Carteret’s Fast Start Has GMC Blue Looking Up
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–Coming into the 2016-17 Greater Middlesex Conference Boys Basketball season, the Blue Division looked like a wide open free for all with Spotswood losing two 1,000 point scorers, and all the other teams in the division last year returning talent while South Plainfield moved down from the White and a sophomore loaded South River team moved up from the Gold.
When the dust settled at the end of the first week of play in the 2016-17 GMC Blue schedule, Carteret was standing tall with a 4-0 record that included double digit wins over Spotswood (77-62), South Plainfield (60-35), and Middlesex (72-41) while edging the pre-season division favorite, Bishop Ahr in a classic early season showdown. Meanwhile, the rest of the division was in chaos with South River being the closest to the Ramblers at 2-2.
Over the four games, Carteret has outscored their opponents by an average margin of 18.3 points per game. The Ramblers have done it with a balanced attack. Leading the way was Isaiah Daniels-Porter, who averaged 17 points per game including 25 points in the opening day win over Spotswood, and 21 points against Middlesex. Daniels-Porter only scored 10 against Bishop Ahr, but two of those points came on a huge basket with 38.4 seconds to go that helped seal the win.
Helping out in the backcourt was Kahir Raymond, who averaged 11 points per game over the first week. Raymond scored 12 points in the opener versus Spotswood, and added another 13 in the victory at South Plainfield. Nasseir Moore chipped in with 16 points in the win over Middlesex while also averaging 11 points per game. Jemar Jordan, a third year varsity player, is averaging a little more than 9 points per game. Jalen Harris is only averaging 5.5 points per game, but has come up with timely shots.
Angelo Golino, a quarterback on the football team, has given contributions off the bench including six points in the win over Bishop Ahr. Judah Pascal and Zemar Brake also have contributed off the bench as well for the Ramblers. Last year, Carteret struggled through an 8-14 campaign with many of these same players, who were inexperienced at the time. Only losing Victor Spencer from last year’s roster, the Ramblers played well over the summer at Rahway with a 6-4 mark, but with four losses in its last five games there.
Nevertheless, the Ramblers, which also played in several scrimmages during the summer, still had a good nucleus back to be one of the contending teams in the GMC Blue coming into the 2016-17 season. With their fast start coupled with the up and down starts of the other teams in the GMC Blue, the Carteret Ramblers have established themselves as the team to beat in the division the rest of the way.