These were not the circumstances that I expected to be writing this recap under. Just one week ago, I was calling a sectional final at the Shipyard in Dunellen in front of a sold out crowd. On Wednesday, I was in Atlantic City calling the Saint Peter’s Peacocks’ dramatic MAAC tournament win over Iona, with seemingly much more to come. Just one day later, it was gone, and we now live in a far different reality where sports are the last thing on our minds. What we have seen in the past several days is not to be trifled with or brushed aside. I urge everyone reading this to please not interact with others from any proximate distance, whether you think you or someone else has the virus or not, but also to not panic and make rash decisions such as load up on toilet paper for no discernible reason. This goes for any high school age person reading this as well, for while you many have a far greater chance of getting through the disease, those around you, especially your parents, do not. We can get through this and minimize the damage, but it has to be done together.
With that being said, it would do us good to look back and appreciate the good things in life that we take for granted, such as sports. This year’s GMC basketball season brought more excitement and drama than I could have imagined. While our preseason #1 team St. Thomas Aquinas wound up winning the title, they did not take the easy road to do so, falling to the St. Joseph Falcons early on, and not really coming together as a group until the very end. This was the fourth time out of four years in my tenure at GMC Hoops that the champion was a Catholic school located along Plainfield Road in Edison/Metuchen, but the first time that the winner was not St. Joseph. The magic that the Falcons had played with in the GMC tournament the past two years finally ran out on them, as it was South Brunswick which ended the school’s 18 game GMCT winning streak and ensured a new champion for the first time since 2015. Elsewhere, new faces such as Edison burst into the county’s top tier, and we saw some of the most exciting games to be played in New Jersey all year. Let’s take a look back on an extraordinary 2020 season.
FINAL DIVISION STANDINGS
Red
St. Joseph 13-1
South Brunswick 12-2
Perth Amboy 8-6
East Brunswick 7-7
Monroe 6-8
Piscataway 4-10
Old Bridge 4-10
J.P. Stevens 2-12
White
New Brunswick 10-2
Edison 10-2
Colonia 9-3
North Brunswick 6-6
J.F. Kennedy 3-9
Sayreville 3-9
Woodbridge 1-11
Blue
St. Thomas Aquinas 12-0
Carteret 10-2
South Plainfield 6-6
Spotswood 6-6
Middlesex 5-7
Metuchen 3-9
South River 0-12
Gold
Dunellen 15-1
Wardlaw-Hartridge 14-2
Timothy Christian 12-4
Perth Amboy Tech 11-5
East Brunswick Tech 6-10
South Amboy 5-11
Piscataway Tech 4-12
Calvary Christian 4-12
Highland Park 1-15
CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD
A mix of old and new faces took home GMC divisional crowns this year. In the Red, St. Joseph bounced back from their second place finish last year to take home their 8th title in ten years. In the Blue, St. Thomas Aquinas romped to another 12-0 division season, making Bob Turco’s career Blue Division record a perfect 24-0. Dunellen took home its second consecutive title in the Gold in dominating fashion, but not without a setback to Timothy Christian. They were led by Tyje Kelton, who averaged just under 20 per game this year, and ended with 1942 points in his career, tops in school history. His Destroyers rode him all year, and did so all the way to the quarterfinal round of the GMCT, the first time a Gold Division winner had done so since 2008. Also in the Red, South Brunswick took home its first Central Jersey Group 4 title since 2007 with a dramatic win at Marlboro in the final.
It was in the White where things went off script. New Brunswick and Edison tied for first place at 10-2, giving the Zebras their first title since 2002, and the Eagles’ their first since… ever! Which brings us to…
DAVE TURCO COACH OF THE YEAR: Charlie Mohr (Edison)
Coaching can be a thankless job. Endless hours of work from the offseason, the summer, all the way through the season, and at the end of it all, sometimes through circumstances out of their control, they have nothing to show for it. No championships, no playoff runs, and at times not even a .500 season. Many coaches would be discouraged by this lack of results, and go by the old Bill Parcells saying of “You are what your record says you are.” But while that may be the case in the NFL, in high school things are a lot more complicated.
