NOTE: This is not the 2016-17 season preview. That will be out by opening weekend.
Sayreville the Team to Beat in What Could Be Wide Open Year
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–With Championship Weekend of the 2016 High School football season behind us, now the focus shifts to the Winter Sports season and boys basketball in the Greater Middlesex Conference.
Last year, St. Joseph’s returned to the top of the Greater Middlesex Conference by defeating South Brunswick in the 2016 GMCT Championship. The Falcons will still have to be reckoned with since they are the defending champs, and you never underestimate the heart of a champion.
However, St. Joe’s took a bit of a hit this offseason with a number of players at the varsity and lower levels transferring out. Malachi Walker, Letrell West, and Mike Granda return for the Falcons while Matt Crowley is a talented sophomore coming up. Now, it appears that the Greater Middlesex Conference is wide open with a number of teams that have the potential to be standing when the dust settles in the final week of February.
One of those team’s is Sayreville, which has seven letter winners coming back including 1,000 point scorer, Ryan O’Leary and big man, Jahsim Floyd, and newcomers such as top JV player from last year, Zac Kaczmarek and one of the aforementioned St. Joseph’s transfers, Xavier Townes coming in.
South Brunswick lost the likes of Eric Savage, who has continued his basketball career at Division 3 Tufts University in Massachusetts, but the Vikings still have Mike Ugarte and Ryan Moran back as well as a ton of talent coming up from a JV squad that has been in the East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament Championship in each of the past two years.
Old Bridge took a bit of a hit to graduation with the departures of Connor Romano (Ramapo), Stephen Strom (Rutgers-Newark), C.J. Santoro, and Zach Attianese (North Carolina for baseball) from a squad that reached the GMCT and Central Jersey Group 4 Quarterfinals and finishing 18-9. However, the Knights still have the multidimensional Kyle Paris back along with the likes of Will Osvald as reserves from last year, Rich Calandrino and Brandon Milling.
East Brunswick lost its big three from last year in Matt Ross (walked on at Towson University), Mike Vick (Rutgers-Newark), and Addis Ralph (Moravian). However, they have a good squad returning with seniors such as Dante Ralph, Gil Wyman, and Ezra Levitt along with talented juniors such as Joe Sampson, Jesse Perel, and Eric Schneider coming up. Last year, the Bears reached the GMCT Semis and CJ Group 4 quarterfinals losing to South Brunswick both times.
Woodbridge will be looking to battle it out with Sayreville for the top spot in the GMC White, and the Barrons like the Bombers have a lot of talent returning including: Quassim Glover, Keshaun Henry, Quran Robinson, Harry Rutkowski, Hura Blaine, Curtis Nesbit, and Kemari Persol. Keep in mind that Woodbridge played Sayreville three times last year and won twice including the 2016 GMCT Elite Eight.
Bishop Ahr will be a team to look out for in the GMC Blue. Ahr finished third in the division last year behind J.F. Kennedy and Spotswood, but there were a lot of changes in Ahr Country during the off-season. Couple that with Kennedy moving up to the White and teams such as Spotswood losing 1,100 point scorers in Eric Dadika and Marlon Hart, the Trojans look to be the favorites to win. Sean Kudelka, Alex Santiago, and Kieran Hodder return along with additions such as Devonte Crawford, Matt Panganiban, and Simon Llaguno coming in.
Monroe may be moving up to the Red, but they will still be a team to reckon with. The Falcons finished the season strong last year with 7 victories in their last 11 games. There is plenty of talent returning from that team, which only lost Eddie Pinto to graduation. Monroe is very talented at the junior level with the likes of Matt Hoyt, Luke Patel, AK Patel, Hassan Reid, Kevin Shea, and Eric Johnson returning. In addition, sharpshooting sophomore Mike Kides is back while St. Joseph’s transfer, Sashank Sindhia comes in to bring some size down low.
North Brunswick returns to the GMC White after being in the Red Division the past two years. Gone is the likes of Pranay Bhandare and Eric Reardon, but coming back is a ton of talent from a JV team that won the East Brunswick/GMC JV Tourney over South Brunswick. The Junior Raiders were led by the likes of GMC Hoops JV Player of the year, Jordan Salisbury, and EB/GMC All Tourney Team members Avery Claggett, Jhonell Brown, and Josh Vick.
Piscataway is looking to not only return to respectability, but also to prominence. New head coach, Darius Griffin Sr., will try to get the Chiefs to their first winning season since they last appeared in the GMCT final in 2011. P-Way has a ton of talent coming up from the lower levels and have a good nucleus returning with the likes of D’Ondre Dent, Mehki Morgan, Cameron Saintil, Mattias Arrindell, Jordan Davidson, and Deandre Scott.
Colonia has lost a lot to graduation over the past two seasons after posting a 40-14 record. Gone are the likes of 1,000 point scorers such as J.J. Corbett and Chase Barneys (Rutgers-Newark) as well as Jodrell Thompson (Kean), Kolby Chapman (Central Penn College), and Bryce Barneys. The Patriots also have a new coach in former standout, Brandon Hall, but the Pats have a talented junior class led by the likes of Christian Chapman and Frank Lehman.
