Mabrey, Drummond Coming to Prime Time Shootout

Follow Scott Stump on Twitter

E-mail: stump@allshoremedia.com

In addition to the Shore Conference teams – Middletown North, Neptune, Lakewood and Point Beach – a former Shore Conference star will be in action during a tremendous slate of high-level, nationally-ranked teams competing at the Prime Time Shootout this weekend at Kean University.

Former Christian Brothers Academy star point guard Roy Mabrey is doing a prep year at St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, Conn., one of the top prep programs in the country, which also features 6-10 center Andre Drummond, a high-level uncommitted recruit who has a list that includes North Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pitt and more. St. Thomas More will be part of the event this weekend, playing Union at 9 p.m. on Saturday and then following that with a highly-anticipated game against the No. 1 team in the country, St. Patrick’s, at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, so if you have the time, there are a ton of games worth checking out.

I also wouldn’t be shocked if Mabrey isn’t the last Shore player at St. Thomas More for a while, as I could see Lakewood’s Tony Walker or Jarrod Davis possibly doing a season there next year. Talking to CBA coach Geoff Billet about Mabrey earlier this season, he has some mid-major Division I looks from places like Coastal Carolina and other schools in the South, while also getting heavy interest from high-level Division II programs.

Middletown North will play South Jersey power Middle Township at 9:30 p.m. on Friday in its first game without Shilique Calhoun, then Neptune will be in action along with No. 1 Lakewood on Saturday. Neptune plays Half Hollows (N.Y.) and Iowa State recruit Tavon Sledge at noon, followed by Lakewood squaring off with Central Jersey Group IV contender Rancocas Valley at 1:30 p.m. On Sunday, Point Beach will face defending CJ IV champion Montgomery at noon.

National powers like Findlay Prep, St. Pat’s, St. Anthony, Montrose Christian and others will all be in action over the course of the three-day event at Kean. Click here for the schedule and more information.

Shilique Calhoun Dismissed from Team at Midd. North and More

Updated with *****Breaking News***, 1:40 p.m. Shilique Calhoun has been dismissed from Middletown North’s team, according to a text sent from head coach Mike Iasparro to All Shore Media’s Matt Manley.

My thoughts are still the same, but obviously take the post below with the knowledge that Calhoun will no longer be with the team. Calhoun was averaging 17.5 points per game and 10 rebounds per game before being dismissed for his actions in yesterday’s loss to CBA.

I agree with Iasparro’s decision, for the record.

Follow Scott Stump on Twitter

E-mail: stump@allshoremedia.com

Gee, did anything controversial happen in yesterday’s 69-35 win by Christian Brothers Academy over Middletown North?

Of course, I will start with the Shilique Calhoun situation, which just got updated with his dismissal from the team. First, here is the take of the Shore Scout, which you can read by clicking here.

I was sitting right behind the Middletown North bench, so I saw the whole thing unfold, as I detailed in the game story. Perhaps the strangest part of it was the utter lack of emotion on Calhoun’s part after head coach Mike Iasparro subbed another player in for him after being upset with a lackluster defensive effort that led to a wide-open shot by CBA’s J.P. Koury with five minutes left in the third quarter. It’s not like Calhoun knocked the Gatorade jug over or punched the bleachers or cursed. With a blank look after taking a drink of water, he turned around, took his jersey off and just walked out the door. I thought maybe he was blowing off steam in the hallway and would come back, but obviously it didn’t work out that way.

My first hope for this situation is that it is a unilateral decision on his future. I have seen similar incidents in the past where the coach wants to crack down on discipline but the administration doesn’t want to see a potential championship season go out the window or caves to parental pressure and disagrees with the decision. There also is the flipside of that argument, where the coach may be too lax in the discipline and the administration wants to be much more severe. To me, there needs to be an agreement between Iasparro and the administration about what they decide to do. I also think it can’t strictly be left up to the team. Adults have to make this decision.

There has been a pattern of this behavior, so I can’t really see how one more “I’m sorry” from Calhoun to his teammates is going to have any impact on them because they’ve heard it before. It’s just so strange because after the Lions stunned CBA earlier in the season, Calhoun gushed about how he loved his teammates, and his teammates talked about how they really made it a point to become good friends with Calhoun off the court in the offseason. That all went out the window yesterday and the statements by Calhoun after the first CBA game ring hollow at this point.

If I’m on that team, I don’t know how you can go back into battle with him. That was the ultimate selfish act in team sports. You would always be waiting for the other shoe to drop. I would rather know now the way it’s going to be for the rest of the season rather than being on pins and needles half the time wondering if Calhoun is just going to walk away, literally or figuratively, because he is upset about something.

CBA’s Matt McMullen Commits to Colgate

Follow Scott Stump on Twitter

E-mail: stump@allshoremedia.com

Christian Brothers Academy senior forward Matt McMullen said late on Tuesday night that he has verbally committed to Colgate.

McMullen received an offer from Colgate last week and quickly decided that was where he wanted to go after already holding offers from Hartford, Holy Cross, Boston University and Monmouth University and receiving interest from other Patriot League schools.

“Colgate just jumped out to me, being a great academic school in the Patriot League and somewhere I can go and contribute right away,” McMullen said. “I looked at what (former Monmouth Regional star) Joe Willman did as a freshman at Bucknell with his versatility, and I think that’s something I can do (at Colgate). It was just head and shoulders above the rest of the schools that had been looking at me.”

The 6-foot-7 center/forward was an All Shore Media first-team selection who averaged 14.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game as a junior, which were both team highs for the Shore Conference’s No. 1 squad, which has won 42 straight games against Shore competition. McMullen helped the Colts win the overall Class A North and Shore Conference Tournament titles. He also averaged 1.6 blocks and 1.1 steals per game for one of the Shore’s best defensive teams and is a three-year starter for CBA.

McMullen was returning late on Tuesday night from Orlando, where his Jersey Shore Warriors AAU team reached the final of the Silver bracket in the prestigious Orlando Super Showcase before falling to the Delaware Panthers, which feature Pittsburgh recruit Jalen Bond.

He had already taken an unofficial visit to Colgate over Memorial Day weekend and plans to take his official visit in the fall. The plan was to get a decision made before his senior season.

“I definitely wanted to get something done before I go back to school so that I can focus on my schoolwork and on the upcoming season,” McMullen said.

Like Willman, he projects as a combo forward at the next level who can create mismatches on the perimeter with his shooting range and ability off the dribble.

McMullen joins Monsignor Donovan guard Sean Grennan (Davidson College) as Division I commits from the Shore Conference Class of 2011. He could end up being one of two Division I recruits on his own team, as senior swingman J.P. Koury has also received interest from Patriot League and other programs.

One of McMullen’s future classmates will be a girls basketball star, St. John Vianney’s Missy Repoli, who also has committed to Colgate. Colgate’s men’s team went 10-19 overall and 6-8 in the Patriot League in 2009-10.