Posted by Scott Stump
The Hoop Group Boardwalk Showcase made its debut at a new venue, Long Branch High School, this season with five games involving all Shore Conference teams. As always it was a long day of hoops that had its moments, so let’s get to that along with some other non-Boardwalk notes.
Also, click here for the latest All Shore Media Top 10 heading into the new week of action.
Player of the Day
Brandon Federici, Jr., G, Colts Neck
The Cougars needed a win over a ranked team in the worst way, and when Lakewood left the door open, Federici stormed right through it. He finished with a game-high 20 points to win his team’s MVP honors, and more importantly, he scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter and essentially had just about every key basket for Colts Neck in its one-point victory, including a putback of his own miss that proved to be the game-winner with 10 seconds left. It was a strong performance on the big stage that should be a big confidence booster for Colts Neck.
Thoughts/Notes
—Before I get to the individual games, I thought the atmosphere was subdued this season. This was the sleepiest crowd I can remember at the Boardwalk event. Long Branch has a great gym, but with the games being removed from Monmouth University because of a new NCAA rule that it can’t be on a Division I campus because it could be a recruiting advantage, it made it seem more like a nice day of high school hoops than something that screamed “must-see event.” The Colt Crazies didn’t even make the trip to watch the CBA game and no schools really brought much of a vocal student section. Yes, some of the games left something to be desired, but usually the crowd can turn an ordinary game into something more memorable just by being loud, and that didn’t happen.
I also think it hurt not to have any nonconference powers there, like St. Pat’s or St. Anthony or St. Benedict’s or even a team that was originally supposed to be involved in the event, Gill St. Bernard. Some primary selling points of the Boardwalk in the past have been exotic match-ups that you would never see in the regular season or even the state playoffs until at least the Tournament of Champions. Plus, the star power is usually high, with a litany of high-profile Division I talent. It was only two years ago that current Cavaliers rookie and No. 1 overall pick Kyrie Irving was in the house at Monmouth U running the point for St. Pat’s against CBA. This season, there was only one committed Division I player, Wagner-bound Raritan senior Mike Aaman, and one other with offers, Jackson Memorial senior forward Brandon McDonnell.
The rise of other showcases, particularly the SFIC Festival up at Kean University, which was held a week earlier, has pulled a lot of the North Jersey powers into other events. That hurts the chances of getting them to come down to the Shore for a game a week later. St. Anthony, Hudson Catholic, Seton Hall Prep, St. Joseph-Metuchen, Trenton Catholic, St. Pat’s and St. Benedict’s all played in the SFIC this season.
I think the Boardwalk Showcase is a great event, and the hope is that maybe this season was just a hiccup and it will get back to being a “circle it on the calendar” type of event.
Now, on to the games.
—As Matt Manley wrote in his game story, Colts Neck has struggled to close teams out in the final minutes, but this time it was able to take advantage of Lakewood leaving the door open. The Piners were up four with a minute left and shot the ball rather than sitting on it and waiting to be fouled, then they missed the front end of two one-and-ones and finally a layup at the buzzer that would’ve won the game. That had to be a gut-wrenching loss for the Piners, who could’ve added a win over Colts Neck to one over Neptune to their resume for the Shore Conference Tournament seeding.
Junior guard Brandon Federici was the one who brought it home, as I wrote above, but I thought the two veterans, senior guard Sean O’Reilly and senior forward Hunter Wysocki, also made some key contributions. Colts Neck was struggling to generate any offense or knock down shots after being down seven at the half before O’Reilly finally broke the ice with 7 of his 10 points in the third quarter. He hit two threes and I felt like that was a big turning point in the game.
Wysocki struggled to finish, scoring only 7 points, but he had 9 rebounds, blocked 5 shots, dished out a couple of assists and took a charge. He could’ve gone into a shell because he wasn’t scoring, but he continued to play hard and do the little things to help the team win rather than mentally check out of the game. That’s what senior leaders are supposed to do, and he came through.
