Welcome to the GMC Hoops Greater Middlesex Conference Prediction Section of the website.  This contains the 2008-09 final boys basketball predicted order of finish in the Red, White, Blue, and Gold Divisions of the Greater Middlesex Conference. This also represents the fourth time that we've done this, and the first time at the very beginning of the year. We hope you enjoy it enough to keep it a mainstay at our site for years to come.

Note: To all fans, players, and coaches, we are not going to be 100% right on this. That's why we play the games. This is based on analysis from the summer leagues, fall leagues, and who is returning from the previous season. For those who feel slighted by our thoughts on the season, it is nothing personal. Just what we feel at this point in time. We hope in all sincerity that all the teams here defy what we have to say and do better. If you and your team feels slighted by what I project, and would like to use it as motivation, that's fine with me. Just make sure you give me credit if it pays off at the end of the year. Also this is not going to be a replacement for the annual season preview. That will be forthcoming.

2008-2009 GMC RED DIVISION PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

Summary: Once again, the Red Division isn’t as strong as the GMC White this year from top to bottom. While there are some strong teams up in the top three of the division, there is a battle for spots four through nine, and anyone could get them. Right off the bat, I didn’t see much of Old Bridge, Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, and Edison.

We all know about the top three in the division since they represent the top three in the GMC Hoops Pre-Season Top Ten. South Brunswick competed in the East Brunswick Team Camp, TBSA Summer League, and Rebounds Fall League while East Brunswick competed in the Rebounds Spring League, East Brunswick Team Camp, Linden Summer League, and Rebounds Fall League. Both teams are in rebuilding mode with the Vikings losing its entire starting five from last season (for the second straight year), and EB is looking to improve on last year’s 4-18 season despite the losses of Mike Mello and Scott Stolzenberg to graduation. The Bears played well in the Rebounds Spring League, and had some good moments duriing the summer at Linden. Didn’t see them much during the fall, but did watch them play St. John Vianney, and they were competitive as always despite not having some players including Dustin Schuld. Look for Jean Paul Isaacs, Cody McHugh, Andrew Buckner, and Brett Pinnix to spark SBHS while Schuld, Alec Mayo, Mauro Tucci, Nick Navara, and Mike Kvidahl to fire East Brunswick.

Old Bridge had a coaching change with the retirement of long time head coach, Rocky Knowles, and didn’t compete in any summer or fall leagues. They still have some good upcoming talent including Jimmy Gaffigan, Tyler Abad, Stuart Luciow, and Andrew Tomlin in addition to senior Nick Perez that finished the year strong in 2007-08 despite losing to Spotswood in the Preliminary Round of the 2008 GMCT. Woodbridge is moving up from the GMC White, and will look to take advantage of the return of such players as Gerard Bullock, Blair Dolphin, and Jose Enger, and the future with the son of former Carteret standout, Keith Hughes and Kyle Pearson coming in as a freshmen. Not dealing with the tough rigors of a very balanced and competitive GMC White along with a new coach, Antoine Patterson, should help the Barrons improve.

Perth Amboy also has a new coach in Edwin Santana, and transfers from Cardinal McCarrick in Eliazar Landeo as well as Anthony Patterson from nearby Perth Amboy Tech, who will have to sit out the first 30 days. They also have two starters in Justin Madden and Brian Paulino returning as well as two reserves in Alex De Los Santos and Alex Nemeth. The Panthers have a fine group of sophomores coming up including Kearny Canela, the younger brother of former McCarrick point guard, Rolffi Canela, but not a lot in the way of size with the losses of Edwin Guerra and Jamar Bridgeforth to graduation last June. Edison rounds out the GMC Red, but has some new faces, and looks to be better than last season’s disappointment. The Eagles showed flashes of potential by rallying against Bishop Ahr in the second half of their quarterfinal matchup at TBSA during the summer, but also showed how fickle and unpredictable they can be in their last minute loss to Dunellen also at TBSA.

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2008-2009 GMC WHITE DIVISION PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

Summary: The GMC White is by far in my opinion, the toughest division top to bottom in the Greater Middlesex Conference. Especially now with defending GMCT Champion, Cardinal McCarrick moving up to join the frey.

