Team: Carteret
Coach: John Dolan
Year: 3rd
Assistant Coaches: Lenny Reyes and Jonathan Bergbauer
Last Year's Overall Record: 7-14
Last Year's Division Record: 6-8
Last Year's Accomplishments: None
Last Year's JV Record: 8-11
Last Year's Freshman Record: Not Available at this time

Returning Starters: Willie Negron (5'10", 175, Sr. G), Steven Rogers (6'2", 185, Sr. F), and Mike Collier (6'0", 180, Jr. G/F)

Returning Reserves: Demorae Barley (6'3", 210, Jr. F/C) and Dwayne Sherman (5'10", 165, Sr. G/F)

Key Losses From Last Season: Arnold Rosado (5'9", G), Danny Rodriguez (5'8", G), and Scott Brucato (5'10", G)

Key Newcomers: Khamell Broughton (6'5", 215, Jr. C), Stephon Cherry (5'7", 145, Jr. G), Anthony Smith (6'0", 155, Sr. G), Gustavo Rivera (5'11", 165, Jr. G), Sterlyn Carter (6'0", 155, Jr. G), and Nick Bandoni (6'2", 180, So. F)

View the Complete Carteret Roster

View the Colonia Season Schedule

Outlook: Until opening night when they defeated Woodbirdge in an upset, 47-39, the Carteret Ramblers were somewhat of a mystery since they didn't compete in any summer leagues or in the Fall-Ball Classic. Over the summer, the Ramblers conducted workouts four days a week, and played in scrimmages on other days. Some of the opponents included J.F. Kennedy of Iselin, Woodbridge, and Union of the Watchung Conference.

Coach Dolan "felt this was better because the town would not pay for a summer league for us this year (first time in over 15 years)." As you can see, things have come a long way from the days when Carteret Basketball was on top of the world as the GMC Tournament Champion in 2002. Nevertheless, the Ramblers pressed on, and also overcame the impact of a very successful football season that had the Ramblers reach the Central Jersey Group II final, before losing to Raritan. They even beat defending champion, New Brunswick along the way. The Zebras had beaten Carteret in the regular season.

What may be a big key to the Ramblers success is junior center, Khamell Broughton, who played as a freshman, but didn't play last year. Having a solid post presence along with the likes of Demorae Barley's athletic ability, and Willie Negron's knack for scoring should help the Ramblers have a better shot at surprising people in the GMC White. After a poor 0-5 start last year that included a loss to Edison in the Gene Haley Memorial Holiday Tournament, and a 2-11 overall record after thirteen games, Carteret made a solid run going into the tournament by winning 5 of 8 including five in a row and an upset victory over Sayreville in the week leading up to the tournament seedings.

Accorindg to Dolan, "Right now we are behind in our preparation due to the football players on the team just joining us this past week. We are looking to play pressure defense as all Carteret teams do and get the ball out in transition. We have some returning guys back, but we need to work on the fundamentals of the game. We must take care of the ball and use our athleticism to our advantage. There are no easy games on the schedule and playing in the White Division is a war night in and night out. Our goals are to qualify for the state tournament and be competitive in the White Division."

GMC Hoops feels that the Ramblers should be right in the middle of the pack in the GMC White. However, with their surprise win over Woodbridge opening night, perhaps better things are in store. With Monroe, Edison, and either Montgomery or JFK on the horizon, it is not out of the question that the Ramblers could get off to a solid start before embarking on the crux of their division schedule once the new year gets underway. If they could win these games early on, and sneak a few victories from some of the contenders, a state tournament berth is possible.

