| Please Select From The Following Players |
|
Rodney Freeney To Play College Ball At Felician |
By Greg Machos
July 6, 2006PISCATAWAY, NJ--GMC Hoops learned recently that former Piscataway standout guard, Rodney Freeney will be attending Felician in Rutherford, New Jersey this coming fall. Freeney, who is the younger brother of former Chiefs hoops star, Robert Freeney, Jr. and son of Piscataway legend, Robert Freeney, Sr., was selected this past season by GMC Hoops to its second team All GMC Hoops squad. Freeney finished sixth in the conference in scoring with an average of 18.5 points per game including 131 two point field goals, 30 three pointers, and 92 free throws for 444 total points.
Freeney, who will be joining Colonia's Rob Gardella at Felician, and trying to replace some of the void left behind by former Edison standout, Thomas Johnson, became the all time leading scorer at Piscataway by breaking the previous scoring mark held by John Celestand, who led the Chiefs to a state title in 1994 and a Central Jersey Group IV title in 1995 along with back to back GMCT Titles before moving on to play at Villanova, win an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers, and enjoy success playing hoops in Europe. A varsity player most of his four seasons at Piscataway, Freeney was involved in one of the greatest GMC JV games ever witnessed by GMC Hoops.
In February, 2003, one day after two tremendous GMCT semifinals at East Brunswick High School that season, Freeney, who was in his freshman year at P-Way, helped lead the Junior Chiefs to a berth in the East Brunswick GMC/JV Tournament Championship by winning a three overtime thriller over Sayreville. That particular game was honored as JV Game of the Year for the 2002-03 season by this web site. During his sophomore campaign, Freeney was also involved in one of the ten greatest GMC varsity games voted by GMC Hoops for its fifth anniversary this past November. On February 18, 2004, Freeney and his Chief teammates, seeded eighth in that season's GMCT, took then undefeated and top seeded South Plainfield to the wire before losing in overtime, 59-56 in the Quarterfinals. The Tigers would go on to win its first ever conference or county crown less than a week later by defeating GMC White Division rival, Colonia, 57-40. Congratulations Rodney, and best of luck in the future.
|
New Brunswick's Watson Gets Full Basketball Scholarship To JUCO In Oklahoma |
By Greg Machos
July 6, 2006NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ--GMC Hoops was informed by former New Brunswick High School Basketball Coach, Tony DiGiovanni, that forward Davar Watson, who was the Zebras lone representative at April's GMCBCA Senior All-Star Game in Perth Amboy, has received a full scholarship to play basketball at Carl Albert Junior College in Oklahoma. Watson, who also received honors in the recent 2006 GMC Hoops Awards as well as All Area Honorable Mention from the Home-News Tribune, scored an average of 13.8 points per game in 24 games for the Zebras. New Brunswick, which finished 15-10 overall including 9-5 in the GMC White, reached the Quarterfinal round in both the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament and North Jersey Section 2 Group III State Tournament this past season.
Watson, who was one of the key figures in New Brunswick's Cinderella season in 2004-05, helped the Zebras finish third in the tough GMC White after playing opening night with four freshmen on the roster, and originally projected by this web site to finish in last place, and then made a Final Four appearance in the 2005 North Jersey Section 2 Group III State Tournament. In 2005-06, Watson connected on 112 field goals, 23 trifectas, and 40 free throws for a total of 333 points on the season. He was the only New Brunswick player to have a scoring average in double figures as he played in almost every game for his team. This is quite noteworthy since the Zebras really struggled on offense at times during the year, particularly in the second half of the season.
The 6'5" forward will be going to a reputable program, which is led by Mike St. John, who is highly regarded on the Junior College Level. This past season, the Vikings, which compete in the very tough Bi-State Athletic Conference went 8-21. Nevertheless, four players from this year's squad will be moving on to four year institutions including Dannie Powell, who will be attending Central Connecticut State, and Shawn King will be going to Oral Roberts. Meanwhile, others have gone on to play at major schools such as Oklahoma and Indiana. Best of luck Davar, and congratulations.
|
New Brunswick's Landfair Has His Ambitious Plans Set For Rutgers University |
By Greg Machos
July 6, 2006NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ--Brandon Landfair is the Brandon that is often overlooked when it came to the New Brunswick Zebras basketball team these past two years. With the likes of super sophomore, Brandon Smith, getting the headlines along with JUCO bound Davar Watson, Landfair's yeoman-like work ethic underneath and on the boards would sometimes go unnoticed by most. However, the reserve forward at New Brunswick isn't worried because he still has a very bright future thanks to hard work in the classroom. Landfair decided to pass on an opportunity to play basketball and pursue computers at the prestigious Stevens Tech in Hoboken to stay close to home by attending Rutgers University.
