Team: Carteret
Coach: John Dolan
Year: 3rd
Assistant Coaches: Lenny Reyes and Jonathan Bergbauer
This Year's Overall Record: 9-13
This Year's Division Record: 5-9
This Year's Conference Record: 8-12
This Year's Home Record: 2-6
This Year's Road Record: 7-7
This Year's Accomplishments: Won Gene Haley Memorial Holiday Tournament
Longest Winning Streak Of Season: Won 2 Straight (Twice)
Scoring Offense: 49.8 points per game (Ranked 26th in GMC)
Scoring Defense: 54.3 points per game allowed (Ranked 12th in GMC)
Point Differential: -4.5 points per game (Ranked 21st in GMC)
GMC Hoops Teamwork Rating: 44.4 (Ranked 16th)
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 Carteret Season Ledger

Summary: The Ramblers started the season with upset wins over Woodbridge, Montgomery, and New Brunswick to jump out to a 5-2 start after their first seven games, which earned them a spot in the GMC Hoops Top Ten for the first time since the very end of the 2001-02 season. However, Carteret stumbled miserably despite knocking off Bishop Ahr in the opening round of the GMC Tournament. The Ramblers ended up losing 11 out of their last 15 contests to finish the season several games under .500. However, with new Head Coach Keith Hughes looking to bring back the winning tradition of Carteret basketball, and plenty of talent returning, watch for the Ramblers to cause problems in 2005-06, especially when Khamell Broughton returns in February.

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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
This Year's Overall Record: 20-7
This Year's Division Record: 12-2, Tied for 1st Place
This Year's Conference Record: 17-3
This Year's Home Record: 10-0
This Year's Road Record: 10-7
This Year's Accomplishments: Reached finals of North Jersey Section 2 Group III State Tournament, Reached Semifinals of GMC Tournament, Co-White Division Champions.
Longest Winning Streak Of Season: Won 8 Straight
Scoring Offense: 68.8 points per game (Ranked 2nd in GMC)
Scoring Defense: 56.7 points per game allowed (Ranked 19th in GMC)
Point Differential: +12.1 points per game (Ranked 2nd in GMC)
GMC Hoops Teamwork Rating: 57.4 (Ranked 5th)

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 Colonia Season Ledger

Summary: The Patriots had yet another successful campaign with Nick Smith (Stonehill) leading the way. Smith was honored by the Home News-Tribune as the 2004-05 Player of the Year, and became Colonia's all time leading scorer passing the mark set by former teammate, Justin Chiera (Central Connecticut State), who scored 1,620 for his career before graduating in 2002. The Patriots also managed to notch a couple more team accomplishments as they claimed a share of the GMC White crown for at least a piece of a division crown for the first time since the 2000-01 season when they won their last GMC Tournament Championship. They also reached the North Jersey Section 2 Group III final, where they lost to eventual state champion Shabazz of Newark. Despite losing Smith as well as the likes of Rob Gardella and Matt Vance to graduation, Colonia looks to be back among the elite teams in the GMC in 2005-06 even though junior point guard, Zach Rosen suffered a potential season ending injury.

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Team: Monroe
Coach: Pete LoPresti
Year: 12th
Assistant Coaches: Mike Gigliello and Tim Nally
This Year's Overall Record: 9-13
This Year's Division Record: 3-11, Eighth Place
This Year's Conference Record: 5-13
This Year's Home Record: 4-6
This Year's Road Record: 5-7
This Year's Accomplishments: Won Piscataway Vo-Tech Holiday Tournament, Won Three Times More Regular Season And Division Games than the previous year, and upset East Brunswick in opening round of GMC Tournament
Longest Winning Streak Of Season: Won 6 Straight
Scoring Offense: 51.8 points per game (Ranked 23rd in GMC)
Scoring Defense: 54.0 points per game allowed (Ranked 10th in GMC)
Point Differential: -2.2 points per game (Ranked 18th in GMC)
GMC Hoops Teamwork Rating: 38.4 (Ranked Tied for 22nd)

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 Monroe Season Ledger

Summary: The Falcons had a promising start with six wins in their first seven games including victories at Carteret and at home against Sayreville. Consequently, like Carteret, the Falcons made their first appearance in the GMC Hoops Top Ten since the 2001-02 campaign. However, as with the Ramblers, Monroe tumbled the rest of the way despite defeating a Colts Neck team of the Shore Conference that qualified for the state tourney, and upset East Brunswick in the opening round of the GMCT. The Falcons ended up losing 12 out of their last 15. Nevertheless, Monroe still won three more times the number of regular season and division wins it had in 2003-04, and it also claimed the Piscataway Vo-Tech Holiday Tournament. With Bob Turco taking the helm at the school, and their leading scorer, A.J. Rudowitz coming back, look for the Falcons to make even bigger strides in 2005-06.

