym erupted and fans rushed the court. Jones, for one, believes the win could change people’s perception of the DCIAA.
“Hopefully that win will open up eyes in the city and country that we are still relevant and that great basketball is being played here,” he said.
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