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Team: Colonia
Coach: Ken Pace
Year: 12th (16th overall with record of 262-132, and a 197-76 record at Colonia)
Assistant Coaches: Brian O'Lone and Chris Chiera
Last Year's Overall Record: 19-7
Last Year's Division Record: 12-2, Second Place
Last Year's Accomplishments: Finished 2nd in White Division, Advanced to GMCT Finals, and North Jersey Section 2 Group III Semifinals
Last Year's JV Record: Not Available
Last Year's Freshman Record: Not Available

Returning Starters: Nick Smith (6'6", Sr. G/F), Rob Gardella (6'3", Sr. SG), and Zach Rosen (6'0", So, PG)

Returning Reserves: Matt Vance (6'1", Sr. G/F), Billy Spreitzer (6'2", Jr. F), Nick Allan (6'1", Jr. SG), and Kevin Tenpenny (6'2", Sr. G/F)

Key Losses From Last Season: Nkenna Usuwa (6'5", F), Eric Ford (6'3", F), and Chuck Baakel (5'10", G)

Key Newcomers: Chineme Usuwa (6'4", Jr. F) and Brandon Hall (5'10", F. PG)

View the Complete Colonia Roster

View the Colonia Season Schedule

Outlook: According to Coach Pace, "This year's team has a deep bench with great kids. We will be lacking in size, but not heart, and I've enjoyed the pre-season watching them develop." The GMC White Division will be loaded once again this year, and every night will be a challenge for this team. The Patriots will be tested early when they play in the Hoop Group Tip-Off Challenge against St. Benedict's at the Dunn Center on December 18th.

The backcourt trio of Zach Rosen, Rob Gardella, and Division II Stonehill bound Nick Smith will be the nucleus of this team. Senior Matt Vance has looked good in the pre-season, and will be one of four guards in the starting line-up. Four players will help in the front court in seniors Dan Bosek and Kevin Tenpenny plus juniors Chineme Usuwa and Bill Spreitzer. Off the bench, Coach Pace is very confident in junior guards Jeff Totin and Nick Allan along with Freshman guard Brandon Hall, who could develop into a very good one by year's end.

Coach Pace hopes to have his Patriots challenging again for the White Division Crown in 2004-05. The Patriots did lose a lot with the departures of Nkenna Usuwa, Eric Ford, and Chuck Baakel. However, there is a lot of good young talent coming up with a JV squad that went 14-5 last season. Over the summer, the Patriots competed in the Linden Summer League, where they went 5-8 overall in the Monday/Wednesday League. They then won in the opening round of the playoffs over Morristown, and then lost in the quarterfinals to Roselle Catholic, 52-49.

In addition, there JV competed in the Colonia JV Summer League, where they went 8-2 overall, and were the third seed in the tournament, where they reached the semifinals by defeating Cardinal McCarrick, 56-50 in overtime. However, they ended up losing to eventual champion South Brunswick, 57-51 in the Semifinals. On top of all that, they even had a Freshman team compete in the Raritan Bay Summer League's Freshman Division, wherer they finished tied for third with South Amboy at 4-4 overall, and then forefeited their semifinal game with eventual champion, the Edison Wolfpack.

Their off-season worked continued in the fall, where they competed in the HawksBasketball Fall-Ball Classic. Despite Zach Rosen playing in only five games, and Nick Smith injuring his ankle early on in the season against Bridgewater, the Patriots were able to qualify for the 16 team playoffs with a 5-5 record, which gave them the 13th seed. Colonia made a nice run through the playoffs by knocking off fourth seeded Plainfield, a team that they lost to earlier in the season in a game that went four overtimes before Plainfield won, 53-48. However, they came up short in the quarterfinals to eventual champion, Perth Amboy as the Pats could not find a way to stop Jermaine Clark, who had 39 points in a 75-66 win.

GMC Hoops figures that Colonia will still be in the hunt this year for both the GMC White Division, and GMC Tournament Championship. While Sayreville and South Plainfield are tough squads again this year, and teams such as Woodbridge, Carteret, and North Brunswick have improved, and New Brunswick moves up from the Blue Division, Colonia has enough coming back as well as solid talent coming up to give themselves a good shot to do just as well, and perhaps better than last year.