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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
This Year's Overall Record: 15-10
This Year's Division Record: 8-6, Third Place
This Year's Conference Record: 12-7
This Year's Home Record: 8-4
This Year's Road Record: 7-6
This Year's Accomplishments: Reached Semifinals of North Jersey Section 2 Group III State Tournament, Reached Quarterfinals of GMC Tournament, and Defeated two-time GMC Champion South Plainfield in Quarterfinals of State Tournament.
Longest Winning Streak Of Season: Won 4 Straight
Scoring Offense: 58.6 points per game (Ranked 9th in GMC)
Scoring Defense: 53.6 points per game allowed (Ranked 8th in GMC)
Point Differential: +5.0 points per game (Ranked 10th in GMC)
GMC Hoops Teamwork Rating: 45.3 (Ranked 15th)

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 New Brunswick Season Ledger

Summary: The Zebras were one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises of the 2004-05 season. On opening night, New Brunswick had four freshman on its roster. Moreover, they only had a total of 5 points per game among the players returning from the previous season in 2003-04. In spite of that, New Brunswick overcame a 3-5 start start by winning 12 of their next 17 including victories over Sayreville, Piscataway, Colonia, Woodbridge, Montgomery, and 2005 GMCT Champion, South Plainfield in the North Jersey Section 2 Group III Quarterfinals. The Zebras finished third in the GMC White, reached the GMCT Quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion, South Plainfield, and made it all the way to the North Jersey Section 2 Group III Semifinals before losing to eventual sectional and state champion, Shabazz of Newark. With the only significant loss from 2004-05 being Jonathan Casillas, who is now playing football at Wisconsin, look for New Brunswick to do big things in 2005-06.

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Team: North Brunswick
Coach: Ed Breheney
Year: 15th
Assistant Coaches: Mark Zielinski and Don Smutko
This Year's Overall Record: 6-16
This Year's Division Record: 4-10, Seventh Place
This Year's Conference Record: 5-14
This Year's Home Record: 2-6
This Year's Road Record: 4-10
This Year's Accomplishments: Upset Woodbridge in first round of the GMC Tournament
Longest Winning Streak Of Season: Won 1 Straight
Scoring Offense: 54.5 points per game (Ranked 17th in GMC)
Scoring Defense: 65.2 points per game allowed (Ranked 29th in GMC)
Point Differential: -10.7 points per game (Ranked 28th in GMC)
GMC Hoops Teamwork Rating: 4.6 (Ranked Last)
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 North Brunswick Season Ledger

Summary: North Brunswick endured a difficult season, but did pull off a nice upset win over White Division rival Woodbridge on the road in the opening round of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament. They then followed that up with a strong performance in a loss at Cardinal McCarrick. The Raiders got key wins against Woodbridge (twice), New Brunswick, Sayreville, and Monroe. Despite the difficult season, the future looks bright for North Brunswick. With the likes of Brandon Rogers, Patrick Brown, and Aaron Jackson returning along with a good crop of JV and Freshman talent, the Raiders may be able to pull off a winning season and qualify for the states in 2005-06.

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Team: Sayreville
Coach: Gus Jaworski
Year: 6th
Assistant Coaches: Sean Currie
This Year's Overall Record: 9-13
This Year's Division Record: 5-9, Tied For Fifth Place
This Year's Conference Record: 7-11
This Year's Home Record: 5-6
This Year's Road Record: 4-7
This Year's Accomplishments: None
Longest Winning Streak Of Season: Won 2 Straight
Scoring Offense: 56.5 points per game (Ranked 13th in GMC)
Scoring Defense: 59.5 points per game allowed (Ranked 24th in GMC)
Point Differential: -3.0 points per game (Ranked 19th in GMC)
GMC Hoops Teamwork Rating: 36.7 (Ranked 25th)

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)

Summary: The Bombers were perhaps the biggest disappointment of the 2004-05 campaign. With a good group of youngsters coming up from both the Junior Varsity and Freshman levels, and almost all of their core starters returning, Sayreville seemed to be a top five team in the GMC at the beginning of the season. However, upset losses against New Brunswick, Monroe, and North Brunswick as well as a heartbreaking loss to Neptune in that school's Holiday Jubilee, seemed to doom the Bombers, which didn't reach at least the Quarterfinal round of the GMC Tournament for the first time since the 2000-01 season. Sayreville failed to qualify for the state tournament for the first time since the 1997 season. Things don't appear to be looking any better for the Bombers in 2005-06 with starters Shaune Thomas (football) and Herb Nieves (football, wrestling) not coming out for the team while reserve Lamar Fisher transferred to St. Joseph's.

