GMC Hoops Blogosphere

2010 Hoop Group Headquarters Spring League–Looking At South River

Rams Need To Do The Little Things To Continue To Get Better

NEPTUNE, NJ–Over the ten years that I have been running this web site, I’ve had many talks with one of South River’s biggest fans about the state of its basketball program. One of the most recent discussions that occurred toward the end of the season, I found myself trying to point out the positives in a Rams season that didn’t look so bright. South River won 11 games this year. True they were below .500, and won only one game in division this year, but they did notch a GMCT victory in the Play-In round, and beat many of the teams that they were supposed to beat en route to its first state tourney berth since 2005.

The Rams almost had as many wins as it did over the past three seasons combined. In addition, they’ll be moving down to the GMC Gold next year, where they will have a better chance at being more competitive. South River is losing the likes of forward Shawn Fenton, and guard Brandon Walsh, but they do have a great deal still coming back including Xavier Foster, Larry Smith, Tyler Harris, Gavin Campbell, and Kyle Majewski. Head coach, Rodney Harris is continuing to make steps to improve the program by placing his team in this year’s Spring League at the Hoop Group Headquarters. He still feels that his program needs a feeder program established to get things rolling. Things like that have worked in places such as Monroe, which has an excellent traveling basketball program.

Right now is a key moment in South River basketball because the program is still learning how to win. While many may view this past season’s 11-16 mark and 1-11 record in division play as a failure, I don’t. I feel that it is a step in the right direction. However, South River has to learn to acquire the ability to do the intangibles, the little things, that add up to victories more than scoring and making shots. There are some fundamental issues with the Rams such as free throws. In the 50 minutes of basketball that I’ve seen the Rams play this spring, they are 1 of 16 at the foul line. They need to work on that in order to improve in the win column. Foul shots can be the difference, especially in close games. It cannot be overlooked. Now, some of that takes talent and technique, but it can be done with a good deal of practice.

However, things such as drawing charges, playing good defense, and hustling (especially after making a mistake) takes something else. It’s more of a philosophy or a mental approach to how you play the game. Tyler Harris has done a solid job of hustling in the two games that I’ve seen him play. This is despite the fact that he came into the spring off an abscess on his tailbone that kept him out a month. The one thing that I’ve seen happen at certain moments over these two games, is giving up on a play after making a mistake. It happened against the Sabertooths in the 53-36 loss when a South River player dribbled the ball off his foot, and didn’t go after the ball. Consequently, the Rams gave up a layup. Last week, a similar thing happened when a player lost the handle on the ball, and got upset with himself rather than try to get back on defense to stop the G-Force Black from scoring.

One big mistake that I made in high school was that I always got down on myself when I made a mistake. I also valued scoring and shooting more than doing the little things like hustling, getting rebounds, playing good defense, and drawing charges. There are plenty of other statistical categories to make your mark in. More importantly, if you do those other things, your teammates will see that, and try to give you some scoring opportunities. On top of all that, there is the most important stat of all, a win! So, Rams, you got to do those little things because they do add up to a lot. Once you embrace that as a philosophy, winning games will become commonplace.

Hoop Group Headquarters Spring League–April 26, 2010

NEPTUNE, NJ–After taking a week off, GMC Hoops returned to action on Monday night to see the fourth week of action at the 2010 Hoop Group Headquarters Spring League. Once again the site was only able to see the South River Rams in action. Monroe is playing all of its games at 7:00 PM, and the site is unable to get on the road until after work at 7:30 PM.

On this night, the Rams were in action against G-Force Black, an AAU team from Union County. Things started out much better for South River, which lost in each of its first two games of the spring including a 53-36 defeat to the Sabertooths on April 12th. However, in the end, the Rams ended up losing.

Second Half Surge Sparks G-Force Black Past South River, 48-41

GMC Hoops arrived on the scene for this game with 7:17 left in the first half, and the Rams were already winning 16-11. A short time later, Larry Smith connected on a three pointer for a 19-11 lead at about the seven minute mark. Tyler Harris then got a basket while being fouled, and despite missing the bonus free throw, he gave the Rams a 21-11 lead with 6:16 to go in the first half. South River had a chance to go up even further, but Harris missed another two foul shots with 5:15 to play in the half. G-Force Black made one of two from the line at the 4:30 mark for a 21-12 Rams lead.