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Team: Monroe
Coach: Pete LoPresti
Year: 12th
Assistant Coaches: Mike Gigliello and Tim Nally
Last Year's Overall Record: 3-17
Last Year's Division Record: 1-13, Eighth Place
Last Year's Accomplishments: None
Last Year's JV Record: Not Available
Last Year's Freshman Record: Not Available

Returning Starters: A.J. Rudowitz (6'5", 185, Jr. F/C), Mark Gulick (5'8", 155, So. G) and Scott Basarab (6'3", 180, Sr. G/F)

Returning Reserves: K.J. Rolland (5'10", 185, Sr. G/F), Kyle Sorensen (6'2", 190, Sr. F), Kyle Horsch (6'0", 160, Jr. G), and Dominik Rawle (6'3", 172, Sr. F/C)

Key Losses From Last Season: None

Key Newcomers: Tom Sorensen (5'9", 145, Jr. G) and Colin Horsch (6'2", 155, So. G)

View the Complete Monroe Roster

View the Monroe Season Schedule

Outlook: For the past couple of seasons, the Monroe Falcons have been getting beaten up in the rough and tumble White Division, going 1-27 in divisional play. However, they do have a good blend of veteran and young talent coming up this year with the likes of A.J. Rudowitz, Kyle Sorensen, and Scott Basarab coming back this year. A.J. Rudowitz is perhaps one of the best kept secrets in Middlesex County with a 21.7 points per game average that actually led the GMC in scoring in 2003-04.

Monroe, which did not compete in a summer league two years ago, got itself some work over the summer by entering in the HawksBasketball Summer SlamFest in Perth Amboy, where they did struggle somewhat. At the SlamFest, the Facons, went 0-10 in a small league that was still very competitive. They also lost to Perth Amboy in the first round of the playoffs. In addition, the Falcons had their Junior Varsity compete in the Middlesex County College Summer League, where they ended up with a 2-6 record in the National Division, and won their first round game over East Brunswick Vo-Tech, 42-32 before falling to Bishop Ahr in the Quarterfinals, 32-19.

In addition to Rudowitz, Sorensen, and Basarab returning, the Falcons also sport a good crop of young talent moving up to varsity. Last year, the Falcons' Freshman team had a solid year as they earned the tenth seed of the Perth Amboy/GMC Freshman Tournament, and defeated New Brunswick, 64-48 in the first round before losing to eventual champion, South Plainfield in the Quarterfinals, 55-46.

Besides that, Monroe also got a junior guard in Tom Sorensen, who transferred in from St. John Vianney in Holmdel, which should help the Falcons in the backcourt. Things look to be tough starting the season as Monroe opens at Colonia, then at home for Princeton, and at an improved Carteret team before playing in the Piscataway Vo-Tech Christmas Tournament.

GMC Hoops believes Monroe will be more competitive this year with the addition of Tom Sorensen, a nice blend of youth and veteran players, and an even better A.J. Rudowitz. They will have a tough time again in the GMC White with teams such as Sayreville, Colonia, and South Plainfield all returning key players and squads such as Woodbridge, Carteret, and North Brunswick improving. New Brunswick moving up from the Blue doesn't help things either.

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Team: New Brunswick
Coach: Tony DiGiovanni
Year: 1st (Coached last season at Piscataway)
Assistant Coaches: Eric Cromedy, Chris Venino, and Matt Meyer
Last Year's Overall Record: 19-7
Last Year's Division Record: 12-2, Second Place in the Blue Division
Last Year's Accomplishments: Reached Quarterfinals of GMCT and Central Jersey Group II Champions
Last Year's JV Record: Not Available
Last Year's Freshman Record: Not Available

Returning Starters: None

Returning Reserves: Jonathan Casillas (6'2", 180, Sr. F) and Joe Miller (5'11", 170, Sr. G)

