When Kyle Anderson was a young lanky skinny kid trying to find his body at 12 years old, It was said by Reggie Cameron Sr. that this kid is the most natural player he had seen since Tim Thomas of Paterson Catholic fame and the N.B.A. Not everyone saw it and some shook their heads but if you paid attention you could understand why that was said! Now he wasn’t quite the athlete, but Anderson had the wow factor when it came to figuring the game out and from the moment you saw him on the court you knew this was the place he belonged! All he needed to do was grow into his body! Then, like a swan he found himself and it’s been nothing but the top for this baller! As was said about others, Kyle Anderson is family! He is Paterson Catholic family, Playaz Basketball Club family and of course he is now truly St.Anthony family! Kyle has had a highschool career that you can only dream about! He is concluding his career in the McDonald’s Classic, the Jordan Classic, will be the Player of the Year in the State and is a finalist for the Naismith Highschool Player of the Year! But the thing that sets him apart from all the rest is that he is the greatest Highschool winner this site has ever seen! 93-1 in the last three years! Back to Back undefeated seasons! You can’t make that kind of stuff up! And he will do whatever is needed to get the win! Need him to score, he will! Need him to quarterback the team, he will! Need him to step up defensively, he will! Rebound, not a problem! His basketball I.Q is off the charts and he already has the knack for figuring out just what’s needed! U.C.L.A. is getting the total package and if their was a kid that looks like he has a future in the League, it’s him! On a personal note, Hoop Journal would like to congratulate Kyle’s mother Suzanne, his father Kyle Sr. and his brothers and sisters! You’ve all done a great job in not only making Kyle a phenomenal player,but a phenomenal young man! The future is oh so bright for Kyle and here’s hoping for nothing but the best in the years to come! Make us proud Slo-Mo aka Stats(you know what I’m talking about)!

  Izod Arena, N.J…….. 65-0!!! That’s where the season ended for St. Anthony as their 65th win in a row resulted in the Friars being Tournament Of Champions title winners for the second year in a row! Senior Jerome Frink overcame a sluggish 1st half to score 20 of his 26 points in the 66-62 victory over Plainfield! Frink also added 13 rebounds in the contest and had his way down low! It didn’t hurt that Plainfield’s Yale commit Justin Sears had to leave the game in the 1st quarter due to spraining his ankle and played sporadically the rest of the game, eventually fouling out with 7:11 of the 4th!Senior Tariq Carey came off the bench to score 18 points and made some big plays late in the game! And then there was Senior Kyle Anderson who scored 14 points,grabbed 6 rebounds, dished out 4 assists,blocked 5 shots and 4 steals and most importantly won again! Plainfield played tough and was in it from the start as they led 12-11 to end the 1st and went into the half tied at 25! Senior Sekou Harris and Senior Jahmal Lane each played big and left it all on the floor! Harris finished with 22 points and 7 assists and Lane had 21 points and 3 steals! St. Anthony took the biggest lead of the game at 42-32 in the 3rd quarter and lead 46-38 to end the quarter! Plainfield cut the lead to 65-62 with 3.7 seconds left but Junior Hallice Cooke made the second free throw to clinch the”Chip”! St. Anthony finished the season at 32-0, while Plainfield finished at 30-4!  

The Plainfield vs. St. Anthony T.O.C. final is one for the ages and here is a summary of each team in the eyes of this website:

ST.ANTHONY-  The Friars have overcome more than it’s share of transfers and suspensions this season, as many of the key players at the beginning of the season are not there! But the one constant to this team is 6’8 Senior Kyle Anderson! Rivals #2 ranked player in the country and the U.C.L.A. commit is the best player in the state with one of the highest IQ’s and he will have to play like that in order to beat Plainfield! Anderson(right) will need his teammates to step up with him and they are more than capable! Senior Jerome Frink has gotten better and better as the season has went on as he has put up big numbers with a high percentage from the floor! Junior Hallice Cooke(left)who is a good perimeter shooter will need to hit the open shots that he is expected to have! Junior Josh Brown has gotten better at the point and Senior Tariq Carey will also man the position! While, this is the key to their offense the reason behind the true success of St.Anthony is their Division 1 type defense! They will have to do as they have done to Hudson Catholic, Gill St. Bernard and Atlantic City and take away Plainfield’s strength and keep it a half court game! Of course, Coach Bob Hurley is as good as there is in the country when it comes to highschool basketball!

PLAINFIELD –  If there is a team that can dethrone St.Anthony it is the Plaifield Cardinals! They are a veteran group that have been through it all! They have a great core group led by 6’7 Yale commit Justin Sears(right)! The active Sears is great around the rim offensively and can defend in the lane and on the perimeter! Senior guard Sekou Harris(left) is as quick a guard as any in the State and if he gets off, St.Anthony will have a problem! 6’6 forward Dijon Allen-Jordan can get out on the break and is a dynamic finisher around the rim and is also a quality defender! While these are the key three, the glue is probably 6’3 Senior Jahmal Lane! He can defend the best perimeter guy and has picked up his scoring tremendously! Has a knack for making the big play in key situations! Senior Edward Anderson, Senior Taylor Plummer and Junior Denzel Christian all add a defensive presence to the game! Coach Jeff Lubreski has done a great job and always seems to have the pulse of his team!

Prediction: St. Anthony won a 12 point game against Plainfield early in the season, but each team is playing at it’s peak! Plainfield will be out for blood and will bring it’s “A” game to the court, but in the end St.Anthony will hold on in a close one!