Charlie Mohr did not magically become a better coach overnight. Nothing clicked in his mind two years ago when he led his team to the quarterfinal round for the first time. He did not have an epiphany this year when he led the Eagles to its first ever division title and its first semifinal appearance since 1966. The truth is that he was always this good throughout his now 17 year tenure at Edison, even when his teams may not have been. Dating back to when I played at J.P. Stevens, I had always found Mohr to be the most prepared and thorough coach in the GMC. The effort and intensity on defense has long been present on the south side of Edison, but until recently the Eagles had always been snakebitten. Public school basketball can be equated to a pendulum, swinging in and out of favor depending on the year. This year, it finally came together for Mohr, as he was blessed with perhaps his school’s best player in decades in Emmanuel Davila, along with an excellent supporting cast and a unique home court advantage at the Cangelosi Gymnasium. The honors he has received this year are warranted for what was until now the county’s most underrated coach. They are long overdue.
REGULAR SEASON GAME OF THE YEAR: North Brunswick vs New Brunswick 1/7
At the time, this was the wildest game I had ever called, whether it be high school or college, and it’s still number 2. This game had not one but TWO dramatic comebacks, as North Brunswick’s Jahquil Boyd sank a three with 15 seconds left in the 4th quarter to tie the game at 55 and to cap off a 5 point comeback in the final minute. That wasn’t even the craziest occurrence in the 4th quarter, as, following a Zebra miss on the other end, New Brunswick’s Ayhan Brown-Miller seemingly tried to tackle Boyd as he was trying to put up a last second heave, which amazingly was not whistled a foul. In overtime, it was New Brunswick’s turn to mount a dramatic comeback, as the Zebras came back from being down 5 points with 12.7 seconds left thanks to key missed free throws and heroics from Brown-Miller, who laid it in at the buzzer to send it to double OT, where the Zebras would prevail. You would be better served by watching the game replay itself.
POSTSEASON GAME OF THE YEAR: St. Joseph vs South Brunswick GMCT Semifinal 2/26
This game had it all, and with the backdrop of a sold out New Brunswick high school and the Joes dynasty on the line. In regulation, Justin Carbone’s jumper with 9 seconds left sent it to OT, where the most dramatic moment of the season took place. In a tie game, an unconscionable foul call with 0.1 seconds left sent sophomore Yathin Vemula to the line for 2 shots. Vemula, in the midst of the best game of his career, wound up missing both, sending it to double OT. At that moment, I’m not sure anyone in the gym could have thought that the Vikings would recover. But they took command of the second OT, and snapped St. Joseph’s 12 year streak of reaching the championship game. If there was ever a good way to pass the time in quarantine, it would be to rewatch our broadcast of this game.
BONUS HIGHLIGHT: South Brunswick vs Marlboro CJ Group 4 Final 3/10
Nobody could have possibly expected that this would be the last game a GMC team would play this season, but what a way to go out. Yathin Vemula was the hero for the Vikings, laying it in at the buzzer to win the title for his team for the first time since 2007. Doesn’t get much better than this.
Video: @sbvikingsbball wins 1st sectional title since 2007, 72-71 over @MHSscoreupdates on this layup by Yathin Vemula with time running out. #njhoops pic.twitter.com/0FuDxRtlTq
— GMC Hoops (@gmchoops) March 10, 2020
All players listed below are alphabetical by team.