Planning to major in Computer Science at RU, Landfair garnered a 3.5 GPA while attending New Brunswick's unique Science High School, which takes in some of the city's gifted and talented students in the area of math and science. Recognized for his academic efforts, Landfair was recently honored by the Greater Middlesex Conference as one of its top scholar athletes in 2005-06. Landfair teamed up with Davar Watson, who is going to Carl Albert Junior College in Oklahoma on a basketball scholarship, and Alex Lamberty, another fine student, who is planning to become the first person in his family to graduate from college, on a New Brunswick team that went 15-10 each of its last two seasons. All three took part in the Zebras run through the 2005 North Jersey Section 2 Group III State Tournament before New Brunswick lost to Shabazz in the semifinals. New Brunswick also went 9-5 the past two seasons in the GMC White, and reached the GMCT Quarterfinals.
Most importantly though, Landfair and teammate Alex Lamberty are two very special individuals, who still have very bright futures beyond basketball thanks to their tremendous work in the classroom. They take pride in living up to the idea of being a student athlete by being students first. And for that, GMC Hoops has decided to add both Landfair and Lamberty to its list of players on the 2006 GMC Hoops All Academic team. Other members on this year's All Academic Team include: Sean Baptiste of St. Joseph's, who also earned the GMC Hoops Scholar Athlete of the Year for 2006, A.J. Rudowitz of Monroe, Marqus Blakely of Metuchen, Dean Hoski of Dunellen, Steve Calvarusso of Cardinal McCarrick, and Eric Chinchilla of Bishop Ahr. Congratulations to both, and best of luck in both your future endeavors.
|
New
Brunswick's Lamberty Heading To Union County College |
By Greg Machos
July 6, 2006NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ--While things didn't work out like he had hoped, Alex Lamberty still managed to make one big step toward accomplishing a personal goal of his. According to his former coach at New Brunswick, Tony DiGiovanni, Lamberty, a guard for New Brunswick the past two seasons, will be the first person in his family to attend college when he begins classes this fall at Union County College. Graduating in the top twenty percent of his class, Alex decided on UCC due to his family's financial situation. Lamberty was a fine student while in the confines of New Brunswick High School.
Despite having to deal with the rigors of such difficult classes and subjects as Calculus, and a demanding extracurricular activity schedule that included peer leadership groups in addition to basketball, Lamberty still managed to graduate with a 2.95 GPA. The former Zebra, who did have some interest from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, is looking to become the first person in his family to graduate from college. The diminutive guard, who first drew attention from GMC Hoops in a JV game against Cardinal McCarrick at NBHS in February, 2004, was a key member on a squad that reached the final four of the North Jersey Section 2 Group III State Tournament in 2004-05, and finished a surprising third in the GMC White that year, which helped Coach DiGiovanni claim Coach of the Year Honors for that season from this web site. During DiGiovanni's two year tenure, New Brunswick was 30-20 overall, and 18-10 in the GMC White.
Key wins New Brunswick had in its memorable state tourney run in 2004-05 were at Montgomery in the opening round, and at South Plainfield, a team that had beaten the Zebras three times during the season including a controversial win in the 2005 GMCT Quarterfinals at Middlesex County College. New Brunswick ultimately lost to eventual sectional champion, Newark-Shabazz on the road in the North Jersey Section 2 Group III semifinals. Shabazz actually went on to win the Group III State Title, and this year, the Bulldogs defeated New Brunswick on the road in the Quarterfinal round as they went on to win the section once again of Newark Westside, a team that knocked off recently crowned 2006 GMCT Champion, Colonia in the sectional semifinals. Congratulations Alex, and best of luck in the future.
|
St. Joe's Baptiste To Attend FDU |
By Greg Machos
June 27, 2006METUCHEN, NJ--Recently, GMC Hoops learned that first team All GMC Hoops selection, and 2005-06 GMC Hoops Scholar Athlete, Sean Baptiste of St. Joseph's High School in Metuchen, has decided to attend Farleigh Dickinson University to play basketball. Baptiste, who is the third straight player from St. Joseph's to earn the GMC Hoops Scholar Athlete Honor, became the first player in the GMC to go over the 1,000 point barrier this past season. He finished second in the conference in scoring behind Vince Rosario with 23.9 points per game.
