Former Rutgers Standout Takes Helm of Talented Chiefs Program
PISCATAWAY, NJ–When it comes to Middlesex County Basketball, Piscataway High School is usually mentioned among the elite schools for both boys and girls hoops. Since the inception of the Middlesex County Tournament in 1965, the Chiefs have posted a record of 72-38 overall. Only St. Joseph’s and Perth Amboy are better.
Piscataway has been to 10 MCT/GMCT finals during that time, and have won seven titles. P-Way has also accumulated four sectional titles in 1963, 1994, 1995, and 2008 with a state title and T of C semifinal appearance in 1994, and a state finals berth in 2008. There have been many great players to wear the black and gold at Piscataway.
The list includes: Robert Freeney Sr., Karl Towns Sr., Tyrone Brewer, Nate Grant, Corey Lowery, John Celestand, Dewey Ferguson, Justin Bailey, Delvon McMillan, Eddie Simmons, Derek Clapps, Robert Freeney Jr. Rodney Freeney, James White, Omar Smith, J.D. Griggs, Tristian Benjamin, Aaron Hush, Wayne Newsome, and Tajae Sharpe.
There has been very good talent coming up from the lower levels over the past year. However, despite having freshmen teams that reached the Final Four of the Perth Amboy/GMC Tournament in two of the last three years, and the other year being the tourney’s top seed, Piscataway hasn’t had a winning season since appearing in the GMCT Championship in 2011.
Former Rutgers standout, and new head coach, Darius Griffin Sr., is looking to change all of that. Griffin, who played at Rutgers alongside Roy Hinson and Rick Brunson, who coaches the women’s basketball team at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, served as an assistant to Antoine Allen the past several years before taking over the top spot this past offseason.
Griffin, who is also the father of new Bishop Ahr head coach, D.J. Griffin, served as an assistant coach to Bob Turco when Turco began coaching at Notre Dame in 2010. One of my funniest memories of him was when he coached Notre Dame in the Championship Game of the 2011 Monroe Sports Center Summer League against Spotswood.
The Chargers had plenty of support that night as its fabled Student Section came out in droves for their team, and were quite rowdy. Some even got in the way of Griffin, who was doing his best to coach his team. Unflappable, Griffin pretended as if the student section wasn’t even there. It was quite funny to watch. Griffin’s experience and familiarity with the Piscataway program will be important qualities to bring the Chiefs back to respectability.
Over the summer, Piscataway put in plenty of work. The Chiefs played in the East Brunswick Team Camp, Bridgewater Summer League, and Odie Page Summer League to name a few. Then, during the fall, P-Way competed in the Immaculata Fall League. There, the Chiefs finished tied for third place with a 5-3 record. Among those wins was a victory over Ridge program that has been one of the top squads in Somerset County and North Jersey Section 2 Group 4.
Last year, Piscataway went 7-14 overall including a 3-9 mark in the GMC Red. The year before, the Chiefs were only 4-16 including a 1-11 mark in divisional play. P-Way has not gone further than the Round of 16 in the GMCT since reaching the final in 2011. However, the Chiefs have plenty of talent led by the likes of D’Ondre Dent, Mehki Morgan, Cameron Saintil, Jordan Davidson, Mattias Arrindell, and Deandre Scott. The supporting cast is also plentiful led by the likes of Parris Washington, Matthew Dread, Tyree Barba-Bey, and Noah Freeney.
Piscataway has not only a very passionate, but also a very knowledgeable fan base that came out in droves to support their team during the fall at Immaculata. The support that they give has been immeasurable over the years to many former standouts, who have later gone on to success at the collegiate and professional ranks. They are hungering for a return to prominence, and Griffin is looking to deliver that to them.