ALL FRESHMAN TEAM
Lorenzo Perez (Perth Amboy)
Jalen Pichardo (East Brunswick)
Lazaro Rodriguez (South River)
Noah Taylor (Colonia)
Keyshawn Winchester (J.P. Stevens)
ALL SOPHOMORE TEAM
Samar Abdullah (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Amari Campbell (St. Joseph)
Jaquan Harris (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Edin Olevic (Woodbridge)
Saivon Pressley (Wardlaw-Hartridge)
ALL JUNIOR TEAM
Jabri Fitzpatrick (North Brunswick)
Starrell Hearns (Carteret)
Kyree Henry (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Drew Johnson (Dunellen)
Tyrell Murchison (South Brunswick)
ALL RED DIVISION
Justin Carbone (South Brunswick)
Jonathan Livingston (Piscataway)
K-Shawn Schulters (St. Joseph)
Devin Strickland (South Brunswick)
Andrew Turco (Monroe)
Sean Williams (Old Bridge)
ALL WHITE DIVISION
Ayhan Brown-Miller (New Brunswick)
Emmanuel Davila (Edison)
Jabri Fitzpatrick (North Brunswick)
Jimmy Frage (Colonia)
Nasir McLean (Edison)
Tahjay Moore (New Brunswick)
ALL BLUE DIVISION
Quadry Adams (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Mark Brower (Middlesex)
Derrick Grant (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Jaquan Harris (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Starrell Hearns (Carteret)
Kyree Henry (St. Thomas Aquinas)
ALL GOLD DIVISION
Ronnie Burwan Jr. (Timothy Christian)
Brien Dunphy Jr. (Calvary Christian)
Drew Johnson (Dunellen)
Tyje Kelton (Dunellen)
Saivon Pressley (Wardlaw-Hartridge)
Felix Romero (Perth Amboy Tech)
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Jalen Pichardo (East Brunswick)
Coming into this season, Mark Moutusesky had fallen on a bit of hard times at East Brunswick, but it appears he has found the remedy he’s been looking for and then some with Pichardo, who played with such poise that many were shocked to learn that he was a freshman. He led the Bears in scoring, and was even named All-Red Division by the coaches. The Bears should get back in the top ten next year with numerous returnees and Pichardo only getting better.
SOPHOMORE OF THE YEAR: Jaquan Harris (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Earlier this year, I asked Bob Turco, perhaps the most honest basketball coach I know, what he thought Jaquan Harris’ ceiling is. Without hesitation, he responded, “NBA.” It’s not hard to see how he could come to that conclusion. Harris is perhaps among the most skilled guards to ever suit up in Middlesex County, and seemingly has no holes in his game. Next year, his confidence will grow, his body will grow, and with it, his production will grow. He is the favorite for player of the year next year by a country mile.
BREAKTHROUGH PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Starrell Hearns (Carteret)
When you see Starrell Hearns walk on the court, he doesn’t overtly look like a basketball star from a physical perspective. Nor did his team overtly look like a dominant one, dressing only eight players at times, But when the ball goes up, it’s on for Hearns, one of the county’s most physical players, and perhaps pound for pound its best rebounder. Nobody crashed the boards like Hearns this year, as he averaged 9.8 rebounds to go with his 17.3 points per game. He picked up 14 double doubles, including a stretch of 11 in a row at one point. His two performances against St. Thomas Aquinas proved he could play far above his 6’2 frame, and his defense was stellar, as he averaged over 2 steals and nearly 2 blocks per game as well. He led the Ramblers to a terrific season, earning the #5 seed in the GMCT led by one of the county’s best coaches in Mugsy White. A late season ankle injury and a heavy workload may have wore him out late in the year, but he comes back next year as a senior. Nobody’s sleeping on him now.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ayhan Brown-Miller (New Brunswick)
This award could have gone to a wide net of players. Quadry Adams and Derrick Grant of Aquinas were very strong candidates, as was Starrell Hearns of Carteret and Tahjay Moore of New Brunswick. Ultimately, this had to go to the player with the best active hands I’ve ever seen in basketball on any level, and perhaps the most relentless and driven player in all of New Jersey: Ayhan Brown-Miller. He was listed as having recorded 115 steals this season. Not in his career, but this season, and those numbers may very well be incomplete. He recorded 10 steals on four different occasions, including in the state tournament against Montgomery where his team had nothing going in the half court offense and desperately needed the transition plays that he provided. No player was safe with the ball when he was on the court, and to do it at 5’10 made it all the more impressive.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Andrew Turco (Monroe)
Monroe’s Andrew Turco grew up watching some of the state’s greatest players, such as Karl-Anthony Towns, play for his father Dave at St. Joes. This year, he carved a legacy of his own, averaging 26.4 PPG, tops in the GMC by far. His video game numbers were cemented by seven 30 point games, a 40 point performance against East Brunswick, and an unconscionable 50 against Spotswood. He finished the season with 101 made threes. Players normally get a commemorative basketball for 100 threes in a career. He did it in one season.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Quadry Adams (St. Thomas Aquinas)
This is an award I have struggled with the past couple of years. There were no such issues this year, as it was academic that the Wake Forest commit Adams would be the top dog in the GMC. At 6’6, Adams possess a rare blend of physicality and athleticism at the high school level. Teams simply had no answer for him, as his 18.1 PPG was hampered largely by him not playing in the 4th quarter in most games. Injuries slowed him down a bit late in the season, as he missed the semifinal against Edison with a knee injury, before roaring back in the final with 17 points in the final to take home GMCT MOP honors. Adams stayed the course throughout his time at Bishop Ahr/Aquinas, with there being three different varsity coaches in the last four years. He has left his mark on the program and on the school, which is now poised to dominate the GMC for years to come.