Baptiste, who ended up with 1,527 points for his career in a total of 78 games played, connected for 521 two point field goals, 41 three pointers, and 362 free throws. This past season, Baptiste scored a total of 647 points on 210 field goals, 26 three pointers, and 149 free throws. Each of the past three seasons Baptiste was on varsity, the Falcons reached the GMCT Final Four. Twice the Falcons lost in the semifinals: Colonia (2006) and South Plainfield (2004). In 2005, St. Joseph's rebounded from a 1-7 start to reach the GMCT Championship only to lose a heartbreaker to South Plainfield on a last second shot by Marquis Jones.
From 2004-2006, St. Joseph's won two GMC Red Division crowns, and finished second to South Brunswick in 2005. Like Marqus Blakely of Metuchen, Baptiste was another GMC player, who deliberated for a period of time before coming up with his college decision. Baptiste, who also averaged seven rebounds per game, generated from several Ivy League schools as well as interest from the Manhattan, Boston University, and several Patriot League schools. Both he and Blakely generated a lot of interest in recent months after an AAU showcase event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After a disappointing finish to the 2004-05 season, St. Joseph's rebounded under new head coach Dave Turco.
Under Turco, St. Joseph's became one of the top defensive teams in the conference, and actually went the farthest in the state tournament's Non-Public A bracket since the days of Jay Williams. The Falcons ended up 21-6 overall, 17-3 in conference play, and 13-1 in the GMC Red. For the second straight year, St. Joseph's came up with the best win against a non-conference opponent when they took highly ranked Holy Spirit of Absecon to four overtimes, and won. Last season, the Falcons defeated then 17-1 Rochester East in the Prime Time Shootout at Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton.
Baptiste will be joining an FDU squad that reached the Northeast Conference Tournament finals, where it lost to cross state rival, Monmouth. The Knights went 14-4 in conference play while going 20-12 overall during the season. FDU competed in the NIT this past spring, and lost to Manhattan College in the first round. Joining Baptiste this coming fall will be Manny Ubilla, who is a junior college transfer that played at Freehold Township of the Shore Conference several years ago. Other members of the Northeast Conference include: Central Connecticut State, Long Island University, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis of New York, St. Francis of Pennsylvania, and Wagner. Congratulations, Sean, and best of luck.
|
Metuchen's Blakely Is Vermont Bound |
By Greg Machos
June 27, 2006METUCHEN, NJ--Recently, GMC Hoops learned from a press release by the University of Vermont sports program that Marqus Blakely of Metuchen was one of four players that decided to attend Vermont in the fall to play basketball. Blakely, who led Metuchen to two consecutive Central Jersey Group I finals appearances, had remained undecided despite offers from FDU, St. Peter's College in Jersey City, Monmouth, Central Connecticut State, Boston University, and interest in attending Drexel University.
This past season was the best season the Metuchen Bulldogs have had since the days of Larry Spigner, Charlie Grubbs, and Billy Bandola. Metuchen went 22-3 overall on the season, won its first GMC Blue Division crown since 1987, earned the top seed for the first time in school history, and reached the finals of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament for the first time since 1988. For his efforts, Blakely received first team All GMC Hoops honors as well as first team All Area and All County selections by the Home News-Tribune and the Star-Ledger.
This past season, Blakely, who is also going to pursue a career in architecture, scored a total of 861 points for his career on 305 two point field goals, 14 three pointers, and 209 free throws. During the 2005-06 season, Blakely, who ended up fourth in the Greater Middlesex Conference in scoring with an average of 19.4 points per game, connected for 163 field goals, all 14 of his career three pointers, and 117 free throws for a total of 485 points. Metuchen compiled a record of 39-12 the past two seasons including a 22-3 mark in 2005-06. Blakely led a Metuchen team that was very athletic, and notorious for its shot blocking. The Bulldogs fell short in the GMC Tournament Championship to Colonia, 55-46, and lost to Burlington County Scholastic Conference members, Florence (2004-05) and Bordentown (2005-06) in the Central Jersey Group I Championships the past two seasons.
Blakely follows another Metuchen great, who went on to play at the University of Vermont. Art Flahery, Jr., who is the all time leading scorer at Metuchen High School with 2,052 points, also went to the University of Vermont, and earned honors at UVM during the 1985-86 season. Flaherty, who also had one of the top scoring performances in the history of Garden State High School Hoops with 56 points versus St. Patrick's of Elizabeth, was one of two GMC players to attend Vermont. Joey Thompson, who held the all time scoring mark at South Plainfield High School until it was broken by Marquis Jones in 2005, also attended the University of Vermont for a short period of time.