Key Losses From Last Season: Dwayne Jarrett (6'6", F/C), Desmond Belton (6'6", G/F), Josh Jones (5'10", G), Donald Carson (6'0", G), Nate Harris (6'2", F), Reggie Drake (5'8", G), and Luis Feliz (6'2", G)

Key Newcomers: Derrick Gamble (5'11", 165, Sr. G), Alex Lamberty (5'9", 160, Jr. G), Ray Smith (5'11", 165, Jr. G), Hanser Vargas (6'7", 200, Jr. F), Brandon Landfair (6'4", 185, Jr. F), Davar Watson (6'5", 170, Jr. F), Brandon Smith (6'1", 150, Fr. F), Paul Vigo (6'1", 165, Fr. F), Tyshaun Jackson (5'11", 145, Fr. G), and Marquis Hamm (6'3", 165, Fr. F)

View the Complete New Brunswick Roster

View the New Brunswick Season Schedule

Outlook: The Zebras are in the exact same predicament that the Carteret Ramblers were in prior to the start of the 2002-03 season. New Brunswick has no starters returning from last year's team, it has a new head coach, and lastly, it moved up from the Blue Division to the White Division. The Zebras are only returning five points per game from last year since players such as Reggie Drake and Luis Feliz, who played last year, and are seniors this year, aren't playing.

One positive is that the new head coach that New Brunswick has is former Piscataway Coach, Tony DiGiovanni, who guided the Chiefs to a 15-10 overall record, a Championship in the Vaughn Stapleton Holiday Classic in Bridgwater, and gave eventual Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament Champion, South Plainfield a scare in the GMCT Quarterfinals before the Tigers won in overtime. "We will be young and very inexperienced," said DiGiovanni of this year's squad, which has four freshmen along with five juniors and just three seniors.

Over the summer, DiGiovanni, who replaces the legendary Odie Page at the helm in New Brunswick, had the Zebras compete in the very tough Jersey City League with teams such as St. Anthony's, Marist, Snyder, Frederick Douglas Academy of New York, Emerson of Union City, Paterson Kennedy, Paramus Catholic, Hoboken, Ridgewood, and St. Mary's of Jersey City. In addition, he took the team to camp at St. Peter's College in Jersey City, where they played along with fellow GMC schools, St. Joseph's, which had two teams, and Sayreville.

At St. Peter's, the Zebras went 2-3 while at the Jersey City Summer League, the team was competitive, but failed to win a game during the summer. Nevertheless, DiGiovanni is excited about the potential this team has with the athletic players that are still developing. Leading the way is Jonathan Casillas, who starred on this year's football team that rolled through the White Division schedule, and lost to Carteret in the Central Jersey Group II State Tournament. The 6'2", 180 pound, senior forward has generated interest from schools such as Duke for football.

Another promising young player is 6'5" junior, Davar Watson, who was a starter on the Junior Varsity last season. DiGiovanni likes the athletic ability in the junior saying during a conversation over the summer that Watson was perhaps the most athletic player on the team. Alex Lamberty, a 5'9" junior guard, who saw a very small amount of varsity time last year while starting JV, will provide perimeter shooting and a scoring punch. Meanwhile, freshmen newcomers Brandon Smith and Marquis Hamm are expected to make some contributions as well this year.

DiGiovanni has some modest goals. "Hopefully, we can improve each day, qualify for the state tournament, and be playing our best basketball in February and March," said the second year GMC coach. GMC Hoops didn't see New Brunswick at all over the summer or fall, so it is really hard to tell what to expect from the Zebras this season. However, what we do know is that there are a lot of new changes, and tougher competition for New Brunswick to contend with. Neverthless, there is always a plethora of talent in this city, one of the two major urban centers in Middlesex County besides Perth Amboy.