Xavier Foster resumed the Rams first half onslaught with a drive and dish to Kyle Majewski for a layup from the left side for a 23-12 advantage with 3:38 to play in the first half. Smith got going again with a layup from the left side at the 2:54 mark, and then an offensive rebound and follow at the 47.1 second mark for a 27-12 lead. G-Force Black got a score to cut the deficit nearly in half at 27-14, but Foster connected on a three pointer off a kickout by Majewski at the eight second mark, and then following a steal, Foster struck again with a three pointer from well beyond the top of the key for a 33-14 lead at the intermission.

However, everything that was gold in the first half for the Rams, turned to lead in the second half as G-Force Black regrouped and surged back into the contest. Over the first 12:21 of the second half, the Stallions erupted for 22 of the first 23 points to not only tie the game, but take the lead. The Union County team went on a 10-1 run over the first 3:44 to pull within ten at 34-24. G-Force Black continued to rally with another field goal at the 14:03 mark for a 34-26 South River lead. G-Force then added a one of two free throws from the line to pull within seven, and grabbed the offensive rebound on the missed second shot at the 12:23 mark. The Rams had a chance to break the slide, but after Foster made a nice steal along the sideline, he led his teammate too long on the fast break for a turnover at the 11:41 mark.

A little more than a minute later, G-Force Black swiped a steal that it converted into a layup to pull within five at 34-29 with 10:36 left. A little less than a half minute later, G-Force got another score with a nice pass to a cutting teammate for a layin, and a 34-31 South River lead at the 10:07 mark. Following a Rams timeout with 9:56 left, they seemed to put together a nice offensive possession with fine ball movement, but it was squandered as Gavin Campbell dribbled a bit too much, and G-Force Black took advantage by picking up a steal and converting it into a layup while being fouled for a three point play, and a 34-34 tie with 9:25 to go. For nearly two minutes, neither team scored until G-Force grabbed a rebound off a miss by Foster, and went in for the layup, and its first lead since the first half, 36-34.

Immediately, the Rams responded with a three pointer at the 7:27 mark for a 37-36 edge, but G-Force Black replied in kind with a three of its own for a 39-37 lead at the 7:13 mark. A minute later, South River tied the game at 39-39 with a jumper by Foster from Campbell at the 6:12 mark. Smith preserved the tie temporarily by making a block at the 6:05 mark, but he missed both of his foul shots with 5:18 to go. G-Force then took the lead again with a free throw, and then an offensive rebound and putback at the 4:27 mark. South River almost compounded their troubles by committing a turnover at the 2:44 mark. However, Majewski picked his teammates up with a steal, drive, great fake to his left, and a layin to pull the Rams within one at 42-41 with 2:18 left.

Unfortunately, the Rams would not get any closer as they didn’t score for the rest of the game. G-Force Black got two free throws at the 1:46 mark, and then swiped a steal, and drove in for a layup attempt that drew a foul, and produced two free throws for a 46-41 lead. South River had a chance to pull within one possession when Smith swiped a steal along the sideline, and drove in for a layup attempt that drew a foul, but again, he came up empty with 34.1 seconds to go. The Rams did themselves in moments later as Majewski lost the handle on the ball and got disgusted with himself for the miscue while G-Force Black went in for the dunk, and a 48-41 win.

GMC Hoops plans to be back out at the Hoop Group Headquarters on Monday night to see Southern Regional at 9:00 PM.

Hoop Group Headquarters Spring League–April 12, 2010

NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops traveled down to the Hoop Group Headquarters to take in the second week of action from the Spring League being run there. The site lucked out last week as teams got the week off thanks to the Easter Holiday. Many of the schools were having Easter Recess.

It was the first time this season that the web site was at HG Headquarters. Monroe had already played since all of its games this spring are being played at 7:00 PM. The Purple Birds won their contest by about six points over Point Pleasant Boro. The site did manage to take in a contest involving a GMC team as the South River Rams took on the Sabertooths from Manalapan.

Sabertooths Roll Past South River On 17-2 Tear, 53-36

After chatting a bit with Bob Turco, Tim Brix, and Danny Brix of Monroe, I headed over to the Sixers Court to take in the contest between South River and the Sabertooths, an AAU team from Manalapan. When I got to the HG Headquarters after being at work, there was about 6:15 to go in the first half, and the Sabertooths were in the lead by the score of 14-11. South River managed to pull within two points with a 5-4 run including a steal by a hustling Tyler Harris that led to a layup by Gavin Campbell for an 18-16 Sabertooths lead at the 4:30 mark. The Rams had a chance to get closer, but the Sabertooths got a steal off a Campbell pass that led to a scoring attempt, foul, and a one of two showing from the line for a 19-16 edge at the 3:15 mark.