The Eagles lost Mike Burwell, and are moving up to a much tougher division so it’s not going to be as easy as it has been in the Blue. There won’t be any games like South River or Highland Park on the schedule to catch your breath. Cardy Mac did have some struggles during the summer, but straightened them out in the fall with a fine effort at the TBSA Fall League. More importantly, the Eagles still have plenty coming back with Julio Rosario, Branten Widgeon, Dominic Appiah, and Alvin Baptiste Ousley as well as solid juniors and sophomores such as Craig Thomas, Maurice “Mo” Isaac, Rob Olivieri, Jeremy Cruz, Ryan Smith, and John Appiah. Tyler Houser is another addition to the squad as well.

Colonia did lose Brandon Hall to graduation, but did get Nnamdi Usuwa back after he was out for a year due to disciplinary reasons, and Matt Wagner transferred in from St. Joseph’s. J.J. D’Amico appears to be taking on more of a playmaking role, but don’t forget about his scoring capability. David Cole, a sophomore showed flashes of promise at TBSA this fall, and then Mike Nweme will look to build upon his fine effort in the state tournament.

Monroe, Carteret, and Sayreville will be duking it out for the next three spots with one or more of these teams giving the contenders like McCarrick and Colonia some problems during the year. As a matter of fact, Monroe hosts Colonia on opening night. Monroe has a good blend of young talent with freshmen Danny Brix and Ahmid Williams along with veterans such as Steve Blish, Ken Pace Jr., and Tim Brix Jr. Energetic and enthusiastic player, Travis Dufner made some progress during the summer, and will look to contribute.

Carteret did lose some to graduation with the departures of Al Tampa, Alvin Rodriguez, and Brian Williams, but still have a bit coming back including Robert “Double-Double” Jackson, Rene Godfrey, Tarik Owens, Devin Chisholm, and Shaquille Jackson. The Ramblers competed at the Elizabeth Summer League, and the East Brunswick Team Camp. Sayreville lost some key players to graduation last year with Chris Matagrano and Ricky Harding, but the Bombers still have the quick and explosive scoring Paul DeLaCosta as well as James DeMild and LaVone Graham returning. In addition, Javon Hodges will provide some depth along Robert Pizzi, Mike Greco, Dave Milewski and a host of talented JV players from the past couple of seasons.

Bringing up the rear in this tough division are North Brunswick, South Plainfield, and New Brunswick, but don’t underestimate them. The Raiders have a senior class that finished third in the Perth Amboy Freshmen Tournament back in the 2005-06 season, but they did take a hit to graduation by losing the likes of C.J. Brathwaite, Jeff Ashamole, and Justin Morgan as well as athletic reserve Kunyepa Alley. Ricky Harris, Michael Cole (if he comes out to play), Dan Mangiapane, Mike McDonald, and Maurolino Ignacio highlight this year’s returning players while sophomore Tait Pirkle and newcomers such as Ross Kutz and perhaps Dillon Salva will provide some spark. North Brunswick competed at Middlesex County College over the summer.

South Plainfield also took some hits to graduation with the losses of Bennie Gibson, Aaron Wright, Christian Cole, and Troy Russell, but have Mike Burton returning along with Tramane Miller, Greg Burton, Chris Lesniak, Mike Muglia, Chris Fulton, and Ted Skwiat along with football standout Jamari Miller, and newcomer Nick Lewis from England, who I’ve heard is quite a player. This group of seniors won the GMC Middle School Tournament over the Carl Sandburg Middle School of Old Bridge as 8th graders. The Tigers played at one of the several Rutgers Team Camps held during this past summer.

Finally, we get to New Brunswick, which is still in rebuilding mode, but is looking to put together a Middle School team within the next year, and have two budding sophomores in Jaquan Cook and Devin Gardner along with a fellow class that finished fourth at the 2008 Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament. The Zebras will start to gel later in the season as the sophomores start coming along. NBHS competed at the Kean Ironman Challenge over the summer as well as held scrimmages with other teams.

2008-2009 GMC BLUE DIVISION PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

Summary: Bishop Ahr may think that it has the division won now that McCarrick has moved up to the White. They would be sadly mistaken to think that. The Trojans do have a lot of size and depth, and a much improved Matt Fiorino at one of the guard spots, but they’ll have their hands full with solid teams from Middlesex and Spotswood. The Trojans have had good freshmen and JV teams the past couple of seasons, and this year shouldn’t be any different. The jump BGA has made into the Elite Eight of the GMCT the past couple of seasons should be attributed to that. Last year, Ahr’s JV reached the Final of the East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament while the Freshmen finished third in the Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tourney.