Obviously starting out the season at 1-3 hasn't helped, but considering that two of those losses came to South Plainfield and Woodbridge, two teams in the GMC Hoops Pre-Season Top Ten, that's not too bad. The Zebras lost by ten to the Barrons, and only by two to Ewing although the Blue Devils recently lost to Princeton, a team that Monroe defeated by 21 points on December 20th. It is our belief that New Brunswick will be a better team by year's end, and will cause problems to teams such as Woodbridge, Carteret, North Brunswick, and Monroe. Perhaps by year's end, New Brunswick will also be capable of taking some swings at Sayreville, Colonia, and South Plainfield too.

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Team: North Brunswick
Coach: Ed Breheney
Year: 15th
Assistant Coaches: Mark Zielinski and Don Smutko
Last Year's Overall Record: 10-12
Last Year's Division Record: 7-7, Fourth Place
Last Year's Accomplishments: Finished Season Winning 10 of Last 16 after 0-6 start.
Last Year's JV Record: Not Available
Last Year's Freshman Record: Not Available

Returning Starters: Derek Scott (6'3", 170, Sr. F) and Vinay Wunnava (6'1", 160, Sr. G)

Returning Reserves: Patrick Brown (5'8", 150, Jr. G) and Onoyom Onyile (5'9", 160, Sr. G)

Key Losses From Last Season: Aaron Carter (6'2", F), Aaron Hicks (6'2", F), and Ahmed Sunkins (6'5", C)

Key Newcomers: Aaron Jackson (5'8", 160, Jr. G) and Brandon Rogers (6'2", 160, So. G), Craig Glover (6'3", 180, Jr. F), Jairius Pollard (6'1", 170, Jr. F), and Jeff Ashamole (6'4", 249, F. C)

View the Complete North Brunswick Roster

View the North Brunswick Season Schedule

Outlook: Head Coach Ed Breheney is "cautiously optimistic" about this year's squad. Despite losing the likes of Aaron Carter (Princeton), Aaron Hicks, and Ahmed Sunkins from last year's team, the Raiders have a "good mix of returning players and young talent." This year's group is led by seniors Derek Scott and Vinay Wunnava, who were both key contributors to last year's team, which finished strong after a tough start.

Scott, who is a four year varsity player, and made GMC Hoops All Freshman Team in 2001-2002, helped the team go 10-6 after an 0-6 start including an upset win over Sayreville the last week of the regular season, and a win in the preliminary round of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament over Carteret, another team that finished strong after a slow start, and upset Sayreville.

Over the summer, the Raiders competed in the HawksBasketball Summer SlamFest, and did surprisingly well with a 6-4 overall mark that tied them for fourth place with Woodbridge, a team they eventually lost to in the playoff round. The Barrons ultimately went on to win the SlamFest by defeating Rutgers Prep in the Championship. In addition to that, North Brunswick also competed in the Kean Team Week for the second year in a row along with five other GMC schools.

Breheney is also excited about how well the team is doing in the pre-season. The team is "playing hard and unselfishly in the pre-season." North Brunswick should be right in the middle of the pack in the GMC White this season. With the likes of New Brunswick moving up, and teams such as Woodbridge improving on top of the fact that Sayreville, Colonia, and South Plainfield are all returning key players from very successful seasons last year, it will be tough for North Brunswick to finish higher than fourth.

However, if the team continues to play surprisingly well, and Scott and Wunnava can put up big numbers, they may be able to improve a bit on last season, and qualify for the Central Jersey Group III State Tournament. Youngsters such as Brandon Rogers, Jairius Pollard, Shomari Moore, and Jeff Ashamole will have to step up down low and pick up the rebounding slack left behind by the likes of Carter and Hicks if the team is going to have a chance to win.

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Team: Sayreville
Coach: Gus Jaworski
Year: 6th
Assistant Coaches: Sean Currie
Last Year's Overall Record: 15-10
Last Year's Division Record: 8-6, Third Place
Last Year's Accomplishments: Reached the Quarterfinals of the GMC Tournament and Qualified for the Central Jersey Group IV State Tournament
Last Year's JV Record: Not Available, but did reach the Semifinals of the East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament; lost to eventual Champion East Brunswick in overtime.
Last Year's Freshman Record: Not Available, but did reach the Championship of the Perth Amboy/GMC Freshman Tournament; lost to South Plainfield.