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Team: South Plainfield
Coach: Jeff Lubreski
Year: 19th
Assistant Coaches: Mike Allocco, Bos De Voogd, and Bob Conway
This Year's Overall Record: 19-6
This Year's Division Record: 12-2, Tied for First Place
This Year's Conference Record: 16-3
This Year's Home Record: 8-1
This Year's Road Record: 11-5
This Year's Accomplishments: Won Second Straight GMC Tournament Championship, Won Third Straight White Division Title (Co-Champs with Colonia), Won Third Straight John "Butch" Kowal Holiday Tournament, and Reached Quarterfinals of North Jersey Section 2 Group III State Tournament.
Longest Winning Streak Of Season: Won 6 Straight
Scoring Offense: 62.0 points per game (Ranked 6th in GMC)
Scoring Defense: 53.1 points per game allowed (Ranked 6th in GMC)
Point Differential: +8.9 points per game (Ranked 6th in GMC)
GMC Hoops Teamwork Rating: 55.9 (Ranked 6th)

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 South Plainfield Season Ledger

Summary: What was there left to say after what the Tigers accomplished in 2005-06. Despite losing numerous varsity letter winners from their magical 27-1 season in 2003-04, which gave them their first ever conference championship in school history, South Plainfield immediately gave notice that it wasn't going to go away in 2004-05 when it gave perennial state and national powerhouse, St. Anthony's of Jersey City all that they could handle. Similarly, they gave Teaneck and Paterson Catholic fits as well before losing. Throw on top of that the fact that the Tigers won the John "Butch" Kowal Holiday Tournament in Rahway for the third straight year by defeating the likes of St. Peter's Prep of Jersey City, which qualified for the states, Scotch Plains, which defeated Rahway as well as upset a couple of perennial contenders in the always tough Watchung Conference, and Cranford. South Plainfield did stumble going into the GMCT as they lost to division rivals Colonia and Woodbridge (in two overtimes), but they regained their footing in the tournament after sliding past New Brunswick in a controversial quarterfinal game. South Plainfield surged past Colonia in the second half of their semifinal game, and then defeated a St. Joseph's team that won 15 of 16 games going into the final for their second straight conference championship in one of the most thrilling GMCT Championships ever. Things will be a lot different this year as SPHS lost both Marquis Jones (St. Thomas More Prep School in CT, and University of Rhode Island bound) and Darren Smith (Peddie, and University of Pennsylvania bound), and their legendary coach, Jeff Lubreski, who stepped down after nearly 20 years at the school.

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Team: Woodbridge
Coach: Scott Sienkiewicz
Year: 4th
Assistant Coaches: Brian Russo and Tom Leusen
This Year's Overall Record: 12-12
This Year's Division Record: 7-7, Tied for 6th Place
This Year's Conference Record: 10-10
This Year's Home Record: 5-5
This Year's Road Record: 7-7
This Year's Accomplishments: Qualified for North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament (first time in state tourney in six years, only second time in 16 years), Reached Championship of Bayshore Classic Tournament in Holmdel, and Upset South Plainfield.
Longest Winning Streak Of Season: Won 3 Straight (twice)
Scoring Offense: 57.4 points per game (Ranked 11th in GMC)
Scoring Defense: 56.8 points per game allowed (Ranked 20th in GMC)
Point Differential: +0.6 points per game (Ranked 14th in GMC)
GMC Hoops Teamwork Rating: 54.4 (Ranked 7th)

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 Woodbridge Season Ledger

Summary: For the first time since the 1999 campaign, and for only the second time since the end of the Buck Jenkins and Adam McLaughlin era back in 1989, the Woodbridge Barrons qualified for the state tournament as they competed in the very tough North Jersey Section 2 Group IV bracket. Woodbridge also reached the finals of the Bayshore Holiday Classic Tournament at St. John Vianney in Holmdel, where they've struggled in the past. The Barrons did get off to a slow start though with a 3-6 record over nine games. However, Woodbridge finished strong with wins in 9 of their last 15 including victories over eventual GMCT Champion, South Plainfield and Central Jersey Group I finalist, Metuchen. Despite the losses of many seniors to graduation, look for the Barrons to still be competitive with the likes of Shamar Graves and Chris Petrick returning along with a good crop of talent from the JV level.

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