It’s hard to believe at the beginning of the season that the Eagles of Cardinal McCarrick were 2-3. However, after the team won 17 straight games, and won its second ever GMCT crown, the team ended up with a 24-5 record, which edges the marks set by the 2003 Eagles (23-6) and the 2005 Eagles (23-5), which both won the GMC Hoops Trophy in addition to winning Blue Division and sectional crowns while the 2003 team won the school’s first ever GMCT. This year’s major winning streak actually equaled the mark set by the 2005 team, which also won 17 straight after starting that season at 3-3. The next loss that team would suffer would be against Andrew Bynum, Sean Baptiste, and the resurgent St. Joseph’s Falcons in the 2005 GMCT.
Now, if you are talking about titles and team accomplishments, the 2003 edition of the Cardinal McCarrick Eagles were the best ever. That year, Cardy Mac, which moved up to the Blue for the first time, won the division title, the GMCT, the Non-Public B South Championship, and the GMC Hoops Trophy. Meanwhile, the 2005 edition won the GMC Blue, Non-Public B South, and the GMC Hoops Trophy. This year’s Eagles only won the Blue Division (actually tied with Bishop Ahr) and won this year’s GMCT. However, Cardy Mac in 2007-08 won the most games in school history. This year’s Eagles had the high octane offense of its 2005 brethren while it also had the defense of its 2003 counterparts. In other words, it had the best of both worlds. Mike Burwell had the size of Mika Wilson, and the shooting ability of Kevin Olivieri. Julio Rosario is perhaps the most clutch player in the GMCT over the past two seasons, and Dominic Appiah provided the inside presence that the Eagles so desperately needed to make themselves a legitimate title contender at both the county and state levels.
The 2007-08 Eagles also found a way to win against teams that appeared on paper to be better than them. Like the 2002-03 edition, which defeated a very talented New Brunswick team twice during the regular season en route to the 2003 GMC Blue title, this year’s Eagles found a way to knock off top ranked Piscataway on a super human effort by Burwell, who scored 42 points including 34 in the second half and overtime despite playing with an injured shooting hand. Unfortunately, St. Rose of Belmar denied them their chance of perhaps making this debate. Had the Eagles won the Non-Public B South sectional title, they would have more than likely won this year’s GMC Hoops Trophy. Both honors would have equaled the accomplishments set by that 2003 McCarrick squad.