Returning Starters: Brian Miklaszewski (6'0", Sr. G), Sean Reeves (5'10", Sr. G), Shaune Thomas (6'1", Jr. G), Herb Nieves (6'3", Jr. F), and Tim Wojcik (6'1", Sr. G)

Returning Reserves: Chris Watson (6'5", Sr. C)

Key Losses From Last Season: Pay Ryan (6'1, F) and Waclaw Dziadosz (6'5", C)

Key Newcomers: Shamir Sanders (6'4", Sr. F), Greg Chery (6'5", Sr. C), Lamar Fisher (5'10", So. G) and Kawper Wilusz (6'6", Jr. C)

View the Sayreville Season Schedule

Outlook: The Bombers should be at least one of the contenders, if not the favorite, to win the Greater Middlesex Conference White Division Championship. Of Colonia, Sayreville, and South Plainfield, the Bombers have the most returning from last year, which was somewhat a disappointing season with losses toward the end of the season to Carteret and North Brunswick.

Sayreville has five key players returning from last year's campaign including Brian Miklaszewski, Shaune Thomas, Sean Reeves, Tim Wojcik, and Herb Nieves. They also have newcomer, Crhis Watson. On top of all that, Sayreville has solid talent coming up from both Junior Varsity and Freshman Teams that reached the Final Four of their respective tournaments with the Junior Bombers losing in overtime to eventual champion, East Brunswick in the Semifinals of the East Brunswick/GMC JV Tournament, and the Freshmen losing to South Plainfield in the Championship of the Perth Amboy/GMC Freshmen Tournament.

While we didn't catch much of a glimpse of Sayreville over the summer, we did manage to see them play one time at the Rebounds Summer Festival in Neptune, where they are the sole GMC representative in a league that has nearly 40 teams. The one time that we did see them, the Bombers failed to field a full team as they had only four players at the start of their scheduled game. Sayreville also participated in the Team Camp at St. Peter's College in Jersey City, where they competed with fellow GMC member schools, New Brunswick and St. Joseph's.

The key to the Bombers success this year will be defeating teams they should be capable of defeating such as Carteret, North Brunswick, Woodbridge, New Brunswick, and Monroe while stealing wins from the division elite in South Plainfield and Colonia. Sayreville will have to also find a way to replace the void left by the losses of both Pat Ryan and Waclaw Dziadosz, who gave the Bombers plenty of solid play and rebounding underneath.

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Team: South Plainfield
Coach: Jeff Lubreski
Year: 19th
Assistant Coaches: Mike Allocco, Bos De Voogd, and Bob Conway
Last Year's Overall Record: 27-1
Last Year's Division Record: 14-0, First Place
Last Year's Accomplishments: Won White Division For Second Consecutive Year, First Ever GMC Tournament Championship, and reached finals of North Jersey Section 2 Group III Playoffs, lost to Raritan 53-52.
Last Year's JV Record: 6-14
Last Year's Freshman Record: 16-4, Won Perth Amboy/GMC Freshman Tournament

Returning Starters: Marquis Jones (6'0", 175, Sr. G) and Darren Smith (6'2", 185, Sr. G)

Returning Reserves: Jawwadd Caldwell (6'2", 175, Jr. F)

Key Losses From Last Season: Corey Gilmore (5'7", G), Shawn Brown (5'9", G), Ian Robinson (6'4", C), Gary Houston (5'8", G), and Jonathan Buggey (6'0", F)

Key Newcomers: Matt Bazsika (6'4", 180, Sr. F), Kevin Siedenburg (6'0", 170, Jr. F), Opie Muse (6'1", 170, So. F), Shamai Santiago (5'9", 155, So. G), and Danny Hubner (6'3", 165, So, F)

