GARDENSTATEHOOPS ALL PASSAIC COUNTY TEAM!

GARDENSTATEHOOPS ALL-PASSIC COUNTY TEAM:

PLAYER OF YEAR— NHAZ SMITH-JR.– EASTSIDE— After losing two All County team players last year in Shakur Juiston and Asem Johnson, Junior Nhaz Smith took over the helm and more than established himself as the Man for Eastside! The 5’8 lefty Point Guard gave teams fits with his ability to get in the lane and make tear drop floaters, knock down open “triples” and use his strength to get where ever he wanted on the floor! He averaged 18 a game, 6 assists and was the catalyst in Eastside winning the Passaic County Tournament for the 3rd straight year! His season makes Nhaz the Gardenstatehoops Passaic County Player Of The Year!!

 

ALL-COUNTY TEAM:

1.)  ALPHONSO GEE–SR.–KENNEDY– Over the last four years their has not been a more prolific scorer in the area than Alphonso(Chop) Gee! This Season, Gee reached the 2,000 point plateau and again led Kennedy in scoring for the 4th year in a row! A great three point shooter, Gee has gotten better at getting to the cup and creating for his teammates! Gee averaged 16 a game this year, becoming more of a facilitator ! Because of his charm and personality Chop’s will be missed in the highschool basketball world and has left a nice legacy to his name!

 

2.) ALEX MORALES–SR.–MANCHESTER– The season didn’t end the way Morales might have wanted due to some personal problems, but the fact is Alex Morales is one of the best players in Passaic County as well as Northern New Jersey! Morales was a triple-double waiting to happen as he averaged 20pts, 16rebs and 6assists a game! Over the last three years, Alex has put Manchester on the map! They won league titles back to back years and won a Sectional title last season! He has left his mark on Manchester basketball!

 

 

3.)  ERIC JOHNSON-ALFORD–SR.–PASSAIC COUNTY TECH– Johnson-Alford may have the most upside than any player in Northern New Jersey! The athletic player had a breakout season as there was always flashes of his talent, but this year he kept the pedal down  and established himself as a true star and leader for Passaic County Tech! He averaged 20 points and 10 boards a game and shined in contests against top level schools! !The potential D-1 player has versatility that he can take far on the next level!

 

 

4.) JAMIR THOMAS–JR–PASSAIC– The 6’7 Thomas can do it inside and out and was the key to everything Passaic did this year! Thomas was unstoppable down low and has a nice mid range game that should get better! He averaged 18 a game and 10 rebounds for Passaic! Has D-1 potential!

 

 

 

5.)  JIHAD WRIGHT–SR.–PASSAIC VALLEY–Jihad has had a stellar career with Passaic Valley and will go down as one of their best, which says a lot considering all the talent that has come out of that school! Wright is a 1,000 point scorer and a premier shooter from long range and his cerebral game can lull you to sleep as he is a silent assassin! The 5’9 guard scored in double figures in every game with a 31 point performance against Kennedy and averaged 19 a game!

 

6.)  DORIAN HODGE–SR.–WAYNE HILLS–No one was as tough on the floor as 6′ guard Dorian Hodge! The tough Hodge played through injuries, including a broken nose and never let it phase him! The heart of the Wayne Hills squad Hodge averaged 16 points a game and had a knack for playing big in big games for Hills! He was the catalyst to one of the best seasons Wayne Hills has had in quite awhile!

 

 

7.)  NICK GOODWIN–SR.–WAYNE VALLEY–Goodwin was without a doubt one of the hardest working players in Northern New Jersey as his never say die attitude was the mantra that Wayne Valley lived by this season! Goodwin averaged 17 points a game and 13 rebounds and was relentless when going to the bucket! His play led Valley to the Passaic County final after upsetting Wayne Hills in the Semifinals!

 

 

8.)  TERRA GATLING–SR.–EASTSIDE– Sometimes numbers don’t tell the whole story and that was the case with Eastside’s Terra Gatling! Terra was the inside presence for The Ghosts as he was a monster rebounder and one of the best low post defenders in the area! He averaged 11 points and 9 rebounds and was the glue on the defensive end to Smith’s offensive end! Gatling was an underrated player who did nothing but create positive plays for his team as Eastside won the county title!

 

9.) NICK GUILIANO–SR–WAYNE VALLEY–Guiliano has been a key player for Wayne Valley for the past few years! His savvy play and clutch shooting has been a major factor to the success of Wayne Valley! Nick averaged 15 points a game this year and his penchant for playing good in big games almost gave Valley a County Championship as he scored 23 points in the final! 

 

 

10.) JOEY KENNY–SR.–WAYNE HILLS–A clutch role player who makes big plays, that is what Joey Kenny is! A tremendous rebounder because of his wide body, Kenny is a quality finisher around the basket and a tough defender in the paint who will do whatever it takes to get the win for his team! His double-double average was huge to Wayne Hills success this year! 

 

 

2ND TEAM ALL-PASSAIC TEAM

1.)  Jordan Rodriguez–Sr–Kennedy

2.)  Yohanly Ortiz—Sr–Passaic Tech

3.) Nick DeAngelis–Sr–West Milford

4.) Dazmir Staton–Jr–Paterson Charter

5.) Eddie Davis–Fr.–DePaul

6.) Harton Stephenson–Sr–Clifton

7.)  Alex Kokos–Sr.–Wayne Valley

8.) Tito Ramirez–Jr–Passaic Valley

9.) Boris Beric-Jr–Lakeland

10.) Al-Jumu Johnson–Jr–Eastside