New High School Basketball Calendar for 2020-21 Season

The NJSIAA changed the high school basketball calendar again today.

The start of practice has been moved back more than a month – to Jan. 11. The season will start on Jan. 26 and run until Mar. 6. There will be no NJSIAA post-season tournament. And there will apparently be no fans admitted.

All of that makes the continuation of the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament even more important.

Here is the body of a column from a month ago. Under the new rules, it is worth considering again.

Almost everybody is hoping for a high school basketball season this winter. Some coaches will tell you privately that they think the chances are less than 50-50, but they all try to stay optimistic.

Showcases and tournaments will be eliminated (though the NJSIAA and the governor both say those restrictions could change). However, the Ocean City PBA Tipoff Weekend, Boardwalk Basketball Classic, Seagull Classic, War vs. Shore, Prime Events Girls Shootout and Battle By The Bay have all been cancelled.

The Cape-Atlantic League had set up for the basketball season by creating three divisions. Since no championships are being decided in the CAL fall sports, we can probably assume there will be none in basketball.

The likely plan is for each team to play each other team in its division twice, leaving no more than three games to be scheduled. Here is a better idea.