View the Complete South Plainfield Roster

View the South Plainfield Season Schedule

Outlook: Coach Jeff Lubreski is looking for Marquis Jones and Darren Smith to lead a "talented trio of reserves selected from a group of five reserves to defend their first ever conference/county championship." While the Tigers lost a lot from last year due to graduation, the team still has a good nucleus returning with Jones and Smith as well as reserve Jawwaad Caldwell, who played well in spots last year including the Tigers huge win over Elizabeth to start the season.

In addition, there are players such as Opie Muse, Shamai Santiago, and Danny Hubner, who are moving up to the varsity level after making solid contributions to a freshman team that went 16-4 overall last year, earned the number two seed in the Perth Amboy/GMC Freshman Tournament, and won it by defeating J.P. Stevens, Monroe, Piscataway, and Sayreville (a team they defeated three times in 2003-04).

Over the summer, the Tigers competed in the Linden Summer League, where they played in the Tuesday/Thursday Division. They ended up around .500, and played in the eight/nine game in the first round of the playoffs, where they lost a thrilling game to GMC rival, Cardinal McCarrick by the score of 39-35. Meanwhile, the JV squad did try to participate in the Colonia JV Summer League, but dropped out after three games amidst controversy.

The varsity team also played in the Gary Waters/Rutgers Team Camp against the likes of CBA (lost 43-38) and an improved Union Hill sqaud (won 59-40) from Hudson County, and played quite well. Following that, they entered the Rebounds Team Elite Camp, where they played Freehold Boro (won 47-43) and a solid St. Rose team (won 53-41), which is always in the thick of things in the NJSIAA Parochial B South Tournament.

During the fall, South Plainfield again competed in the HawksBasketball Fall-Ball Classic, where they had won the championship, the past two seasons. In the regular season, South Plainfield performed well again with an 8-2 overall record that included a 55-46 loss to eventual champion, Perth Amboy. Then, in the playoffs, they were dethroned in the first round by a Bridgewater team that they defeated twice during the regular season. Finally, in the pre-season, the Tigers played a very tough schedule that included the likes of St. Patrick's, Elizabeth, Plainfield, Linden, Immaculata, and Cardinal McCarrick.

Despite the heavy losses from last year's team, theTigers, which opened the season solidly against New Brunswick, and played surprisingly well against St. Anthony's of Jersey City, the number one ranked team in the country according to the USA Today, with a 36-35 lead in the fourth quarter before losing, 53-42 in the Hoop Group Tip-Off Classic, South Plainfield figures to be in the hunt again for the GMC White Division crown along with a chance to repeat as GMCT champs. They will be tested early with Sayreville on the road, the Rahway Tournament, and Colonia at home after the new year.

In addition, the Tigers have a very ambitious non-conference schedule that includes the likes of Teaneck in the Paramus Catholic Tournament on January 9th, and Paterson Catholic in the Paterson Kennedy Firefighters Benefit Tournament on Monday, January 17th. Nevertheless, South Plainfield should finish anywhere in the top three in the GMC White, but may face challenges from teams such as Woodbridge as well. As far as the conference tournament is concerned, the Tigers will have to overcome some size disadvantages against the likes of St. Joseph's, South Brunswick, and adjust to the fast tempo styles of teams such as Cardinal McCarrick, but they may have enough to be there at the end. Definitely, a top seven team in the GMC...for now.