J.P. Stevens lost a good deal to graduation with the departures of three point sharpshooter, Alex Corrigan, Mike Lionikis, and Jay’von Blacknall. In addition, the Hawks moved back up to the GMC Red. Bob Jones does have Stevens moving in the right direction though with another title at the Rahway Summer League this past off-season. The Hawks, which were the GMC Hoops Defensive team of the year in 2015-16, also have a talented junior class returning led by dynamic point guard, Tyrese Conover and also including Jesse Shulili. JPS will be led by GMC Hoops Sixth Man of the Year Rishav Ghosh and big man Javon Scott.
Edison was perhaps the most competitive squad in the Greater Middlesex Conference a year ago, and despite losing the likes of Brandon Radd and John Zanfordino to graduation, the Eagles are looking to continue to be a tough out in the GMC White in 2016-17. Returning are the likes of football standout Justin Turner, and Joe Cudakiewicz. Turner played a key role in Edison’s run to the Championship Game of the Rahway Summer League this past summer. In addition to Turner and Cudakiewicz, head coach Charlie Mohr has a promising group of sophomores coming up led by Christian Wantong and Jaymin Vakharia.
New Brunswick will be interesting to watch this year with new head coach, Samir Sanu trying to make things happen with a Zebra program that has struggled over the past four seasons. Joining the NBHS lineup is football standout, German Pimentel, who played hoops at Piscataway Tech last year. In addition, the Zebras have the likes of football standouts Curtis Revan and Jahbree Jeffreys-Seawright returning along with the likes of Jodie Harris and Frankie Lebron coming up from a JV squad that was 12-10 a year ago. NBHS finished second in the Odie Page Summer League.
Perth Amboy has the potential to be a tough team this coming season. Fres Cabrera is a talented player that can attack the rim just as good as anyone in Middlesex County. Luis Bonilla, Josh Nazario, Kaieme Byers, Gabriel Torres, and newcomer Chris Carrera, a transfer from St. Joseph’s highlights an athletic squad that finished 7-1 this fall at the Monroe Sports Center Fall League. Adam Gornowicz, another talented junior, is also looking to play after being ineligible last season. The Panthers were 4-0 in games covered by GMC Hoops this past off-season.
J.F. Kennedy has its third head coach in the past five years with Sebastian de Voogd replacing Drew Hill this off-season. Pete Obertan will lead the way for the Mustangs, which is moving up to the GMC White after being in the Blue Division since the 2004-05 season. Tamaj Coleman is a quick and talented point guard, who can be a great playmaker. Kobie Wells, Rohan Chakke, Rishi Patel, and football standout, Kyle Heaney will be returning as well.
South Plainfield is moving down to the GMC Blue after being in the White Division for the past two seasons. The Tigers took a bit of a hit to graduation losing the top scorer and three point shooter in the GMC last season in Lamont Williams, who is now playing hoops at the County College of Morris. In addition, SPHS lost football and hoops standout, Jason Lee along with fellow recent graduates Pat Waldrop, Jake Alba, Nick Polizzano, and big man Isaiah Norman. The Tigers do have the athletic Deshai Smith returning along with sharpshooter Will McLaughlin along with talented sophomore Dondre Tate. Both Smith and Tate played key roles in the football team’s run to the CJ Group 3 Championship Game.
Spotswood took a hit to graduation with the departures of 1,100 point scorers, Eric Dadika (walked on at Rhode Island) and Marlon Hart (College of St. Elizabeth). The Chargers do have a solid group returning though led by the athletic J.T. Vento, sharpshooter, Andrew Fuzesi, and the duo of Vinnie Guardiola and Abdullah Nieskens. Spotswood does also have talent such as Matt Vento and Matt Fuzesi coming up from a JV squad that was successful last year. The Chargers competed at the MSC Summer and Fall Leagues as well as the Montgomery Team Camp this past off-season.
Carteret is looking to improve after going through a rebuilding year of sorts last season. The Ramblers finished below .500 at 8-14 including a 5-5 mark in the GMC Blue in 2015-16. Returning is big man Jemar Jordan along with the likes of Humberto Jimenez, Kahir Raymond, Jalen Harris, Nasseir Moore, and Naafi Powell. The Ramblers competed in the Rahway Summer League, where it started the summer at 5-0, but eventually failed to qualify for the four team playoff (J.P. Stevens, Edison, Rahway, and Scotch Plains reached the playoffs there).
Middlesex took a little bit of a hit to graduation with the departures of Ryan Coke, Mike Lavenia, and Darrien Noel, but have a good nucleus returning along with some promising newcomers. Coming back from a squad that went 9-17 a year ago is the likes of big man Jake Robel, and guards Tyler Ha, Chris Hendricks, and Nick Montajes along with forward, Chris Spencer. In addition, the Jays added Rutgers Prep transfer, John Dickey. Middlesex competed in the Montgomery Team Camp and Bound Brook Summer League during the summer and the DeSales Team Camp and Immaculata Fall League in the fall.