MY ALL GMC TEAM
Players are in alphabetical order by team.
1st Team
Quadry Adams (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Ayhan Brown-Miller (New Brunswick)
Justin Carbone (South Brunswick)
Tahjay Moore (New Brunswick)
Devin Strickland (South Brunswick)
2nd Team
Jaquan Harris (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Starrell Hearns (Carteret)
Tyje Kelton (Dunellen)
K-Shawn Schulters (St. Joseph)
Andrew Turco (Monroe)
3rd Team
Emmanuel Davila (Edison)
Jabri Fitzpatrick (North Brunswick)
Jimmy Frage (Colonia)
Derrick Grant (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Sean Williams (Old Bridge)
Rare if ever have we seen the five players on the first team represent only three schools, especially in the post-Towns era. But this was a unique year, and all five are unique players. Brown-Miller may be the best defensive guard I’ve seen in a long time, and was also the county’s most clutch player. Moore is the county’s most dominant big man since Towns, and is as intense and emotional of a player as you will find, which he will bring to the gridiron next year at Rutgers. Strickland is an old school guard, making his bones down low amidst taller players. Carbone became the best crunch time scorer in the county, and at times carried his team in the GMCT and state tournament. Strickland and Carbone nearly scored the same number of points this year, both coming in at around 20 per game.
This was an extremely difficult list to make, and for some it was splitting hairs as to which team each would be on. Far more so than usual. Each one had terrific seasons, as did many who did not make the cut. No list by myself or anyone else can take that away.
FINAL GMC RANKINGS
St. Thomas Aquinas
South Brunswick
St. Joseph
Edison
Colonia
New Brunswick
Carteret
Dunellen
North Brunswick
Perth Amboy
WAY TOO EARLY 2021 GMC RANKING
St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Joseph
North Brunswick
Colonia
South Brunswick
Monroe
East Brunswick
Carteret
Dunellen
Wardlaw-Hartridge
(Honorable Mention: South Plainfield, Perth Amboy)
Do not scratch your eyes. That is the Wardlaw-Hartridge Rams you see in the way too early top ten for next year. It is more than justified after their run to the first round and taking St. Joes to OT. Their super sophomore Saivon Pressley has a chance to do what Quadry Adams did for Aquinas, and bring his program to the next level. As for the Trojans, bringing back perhaps the state’s top sophomore in Jaquan Harris, among many others, doesn’t hurt. Joes has a litany of young players that will only get better. North Brunswick returns a pair of big time players in Jabri Fitzpatrick and Donovan Crawford. Colonia brings back a talented group along with a GMC champion JV team. South Brunswick will be hit by graduation, but return Tyrell Murchison, Yathin Vemula, Andrew Tesser, and others. The future is no doubt bright in the GMC.
Thank you all so much for following our coverage this year and for tuning in to our broadcasts. Thank you to every parent and fan who has supported their teams and their kids, and to every player and coaches who have put all their time and effort into the game. Thanks as always to the incomparable Greg Machos, who epitomizes everything that is good about youth sports. I urge everyone once again to take caution in this crisis period, as well as to keep a level head. We will get through this together, and before we know it we’ll be back on the court getting ready for next season.