Thursday,
December 31, 2015
By The Unkown Ranker
NJS.com's Anonymous Source
(Rankings will be next updated on January 11 and then every Monday thereafter for the rest of the season)
 |
1.
ST. ANTHONY (4-0) --
The Friars opened the season with convincing wins out west in Arizona, despite missing two starters. Tthey defeated Corono del Sol, 68-58, and knocked off Shadow Mountain, 60-48, as Georgetown commit Jagen Mosely pumped in 30. Back in Jersey, they topped Pope John 71-48 behind 22 points from RJ Cole, and then beat up on Iona Prep, 66-31. |
JAGEN MOSELY |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 1 |
 |
2.
HUDSON CATHOLIC (1-2) --
The Hawks opened the season by dismantling Elizabeth, 74-37, as their terrific backcourt tandem of Jahvon Quinerly and Luther Muhammad dropped in 29 and 17, respectively. They followed that up with a 63-60 loss to Blair Academy and put on a a great performance in losing to highly ranked Neumann Goretti (PA), 82-73. That game was 58-57 heading to the fourth quarter, but HC came up a little short in the final period. |
JAHVON QUINERLY |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 2 |
 |
3.
BERGEN CATHOLIC (6-0) --
BC the season with the rare forfeit win over Eastside then beat up on IC of Montclair, 65-40, as Taj Benning had 19 Gabriele Stefanini, the transfer in from Italy, had 17. The Crusaders slipped past pesky Paramus Catholic, 49-46, and were crowned champion of Score in the Shore Tournament, taking down Southern in the title game, 75-66, as Stefanini had 18 and Benning 16. In the first two games they cruised past Howell (86-62) as Stefanini had 26 and they beat St. John Vianney (53-43) after opening a 15-1 lead after one quarter. They travel to Union Catholic, ranked No. 10 in New Jersey, on January 10. |
TAJ BENNING |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 3 |
 |
4.
DON BOSCO PREP (6-0) --
The Ironman opened the season in fine fashionwith an easy win over Kennedy 70-53 and followed it up by beating CBA, 52-46, as Brandon Anderson led with 17. Led St. Joes Montvale comfortably the whole game but needed to hold on with a 50-49 win as Anderson had 23. On Sunday the Ironman defeated South Carolina’s RB Stall 79-54 as Omar Mostafa led with 18 points. Bosco held off another top program in South Carolina, beating Porter Gaud, 40-39, after holding a 33-26 lead after three quarters. In their final game outside NJ, they beat Peachtree Ridge (GA) 60-54. Paramus Catholic Tuesday. |
OMAR MOSTAFA |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 6 |
 |
5.
RAMAPO (5-1) --
The Raiders top seven players are all seniors from a team that went
27-0 as freshmen four years ago. Their performance against highly ranked St. Joe's Metuchen, No. 5 in the state, was brilliant. The Raiders had possession with under a minute to go down just a basket before falling 55-49. Opened with a 53-42 win vs, Ridgewood and beat Indian Hills, 50-30, before romping through the Coaches vs Cancer Tournament by an average score of 63-36. Wins were over Passaic (58-26), DePaul (62-42) and PCT in the title game, 70-41. Hackensack next Thursday and a visit to St. Joseph Regional on January 14. |
JOE O'HAGAN |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 9 |
 |
6.
EASTSIDE (3-2) --
The Ghosts were given a loss to BC via forfeit on opening night then proceeded to beat Bergen Tech, 64-32, as Nhazir Smith had 23. Followed that up with a win over Hackensack, 62-50, in the Jingle Bell Jubilee by pulling away in the second half behind Smith’s 26 points, setting up a semifinal matchup with St. Joseph’s Metuchen where they lost 52-34 on Sunday night. The Ghosts captured third place as they beat IC of Montclair, 64-54, behind Charles Powell’s 18 and Smith's 17. Thursday at Passaic Tech. |
NHAZIR SMITH |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 4 |
 |
7.
