January
31, 2005
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NORTH JERSEY -- For some schools it is a privilege to be there, for others it is the start of a run to the Rothman Center. The Round of 16 in the Bergen County Jamboree starts up on Saturday and some of the matchups are intriguing. Undefeated and top seeded St. Joseph Regional against No. 16 Leonia? Forget David vs. Goliath, how about Vern Troyer against Yao Ming?
HERE'S
A QUICK PEAK AT THE MATCHUPS:
(1)
St. Joseph Regional vs. (16) Leonia
Sunday at Tenafly HS, 3:15 p.m.
St. Joseph has been unbeatable this season with five athletes on the floor at all times playing lock down defense. The Knights also have Rutgers-bound JR Inman to turn to when they need a basket and an upset here would be a long shot.
One caveat, however, is that it was in the Round of 16 last year that SJR, which went on to the final before losing to Don Bosco Prep, almost got tripped up. Last season it was another BCSL-Olympic Division team, New Milford, that took the Knights to overtime before falling.
Whether or not Leonia can give SJR the same type of scare remains to be seen, but what should be fun to watch is how Ahmed Hassan, the Lions' sophomore sharpshooter, deals with the defensive pressure that the McCourty twins, Devon and Jason, can apply. The Knights aren't likely to throw any junk defenses at Hassan, just straight up man-to-man, and it will be interesting to see how he does against the step up in competition.
(2)
Don Bosco Prep vs. (18) Palisades Park
Saturday at Northern Highlands HS, 7 p.m.
Bosco is the defending champion with a big time Division 1 player in Tyrell Biggs leading the way. Pal Park made its mark on the tournament last week by knocking off Pascack Hills in the opening round, but the Tigers' run likely comes to an end here.
Bosco has too much size with Peter Brown a force in the middle on the defensive end and guards like Carl Augustin and Steven Natoli have been through the Jambo wars before. Pal Park is athletic, but running offensive sets against the DBP defense will not be easy and the Ironmen will take the fast break opportunities when presented with them.
(3)
Paramus Catholic vs. (19) Fair Lawn
Saturday at Northern Highlands HS, 2 p.m.
Paramus Catholic was seeded second last season before being upset by Northern Highlands in the quarterfinals. The Paladins are better this time around with Luis Guzman a year older and Lawrence Williams a force in the paint. Tyrell McKenzie is an explosive wing player and PC has the tools to make a run deep into the tournament.
The key for Fair Lawn will be how well point guard Vinnie Graff handles the on the ball pressure. In the Cutters' opening round win over Wood-Ridge, Graff was outstanding in both shooting the ball and getting his teammates involved to the tune of four players in double figures and a whopping 96 total points.
(4)
Englewood vs. (13) Lyndhurst
Sunday at Tenafly HS, 11 a.m.
The Maroon Raiders are one of the most consistent public school performers year in and year out at the Jambo and have lost just once this season heading into the Round of 16. Gerald Akridge is one of North Jersey's most underrated head coaches and his teams rarely lose games it is supposed to win, like the one coming up this weekend.
Englewood's pressure defense comes in waves and never stops and will present problems for the Golden Bears, who relied on their defense to oust Saddle Brook last weekend. Englewood has a legit shot blocker in the middle in Alvin Mofunanya and quickness everywhere else, meaning Lyndhurst will have to shoot a high percentage if it hopes to stay close.
Mike McTigue and Bobby Galarza will have to handle the ball more than usual to take the pressure off of point guard Brian Kapp.
(5)
Ridgewood vs. (12) Cliffside Park
Saturday at Northern Highlands HS, 5 p.m.
Both teams have excellent wing players, but the X-factor is Ridgewood center Clay Rhoten. After making a run to the semifinals last season, Cliffside turned over just about its whole roster this year and none of the new guys bring with them the height to deal with a legit post player.
What Cliffside does have is a crafty point guard in Matt Emerson, who got plenty of playing time last season and won't be intimidated by the big game atmosphere. This could turn out to be one of the most competitive games of the weekend.
(6)
Bergen Catholic vs. (11) Cresskill Sunday
at Tenafly HS, 1:45 p.m.
The Crusaders are fully healthy and coming off a double digit win over Ridgewood on Thursday night. Cresskill is coming off a long history of being a small school taking on a behemoth every time it leaves the BCSL-Olympic Division.
It is the quintessential team game that Cresskill plays and it will need a bunch of players to knock down shots against BC, which has rebuilt after missing the tournament all together last season after winning it in 2003.
BC has a stacked backcourt with Nick Veir and Virgil Gray, while Cresskill could have any number of players lead it in scoring in any given game. Dan Brody, Chris Cowan, Dennis Conrad, Dan Okin and Artan Borova can all put up points if left open and the Cougars might need all of them to be on their games if they have any chance of pulling the upset.
(7)
Teaneck vs. (10) Westwood
Saturday at Northern Highlands HS, 12 p.m.
This game will open the weekend's activities and has the potential to be the closest game. Westwood, which came one turnover away from knocking off Bosco in last season's quarterfinal, is a different team this time around.
Last year, center Corey Raji was a freshman and the third option in a guard-oriented offense led by Marcus Gomes and Ryan Hart. This year everything goes through Raji, one of Bergen County's top scorers that can get his down low or with his accomplished midrange game.
The broken leg suffered by junior point guard Anthony Pillari in the football state final has hurt the Cardinals from the perimeter.
"The thing about Anthony was that when a defense backed off, he could hit the 3," said Westwood head coach Kevin Bretnall. "Anthony Gioffe has done a great job in his absence, he just needs to get a little more confidence that he can make the open 3 when he gets the chance."
Dylan Cacciola adds shooting touch off the bench and Anthony Brown is a good athlete that excels on the fastbreak, but Teaneck can run with anybody and will most likely look to push the tempo. The Highwaymen are balanced offensively although they will head into the game off of back-to-back losses to Don Bosco and Montclair.
(8)
Demarest vs. (9) Ramapo
Sunday at Tenafly HS, 10 a.m.
These teams know each other well, running up against each other twice every year in the NBIL's Division 1, with Demarest winning the first matchup this season on January 11. Ramapo has quickness at the point in Jimmy Taranto and a 'Shooter' on the wing in Shooter Hunt, but Demarest matches that with its four-guard offense that includes gritty players like Rich Guillod, Tom Caporale and Jarrett Solimando. Christian Marghella is also a threat from the outside and, on a good shooting night, the Norsemen are tough to beat.
This game will be won or lost from the perimeter with neither team having much of a post game, and the side that commits fewer turnovers will have a leg up.
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