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Team: Woodbridge
Coach: Scott Sienkiewicz
Year: 4th
Assistant Coaches: Brian Russo and Tom Leusen
Last Year's Overall Record: 6-16
Last Year's Division Record: 5-11, Tied for 6th Place
Last Year's Accomplishments: None
Last Year's JV Record: Not Available
Last Year's Freshman Record: Not Available

Returning Starters: Casey Mack (6'0" 175, Sr. G, 11 ppg, 4 apg, and 3.1 rpg), John Cuozzo (5'10", 165, Sr. G) and Shamar Graves (6'3 1/2", 200, Jr. F)

Returning Reserves: Alphonse Baja (5'8", 142, Sr. G), Ken Siano (6'3", 215, Sr. F), Temitope Adeleye (6'1", 165, Sr. F), and Justin Hinds (6'1", 215, Sr. F)

Key Losses From Last Season: Brian Rivera (6'2", G/F), Joel Modestil (6'0", G), and Devin Gilliard (6'2", G/F)

Key Newcomers: Albert Baja (5'8", 135, Sr. G), Matt Bouchard (6'2", 210, Sr. F), Steve Garcia (6'4", 165, Sr. C), Ryan Johnson (6'3", 180, Jr. F), and Chris Petrick (5'8", 140, Jr. G)

View the Complete Woodbridge Roster

View the Woodbridge Season Schedule

Outlook: The Woodbridge Barrons could be a surprise team this year. Even despite the loss to a potential sleeper in Carteret on opening night, Woodbridge has a very experienced and deep team that enjoyed some success over the summer and even in the fall. "With 9 seniors and 3 juniors on the rosters, we are a very deep and experienced team," says Head Coach Scott Sienkiewicz.

The team will be led by Casey Mack, who averaged 11 points, 4 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per game during the 2003-04 season. In addition, the Barrons also have a solid perimeter game returning with senior John Cuozzo, and plenty of athletic ability in junior forward, Shamar Graves. On top of that, reserves such as Temitope Adeleye and newcomers like Chris Petrick give the Barrons even more athleticism and shooting ability.

"Though the guards are the strength of our team, the key to the season may be the play of forward Shamar Graves," says Sienkiewicz. Graves is "arguably the best athlete in the county," and "has the potential to average a double-double" this season. Woodbridge also has plenty of size up front with the likes of not only Graves and Adeleye, but also Justin Hinds, Ken Siano, Matt Bouchard, Steve Garcia, and Ryan Johnson, who all "will be called on to back up Shamar Graves," says Sienkiewicz.

This past summer, we caught a glimpse of the potential that the Barrons have when they won the Championship of the HawksBasketball Summer SlamFest in Perth Amboy over Rutgers Prep. Along the way, Woodbridge went 6-4 overall in the regular season including a come from behind win over Piscataway, and a hard fought loss to Plainfield early on in week two. Then, in the playoff round, Woodbridge defeated North Brunswick 47-44, St. Joseph's 51-49, and Rutgers Prep, 58-43.

Meanwhile, the Junior Varsity squad also fared well during the summer as they competed in the Colonia JV Summer League. The Junior Barrons ended up 6-3 overall, and were seeded fifth in the tournament. One of their regular season losses came at the hands of a Franklin team (a close game won by the Junior Warriors, 38-36) that reached the Championship Game of the tournament before losing a tough one to South Brunswick. They also lost to the Junior Warriors in the quarterfinals, 50-37.

Then, in the fall, Woodbridge competed in the HawksBasketball Fall-Ball Classic, where they finished the regular season with a 4-6 record that helped them qualify for the playoffs as the 14th seed. The Barrons quickly exited the tournament losing to Columbia of Maplewood, which was the third seed with an 8-2 record overall. GMC Hoops feels that the Barrons have the potential to do good things this year. A third or fourth place finish in the GMC White is a possibility as well as qualifying for the state tournament.

The key for the Barrons will be how they handle tough losses such as the one that happened opening night to Carteret. Last year, Woodbridge suffered many tough losses, and that can have a psychological effect. In addition, the Barrons will need to play consistent basketball, and for a full 32 minutes. Last year, there were many games in which Woodbridge would play well for a half, and then just fall apart in the second half. If they can work on that, and be mentally tougher, this season could be one to be happy about in Barronland.

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