It was terrible to hear about 6-9 senior center Steven Faust, who was in a car accident on his way to the team bus before the game and missed the game. Faust was driving during the accident, and he reportedly suffered a broken wrist and a broken collarbone, according to Colts Neck coach Lou Piccola. That most likely means his senior season is over. Faust was not a big scorer for Colts Neck, but his length altered a lot of shots in the paint, and he also kept a lot of possessions alive on the offensive boards.
—As for Lakewood, when it rains, it pours, as two starting senior guards, Jameer Jones and Dajuan Morris, as well as senior Idequan Allen, have been suspended for two games for violation of team rules, according to Lakewood coach Randy Holmes. That means they will miss a nondivisional meeting with a 9-1 lacey team on Thursday, another game that will be important for the SCT seeding resume.
—While Jameer Jones and Tyrice Beverette are known commodities at guard and were two of Lakewood’s top scorers in the loss to Colts Neck, a newcomer to watch is junior forward Jared Craddox. He is very athletic and can finish in traffic at the basket, having converted several reverse layups with Wysocki and others challenging him underneath. He’s 6-3 but plays like he’s about 6-5, 6-6. He had 12 points in the loss and I thought played as well as anybody on the floor for Lakewood. His continued improvement will make this team dangerous.
—Middletown North’s 36-32 win over Jackson Memorial was billed as the marquee game of the day, as North cemented its No. 1 ranking in the All Shore Media Top 10, handing Jackson its first loss. The game was close and did have some drama, but I don’t think anyone was too excited about seeing a game played in the 30s. Frankly, it was fairly boring until the final few minutes. I had more than a few people come up to me and say, “Jeez, if this is the best the Shore has to offer this year…” which I thought was a little harsh, but given the pace of the game, I could see their frustration.
Part of it is that Jackson is so good defensively that its games are going to be low-scoring. Senior Brandon Holup held Middletown North star Jason Huelbig to one field goal, and it was a dunk off a steal near midcourt. Meanwhile, Huelbig held Jackson Memorial star Brandon McDonnell, who has offers from New Hampshire, Dartmouth and Navy, to 5 points.
While Jackson’s defense is tough, its offense had way too many turnovers (17) that proved too costly in the end. In a game that low-scoring with that few possessions, you can’t just give away the ball that many times. The Jaguars had a size advantage, but their bigger players, like the 6-5 Holup and the 6-7 McDonnell, are more comfortable playing on the perimeter and catching the ball on the wing, so they never really exploited their advantage by posting up Middletown North, whose tallest player is 6-4.
I think Middletown North did a good job of not getting frustrated and just continuing to play hard. The Lions are used to high scoring and highlight plays galore, so when they were caught in the meat grinder, I thought players might start throwing up stupid shots or having letdowns on defense, but it never happened. The toughest player on the court may have been junior guard Cody Thompson. What a find he has been for the Lions. At 5-9, he will take it up in the lane against anyone and he shoots with confidence. Plus, he has fun, as you will see him break out a smile in crunch time while everyone else’s stomach is doing loop-di-loops. His steal in the final seconds after a missed free throw by teammate Tim Frawley sealed the win.
—If you thought the Middletown North-Jackson Memorial game had its sleepy moments, you should’ve stayed for the Christian Brothers Academy-Point Beach game, which was 17-15 at halftime and had the crowd asking if there was Red Bull being sold at the concession stand. CBA eventually pulled out a 41-36 win that it needed in order to right the ship after dropping to 5-4 following a 19-point loss to Middletown North on Thursday.
The main positive CBA can take away from the game is the emergence of 6-5 sophomore forward Evan Gordinier. He had a career-high 13 points in his first varsity start, as head coach Geoff Billet inserted three new starters in the lineup. Billet said he did it just to shake things up after the 5-4 start and that it wasn’t necessarily that those guys beat out the other guys, but I think that’s just being diplomatic. The bottom line is that if the other starters were getting it done, they wouldn’t be coming off the bench now. The move worked so far, as Gordinier supplied some much-needed offense for a team that has struggled to crack 50 points in most of its games this season.
