Teams: Â Bishop Ahr, Carteret, Highland Park, J.F. Kennedy, Metuchen, Middlesex, Piscataway Tech, South Plainfield and Spotswood.
Favorite: Â Piscataway Tech
Contenders: Â Spotswood, South Plainfield, Bishop Ahr, and Carteret
Outlook: Â Of all four divisions of the Greater Middlesex Conference, this was the one that went through the most change. Â Moving down to the Blue from the White was South Plainfield while Piscataway Tech moved up from the Gold. Â The Raiders took a bit of a hit to graduation with the loss of two year starters, Galen Smith and Khairi Mosely, and reserve Mo Pierre. Â However, P-Way Tech has a lot coming back this year and can still contend for a title despite moving up.
The Raiders have the likes of Turell McClendon returning while reserves Gerel Robinson, Robert Pierre, Aziz Austin, Terrence Wong, and Jordan Lackey will provide enough to fill the void from those losses. Â Piscataway Tech will benefit from playing in the Blue against tougher competition, and that will translate into more success in the post-season when they play in the GMCT and the state playoffs.
Spotswood has the best chance of the group of contenders challenging P-Way  Tech for the title.  The Chargers have the trio of Jake Dadika, Jamal Lewis, and Dalonte Grant all returning last year.  The loss of 1,000 point scorer Tommy Soulias will hurt them, but they still have enough to contend.  The Chargers played well over the fall at the Monroe Sports Center Fall League including a victory over Franklin.  South Plainfield should benefit from not only moving down, but also having plenty of talent returning.
The Tigers have the likes of Claude Payne, Justin Glover, Ray Perez, Sergio Ulacia, Malik Cisson, Chris Mathis, Roemello Monroe, Aidan McDermott, and Andrew Franco either returning or coming up from the JV. Â Payne looked sharp in a contest against Watchung Hills in the Immaculata Fall League back in October. Â South Plainfield should at least improve upon their 2-21 win total from last year. Â In the off-season, SPHS head coach, Chris Chiera had the Tigers play in the Monroe Sports Center and Bound Brook Summer Leagues, and in the Immaculata Fall League. Â Moving down along Oak Tree Road, we get to Bishop Ahr. Â The Trojans took heavy hits to graduation from last year with the loss of Roger Kilgore, Dillon Salva, and Kenny Virden to graduation.
However, the BGA has a sophomore class that head coach, Dennis O’Keefe has been quite high on. Â In addition, Ahr has Mike Jensen returning, and a solid JV team coming up. Â The Trojans may take some hits early on, but could still be a player in the division especially if the young talent can gel sooner. Â Carteret also took some hits to graduation losing the likes of Joey Nigro, Avery Carter, Kevin Van Dyke, and Tanveer Dosanjh to graduation after winning 20 games for the first time since 2002, but they still have Elijah Torres as well as sophomores Brandon Gilder and Jacquan Robertson returning. Â J.F. Kennedy lost four starters from last year’s team, but head coach Chris Banos still has Zach Buchholz as well as Kyle Alvarez, Mike Weinstein, Joe Duffy, Darrin Perez, and Omar Reyes coming back.
The Mustangs competed in the Monroe Sports Center Fall League, and did well in the couple games covered by GMC Hoops. Â Kyle Alvarez and Mike Weinstein looked good. Â Weinstein did a great job of running the floor. Â Metuchen took some lumps last year with a relatively inexperienced team, but still managed to win seven games including an impressive win over Middlesex just after the holidays. Â Returning from that squad will be a young, but more experienced group led by Ryan O’Neill, and including the likes of Thomas Chalker, Hunter Clarke, Brian Eustace, and Artie Flaherty. Â The Bulldogs are one of the smaller schools in this division.
Rounding out the Blue is Middlesex and Highland Park. Â The Blue Jays went down a notch last season after losing several seniors from the year before as well as their head coach, Brian Feath, who now coaches at Ridge. Â Middlesex lost two key players from last year’s rotation in Chris Fuscoletti and Nick Hionis. Â Highland Park has some talent and athleticism with the likes of Quatay Nesmith, Nadre Hepburn, Jordan Long, and James Webb. Â The Owls will need to play together and better defensively in order to improve.