Vermont is a member of the America East Conference, which comprises of member schools University of Albany, Binghamton University, Boston University, University of Hartford, University of Maine, University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of New Hampshire, and Stony Brook University, reached the America East Tournament Championship Game each of the past four years with three conference championships. This past year, Vermont was denied a fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament when it lost to the University of Albany. Congratulations, Marqus, and best of luck.
|
Phil Barnes To Attend Rutgers-Newark This Fall |
By Greg Machos
June 26, 2006MIDDLESEX, NJ--Within the past month, GMC Hoops learned that Middlesex hoops standout, Phil Barnes will be attending Rutgers-Newark this fall. Barnes, who led Middlesex to an 11-13 overall record including wins in nine of the school's last fifteen games this past season. The Blue Jays, which finished tied for fifth place in the GMC Blue with a 5-9 record, pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the opening round of the 2006 Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament when it upended perennial county power, Perth Amboy on the road, 81-69.
For the year, Barnes scored a total of 313 points on 118 field goals, 11 three pointers, and 44 foul shots. He averaged 14.2 points per game, which placed him 21st in the GMC in scoring. His fellow teammate, Robbie Tolomeo scored a total of 396 points for an average of 16.5 points per game, which placed him eleventh in the GMC. When the bright lights of GMC Hoops coverage was on Barnes, he played very well. In two games covered by GMC Hoops during the 2005-06 season, Barnes averaged 21 points per game including a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds along with 2 blocked shots against South River on January 21, 2006, and 19 points on nine field goals and a foul shot on February 14, 2006 at Perth Amboy.
Barnes is a very athletic player. His 6'3" and 165 lb frame has a long reach, which allowed him to block shots and dunk with ease. He like Metuchen's Marqus Blakely demonstrated a tendency to shoot the three as well. Barnes will be replacing another GMC player for Rutgers-Newark. Chinedu Ibeh recently graduated from the school after being a standout player there for his four years. Prior to attending Rutgers-Newark, Ibeh starred at Colonia, and helped lead the Patriots to their last GMCT Championship prior to this past season in 2001. Rutgers-Newark is a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference, which also has members: Kean, Ramapo, Montclair State University, William Paterson University, Rowan, Rutgers-Camden, Stockton, The College of New Jersey, and New Jersey City University.
This past season, the Scarlet Raiders finished 18-10 overall, and 10-8 in the NJAC, which placed them fifth in the final conference standings behind regular season conference champion, William Paterson, Stockton, New Jersey City, and TCNJ. In the conference tournament, Rutgers-Newark reached the semifinal round, where it lost to top seeded and eventual tournament winner, William Paterson University, 67-61. The Scarlet Raiders then lost in the Quarterfinal round of the ECAC Metro Tourney to Mount St. Mary in Newburgh, New York. Congratulations, Phil, and best of luck.
|
Ahr's Ambroise Headed To Ramapo |
By Greg Machos
June 26, 2006EDISON, NJ--Within the past month, GMC Hoops learned that Bishop Ahr center, Ernst Ambroise has committed to attend Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey this coming fall. Ambroise, who was one third of the Trojan triumvirate made up of Ambroise, Wessley Buffalo, and Corey Francisco. Ambroise, who averaged 11.4 points per game, scored 275 points for the season on 111 field goals and 53 free throws. This past season, Bishop Ahr had its best season since 1991-92 when the school last won the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament led by the likes of Anthony Rosa, Greg Fowler, Darren Nicholas, and Gerard Wilson.
BGA ended up with a 17-7 overall record, a second place finish in the GMC Blue for the second straight year, and another appearance in the NJSIAA Non-Public A South state tournament, where it lost in the first round to state power, St. Augustine's Prep of Richland. The trio of Ambroise, Buffalo, and Francisco combined for an average of 42.9 points per game. Meanwhile, Ahr lost all seven of its games to Metuchen (twice), St. Joseph's, Monroe, Old Bridge, Immaculata, and St. Augustine's Prep. Metuchen, St. Joe's, Monroe, and Old Bridge all reached the Elite Eight of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament while Immaculata was one of the top teams in Somerset County, and reached the final of the Non-Public A North state tournament before losing to state power, Seton Hall Prep.
