10 Questions Needed To Know For Upcoming Basketball Season!

As the 2017-18 Basketball Season begins next Friday December 15th the Northern New Jersey area and the State itself has many questions that needs to be answered!

1.) Can Don Bosco Prep(pictured) make it as far as they did last year in reaching the T.O.C. Finals!  Rutgers commit Ron Harper and 1st Team All-State player Marcellus Earlington will lead the Prep attack!! D.B.P. may not be as deep and they will miss Chris Paul, Charlie Babin and Chris Lovisolo and Manley Dorme but Senior Matt Herasme, Senior Michael Concannon and Junior Victor Konopka are prepared to fill those roles!

 

2.) With all the drama of last year, can new Coach Michael Baker stabilize the Paterson Eastside situation! The son of the late, legendary Eastside Coach Henry Baker, Mike will instill an old school approach and instill discipline and a hard nose attitude! The one guarantee will be The Ghost will play hard every night!

 

3.) Who will hold the Passaic County crown between Wayne Hills and Paterson Kennedy! The two squads are favored and barring injuries it would be a shock if they don’t see each other in the county finals! Wayne Hills is led by Star Senior Point Guard Joey Belli, while Kennedy is led by Star Senior Point Guard Jaylen Colon! Hills will be bringing back four of five starters from a year ago! Belli will be joined by his Senior teammates Jason Modak, Justin Wills and Patrick Gilmore as Wayne Hills wants to continue on the success they have had the last three years! Colon will be joined by Senior backcourt mate Jamir Lattimore along with Junior Joshual White, Junior Avante Gilbert and Sophomore Jalen Hargrove to continue the success that Kennedy has had over the same time period!

4.) How many minutes in the first game will it take Teaneck’s Star Guard Ja’Quaye James(right) to become school’s All-Time leading scorer! He is two points away from breaking the school record held by Luis Ayala with 1,828! By the end of year strong possibility James could be a 2500 point scorer!

 

5.) On a State level, how is it possible to have so many powerhouse teams in the North Non-Public B Division? Hudson Catholic and Immaculate Conception is now joined by The Patrick School, Roselle Catholic, Gill St. Bernard and St. Mary’s (Elizabeth)  in the Division as all are Top 20 teams in the State! Beating up on each other in the States will give the Ranney School and Mater Dei a straight run to the South Non-Public B “Chip”!

 

6.)  Who will be the Bergen County Champ? Even though Don Bosco Prep will still be strong it does not mean the Bergen County Jamboree title will be automatic! Bergen Catholic, Teaneck and Hackensack will have plenty to say about that! A sleeper team like Ridgewood, Pascack Hills or Ramapo could also make noise!

 

7.) Who will be the T.O.C. Champ this year? Last year was a foregone conclusion that The Patrick School was the best team in the State and even though they will be a factor this Season there are more teams with say about that! The Ranney School, Hudson Catholic, Roselle Catholic and Gill St. Bernard just to name a few all have a chance to be standing at the end!

 

8.) What team will be the under the radar squad that catches everyone by surprise! On a local scale will it be Old Tappan, Ramapo, Pascack Hills,Bogota or Englewood! On a State level how about Seton Hall Prep, St. Peters Prep,  Mater Dei or Pope John!

 

9.)  With all the talent in the State, one of the hardest things will be choosing an All-State team at the end of the year! In the South you have Ranney’s Scottie Lewis and Bryan Antoine and in the North there’s Jalen Carey, Nazreon Reid, Jahvon Quinerly, Louis King, Luther Muhammad, Tavon Jones, Ja’Quaye James, Marcellus Earlington and Aaron Clarke to name a few and there are many more who’s name will be in the discussion when the season is complete!

 

10.) For the first time in decades, Coach Bob Hurley will not be on the sidelines! The patriarch of Jersey Basketball has shut it down with the closing of St. Anthony! Who will carry the torch as the leader of the coaches in New Jersey! Will it be Hudson Catholic’s Nick Mariniello, The Patrick School’s Chris Chavannes, Linden’s Phil Colicchio or someone else to be the voice of New Jersey Basketball!