The Sabertooths had another one of two showing from the foul line for a 20-16 lead after swiping a steal for a layup attempt at the 2:30 mark. Tyler Harris, who had been out for about a month with an abscess on his tailbone, showed hustle throughout including some that produced a steal. However, his efforts were in vain as the Sabertooths stole a Campbell pass for a layup and a foul that resulted in a traditional three point play and a 23-16 lead with 53 seconds to go in the first half. The Manalapan team later got an offensive rebound and follow off a missed jumper at the 22.6 second mark for a 25-16 lead. Campbell would get a layup with 8.7 seconds to play.

Campbell later got a rebound, and was heading upcourt for a possible score before the half, but dribbled the ball off his foot. The Sabertooths picked up the loose ball, and proceeded to score a layup high off the glass as time expired for a 27-18 lead at the break. Things didn’t start out much better in the second half as the Sabertooths scored eight unanswered points to cap a decisive 17-2 tear for a commanding 35-18 lead with 17:53 to go. The scoring began with a Sabertooths field goal at the 19:35 mark for a 29-18 lead. Following a Campbell turnover at the 19:21 mark, the Sabertooths connected on a jumper for a 31-18 lead at the 19:12 mark. Just under a minute later, the Sabertooths scored again on a baseline jumper from the right side for a 33-18 lead.

The Sabertooths finished the run by forcing another South River turnover, and running the fast break for a layup at the 17:53 mark for the 17 point advantage. The Rams finally ended a 7:15 scoring drought with a layup off an inbounds play underneath the Sabertooths basket for a 35-20 score at the 17:15 mark. After two scores by the Manalapan team, Xavier Foster got going by knifing through the defense from the left wing for a scoop shot, and a 39-22 Sabertooths lead at the 15:24 mark. Larry Smith had a chance to get the Rams closer, but came up empty on a pair of foul shots at the 14:12 mark. The Sabertooths scored another four unanswered points before Campbell dribbled through traffic for a left hand layup at the 11:13 mark for a 43-24 Sabertooths lead.

Harris got the Rams a bit closer when he grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss by Smith, and put it back in for a 43-26 score with 10:44 remaining. A little more than a half minute later, Foster swiped a steal, and drew a foul on a scoring attempt that resulted in a one of two showing from the charity stripe for a 43-27 Sabertooths lead. Foster then drove in and kicked out to Harris for a jumper from the right corner for a 43-29 score at the 9:39 mark. The soon to be senior guard picked up another steal, and converted it into a layup to close the gap to a dozen at 43-31 with exactly nine minutes to play. South River, which was 1 of 9 from the line during a stretch of 22:15, had a couple chances to get closer, but Harris went 0 of 2 from the line at the 6:42 mark, and Smith, who scored on a follow at the 6:08 mark to pull the Rams within ten at 43-33, missed a pair from the charity stripe at the 3:55 mark.

The Rams were unable to recover from that as the Sabertooths outscored them by a margin of 10-3 the rest of the way for the 53-36 win. With the victory, the Sabertooths remained in first place with a 2-0 record while South River dropped to 0-2 on the spring.

GMC Hoops will not be able to see any games next week since the two GMC teams are playing at earlier times, and that conflicts with work.

2010 Hoop Group Headquarters Spring League–Week #1–Analysis

Monroe Kicks Off Spring With Win Over St. Rose While South River Loses Close One To Toms River East

NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday, March 29th, the 2010 Hoop Group Headquarters Spring League got underway. This is the earliest that this league has started at least since GMC Hoops has been covering it for the past five years. This year, there are just 16 teams in the league including two from the Greater Middlesex Conference. For the second straight year, and fourth in the past five, the Monroe Falcons are participating in the Spring League.

The Purple Birds got off to a solid start in Division A with a 64-48 victory over St. Rose of Belmar. In the three other games in Division A, Neptune cruised past Manasquan (62-36), Asbury Park Black defeated Ocean Township (51-45), and St. John Vianney defeated Point Pleasant Boro (40-36). It will be interesting to see how Manasquan shapes up this spring. With the loss of standout Matt Vadas, the Warriors will have to fill a big void. After defeating Middlesex in the quarterfinal round of the Central Jersey Group II State Tournament, Manasquan fell to finalist Willingboro (53-51) in the semifinals. In a similar predicament is Vianney, which will be looking to fill the gap left behind by former Ridge standout, Ishaq Pitt.