Meanwhile, Ramapo College has several other players that have played high school ball in the GMC. Former GMC standouts playing for the Roadrunners are John Wojcik of Sayreville and Jamall Jenkins of New Brunswick. Ramapo is a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference. This past season, the Roadrunners finished 18-11 overall, and 9-9 in the NJAC, which put them sixth in the regular season standings. Ramapo reached the conference tournament championship for the second year in a row, where the Roadrunners lost to the number one seed, William Paterson, 67-58. WPC defeated Ramapo all three times the two teams played this season. Then, in the Quarterfinal round of the ECAC tournament, Ramapo lost to NJAC rival, New Jersey City, which the Roadrunners defeated in the opening round of the NJAC Tournament after trailing by 19 at halftime. Congratulations, Ernst, and best of luck.
|
DeNapoli Attending Drew In Fall |
By Greg Machos
June 26, 2006DUNELLEN, NJ--This spring, GMC Hoops learned that Dunellen guard, Travis DeNapoli, the younger brother of former Destroyer hoops standout, Todd DeNapoli, is going to attend Drew University in the fall. Travis led Dunellen to its first outright GMC Gold Division crown as well as to the Final Four of the North Jersey Section 2 Group I State Tournament, where it lost to defending champion, Newark Science. The Destroyers ended up with an 18-9 overall record, 9-1 Gold Division mark, and 11-3 conference record.
DeNapoli scored a total of 380 points on the season including 112 field goals, 37 three pointers, and 45 foul shots. DeNapoli combined with fellow teammates Kyle Lendach (86 three pointers), and Dean Hoski to be one of the top three point shooting trios in the GMC this season. Lendach's 86 treys placed him second behind only Vince Rosario, who was phenomenal with 131 three pointers. In the three seasons that the younger DeNapoli was on the roster at Dunellen, the Destroyers were 49-24 including a 23-7 mark in GMC Gold play. Moreover, after hitting rock bottom as a program in the 1999-2000 season with a 4-14 overall mark, Dunellen has turned it around with five straight state tournament appearances.
Drew is a member of the Freedom Conference, which is also made up of FDU-Florham, Lycoming, DeSales, Kings, Scranton, Wilkes, and Delaware Valley. The Freedom Conference is one half of the Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation. The other half is the Commonwealth Conference, which has member schools: Widener, Albright, Elizabethtown, Lebanon Valley, Juniata, Moravian, and Susquehanna. Ironically, Todd DeNapoli plays for Susquehanna, and finished the year strong after getting injured in an early season game against Division I Navy. Congratulations, Travis, and best of luck.
|
Monroe's Rudowitz To Join Colonia's Smith At Stonehill |
By Greg Machos
December 6, 2005MONROE, NJ--GMC Hoops has learned from a source close to the Monroe Boys Basketball program as well as the Cranbury Press that senior forward, A.J. Rudowitz has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Stonehill College in Massachussetts. The 6'5" forward, who is a four year varsity player, led the GMC in scoring back in the 2003-04 season. It is also expected that Rudowitz will pass the 1,000 point mark for his career at the school this season. Last year, the Monroe Falcons improved tremendously with three times more overall and divisional wins than the previous season. Monroe also won its opening round GMC Tournament matchup by defeating 11th seeded East Brunswick on the road.
Rudowitz will be joining fellow GMC standout, Nick Smith, who recently earned an honor from the Northeast 10 Conference for Freshman of the Week with 10.5 points per game and 5.5 rebounds in two games the week of November 28th to December 4th, 2005. So far this season, Smith is averaging 8.8 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game as the Skyhawks have garnered a 5-1 overall mark as well as a 3-1 record in the Northeast 10 Conference. Also on the Skyhawk roster is another friend of Rudowitz's, Randall Stallworth, who played at Monsignor Donovan, which jolted St. Joseph's of Metuchen in the opening round of the Non-Public South A State Tournament. Mike Laurciella, who played at Don Bosco Prep, is one of the co-captains on this year's team.
Last year, Stonehill was 20-8 overall and 16-6 in the NE-10. Meanwhile, Rudowitz averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game for the Falcons in 2004-05. Rudowitz, who intends to major in business management, selected Stonehill from a group of several schools including Lipscomb University in Tennessee, Northwood University in Florida, and Massachusetts-Lowell. Congratulations, A.J. and best of luck this senior season, and at Stonehill.
|
Woodbridge's Graves Commits To Rutgers For Football |
By Greg Machos
December 6, 2005WOOBRIDGE, NJ--It was reported in the Star-Ledger earlier this week that talented and athletic Woodbridge forward, Shamar Graves, has committed to Rutgers University to play football for Greg Schiano and the Scarlet Knights. Graves, who plays wide received for the Barrons during football season will try to fill the shoes of the likes of Tres Moses, who will be graduating from Rutgers this season after helping the school reach its first bowl game in 27 years.
