Several Key Transfers and a Couple Coaching Changes During Off-Season
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–In the lead-up to the start of the 2015-16 Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Basketball season, which is now less than a week away, GMC Hoops decided to take a look at some of the off-season changes around the GMC. Continuing on the trend over the past several years, there were a number of notable transfers around the conference, and there were a couple of coaching changes as well. Below is a list of the transfers that GMC Hoops is aware of to date. If there are any that we left out, please e-mail them to gmachos@gmchoops.com.
Notable Transfers Around the GMC
| Player | Previous School | New School |
|---|---|---|
| Tyus Battle | Gill St. Bernard’s | St. Joseph’s |
| Alonzo Frink | St. Anthony’s | St. Joseph’s |
| Letrell West | Piscataway Tech | St. Joseph’s |
| Tony Gamboa | St. Joseph’s | Rutgers Prep |
| Tyler Mixson | Roselle Catholic | Timothy Christian |
| Ryan O’Leary | South Amboy | Sayreville |
| Chris Pina | Spotswood | Point Pleasant Beach |
| Trevon Blakey | New Brunswick | South Brunswick |
| Anthony Blakey | New Brunswick | South Brunswick |
GMC Coaching Changes
In addition to the player transfers, the coaching carousel had a couple changes this off-season. Both of them were in the Gold Division with Dunellen and Piscataway Tech getting new coaches. At Dunellen, JV head coach and assistant varsity head coach, Howie Horowitz takes over for Bernie Buniak. Buniak had coached at Dunellen for 10 seasons and had compiled a record of 155-101 at the school, won at least a share of the GMC Gold 6 times, and guided two Destroyer teams to the North Jersey Section 2 Group I semifinals in 2006 and 2013.
Horowitz is no stranger to the Route 28 neighborhood. Besides being a JV and varsity assistant for basketball, he has also been an assistant coach in football at Dunellen. A 2002 graduate of Middlesex High School, Horowitz was a member of the 2001 Blue Jays team led by James vonBischoffshausen that defeated 5th seeded and defending champion, Sayreville in the 2001 GMCT Round of 16, and reached the Central Jersey Group I finals before losing to Blue Division rival, Highland Park at Piscataway High School. Those Blue Jays were then coached by George Rauh, who had previously coached as an assistant to Paul Schoeb at Piscataway during the successful run by the Chiefs in the mid 1990s.
Not too far down the road at Piscataway Tech, the Raiders have their fourth different coach in the past three seasons (Karl Towns Sr., DeShawn Singleton, Mike Gordon, and Lenny Reyes). Lenny Reyes takes over following the departure of Mike Gordon. Reyes was an assistant to Matt Gigliello over at Woodbridge High School last season after stepping down as head coach over at South Amboy. Reyes coached at South Amboy for 4 seasons and compiled a record of 45-53 including a 20-7 record in his final season in 2013-14.
Those South Amboy Guvs were the 2nd team in school history to reach the GMCT Elite Eight (other time in 2007-08), and the first GMC school in the open tournament era to reach the GMCT Quarterfinals as a 20 plus seed (24th seed). The Guvs gradually improved under his guidance from 4-19 in his first season to 20-7 in his last season. Prior to coaching at South Amboy, Reyes coached two seasons at Metuchen and had a signature win over 8th seeded Piscataway Tech in the 2005 GMCT.