Asbury Park Black and Neptune figure to be among the top teams in this division. Asbury Park repeated as the Central Jersey Group I Champion after it defeated top seeded South Hunterdon on the road in the Championship. The Bishops ended up losing to South Jersey Group I champion, Woodbury in the state semifinals. Meanwhile, Neptune reached the Central Jersey Group III Championship before losing to Jerrod Davis and Lakewood in that tourney’s title game.

It wasn’t anticipated that Point Pleasant Boro would reach the Championship Game of the South Jersey Group III State Tournament, but the Panthers did before bowing out against Kingsway. Point Boro is one of the top teams in Ocean County year in and year out. They’ve played in all kinds of tourneys over the past few seasons including Central Jersey Group II, South Jersey Group II, Central Jersey Group III, and South Jersey Group III. St. Rose won its opening round game against Moorestown Friends in the Non-Public B South State Tourney, but then was soundly defeated by eventual Tournament of Champions winner, Trenton Catholic. The Roses had reached at least the semifinal round of the Non-Public B South State Tourney in the two previous years.

Ocean Township reached the Final Four of the CJ Group III Tourney before losing to Class B North Division rival, Neptune. Moving over to Division B, South River made a big splash on the first night by only losing to Group IV Toms River East by a 45-44 count. The Rams are coming off an 11-16 regular season campaign, which was their first double digit win season since 2005. Rodney Harris knows that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but he’s determined to get South River better as quickly as possible. So, it was back to work for the Spring League.

Looking at the rest of the Division, two teams were added to the league after the first week of play. Bob Gomulka brought in his two G-Force teams from Union County. Asbury Park has a second team in this division while Lacey, Southern Regional, and Toms River East all hail from the Class A South Division of the Shore Conference. Both Lacey and Southern Regional qualified for their respective state tournaments. The Lions lost to Pemberton in the opening round of the South Jersey Group III State Tournament while Southern Regional was defeated by Cherry Hill East in the South Jersey Group IV State Tournament. Rounding out the Division are the Sabertooths, an AAU team from Manalapan.

2010 Hoop Group Headquarters Spring League–GMC Results–Week Four–April 12th

NEPTUNE, NJ–This past Monday night, GMC Hoops traveled down to the Hoop Group Headquarters to take in the fourth week of action from the 2010 HG Headquarters Spring League.

2010 Hoop Group Headquarters Fall League–Week Four–Results–4/26/10

• G-Force Black 48–South River 41

GMC Hoops plans to be out at the Hoop Group Headquarters on Monday night to see South River in action against Southern Regional at 9:00 PM. We’ll have all the results from Week Two, Three, and Four posted shortly.

2010 Hoop Group Headquarters JV Summer League–Looking For Teams

NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday, GMC Hoops received info on the upcoming Hoop Group Headquarters Summer League. The league will be limited to 32 teams, and spots will be reserved on a first come, first serve basis. GMC Teams have competed in this league in the past. Here are the particulars for the league:

Hoop Group Headquarters Summer League–The Particulars

• Limited to 32 Teams.
• Ten game schedule.
• League begins on Tuesday, June 15.
• Games will be played on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 6:00 PM, 7:00 PM, 8:00 PM, and 9:00 PM.
• 15 Shirts will be provided for each team. All players must wear league shirts.
• Please download the form, fill it out, and send it along with $650.00 payable to Hoop Group by Saturday, May 15th to: Ken O’Donnell, 610 Locust Road, Brielle, NJ 08730.
• Teams will be called or e-mailed with the time of their first game.
• Complete schedules will be distributed on opening night along with t-shirts.

GMC Hoops plans to be out at this league to cover some of the games there as long as there are teams from the GMC competing.