Playing basketball for the Barrons the past two seasons, Graves has also demonstrated a knack for helping schools make it to the post-season after a long absence. In 2004-05, the forward led the Woodbridge Boys Basketball team to its first state tournament berth in six years, and only its second playoff appearance in the last 15 years. The Barrons finished 12-12 overall and 7-7 in the GMC White Division including a two overtime, 84-80 victory over eventual two-time defending GMCT Champion, South Plainfield. Woodbridge also placed runner-up in the Bayshore Tournament in Holmdel.
This season was Rutgers best season since 1992. Despite losing their opener, and falling to 6-4 late in the season, the Scarlet Knights became bowl eligible for the first time since 1978, and accepted a bid to the Insight Bowl in Phoenix Arizona, where they will play Arizona State of the Pac-10. Ironically, the last time Rutgers played in a bowl, it was also against the Sun Devils in the short lived Garden State Bowl at the Meadowlands. The Scarlet Knights lost that game 34-18. So, far Rutgers is 7-4 overall on the season, and finished third in the Big East Conference with a 4-3 mark. Congratulations, Shamar, and best of luck in the future.
|
Former Tiger Tandem Make College Commitments |
By Greg Machos
December 2, 2005SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ--On Thursday, December 1st, 2005, GMC Hoops learned that both Marquis Jones and Darren Smith, the dynamic duo that led South Plainfield to two consecutive Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament crowns, three straight GMCT Final Four appearances, at least a share of the GMC White Division crown three years in a row, and to the best season record in the history of SPHS, both made commitments to colleges for 2006 according to reports in the Courier-News, the Atlantic 10, Ivy League, Scout.com, and the Daily Pennsylvanian.
Jones, who is presently attending prep school at the St. Thomas More School in Connecticut, has decided to attend Rhode Island University, and play in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Meanwhile, Darren Smith, who earned Most Valuable Player honors in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament by
setting a record for most three pointers in a GMCT Championship Game with seven, and scoring 31 points to lift the Tigers past St. Joseph's, 66-65, has and Smith were really selected to the GMC Hoops All 5th Anniversary team, and earned GMC Hoops Player of the Year Honors for 2004 and 2005 respectively. Smith, who along with Jones scored over 1,000 points in his career at South Plainfield, is currently attending prep school as well at the Peddie School in Princeton. Smith had garnered interest earlier in the year from a couple Ivy League schools including Princeton and Columbia. Meanwhile, Jones had sparked curiousity from Rutgers, LaSalle, Massachussetts, Quinnipiac, and Boston University. Jones (1,434 points) became the all-time leading scorer in South Plainfield history by shattering the mark set by previous all time scorer, Joe Thompson, who had 1314 points, and that record stood for nearly 20 years. Thompson broke the previous mark set by Wally Cirafesi against St. Mary's (Cardinal McCarrick) in February, 1986.
At the end of last basketball season, indications were that Marquis Jones was headed to Blair Academy, which has had a recent history of success with talented basketball players such as Luol Deng (Chicago Bulls), Charlie Villanueva (Toronto Raptors), and Royal Ivey (Atlanta Hawks) all attending there and going on to succeed not only at the college level, but also in the NBA. However, things changed, and Jones ended up in Connecticut at St. Thomas More with another New Jersey phenom, Terrence Grier, who starred at Cranford the past several years. Grier, too, has also signed a letter of intent to play at Rhode Island.
While Darren Smith will be remembered for his seven three pointers and 31 points in the GMCT final, it was Marquis Jones, who provided the memorable finish to what will be soon officially coined the greatest game ever covered by GMC Hoops in the five year history of the site. Jones connected on a short jumper with just seconds remaining to lead the Tigers past a St. Joseph's team led by Andrew Bynum, who is now playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA. The Falcons had come into the GMCT final with wins in 15 of their last 16 including a huge win some twelve days earlier over 18-1 Rochester East at the Prime Time Shootout.
RETURN
TO THE COLLEGE RECRUITING INFO PAGE
If you are finished checking the list of GMC Hoops Player Signings, and would like to see other parts of the website. Click below to return to the main summary page.
If you have any questions about, or any suggestions for this website, please feel free to either fill out our guestbook, or contact me at gmachos@gmchoops.com.
