Younger Brother of McCarrick All Time Leading Scorer Vince Rosario
Making Case For Player Of The Year Honors
HILLSIDE, NJ–On Sunday night, GMC Hoops journeyed up Route 22 East into Hillside to watch action from the second night of the 2008 Joe Silver Tournament at Hillside High School. The site finally got its first look at Cardinal McCarrick, which it was going to see on opening night, but due to a winter storm that forced cancellations of the entire GMC schedule, it wasn’t able to.
Despite arriving late to the game, the site was able to take in the efforts of senior guard, Julio Rosario, in its entirety. The younger brother of all time McCarrick leading scorer, Vince Rosario, played splendidly. More importantly, this wasn’t against any run of the mill opponent either. It was against Mid-Atlantic Prep League member, the Hun School of Princeton, which has post graduates on its roster.
Last week on the first day of the 2008 Tip-Off Classic at Union High School, Hun defeated St. Joseph’s of Montvale by a score of 64-56. In the 71-61 victory over Hun, Rosario connected for 34 points including 17 in the fourth quarter alone. Compiling his points on three field goals, five three pointers, and 13 foul shots, Rosario knocked in 22 of his points in the second half. With Hun closing in at 48-44, Rosario, who looked more like his older brother at times out there, sank a three pointer for a 51-44 score at the 6:21 mark. Then, after a Raider score, the two time GMC Hoops Clutch Performance of the Year Award winner, knifed into traffic for a score, and a 53-46 lead with 5:10 to play.
Twenty-six seconds later, Rosario connected again from long range on a three pointer from the right side for a 56-46 McCarrick lead as Hun called a timeout at the 4:44 mark. Rosario then made 5 of 6 free throws in two trips to the line including a 4 of 4 effort that consisted of two technical foul shots at the 3:34 mark that essentially put the game away as Cardy Mac led 64-50. The Hun School would rally with a 9-3 run to close to within eight at 67-59, but couldn’t get any closer as the Eagles went on to win by 10.
Two nights later on Tuesday, Rosario registered a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds to help out Taylor Snider’s 21 point and five three pointer effort in a 57-41 win over Lincoln of Jersey City. Opening weekend versus South Plainfield, Rosario pumped in 25 points in a 64-60 overtime win, and then he registered 36 points in a 62-36 victory over Carteret. Through five games, Rosario is averaging about 25 points per contest. Following the game against Hun, GMC Hoops caught up with several former McCarrick players including Steve Liberty, Kevin Olivieri, and Vince Rosario, who did his best to promote his little brother.
Cardinal McCarrick has had three of the nine GMC Hoops Players of the Year Awards including Mika Wilson (2003), Vince Rosario (2007), and Mike Burwell (2008). If things keep going the way there going this season, it looks like Julio Rosario will keep the honor right where it is at McCarrick.