2010 Hoop Group Headquarters Summer League–Looking For Teams

NEPTUNE, NJ–On Monday, GMC Hoops received info on the upcoming Hoop Group Headquarters Summer League. The league will be limited to 40 teams, and spots will be reserved on a first come, first serve basis. GMC Teams have competed in this league in the past. Here are the particulars for the league:

Hoop Group Headquarters Summer League–The Particulars

• Limited to 40 Teams.
• Ten game schedule.
• League begins on Monday, June 14.
• Games will be played on Monday and Wednesday nights at 5:00 PM, 6:00 PM, 7:00 PM, 8:00 PM, and 9:00 PM.
• 12 Shirts will be provided for each team. All players must wear league shirts.
• Extra shirts can be ordered when you register. To do that, make a separate check to RKE lettering ($7.00 for each extra shirt.
• Please download the form, fill it out, and send it along with $650.00 payable to Hoop Group by Saturday, May 15th to: Ken O’Donnell, 610 Locust Road, Brielle, NJ 08730.
• Teams will be called or e-mailed with the time of their first game.
• Complete schedules will be distributed on opening night along with t-shirts.

GMC Hoops plans to be out at this league to cover some of the games there.

2010 Hillsborough JV Summer League Set To Start June 28th

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ–Last weekend, GMC Hoops received word from Hillsborough Boys Basketball Head Coach, Ian Progin, that there will again be a JV Summer League run at Hillsborough High School. This year, there will be 12 teams competing in the league including three from the Greater Middlesex Conference including: East Brunswick, Middlesex, and New Brunswick. Below is a list of all the teams competing in this JV league.

Teams In The 2010 Hillsborough JV Summer League

• Hillsborough I
• Hillsborough II
• Hopewell Valley
• Hunterdon Central
• Watchung Hills
• Montgomery
• Bridgewater
• North Hunterdon
• Middlesex
• East Brunswick
• Franklin
• New Brunswick

GMC Hoops is going to provide more coverage of this JV Summer League this year.

2010 Montgomery Team Camp–Monroe’s Schedule

SKILLMAN, NJ–GMC Hoops has obtained the latest scheduling and rules information from Montgomery High School Boys Basketball head coach, Kris Grundy, and here is the breakdown of Monroe’s ledger for this camp.

Monroe’s 2010 Montgomery Team Camp Schedule

• Day #1–June 7, 2010–Monroe vs. Montgomery, 6:00 PM, Court #1
• Day #1–June 7, 2010–Monroe vs. Bridgewater, 8:00 PM, Court #2
• Day #2–June 8, 2010–Monroe vs. Princeton, 5:00 PM, Court #2
• Day #2–June 8, 2010–Monroe vs. Hopewell Valley, 7:00 PM, Court #1
• Day #3–June 9, 2010–Monroe vs. Somerville, 5:00 PM, Court #2
• Day #3–June 9, 2010–Monroe vs. West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 7:00 PM, Court #1
• Day #4–June 10, 2010–Monroe vs. Franklin, 5:00 PM, Court #2
• Day #4–June 10, 2010–Monroe vs. Watchung Hills, 7:00 PM, Court #3

Note: This schedule is subject to change. Make up games would be played on Friday, June 11th if necessary. GMC Hoops plans to make every effort to get out to the Montgomery High School on the final two days of this camp, and catch as much action as possible.

2010 Montgomery Team Camp–St. Joseph’s Schedule

SKILLMAN, NJ–GMC Hoops has obtained the latest scheduling and rules information from Montgomery High School Boys Basketball head coach, Kris Grundy, and here is the breakdown of St. Joseph’s ledger for this camp.

St. Joseph’s 2010 Montgomery Team Camp Schedule

• Day #1–June 7, 2010–St. Joseph’s vs. Hopewell Valley, 6:00 PM, Court #3
• Day #1–June 7, 2010–St. Joseph’s vs. Princeton, 8:00 PM, Court #1
• Day #2–June 8, 2010–St. Joseph’s vs. Montgomery, 5:00 PM, Court #1
• Day #2–June 8, 2010–St. Joseph’s vs. Bridgewater, 7:00 PM, Court #2
• Day #3–June 9, 2010–St. Joseph’s vs. West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 5:00 PM, Court #3
• Day #3–June 9, 2010–St. Joseph’s vs. Hunterdon Central, 7:00 PM, Court #2
• Day #4–June 10, 2010–St. Joseph’s vs. Somerville, 6:00 PM, Court #3
• Day #4–June 10, 2010–St. Joseph’s vs. Bound Brook, 8:00 PM, Court #2

Note: This schedule is subject to change. Make up games would be played on Friday, June 11th if necessary. GMC Hoops plans to make every effort to get out to the Montgomery High School on the final two days of this camp, and catch as much action as possible.