OB Standout to Join Former GMC Players Long and Dervishaj on Roadrunners Squad
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| Old Bridge senior, and 1,000 point scorer, Connor Romano (#5), seen here squaring up against St. Joseph’s Letrell West on January 28th, and honored recently by GMC Hoops as the Hoopshooter of the Year, has decided to attend Ramapo College next fall. |
OLD BRIDGE, NJ—On Monday, GMC Hoops received word from Old Bridge High School boys basketball head coach, Jim Macomber, that senior guard, Connor Romano, the latest player to score over 1,000 points for the Knights, will be attending Ramapo College of the NJAC next fall. Romano had narrowed down his college choices to NCAA Division 2 school Dominican of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and D3 Ramapo.
Romano finished his career with 1,004 points after scoring 535 of those points this past season. He picked up all of those points this season on 126 field goals, 47 three pointers, and 146 foul shots, and averaged 19.8 points per game. Romano led the GMC in free throws made while ranking fourth in scoring and 9th in three pointers made. Over his varsity career, Romano clicked on 202 field goals, 114 threes, and 261 free throws.
Beginning his career as one of the leaders of an Old Bridge freshmen team that defeated North Brunswick in the 2013 Perth Amboy/GMC Championship, Romano helped the Knights return to the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament Elite Eight for the first time in several years. Old Bridge ended up 18-9 overall including a 6-6 mark in the GMC Red. The Knights also reached the quarterfinal round of the 2016 Central Jersey Group 4 State Tournament.
Since its formation from the merger of Cedar Ridge and Madison Central High Schools in 1994, Old Bridge, which finished 7th in the final GMC Hoops Top Ten poll, never had a 1,000 point scorer prior to the 2012-13 season. Since that time, there have been three: Sultan Aminu (2013), who now plays hoops for NCAA D2 school, East Stroudsburg, Tyler Drews (2014), who plays hoops at CACC school, Caldwell University, and Romano. Drews is the all-time leading scorer at the school with 1,468 points although Tim Klag graduated from Cedar Ridge in 1989 with 1,570 points.
Romano will be joining a couple other former GMC standouts at Ramapo in the fall. Former St. Joseph’s standout, Jimbo Long, starter on the 2011, 2012, and 2013 GMCT Championship teams, is a sophomore at the school and Santiago Dervishaj, graduate of the recently closed Cardinal McCormick, is on the roster as a freshman. A couple other former players with Central Jersey ties on the Ramapo squad this year were Matawan’s Cory Soanes and Scotch Plains-Fanwood’s Thomas Bonacum. Ramapo is usually among the top teams in the New Jersey Athletic Conference year after year.
This past season, the Roadrunners finished 16-10 overall including a 12-6 mark in conference play. Ramapo earned the fourth seed in the NJAC’s post-season tournament, but was knocked off in the opening round by fifth seeded TCNJ. Stockton University eventually won the tourney by defeating TCNJ in the Championship. Congratulations Connor, and best of luck in the next phase of not only your basketball career, but also your life.