Where to begin? While this season did not have any state champions or outright Division 1 stars, it proved that none of those things are needed to produce the most exciting basketball in New Jersey. Every night it seems that something crazy happens, and nobody is safe. The passion showed for the game by the coaches and players is unbelievable, and has the ability to restore a person’s faith in the nature of basketball. For you can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she plays or coaches basketball. And that could not be more true here, for in no game did I see anybody not leave it all out on the floor. I was honored to be a part of it this year, and regardless of where I end up in the future, the Greater Middlesex Conference will always hold a special place in my heart.
With that being said, let’s get to some awards. Please note that a lot of these are exactly the same as the regular season recap.
UPSET OF THE YEAR
Where to even start? There were an abundance of upsets this year. To name a few, there was Piscataway over South Brunswick, Perth Amboy over East Brunswick, East Brunswick over Old Bridge, Stevens over Old Bridge, Spotswood over Bishop Ahr, South Plainfield over Bishop Ahr, Monroe over Perth Amboy, Perth Amboy over Carteret, and Colonia over North Brunswick, and Monroe over North Brunswick in the GMCT to name a few.
The three contenders for this prize are Kennedy over Sayreville, North Brunswick over Sayreville, and Old Bridge over St. Joes. The Kennedy one was shocking, but did come against a shorthanded Bombers team. The Old Bridge game was shocking as well, but this St. Joes team was not as untouchable as some in the past, and the Knights had been playing well of late. Which leads to our winner, the opening night stunner with the Raider Birds taking down the #1 Bombers in double OT. The hype coming into that game played a big role, as we just expected Sayreville to roll over their White Division competition from the get go. But that’s why they play the games.
CRAZIEST MOMENT OF THE YEAR: METUCHEN AND BISHOP AHR BRAWL
Oh boy. Brawls like this don’t happen every day, which makes this one special. This was made even crazier with the referees ejecting all the wrong players from the game. Also considered: Edison’s 15 point comeback with 2 minutes left vs Stevens.
TOUGHEST OUT: J.P. STEVENS
The voters last year who voted for the GMC coach of the year reportedly all gave themselves several concussions before casting their votes for anyone not named Bobby Jones. This year, with a very young team, he and the Hawks managed to take St. Joes, South Brunswick, East Brunswick, and Piscataway to their limits. This was capped off by a victory over Old Bridge, in typical hard nosed Stevens fashion by the score of 32-29. It seems that regardless of who suits up in the green and gold, you know that a slobberknocker of a game is coming.
TEAM OF THE YEAR: ST. JOSEPH
The story has long been told by now. We at GMC Hoops did indeed rank the Falcons 5th in the preseason. This was not a crazy ranking at the time, for Joes had no returning players and saw 10 players transfer out of the program. I came into opening night with no idea what to expect. But it was business as usual for Dave Turco, who won his 8th GMC title, and his Falcons, who started the season 19-0 and never looked back.
COACH OF THE YEAR: DAVE TURCO
A couple of undeniable facts:
1. This season is the best coaching job Dave Turco has done in his career.
2. Other than Phil Colicchio, he is the best coach in New Jersey.
He took a team with basically zero varsity experience and two freshmen in the starting lineup and turned in a 19-0 start and another GMC title. He took a senior who scored 56 points the previous year and turned him into the MVP. Nobody can say anymore that he is a product of his players. He has already been cemented as possibly the greatest GMC coach ever, and this season only helped the cause. And speaking of which…..
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: LETRELL WEST, ST. JOES
Before the Falcons’ opening game against East Brunswick, Dave Turco told me that West could be a 1000 point scorer. Upon hearing that, even I was skeptical. It had to take a superhuman effort for him to reach that mark. It is quite clear that Turco knew what he was talking about. It is a testament to sticking it out even when minutes are slim. West was been dominant on all ends this season, and capped it off with 77 points in his first two GMCT games, and then put up 17 points in the 2nd half of the final to take home the GMCT MVP. This was as easy of a choice as it gets.
Note: A St. Joes player has now won the GMC MVP in eight straight seasons.