ST. JOSEPH REGIONAL (4-2) --
Started the season with two great wins, beating a good DePaul team, 62-45, as junior Chauncey Hawkins led with 16 and followed that up with an easy win over Hackensack, 72-54, behind Hawkins' 22. Next was home loss to Don Bosco, 50-49. Beaten by IC Montclair, 54-52, in the Jingle Bells Jubilee then won the consolation game, 56-25, over Plainfield. behind Bryan Griffin’s 16 points. In the final game of the tournament the Green Knights, like a week earlier, beat up on Hackensack, this time by 68-41 final as Nate Garvey had 18. Jan 12 at Bergen Catholic. |
NATE GARVEY |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 5 |
 |
8.
TEANECK (3-1) --
The Highwayman opened the season with a 48-34 win over Tenaflyand followed that up with a 64-55 loss to Gil St Bernard in a game where they made a few runs to get close. They then struggled with NV/Demarest before winning, 52-47. In the Holiday Jubilee Tournament they defeated Kennedy, 81-76, in overtime behind Jawuan Daniels' 33 points and 16 boards and Ja'Quaye James' 25 points. They were named champions of the Holiday Jubilee as they beat Neptune, 41-31, in the finals as James had 17 and was named Tourney MVP. Sunday at IC Montclair, a team St. Joes lost to and Eastside beat. |
Ja'QUAYE JAMES |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 7 |
 |
9.
KENNEDY (3-2) --
Opened with a 70-53 setback to Don Bosco Prep before defeating Passaic Tech, 79-71, behind Alfonso Gee’s 20 points. On Saturday at the Holiday Jubilee in Neptune they beat Asbury Park, 100-61, behind Jamir Lattimore and Tamir Williams' 18 points apiece, however they dropped an 81-76 overtime decision to Teaneck. Finished third in the tournament as they easily pounded Long Branch, 62-28, in consolation game as Jordan Rodriguez had 16 points. Sunday vs. Plainfield |
ALPHONSO GEE |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 8 |
 |
10.
WAYNE VALLEY (5-0) --
The Indians are off to a great start as they built a big lead on West Milford on opening night before holding on, 70-68, as Alex Kokos had 20 and Nick Guiliano had 18. Knocked off Lakeland 72-48 (Guiliano 25 pts). The Indians have won their first two games of the JP Flynn Memorial Tournament beating both Morris Catholic, 58-54, (Goodwin 22 pts.) and Delbarton, 69-58, (Giuliano and Goodwin each with 20 pts). Finished off West Morris, 66-47, in the championship game behind Goodwin’s 23 points and remained perfect in December. Visit Passaic Valley Tuesday. |
ALEX KOKOS |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 14 |
 |
11.
PASSAIC TECH (3-2) --
The Bulldogs jump into the Top 20 by opening the season with a 62-50 win over Passaic where Xavier Hilbert scored 16. Dropped a 79-71 decision to Kennedy despite Yohanly Ortiz dropping 28. In the Coaches vs Cancer Tournament in Franklin Lakes they beat Paterson Charter, 75-60, and followed that up with a semifinal win over Wayne Hills, 67-46, when Eric Alford Johnson had 22 and 10 rebounds. In the title game they held a brief first half lead on Ramapo before being outscored 54-22 the rest of the way. |
YOHANLY ORTIZ |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: Not Ranked |
 |
12.
HACKENSACK (3-3) --
Comets opened the season with a 96-68 win over Indian Hills, but were thoroughly handled by St. Joseph two nights later, 72-54. A convincing win over Northern Highlands (69-52) before playing Eastside tough through three quarters before falling, 62-50. The Comets beat Columbia, 54-45, in the consolation round as MJ Richardson hit for 25 points. Lastly, the Comets got a rematch with St. Joe’s but they fared no better as they lost big, 68-41. Ramapo next Thursday. |
MJ RICHARDSON |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 10 |
 |
13.
WAYNE HILLS (3-1) --
The Patriots jump into the official rankings after three straight convincing wins to start the season. First was a 63-50 win over Passaic Valley behind Dorian Hodge’s 20. They handled West Milford, 87-57, as Hodge pumped in 27. In the Coaches vs Cancer Tournament at Ramapo they beat Scotch Plains, 54-40, before getting handled by Passaic Tech, 67-46. The Patriots rebounded nicely as they beat one of the better teams in Passaic County, DePaul, 56-45 behind Hodge's 22 points. Jan 12 at Wayne Valley |
DORIAN HODGE |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: Also Receiveing Votes |
 |
14.
