St. Joseph’s Faces Strongest Challenge to Dynasty Yet, but Remains Tough to Overlook
METUCHEN, NJ—Midway through last season, the 2018-19 St. Joseph’s Falcons were sitting at 5-6, and some were counting out the then three time defending GMCT boys basketball champs, and winners of 8 of the previous 9 tourney titles. Once again though, despite the tumult, St. Joseph’s, last season’s pre-season number one, ended up in the winner’s circle at Middlesex County College after defeating Piscataway, 49-46 in the 2019 GMCT Final.
Similar feelings were felt prior to the start of the 2016-17 season when returning starters Tyree Ford, who is closing in on 1,000 career points, and K-Shawn Schulters were freshmen, and again in the 2017-18 season when the two were sophomores and Schulters, the son of NFL Pro Bowler, Lance Schulters (played college football at Hofstra, was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, and had a 10 year NFL career) was connecting on every possible shot imaginable including the last second 35 footer to stun 7th seeded Colonia at Rutgers in the 2018 GMCT Championship.
Now, the Falcons face another challenge, and many are suggesting that it may be the toughest yet to overcome and maintain its grip on the GMCT Boys crown. St. Thomas Aquinas, which has been on the rise over the past several years, has assembled an impressive roster of talent, and have a Turco coaching it and Jerry Smith running the Trojans athletic department now. True, it may be Bob Turco instead of his brother Dave, but the older Turco still has a great resume as well.
Add to that, the challenges from within its own division from the likes of South Brunswick, Old Bridge, Monroe, and Piscataway as well as New Brunswick, Carteret, Colonia, and Dunellen from the Blue, Gold, and White Divisions. Then, the departure of three of its starting five from a season ago, and two reserves. Luke Fresco, Howard McBurnie (Drew), Matt Cruz, Jack Hogarty, and Ryan Granito all graduated this past June.
Finally, and perhaps most significantly, St. Joseph’s now has its third coach in the last four years as Jan Cocozziello has taken the helm of the Falcons program after being an assistant and JV coach the past two seasons under Mike Thompson. Nevertheless, the team continues to move forward, and even enjoyed some success this offseason. At the Linden Summer League, St. Joe’s went 7-1 during the regular season, and reached the semifinals before losing to Union Catholic.
The Falcons managed to do that with Ford playing only one game as he focused more on football during the summer, and Schulters not appearing in a few games including a St. Joe’s win over Roselle Park back on July 15th. Others emerged in their absence. Incoming seniors such as DeMarcus Shepard stepped up with a solid game versus Linden while incoming junior Maurice Johnson scored 12 straight points in the second half to help the Falcons pull away from Roselle Park on July 15th. The Falcons also managed to be successful against the likes of Bayonne and Seton Hall Prep.
In addition to limited action from Ford and Schulters this summer, St. Joe’s was without big man Andrew Olden, another incoming senior, who along with Shepard, led the 2017 Falcons Freshmen team to the Perth Amboy/GMC Frosh Tourney Championship Game before losing to Piscataway. Olden dealt with a foot injury during the offseason, but is now healthy and ready to go. Olden, who plays for the NJ Panthers AAU, is a diamond in the rough, and a player, who can provide a solid post presence in place of McBurnie.
Other seniors who will be getting a good opportunity to show everyone in Middlesex County and New Jersey include: Football standout Martin Greene, who led the Falcons gridiron team with 4 interceptions this past season, Adam Slawinski, a solid perimeter threat, Eric Amponsah, another football standout, and Avery Nieves. In addition, promising juniors such as Johnson, Kody Robinson, and Cal Goodwill return. Khalid Brown, a 6’2” freshman wing is currently practicing with the varsity, and will start the season with the JV while Danny Bellavia, another talented freshman that transferred in from South Brunswick, will also start out with JV.
Another key addition this offseason was the transfer of sophomore Ethan Simmon from St. Thomas Aquinas. Last season, Simmon, as a freshman, was a standout on the Trojans JV team that was the top seed in and reached the 2019 East Brunswick/GMC JV Tourney before losing to runner-up Coloinia. Simmon played and impressed GMC Hoops with the Trojans varsity at the Hamilton Park Summer League in late July before coming over to St. Joe’s. The 6’4” sophomore is laden talent and athletic ability coupled with a great upside.
With the efforts of Ford, Schulters (gave nonbonding commitment to play at Villanova as per MyCentralJersey), Greene, and Amponsah, the Falcons football team overachieved over losing the likes of Jordan Davis (Kutztown), Brian Reilly (Lafayette), and Nate Wyatt (Temple) to graduation, and dropping its first game of the season to eventual Blue Division champ, and North Jersey Section 1 Group 4 runner-up, Woodbridge. St. Joseph’s responded with 8 straight wins including upsets of GMC football powerhouses North Brunswick (22-20) and Piscataway (15-14) in two classic games as well as defeating Linden (21-14) and Rahway (9-7).
These seniors have embodied this kind of determination and resilience despite the odds against them for their entire tenure at St. Joseph’s. Guided by the likes of Letrell West (Claflin), Malachi Walker (Drew), and Mike Granda (Manhattanville College), these seniors: Ford, Schulters, Olden, Shepard, Greene, Slawinski, Amponsah, and Nieves have overcome a great deal of transition, tumult, and adversity over their four years, and have managed to keep the winning tradition going at St. Joseph’s. It’s hard to overlook that even though the Falcons enter the season with a No. 2 ranking in the GMC Hoops Pre-Season Top 10, and face their toughest challenge to their dynasty to date.
St. Joseph’s will open the season at long time GMC Red rival, East Brunswick, which will be live streamed by RD Plex with James Corrigan doing the play-by-play on Friday night starting at 6:00 PM. Then, the Falcons will compete in the very competitive, J.P. Flynn Tournament on December 26th at 5:00 PM against West Morris Central, which has a good deal back from the team that lost to Colonia in last year’s North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 Championship. The tourney also includes Delbarton, Wayne Valley, Hunterdon Central, Morris Catholic, Randolph, and Mendham.
After the holidays, St. Joe’s gets right back to action with a Red Division clash against Piscataway on Thursday, January 2nd before traveling to Brookdale College to face off against long time state tourney rival, CBA in the Shore Classic on Saturday January 4th at noon. Finally, the Falcons will take on top ranked St. Thomas Aquinas in a much anticipated early season showdown in the SFIC Festival at Kean on Sunday, January 5th.