Gordinier is an excellent 3-point shooter, as he entered the game shooting 13-for-21 from behind-the-arc this season and averaging 7 points per 14 minutes of playing time. CBA is going to have to find a way to continue to generate more offense because it is going to be hard to go deep in the postseason without being able to score more than 50 points in a game. I thought another new starter, point guard Jim Dengler, also brought some good energy and dished out a few nice passes for finishes by Gordinier and senior forward Kieran Hughes.
—Point Beach junior guard P.J. Kineavy may have some of the deepest shooting range in the Shore, although his sophomore teammate, Matt Farrell, isn’t far behind. Kineavy had a game-high 19 points, and he calmly launched a 3 from beyond NBA range in the second half that splashed home. Despite the loss of Jarelle Reischel to graduation, this team still has a very solid core of Kineavy, Farrell and junior center Riley Calzonetti. It’s clear that those three all have to play well for Point Beach to knock off a good team because they do about 90 percent of the scoring. Still, I think the feeling was that this program might take a huge step back after losing Reischel, but it’s clear that a foundation is being built by head coach Nick Catania for continued success.
—While Neptune’s win over Raritan was a blowout, it was by far the most entertaining of all the games. There were more exciting plays in the first three minutes than in the other three games combined. It was the perfect matchup for Neptune, as Raritan’s guards have struggled mightily against fullcourt pressure all season, and that’s Neptune’s signature. The Scarlet Fliers forced 30 turnovers, and it was running-and-gunning city. Senior point guard Ikie Calderon put on a show with his passing and defense, while also finding his jumpshot, which has been erratic this season. When he is playing well and pushing the ball under control to find finishers, Neptune is extremely tough to beat.
Junior forward Keith Kirkwood continues to emerge as one of the top players in the Shore. He is an excellent rebounder and perhaps the second-best shotblocker in the Shore after 6-9 Raritan senior Mike Aaman, who had 20 points and 14 boards in the loss. Kirkwood gets off the floor quickly and has long arms, but is also smooth enough to handle the ball on the wing and find cutters to the basket. You could make an argument that he is the second-best player in the Shore right now behind Aaman. Kirkwood said he has been receiving steady interest from Monmouth University and Lehigh.
While Aaman’s team lost badly, he is still the best player in the Shore, and it’s not even close. He grabs every rebound in sight, challenges everything in the lane on defense and has added so many more moves to his offensive game. No one can check him one-on-one in this area. He did have 7 turnovers but he has been forced to handle the ball much more than usual in the backcourt against pressure this year, so it’s understandable.
—The final game was Manasquan’s win over host Long Branch, and the main news is that the Warriors tied their win total (9) from all of last season with a 3-point victory over the Green Wave. They don’t have that signature win yet, but they are clearly much-improved thanks to the tandem of junior guard J.R. Hobbie and junior forward Jimmy Walsh, the latter of whom was Squan’s MVP with 16 points and 16 boards. Hobbie is as dangerous a deep shooter as there is in this area, and he poured in 23 points in the win. Walsh is a complete package who can score, rebound, handle the ball and pass. He also has worked to add bulk to his 6-6 frame that lets him bang in the post a little more than in his first two years on varsity.
Long Branch is very young, but once its athletic, slashing guards learn to consistently finish at the rim and in traffic, this team could be dangerous. Sophomore Terrell Cox and junior Dwight Clark, the latter of whom is a Division I-A talent as a running back in football, are explosive off the dribble. Sophomore forward Hassan Foster is another one to watch.
A few quick notes from the non-Boardwalk action:
—Holmdel is now off to an 8-2 start after winning 6 games all of last season.
—After its big upset of Lakewood, Jackson Liberty has struggled with the spotlight. It lost back-to-back games to Point Boro and Manasquan last week and had to go to double overtime to beat a Brick team that is 3-10. Kudos to the Green Dragons for a great effort in defeat, as Liberty junior Ahmed Foster had to pour in 28 points to avoid the upset.
—Middletown South is 2-8 and lost to Southern on Saturday, but the Eagles have one of the best defensive players you don’t know about. Senior forward James McDonough has neutralized Southern sophomore Mike Gesicki, Middletown North senior Jason Huelbig and Manalapan junior Anthony Firkser this season, which has gone unnoticed because the Eagles have lost all of those games, but he is doing a nice job on the defensive end this season.
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