Metuchen like Middlesex has a good deal of talent returning this year, and is a true small school fighting against bigger Group 2 and 3 schools in the GMC Blue. Former Piscataway head coach, Guy Jensen is looking to Danny Flaherty to lead the way while Riley Watkins, Thomas Christine, Danny Russell, Danny Petto, David Weiss, Ullal Sohan, and Ethan Leibovits will be a supporting cast that provides a combination of youth and experience along with depth. The Bulldogs played in the Bound Brook Summer League and Monroe Sports Center Fall League this offseason.
South River moves up to the GMC Blue after making a solid run to the Central Jersey Group I semifinals a year ago. The Rams also didn’t lose much from its team. Rodney Harris high octane “fun and run” offense, or 94 feet of heat will put a lot of pressure on Blue Division teams not really familiar with that type of style. South River is loaded with a ton of young talent, especially at the sophomore level led by the likes of GMC Hoops Freshmen Player of the Year in 2015-16, Derrick Whitaker and football standout, Mike DeSantis. The Rams also have the likes of talented freshman, Jayvon Taylor coming in as well. Over the summer and fall, South River played at the MSC Summer and Fall Leagues.
Perth Amboy Tech and Timothy Christian appear to be the front runners for the GMC Gold crown this coming season. The Patriots of Amboy Tech did lose Kyrie Byers to graduation, but have the likes of sharpshooter Pedro Gonzalez and point guard Kyle Gregory coming back along with interior players Javon Fisher and Erick Negro coming back. Miguel Hernandez will likely fill out the starting five, and has the ability to provide scoring when needed. Amboy Tech has won at least a share of the GMC Gold in each of the past two seasons. So, they should have the edge to do it again this coming season.
After enduring two years of rebuilding, Timothy Christian is looking to return back to the top of the GMC Gold standings. Despite the departure of veteran head coach, Chris Hobbs (King’s Christian School in Florida), the Tigers are looking to contend in the first season of new head coach, Fran Decker, the father of recent TCS standouts, Dan Decker (Clarks Summit University) and Josh Decker (Cairn University). The Tigers have the likes of Robert Saydee, Tyler Mixson, Lucas Page, Josh Alcoriza, Will Clemmons, A.J. Myha, Louis Roche and Pierce Kokosinski all returning. TCS played in the Bound Brook Summer League and MSC Fall League this off-season.
Piscataway Tech will be an intriguing team and could be a wild card this coming season under second year head coach, Lenny Reyes. The Raiders took a hit to graduation with the departures of the likes of Ali Austin, Khalil Smith, and Romelo Spencer to graduation while forward German Pimentel transferred to New Brunswick. The Raiders do have the likes of big man Branden Barnes and Daniel Peacock returning to the lineup for this coming season.
Wardlaw took a little bit of a hit to graduation with the losses of Garrett Racz along with Alden Racz and Brendan O’Brien. However, the Rams have quite a bit returning with a trio of guards including seniors Jordan Rose and Scott Hargrove as well as sophomore Ryan Patela. Wardlaw also has some size back with the likes of Raphael Genty.
Highland Park like P-Way Tech could be a wild card this season. Although the Owls are unknown in terms of what they did this past off-season, and they lost a potential big man in Devonte Crawford, who transferred to Bishop Ahr, they do have plenty of talent returning. Led by the likes of football standouts, Nasir Boykins and Justin SImms along with Naeem Ghee as well as reserves Rochelle Augustus and Angel Holguin, the Owls could improve in 2016-17.
Dunellen took a hit to graduation with the losses of guards Tyquan Fowler and Nazire Jordan along with Bowen Grasso and Yianni Garris. However, led the by the likes of junior point guard Anthony Buccino and Jibril Hagood-Henry, the Destroyers made some progress during the summer at the Bound Brook Summer League, and could improve somewhat in 2016-17 under second year head coach, Howie Horowitz.
South Amboy showed promise on opening weekend last season by taking eventual GMCT Elite Eight member and GMC White co-champion, Sayreville to the wire before losing in the nightcap of the Friends of South Amboy Showcase. However, the Guvs failed to build off that tough loss, and struggled offensively during a mid-season slump. Graduating from that squad is point guard Keahre Ford, who is now playing hoops at Middlesex County College. The Guvs have the likes of Alan Kazar and Justin Lewis returning, but has a relatively young and inexperienced squad outside of that. South Amboy competed in the Raritan Bay Summer League and MSC Fall League this off-season.
East Brunswick Tech had its most successful season and two year run since GMC Hoops began covering hoops in 2000-01. The Tigers lost 11 seniors from that squad including top players Connor Stratton and Noah Westbrook. EB Tech does have Vincent Pellicane and A.J. Rambone returning as well as Dylan Stratton coming up from the JV level. The Tigers competed in the Raritan Bay Summer League during the off-season.