GMC MVP’s
2010: Steve Rennard
2011/12: Quentin Decosey
2013/14: Karl Towns
2015: Breein Tyree
2016: Tyus Battle
2017: Letrell West
ALL GMC FIRST TEAM
(FYI these are in no particular order, unlike some other outlets)
Letrell West, St. Joes
Mike Ugarte, South Brunswick
Ryan O’Leary, Sayreville
Kyle Parris, Old Bridge
Jahsim Floyd, Sayreville
SECOND TEAM
Keshaun Henry, Woodbridge
Alex Santiago, Bishop Ahr
Xavier Townes, Sayreville
Isaiah Daniels-Porter, Carteret
Malachi Walker, St. Joes
THIRD TEAM
Tyree Taganeca-Ford, St. Joes
D’Ondre Dent, Piscataway
Derrick Whitaker, South River
Harry Rutkowski, Woodbridge
Fres Cabrera, Perth Amboy
BASICALLY THIRD TEAM
Richard Greaves, St. Joes
Deonte Crawford, Bishop Ahr
Note: I could not leave these two out. Both deserve to be in the team, and so now they are. It’s my list, so I don’t care.
ALL GMC TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Letrell West, St. Joes
Malachi Walker, St. Joes
Jahsim Floyd, Sayreville
Xavier Townes, Sayreville
Mike Ugarte, South Brunswick
Harry Rutkowski, Woodbridge
FINAL RANKINGS
1. St. Joes
2. Sayreville
3. South Brunswick
4. Woodbridge
5. Old Bridge
6. Carteret
7. Piscataway
8. J.F. Kennedy
9. Bishop Ahr
10. East Brunswick
Note: The Bears’ victory over South Brunswick in the states vaults them into #10, while Kennedy’s victory over Ahr in the GMCT puts them at #8.
2018 WAY TOO EARLY RANKINGS
1. St Joes
2. Piscataway
3. North Brunswick
4. Bishop Ahr
5. Woodbridge
6. Carteret
7. East Brunswick
8. Monroe
9. Colonia
10. Perth Amboy
MY ALL TIME GMC TEAM
I have been deeply embedded in GMC basketball since the 2012 season. I have basically seen every player from these six years in person. These are my two all time teams from the GMC in that timeframe. The first one includes St. Joes players. The second one does not. You will see why in a moment.
WITH JOES
1st Team
Amir Bell, East Brunswick
Tyus Battle, St. Joes
Wade Baldwin, St. Joes
Quentin Decosey, St. Joes
Karl Towns, St. Joes
2nd Team
Corey Tate, Sayreville
Breein Tyree, St. Joes
Marques Townes, St. Joes
Rob Ukawuba, East Brunswick
Sultan Aminu, Old Bridge
3rd Team
Jimbo Long, St. Joes
Danny Brix, St. Joes
Letrell West, St. Joes
Branislav Vujadinovic, St. Joes
Jehyve Floyd, Sayreville
Note: That’s 10 of the top 15 for Joes. Now you see why there are two teams.
NO JOES
1st Team
Amir Bell, East Brunswick
Jake Dadika, Spotswood
Chase Barneys, Colonia
Sultan Aminu, Old Bridge
Rob Ukawuba, East Brunswick
2nd Team
Corey Tate, Sayreville
Dion Rogers, North Brunswick
Iverson Fleming, North Brunswick
Jehyve Floyd, Sayreville
Jahsim Floyd, Sayreville
3rd Team
Tyler Drews, Old Bridge
JJ Corbett, Colonia
Garry Baumer, East Brunswick
Zahneer Shuler, Woodbridge
Jared Pearson, Woodbridge
Honorable Mention
Sky Harris, McCarrick
Jaquan Robertson, Carteret
LJ Williams, North Brunswick
Eric Dadika, Spotswood
Matt Martinez, South River
Steve Herdman, South Amboy
Marquise Irizarry, Perth Amboy
Eric Savage, South Brunswick
Mike Ugarte, South Brunswick
Ryan O’Leary, Sayreville
Carlos Done, Perth Amboy
Kyle Parris, Old Bridge
Eddie Harris, Woodbridge
Marvin Crawford, J.P. Stevens
Alex Corrigan, J.P. Stevens (No sibling bias here)
Note: I know it is impossible to get everyone on the HM list. Please don’t take being left off the list as being thought of as not deserving of being on it.