SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–There has been a different feel to this fall league season. Over the years, the fall has been increasingly popular for teams from the Greater Middlesex Conference, which tried to get ready for the upcoming basketball season.
In the past, there were leagues such as the Hawks Basketball Fall-Ball Classic, which ran for almost 15 straight years, and the recent TBSA Fall League, which went for three years straight. However, both of those leagues didn’t happen this year. For the second straight year, the HBA did not have a league, and TBSA, which is under new management, tried to put one together, but there was no interest.
Last year, there were 14 teams competing in the TBSA Fall League and at Rebounds. This year, there are only 10 teams playing in the Immaculata Fall League and the Hoop Group Headquarters Fall League. Five teams are playing at Immaculata including Cardinal McCarrick, Colonia, Middlesex, Monroe, and St. Joseph’s while another five are playing at Hoop Group including East Brunswick, South Amboy, South Brunswick, South River, and Spotswood, with McCarrick being the only team from the GMC playing in both leagues.
The Immaculata Fall League is a new league that came on to the scene this fall as teams tried to find a league to play in after the TBSA Fall League didn’t go ahead this season. Eighteen teams from Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, and Union counties compete in the IHS Fall League. At the Hoop Group Headquarters, the league is having its best year yet with 30 teams, many of which are from the very large Shore Conference. There were reports of a league in Millburn as well as one in Ridgewood, but both were very far away for any GMC team to compete in although there was some interest. In the case of the Millburn league, it ended up not being able to have its season after some things didn’t come together.
In addition to the two fall leagues this year, there was a Hoop Group Showcase event that took place this weekend. Three teams from the GMC competed in that including Piscataway, which is not playing in either of the two fall leagues being covered by GMC Hoops this season. Recently, the site learned that several teams including: Bishop Ahr, Edison, J.F. Kennedy, North Brunswick, and Sayreville are not playing anywhere. Some of those teams have players on their squads that play football, and their participation on the gridiron left these teams without much of a roster to compete.