Patriots Standout to Join Three Former GMC Boys Hoops Players with Lions
COLONIA, NJ—On Tuesday, GMC Hoops learned via Raritan Valley Community College’s men’s basketball coach and assistant athletic director, Kevin Ryan that Colonia boys basketball’s Jimmy Frage has committed to attend RVCC, and play for the Lions next year. The Patriots senior guard helped guide the team to a 22-7 overall record, a sectional finals berth in the 2020 NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 playoffs, a GMCT Elite Eight appearance, and a third place finish in the GMC.
Colonia, which finished 5th in the final 2019-20 season GMC Hoops Top Ten, started the season at 11-0 before losing 4 of its next 5 games, and then ended the season with 11 victories over its last 14 games including a 47-39 win at Carteret in the N2G3 Quarterfinals, and an upset of top seeded West Morris (42-41) in the N2G3 Semifinals before losing to Irvington in the N2G3 Championship. Colonia also defeated West Morris in the 2019 N2 Group 3 Championship Game.
The Patriots won the Hillsborough Holiday Hoops Tournament by defeating West Windsor-Plainsboro North (62-33) in the opening round, Hillsborough (56-42) in the semifinals, and Hightstown (58-49) in the Championship. The Pats ended up 9-3 in the GMC White behind Edison and New Brunswick, which tied for first place at 10-2. Colonia was also 12-5 in conference play. Frage, who came off the bench much of last season before making a significant contribution in Colonia’s drive for a sectional title after teammate and 1,000 point scorer, Luke Valeriano went down with a season ending injury.
This past season, Frage, who earned numerous honors in the 2020 GMC Hoops Awards including 3rd Team All GMC Hoops selection, played in all 29 games for Colonia, and according to stats compiled at nj.com, made 107 field goals, 31 threes, and 67 foul shots for a total of 374 points while also collecting 75 rebounds, 74 assists, 36 steals, and 10 blocks for an average of 12.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. Frage scored in double figures in 21 of the 29 games he played at Colonia including five games with 20 points or more.
Frage had a 24 point performance in Colonia’s 57-33 victory at West Morris Central in the 2019 NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 Championship last year, got his only double-double of his two year varsity career at Colonia on December 21, 2019 at Governor Livingston with 24 points and 10 rebounds along with 8 assists and a block. Colonia won the game, 74-29 to improve to 2-0 on the then young 2019-20 season. Frage later recorded a career high 29 points on 9 field goals, 2 treys, and 5 foul shots along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and a steal in a key late season 63-56 win over New Brunswick on February 8th in Colonia.
As a junior, Frage played in all 29 of the Patriots games in 2018-19, and scored in 28 of those contests. The 2019 GMC Hoops Post-Season Player of the Year made 39 field goals, 13 threes, and 29 free throws for a total of 140 points, or an average of 5.0 points per game. Frage scored 59 of his 140 points on the season, or just over 42 percent of his season’s total scoring in the state playoffs. In the five games of the 2019 NJSIAA Group 3 State Playoffs, Frage made 14 field goals, 8 threes, and 7 free throws during that stretch, and scored in double figures the only two times that season in the last two rounds.
After scoring 4 points versus Cranford in the opening round, 9 points against Snyder and Rahway in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, Frage rose to the occasion in the 2019 N2 Group 3 Final with 24 points on five field goals, four threes, and two free throws to defeat West Morris Central, and then added two field goals, and three treys for another 13 points in a 35-32 loss to North Jersey Section 1 Group 3 Champion, Ramapo in the Group 3 State Semifinals. Colonia, which lost to eventual champion, St. Joseph’s in the 2019 GMCT Semifinals, concluded the 2018-19 season at 24-5.
Over his two years at Colonia, Frage played in 57 games, made 146 field goals, 44 threes, and 96 free throws for a total of 514 points, or an average of 9.0 points per contest, and scored double figures in 23 of those games including 6 with 20 points or more. Besides basketball, Frage was also a standout in football at Colonia. Like hoops, Frage played for Colonia on the gridiron in each of his last two years, and along with hoops teammate and childhood friend, Matt Croteau, helped the Patriots reach the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, and compile a record of 11-9 overall including a 6-3 mark in the GMC Blue, and a 9-3 mark in conference play.
During his junior year, Frage only caught 2 passes for 56 yards including a 44 yard reception in a 36-6 loss at Summit on October 6, 2018. Frage, who is the cousin of former Monroe football and basketball standout, Fritz Frage, had a much bigger role his senior year on both offense and defense. Frage rushed 13 times for 75 yards, caught 9 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown, and three interceptions. He caught four of his passes for 106 yards, and his only TD on opening night in a 16-15 loss at Bridgewater-Raritan. The last reception was an 88 yard TD pass from Jim Brown that gave the Patriots a 15-13 lead late in the fourth quarter. All three of Frage’s INT came in a 35-6 win at Scotch Plains-Fanwood on November 2nd.
Frage will be joining an RVCC program that already has the likes of three former GMC boys basketball standouts in Robert Terry of Piscataway, Pierce Kokosinski of Timothy Christian, and Elisha Smith of J.P. Stevens. All three were key contributors to their teams during their senior campaigns. The Lions had an up and down campaign in 2019-20 with a 13-16 overall record including a 6-4 mark in the D2 Division of the Garden State Conference in Region 19 of the NJCAA. However, the Lions managed to overcome two losing streaks to finish the season on a promising note.
After beginning the season with a 6-3 mark including a 78-60 victory over Rockland Community College of New York, Raritan Valley dropped seven straight games, and then following four consecutive wins, the Lions lost another five in a row to enter the Region 19 D2 Tourney with a 10-15 mark. It didn’t deter RVCC as it defeated Westchester Community College (87-80) and Rowan College of Burlington County (66-63) before defeating Manor College in the Region 19 D2 semifinals (75-66). In the Championship Game, the Lions fell to the Wolverines of Essex County College (85-77).
The season before, during the 2018-19 campaign, the Lions finished only 5-19 overall after going 18-11 overall including a 5-5 record in conference play two seasons ago in 2017-18. Former GMC players that went on to be standout players at RVCC including Marvin Crawford (J.P. Stevens), who went on to play at NCAA D2 Holy Family University in Philadelphia, and the CACC (Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference), Kristian Svendsen (Timothy Christian), who went on to play NAIA hoops at Asbury University in Kentucky, Salman Hasan (St. Joseph’s/South Brunswick), and Zaire Robinson (Woodbridge).
Congratulations Jimmy, and best of luck at RVCC and in future endeavors.