Salute To Piscataway Seniors

Two years ago, the state of Piscataway Hoops has fallen to unheard of depths of decline. P-Way basketball had always had a proud heritage going back to the days when it was unseeded and made it to the Championship Game of the 1968 Tournament to the mid-1970s when the school won back to back titles under the direction of Windy McGriff, and had such players as Rob Freeney, Sr., Duncan McGriff, Matt Madlinger, and Keith Powell to the dominant Chiefs of the 1990s under the guidance of Paul Schoeb, and with players such as Nate Grant, Bruce Alston, Corey Lowery, John Celestand, Justin Bailey, and Delvon McMillan. However, that 2005-06 campaign was one that made many scratch their heads, especially considering the fact that Rodney Freeney was one of the standout players on that team, and even became the school’s all time leading scorer as he broke the record held previously by Celestand.

It was late in that season when P-Way traveled to Cardinal McCarrick that second year head coach, Guy Jensen, the fourth head coach in the past eight seasons since Schoeb had left, decided to go with a change. He went with the future by putting the current crop of seniors including James White, Omar Smith, J.D. Griggs, and Bryan Waluk into the starting lineup. Although the team would lose that day to the Eagles, Jensen saw some promise, and a light began to shine at the end of the tunnel in that season of despair. The foundation for championships was built that day. Later that summer, the Chiefs competed at the last HawksBasketball Summer SlamFest, and finished second in the regular season to Hillsborough, and advanced to the Championship Game of the post-season tournament before losing to Plainfield (41-36) after giving the very talented Cards all they could handle in the final. League Director, Bob Gaydos felt that they were going to be heard from that season, and he was right. The off-season work continued into the fall at the Fall-Ball Classic in Plainfield, where the Chiefs finished tied for fourth with a 7-3 record in the regular season, and reached the semifinals of the post-season tournament before losing to Plainfield (64-38). Despite some bumps in the road during the pre-season, P-Way embarked on a campaign during 2006-07 that had even some fans thinking that they were the team to watch out for in that year’s GMCT.

Living up to the expectations of some, and defying those set by others, Piscataway went on to compile a 16-10 record, and win the 2007 GMCT over Cardinal McCarrick in the Championship after the Eagles had knocked off top seeded South Brunswick in thrilling fashion in the semifinals. Although the season would end for P-Way two days later against Watchung Hills in the opening round of the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament, Chief basketball was back on the map, and enthusiasm in the town restored. Over the past two seasons, Piscataway compiled a record of 40-15, won its first regular season Red Division title since Celestand’s senior year in 1995, won its first GMCT in twelve years, and won its first sectional crown in thirteen seasons while making its first state finals appearance since 1994. Going from a year with a 4-20 record to a 24-5 mark two seasons later along with dethroning the two time Group IV State Champions in Linden to win its sectional title capped one of the tremendous turnarounds in GMC history. The senior class led by White, Smith, Griggs, and Waluk played a pivotal role in not only winning those titles over the past two seasons, but also re-energizing a program after what had been a difficult campaign two years earlier.

All of Piscataway should be thankful to these four players as well as reserves such as Tyshaun Jackson and Jeff Ihe for being the pioneers in this Piscataway Hoops renaissance.