Coverage of Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Basketball Began in Summer of 2000
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–Over the summer, GMC Hoops reached a significant milestone in its coverage of Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Basketball. In late June, the site celebrated its 15th anniversary. Back in June 2000, Greg Machos began covering GMC boys hoops by going to two summer leagues: J.P. Stevens and Middlesex County College. Back then most of the GMC teams played in those two leagues.
At J.P. Stevens, the Hawks were joined by Colonia, North Brunswick, South Plainfield, Piscataway, Bridgewater-Raritan, Rahway, Sayreville, and J.F. Kennedy among others. Tim Ortelli’s Bridgewater-Raritan Panthers won the Stevens league that year. Meanwhile, over at Middlesex C.C. teams such as Perth Amboy, New Brunswick, South Brunswick, Monroe, South River, Perth Amboy Tech, and East Brunswick Tech. South Brunswick defeated Perth Amboy in the Championship.
The J.P. Stevens Summer League ended after the Summer of 2002. Middlesex County College kept running its league until 2011. Back in 2000, the HawksBasketball Fall-Ball Classic League run by Bob Gaydos was the only fall league in town. GMC Hoops didn’t start covering Hawks until the fall of 2002. By the time HawksBasketball closed up shop in 2008, there were two other leagues: TBSA and Rebounds.
Today, GMC teams play in leagues all over New Jersey. This summer, GMC Hoops covered some 21 different leagues, team camps, and showcases. These events stretched from as far north as the Hamilton Park Summer League in Jersey City to the Moody Park Summer League in Ewing Township in the South. The first regular season game covered by GMC Hoops was between Piscataway and East Brunswick at EBHS on opening night of the 2000-01 season. Coaching for P-Way at the time was Charles Brown, who now coaches at Manville, and Bo Henning, who stepped down after the 2012-13 season.
Players in that first game covered by GMC Hoops included three that went on to coach in the GMC. Bobby Henning and Larry Press for EB and Robert Freeney Jr. for Piscataway. Henning now coaches as an assistant to Joe Hoehman at South Brunswick while Larry Press went on to coach at New Brunswick. Freeney went on to serve as JV and assistant coach to Karl Towns Sr. at Piscataway Tech. Other players in that first game included: Bryan Keller, Martin Maxwell, Andre Wright for the Chiefs while Gordon Hurley played for EB. Early on, P-Way appeared to be on its way to an easy win as it led by as many as 20, but EB rallied back, and pulled within single digits late before Piscataway hung on to win.
In that first season, GMC Hoops only covered 50 games. The following year, year two, GMC Hoops covered 65 games, and in year three, the site got out to 73 games. From there, the number of games each year kept climbing until the 2007-08 season when GMC Hoops covered 108 games. During that season, the site had covered every GMC team except one (Woodbridge) by the end of the holiday tournament season, which had never been done before. Over the past four seasons, GMC Hoops has covered a total of 430 games or an average of 107.5 per season.
Now people are probably wondering how the idea for the site began. The idea began to gain steam during the 1998-99 season. I had started to go around Middlesex County and watch games. During that season, St. Joseph’s was the dominant team led by Jay Williams and with a supporting cast that included Brian Wilson, Ryan Uszenski, Paul Bocage, and Eric Wilkins. I saw St. Joseph’s play a number of times that season including twice at that year’s Primetime Shootout. The first time was a lopsided win over Bishop Loughlin at Steinert High School in Hamilton Township. The next day, the Falcons took on Christ the King of Middle Village in Queens, which was the second ranked team in the country at the time.
In the game between St. Joe’s and CTK, which was played at the Rutgers Athletic Center, the Falcons was in control for about three and a half quarters of the game until CTK turned up the heat defensively with full court pressure, and it rallied for the come from behind win. Saw the Falcons later that month in the 1999 GMCT Quarterfinals, where it soundly defeated St. Mary’s of South Amboy, which became Cardinal McCarrick, and recently closed. Several nights later in the GMCT semifinals, St. Joe’s took on Sayreville, which the Falcons defeated in the 1998 GMCT Final for its second county/conference championship and first since 1993.
The semifinal game between the Falcons and the Bombers was a coming out party for Sayreville freshman guard, Dwayne Thomas, who took it to Jay Williams in a memorable performance that helped him earn All GMCT Team honors. St. Joe’s would prevail though as it reached its third straight GMCT Championship game. In the other semifinal, Colonia, that year’s GMCT 2nd seed, and coached by Ken Pace, took on Perth Amboy, which was coached by Neil Kennett and led by Ralph Lora, who went on to be a 1,000 point scorer at Kean University. The Panthers, seeded 14th in the tourney, had a Cinderella run with a first round win over 3rd seeded North Brunswick in overtime at NBTHS, and an upset of 6th seeded St. Peter’s, which was coached at the time by Bob Greene.
The 1998-99 Colonia Patriots consisted of the likes of freshman Justin Chiera, and sophomore Justin Derkack, Isaiah Christian, and Bryan Chapman. Christian and Chapman went on to earn 1999 All GMCT Team honors. The Pats also had Nick Risko, who later went on to become a hero with a last second three pointer from the left wing in a memorable last second win over a Red Bank squad led by Tahj Holden, who went on to play at Maryland, and now coaches at Ranney Prep in Tinton Falls, and Sean Axani, who went on to play at Rutgers. Colonia had all it could handle from Perth Amboy, but was able to hang on for a slim victory, and take on St. Joe’s in the Championship Game at South Brunswick High School. In that final, Colonia battled until the end, but the Falcons prevailed for their second straight title, and third overall. Colonia later fell short in the CJ Group III Championship Game to Lawrence at East Brunswick High School.
St. Joseph’s continued to march toward a rematch with Seton Hall Prep in the Non-Public A State Championship. The Falcons rolled through its opponents at the old Bird Cage to earn a berth in the 1998 Non-Public A South sectional championship against Bishop Eustace of Pennsauken at Lakewood High School. Led by a solid performance at both ends of the floor by Bocage, who went on to play volleyball at Stanford University, the Falcons cruised past the Crusaders to earn a trip to the Dunn Center in Elizabeth against Seton Hall Prep. In the state final against the Pirates and All-State selection, Marcus Toney-El, the Falcons fell behind early, and dug too deep a hole as Seton Hall Prep won by a bigger margin this time around after having to hold on for a single digit victory in 1998.
I saw all of these games mentioned that year and then saw more during the 1999-2000 season including Sayreville’s wins over South Plainfield and Carteret in the 2000 GMCT at Rutgers, Colonia’s win over Lawrence in the CJ Group III semifinals at Colonia, South Plainfield’s loss to Montgomery in the CJ Group II state tourney, Highland Park at Metuchen, and St. Joseph’s at Piscataway, a game that was broadcasted by WCTC and P-Way’s Robert Freeney Jr. scored 33 points. These games over this two year span served as the foundation for the formulation of the idea that would become GMC Hoops. It’s amazing to see that after 15 years, we’re still going. It may not be perfect, and things could be better, but I’ve managed to hold it all together despite many challenges.