UNION CITY (3-1) --
The Soaring Eagles opened their season by knocking off Memorial, 80-58, behind Abraham Feliz 21 points, but then dropped a game to Hoboken before beginning their Christmas Tournament on their home court Saturday vs. Clifton where they won 78-41. Then beat Orange, 55-46, in the semifinals behind Steven Sanchez’s 17 points. In the finals it was all Union City as it ripped Lincoln 62-38. |
ANTHONY GOMEZ |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 11 |
 |
15.
PARAMUS CATHOLIC (3-1) --
As the Paladins look to rebound from their 8-12 season from a year ago, they posted three nice performances to open the season with the best one coming in defeat against highly ranked Bergen Catholic, where PC fell 67-65 and lead after three quarters. They had three players in double figures led by EJ Anosike with 18. They beat Christ the King, 88-43, and beat Old Tappan, 55-52, in the Jack Reilly Tournament as Anosike again led the way with 19. The Paladins scored a 47-40 win over Tenafly for the title. They have St. Mary’s Elizabeth and Don Bosco Prep after the New Year. |
EJ ANOSIKE |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: Not Ranked |
 |
16.
NV/OLD TAPPAN (4-1) --
The Golden Knights opened with a 54-51 win over Pascack Valley as Justin Minaya scored 23. They cruised past Bergenfield, 58-34, before beating Snyder, 52-41, behind Minaya's 18. They suffered their first loss to a talented Paramus Catholic, 55-52, as Eric Slater led with 16. Secaucus was no match as the Knights won 68-40. |
LUCAS CASSAMENTO |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 15 |
 |
17.
PASCACK HILLS (4-0) --
Cowboys opened the season with a 2-point win at Mahwah before easily beating Westwood, 67-30, as Nick Guillemain scored 17. In the All Groups Tournament they handled Group 4 Ridgewood, 54-40, as Guillemain had 23 points. The Cowboys put the clamps down on Demarest as they won the All Groups title, 51-39. Big on at Ramsey on January 12. |
NICK GUILLEMAIN |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 16 |
 |
18.
RAMSEY (5-0) --
The Rams started with wins over River Dell, 69-58, behind Jack Gaffney’s 20 points and then beat Ridgewood, 67-53, behind Joey Carrol’s 21 and Gaffney’s 18. In the KSA Tournament in Orlando (FL) the Rams beat Unitah from Utah, 56-41, and followed that up by beating Westmoore (OK) 45-43 and played for the title on New Year's Eve. |
JACK GAFFNEY |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: No. 19 |
 |
19.
DICKINSON (4-0) --
The Jersey City public school is off to perfect start, beginning with a 76-72 win over Hoboken, a team that beat Union City a few nights later, as Troy Lopez had 29 points. The Rams then defeated Memorial, 64-58, Nutley easily, 75-51, and finally Keany in the championship game of the Charlie Dolan Tournament in Kearny by 55-53 score as Trop Lopez had 22. Hudson Catholic next Thursday. |
DICKINSON LOGO |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: Not Ranked |
 |
20.
DePAUL (1-3) --
Lost to St. Joseph Regional on opening night, 62-45, before coming back to defeat North Bergen in the Coaches vs Cancer Tournament as five players scored in double figures in an 83-53 win. The Spartans then suffered a 62-42 loss to Ramapo in the semifinals and then lost to Wayne Hills, 56-45, on Wednesday. |
DEPAUL LOGO |
LAST WEEK'S
RANKING: Not Ranked |
DROPPED OUT:
Passaic Valley, Manchester, West Milford & St. Peter's Prep
ALSO RECEIVING UNKNOWN VOTES:
Pascack Valley, Hoboken, St. Peters Prep, Passaic Valley, Marist |
Rankings always create controversy so we are shielding the source of ours from the public. All we can say is that he/she is a knowledgeable student of the North Jersey hoops scene who works out of a back table at a greasy spoon somewhere in our coverage area. We accept comments on twitter 