Meriden — The drab setting inside Maloney High School’s gym, decorated in Early Concrete, belies the warm feelings the place has produced over the years for Craig Parker, decades now into his greatest passion, coaching the basketball program at New London High.

“I remember my first year as a coach with Ralph (Roggero). I was his assistant,” Parker was saying Tuesday night, alluding to the winter of 1988. “We were playing Notre Dame and they were better than we were. Tough game. Ralph turns to me and says, ‘Coach, what do you think we should do here?' I said, ‘Coach, this is why they pay you the big money.’”

Years later, amid the junior year of Kris Dunn, what would become an undefeated, 27-0 masterpiece, the Whalers played Branford at Maloney in the state quarterfinals. Parker entertained the crowd by feuding with an official, whose every call seemingly benefitted Branford. Finally, he whistled one for New London, prompting Parker to holler “He hated to make that call! Hated it!” And many of us behind the bench laughed.

The circumstances were less pleasant Tuesday night, when the Whalers were lunchmeat for Crosby, whose 29-5 lead after one period told the story. Except that Parker wanted his team to experience the highest competition.

Just as he did 10 days earlier against East Catholic, another 30-point loss.

“We weren’t going to pass up this game,” Parker said. “CPTV called us and honored our program asking us to play in (the inaugural CPTV Sports Tipoff Classic). They recognized our tradition. I felt we were obligated to come up here. We didn’t want to let someone else participate. It was a good event for us.”

Even though the game was never close. Parker might have had an inkling, given that all five starters from last year graduated. Clearly, Parker would never make it as an ECC football coach. Imagine: willfully scheduling the best competition without your best team?

“We know we won’t see this competition in our league,” he said. “Hopefully, that will pay dividends for us. We’re New London. We’ve been on both sides of these games. We need to build on it.

“Both teams that beat us exposed things,” Parker said. “Two entirely different types of teams, even though the results were the same. East was more methodical. Crosby was an athletic, slashing team. But now we’ve seen two different styles on two very good teams.”

And isn’t that the point of the regular season? Expose your team so it gets exposed. Then fix it, so that when the knockout game in the state tournament arrives, there’s a frame of reference for every obstacle.

Kudos, too, to other ECC basketball programs for doing the same. Ledyard has played four very good teams. Bacon Academy played Bulkeley on Wednesday. Waterford found Class LL (and jet quick) Brien McMahon. NFA has played Hall and Manchester, both Class LL schools. Fitch played defending Rhode Island state champion LaSalle. All good stuff.

Scheduling considerations (read: going out and playing the best competition) is hardly an argument exclusive to the ECC this season. Hearty debate will flow like Bud in the bleachers about the state’s true No. 1 team. It’s not necessarily Sacred Heart, in spite of the talented roster headlined by the state’s best player, Mustapha Heron, headed to play at Auburn.

Sacred Heart, which could have petitioned to play in Class LL, opted to stay in Class M. The Hearts, mandated by CIAC rules to jump one class, won Class S last season, drawing criticism for opting to stay among the itsy bitsies and not joining the giants.

Defending Class M champion Weaver opted to play in Class LL this season. The Beavers hammered perennial power Hillhouse in Tuesday’s other game at Maloney. Weaver coach Reggie Hatchett made his position clearer than a bottle of Absolut after the game.

“I thought last year, our 27-2 (record), considering we beat eight (former) state champions, I think that was more impressive than 29-0 playing against the level of competition Sacred Heart was playing against. I at least knew we were in that conversation,” Hatchett told GameTimeCT.com.

“And me being the type of competitor I am, I sleep better at night that if we lose playing LL, I’ll be more content than winning Class M or winning Class L knowing we should be in the same conversation as the big boys.”

Hatchett has many in agreement.

“If you have that team and you swear you are the (best team) in the state of Connecticut, you have to (play) up,” Hillhouse coach Renard Sutton said. “You can’t say you are the top dog and stay in S, or M, or the L for that matter. You can’t proclaim to be the top dog if you don’t come up to where the top dogs are. We will always play in the Class LL.”

How fascinating, indeed, the feelings of the voters if, perhaps, one-loss Weaver wins the Class LL title opposite unbeaten Sacred Heart.

Meantime, a salute to Parker and many other coaches in the ECC to date. Records may not be so gaudy. But it sure beats beating up on a bunch of tech schools, no?

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.

Twitter: @BCgenius