A powerful private league

“The Washington Catholic league is pretty good … but I would put our league up against theirs anytime,” Towson Catholic coach Josh Pratt said.

This year?s A Conference race should be another tight one, with eight teams trying to knock off defending champion Mount St. Joseph. While the Gaels return some talent and could be considered the early favorite, the rest of the league should be pretty competitive, as well.

“You?re playing against guys that are really good every night ? and anybody can beat anybody,” Pratt said.

The league?s exposure is at an all-time high, too. Towson Catholic product Carmelo Anthony is a star in the NBA, and Archbishop Spalding talent Rudy Gay is there also.

“There?s no doubt that in the last five or six years, our basketball has grown in leaps and bounds,” MIAA executive director Rick Diggs said.

Two premier players ? Dino Gregory (Mount St. Joseph) and Braxton Dupree (Calvert Hall) ? have committed to Maryland. And there are plenty of other players on the rise in the league.

“It?s great,” Pratt said. “It gives you a sense of pride in the league, too. You beat up on each other and stuff, but if Dino Gregory goes to Maryland and does a good job, it helps your league.”

The exposure has also translated into a tough schedule. Local teams will often travel for hours to play top programs from other states. But the A Conference is starting to get some challenges from the B Conference, which boasts its own Division I college talent.

“I think that the top half of the B has been extremely competitive with the mid to lower half of the A,” John Carroll coach Tony Martin said. “There are some tremendous coaches in the B conference.”

Those tough tests can build character and improve the talent throughout a team?s roster, but occasionally, Pratt said, a break would help.

“It never ends,” Pratt said. “It would be nice to have a nice easy win, but it doesn?tlook like that will happen.”