The Blue Jays may have lost several starters from last year’s 18-7 squad with the graduations of John Stockton, Nick Fariella, and Billy Lester, but the team still has a good nucleus back with Mark Stockton, Ryan Farley, Mike Perone, and Mike Colacci all returning along with the likes of Rob Mendito, Avery Barnes, and Mike Fincher taking up the fifth spot in the rotation, or coming off the bench. Middlesex did very well over the summer at the Elizabeth Summer League (beat St. Joseph’s of Metuchen), Linden Team Camp, and Kean Ironman Challenge (took Scotch Plains-Fanwood to overtime before losing).

Spotswood is another team to look out for in the division with the likes of veterans Ross Gerhart, Pat Dwyer, and Cody Pace along with the Pareti twins, and Tyler Osofsky. The Chargers finished the year strong with a win over Old Bridge in the preliminary round of the 2008 GMCT, and qualified for the Central Jersey Group II State Tournament before bowing out against Carteret. Building off that, Spotswood reached the Semifinals of the TBSA Summer League, and went 6-2 in the Rebounds Fall League.

Metuchen and J.F. Kennedy have some good young talent along with some fine veterans. The Bulldogs will be led this year by senior Codey Preston, and will have a supporting cast with the likes of fellow seniors Phil Lewis, Mark Switzer, and George Doukas with underclassmen Evan Carberry, Elijah Sellers, Nick Callas (not Evan as mentioned in the audio report), Mike Crusco, and Vinnie Sardone. The Bulldogs have made progress during the course of the off-season with a fine effort against Moore Catholic of Staten Island at the end of the summer at Elizabeth to qualify as the eighth seed, and another solid job against one loss Watchung Hills in the TBSA Fall League.

Kennedy, meanwhile, will have Joe Marciano leading a young squad that will look to improve upon its first ten win season since current St. Joe’s Athletic Director, Jerry Smith was at the helm. Despite losing the likes of Will Roman, Brian Reilly, Jelani Davis, Jonathan Toczynski, and John McKenna, JFK was a plethora of good sophomore and junior talent that second year head coach, Chris Banos will put into action if necessary.

Rounding out the division will be Highland Park and South River, which have struggled in recent years. The Owls have not been the same since the departure of Mike Burwell, and head coach, Tom Sclafani after the 2005-06 season. Meanwhile, South River has not been the same since the fine season of 2004-05 under then first year head coach Mike DelAversano. However, despite losing some key players, the Rams have some decent talent back this year including Brandon Walsh, Xavier Foster, Michael Wilson, Steve Moore, Shawn Fenton, and Nick Boyler.

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2008-2009 GMC GOLD DIVISION PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

Summary: Early on I thought perhaps Amboy Tech may contend for the crown in this division. However, with Anthony Patterson transferring crosstown to Perth Amboy, the Patriots lost their leading scorer and rebounder. Patterson was a stat stuffer deluxe. He will have to say out the first 30 days, and get his grades up in order to play at Perth Amboy.

Patterson's departure from Amboy Tech puts things pretty much in Dunellen’s favor to win the GMC Gold again after just missing last season. The Francisco brothers, who are cousins of former BGA standout, Corey Francisco, are back along with Jonard Hall, Reggie Thorpe, Eric Orellana, Eric Cianfrone, and Mark Palka. In addition, the Destroyers have a number of players coming up from the JV level that will help too including Rontik Sadler.

The Patriots still have some decent talent returning led by Joey Castro, Anthony Vidal, and Alex Sanz. But, it won't be enough. South Amboy only has Joey Charmello returning from last year’s starting lineup, and a reserve in senior Matt Richmond, but there are also some upcoming players from a JV team that went 14-8 including Matt Regan, Luke O’Connor, and Diego Cuello along with the younger brother of Mark Simko, Tim Simko.

Karl Towns will have to find a way to make up for the loss of talented standout Justin Braxton as well as guard Sean Cruz, but he still has Mohammed Conteh to pick up the slack as well as E.B. Tech Transfer Mehadi Robinson, Fernando Reyes and Luis Mota. East Brunswick Tech looks to have Rob Brown, Corey Ragland, and Anthony Morrison all returning this year.

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