SOUTH PLANIFIELD, NJ–Recently, I have spent some time watching some college basketball on ESPNU. Usually after I come home from work, or from a basketball or football game, I surf the channels to see if there’s something on that’s worth watching. Well, within the past month or so, I’ve made frequent stops to ESPNU. The channel has not only had Rutgers taking on the University of North Carolina at the Garden last week, but it also has featured games involving former GMC standouts.
One school that has been frequently on the channel is the University of South Florida out of the Big East. The Bulls have former Highland Park and Cardinal McCarrick standout, Mike Burwell on the roster, and he did play some minutes in a loss to Kent State (56-51). The game against the Flashes was on ESPNU. Burwell played 21 minutes in the game, scored four points and grabbed three rebounds. So far this season, he has played in 9 games including 4 starts. He has averaged 13 minutes per game, 3.0 points per game, and 0.7 minutes per game. Burwell, who is shooting 42 percent from the floor including 5 of 13 from three point range, pumped in a career high 15 points in a 60-43 victory over Liberty. The East Brunswick native, who was making his first career start in the game, took all seven of his shots from beyond the arc, and connected on five of them.
The other night, I happened to see a GMC college hoops doubleheader on ESPNU. First, the University of Pennsylvania was taking on perennial powerhouse Kentucky followed by a game between the University of Rhode Island and Florida. The Quakers gave a good fight to the Wildcats in the opener. Penn led by former Colonia High standout, Zack Rosen, had the led for over 19 minutes of the first half before Kentucky took the lead into the locker room. The Quakers actually led by a 32-21 margin before Kentucky rallied to score the final 12 points of the first half for the 33-32 lead.
In the second half, the Wildcats pulled away with a 53-30 surge to end the game by outscoring Penn by a 65-30 margin for the 86-62 win. Rosen ended up playing 39 minutes, and was limited to just six points. All of his scoring game from the foul line, where he was a perfect 6 of 6. He also had 4 assists and 2 steals while only turning the ball over three times against Kentucky’s talented squad. So far this season, Rosen has played and started in every game for the Quakers, and has averaged just over 36 minutes per contest. He has made 51 of 113 shots for 45 percent from the floor including 24 of 56 from beyond the arc for 42 percent. Rosen has made 47 of 63 free throws also for 74.6 percent while averaging 15.7 points (leads team), 4.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and one steal per contest. His assist to turnover ratio is 1.69.
Also playing for UPenn this year is former St. Joe’s standout, Steve Rennard, who saw some time late in the contest against Kentucky. Rennard has played 13 minutes in three games with an assist and a steal, but those numbers should improve as he continues his career there. Another former GMC standout on the roster is Darren Smith, who along with Marquis Jones led South Plainfield to back to back GMCT titles in 2004 and 2005. Smith is in his senior year at Penn, and has played 36 minutes in six games. He has battled all the way back from knee injuries earlier in his career to play this season.
Speaking of Jones, he was front and center in the nightcap against Florida. While Delroy James is the focal point of the Rhode Island offense, Jones is who makes it run at the point guard position. The Rams ended up losing to Florida in an 84-59 rout with James scoring a game high 23 points while Jones struggled from the floor, but still collected 4 points, 7 assists, a rebound, steal, and a block in 32 minutes of playing time. He had an assist to turnover ratio of 2.33 in the loss. So far this season, Jones has played in and started in all 14 games for Rhode Island. He is averaging 33.6 minutes per game, 10.4 points per game (tied for second on the team), 3.6 rebounds per game, 3.5 assists per game, and 1.5 steals per game. His assist to turnover ratio for the year is 1.9.
South Florida is scheduled to play Villanova later this well while Rhode Island plays Xavier, and Penn plays LaSalle on January 12th.