A Look Back at SCT Quarterfinals

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As usual, it was a fun day of basketball at Brookdale, some of it a little rough around the edges and other stretches leaving fans groaning about the officiating, but entertaining as always.

The refurbished Collins Arena is a much better venue with new seating, a better floor surface and more accommodations, so that was an immediate upgrade. I went 3-1 with my picks, with Point Beach’s upset of Christian Brothers Academy being the only loss, which is one that most people not wearing red and white would not have completely seen coming but certainly wasn’t crazy considering how well Beach played CBA in that spot last year.

My final four prediction before the tournament was Lakewood, Raritan, CBA and Neptune, with Lakewood winning it all by beating CBA, which has obviously changed. Essentially, I got one side of the bracket pretty much totally right, and the other side was a debacle. At least my potential champion is still alive, although the Piners had me a little worried in the third quarter of that Asbury Park game.

As for the games, here are some thoughts:

Asbury Park vs. Lakewood

—Any team that can consistently get offensive rebounds and turn the opponent over with its press in the midcourt area will always have the ability to come back, and that’s what Lakewood did. Asbury Park didn’t have enough solid ballhandlers after the Conover twins fouled out, and it also didn’t have enough bodies to keep Lakewood off the offensive glass.

—The Conover twins have become a big factor in Asbury Park’s success. They haven’t even been on the team a month since becoming eligible, but as Matt wrote in his game story, they have become a major factor for Asbury Park. Those two are junkyard dogs. Just hard-nosed players who do whatever it takes to get a win. They make momentum-changing plays, whether it’s a steal or an offensive board or a basket in transition. When they fouled out, no one on Asbury Park stepped in to save the Bishops while they were watching their lead disappear.

—I think everyone was waiting to see Maurice Dickerson for Asbury Park or Jarrod Davis or Tony Walker for Lakewood to take over in that final four minutes or so, but to me, the best player at crunch time was Lakewood’s Jameer Jones. Davis did have some timely buckets, but Jones created offense, came up with some steals and was a huge difference in Lakewood’s win. When the star players cancel each other out, it comes down to which lesser-known player is going to step up, and Jones was the guy. If Lakewood wins this whole thing (they were my pick before the tournament), it will look back and thank Jones for saving its backside in a game that Asbury Park seemingly had in the bag.

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.

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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 JP Koury Commits to Bentley

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Christian Brothers Academy senior guard J.P. Koury said on Wednesday night that he has verbally committed to Bentley College.

Koury had taken official visits to Bentley and another Division II program, St. Michael’s and also had an offer from Navy. Koury joins CBA teammate Matt McMullen, a senior forward and Colgate recruit, as a fellow recruit from the Class of 2011.

“St. Michael’s and Navy are great schools, but it really came down to looking at the long term,” Koury said. “I have a great relationship with (head coach Jay) Lawson and (assistant) coach (Kevin) Bettencourt, and it’s a great academic school.”

Koury looks to be a business major, and he said that his head coach, Geoff Billet, compared Bentley to CBA, a good academic school that is successful on the court. Bentley reached the Division II semifinals last season and has been a consistent Division II power.

Koury will head to Bentley two years after Bentley featured former Manasquan star Jason Westrol, who was named the Division II Player of the Year as a senior for the 2009-10 season.

“I saw what Jason Westrol did there,” Koury said. “He’s a great player, and hopefully I’ll be sharing the same experience he did.”

Bentley plays an up-tempo style, and Koury said he will play a two-guard spot who is primarily a wing player. He also wanted to get the decision done before his senior season with the Colts, who are the defending Shore Conference Tournament champions but fell in the sectional quarterfinals of the state playoffs last season to St. Joseph’s-Metuchen.

“It’s a relief to get it over with,” Koury said. “Now I’m able to focus on my senior season at CBA. Matt (McMullen) and I have been talking about it, and we’re looking to take care of some unfinished busineess from (the state playoffs) from last year. I’m looking forward to it.”

Updates on Koury, Aaman

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While Christian Brothers Academy senior forward Matt McMullen has already verbally committed to Colgate, he is not alone when it comes to receiving recruiting attention for the Colts as senior swingman J.P. Koury has also generated plenty of interest/offers of his own. He already has offers from Division II powers Bentley and St. Michael’s, the latter of which recently graduated former Manasquan star Jason Westrol after a brilliant career, as well as Navy, a Division I program, according to his father.

Koury is expected to make his decision in the next three weeks and is taking official visits to Bentley and St. Michael’s. He already has visited Navy several times. Lafayette, Princeton and Stonehill College have also shown heavy interest in Koury.

As for a talented member of the Class of 2012, Raritan junior center Mike Aaman continues to get looks. He has about a dozen Division I programs actively recruiting him, according to Rockets coach Denis Caruano. The 6-foot-8 center has already taken unofficial visits to Monmouth University and Wagner and has also received interest from Bucknell, Quinnipiac, Iona, Robert Morris, New Hampshire, Rider and Elon.

The Latest on Jarrod Davis, Mike Balkovic and More

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With the important month of July moving along quickly and the summer boys basketball league at Hoop Group Headquarters wrapping up on Monday night, here is some news from around the Shore Conference boys basketball scene.We’ll start with the latest twist in the saga of Lakewood senior swingman Jarrod Davis, who initially said on July 7 that he had verbally committed to Seton Hall, but then when reports surfaced the next day that Seton Hall had not received a commitment, he texted me saying that his commitment was not official and he would make it in the near future.

On Monday, I spoke with Lakewood head coach Randy Holmes, who said that, “Jarrod should have just told you that Seton Hall was at the top of his list, but he has not committed anywhere.” When I asked if Davis was definitely going to commit to Seton Hall eventually, he said that is not the case right now. Holmes added that St. John’s, Cincinnati, and LSU have entered the picture. He said that Davis had too many voices in his ear when it came to his commitment, and some people in his circle have now been cut out of the decision-making process.

No word yet on whether Davis will be holding an hour-long television special to announce his final decision. Kidding, kidding. Still, it appears as if his decision is far from made at this point.