Paterson……. The one thing you can count on in the Paterson Fall League is the cohesive play of Gill St. Bernard H.S. The St. Bernard squad is more than holding their own, primarily due to the play of sophomore point guard Jaren Sina,(right) junior shooting guard Alex Mottola(left) and the inside play of  junior Dominic Hoffman(middle). The 5’10 Sina is considered one of the best sophomores in the state and he has more than made his case! A true leader with uncanny shooting ability, he runs his team with tremendous confidence. The 5’9 Mottola can flat out shoot it from deep and he causes major problems for teams that key on Sina! He will make you pay! The 6’6 Hoffman is a workhorse in the paint who can run the floor on the break! He has a nice mid range jumper, but his best attribute is that he is fearless and not afraid to mix it up with anyone! Each one of these guys will be playing on the college level with Sina being looked at by major D1 schools ! 

Paterson……. If things go the way they have been going in The Fall league sponsored by the Paterson Recreation and the Playaz Basketball Club, Teaneck Highschool and new coach Jerome Smart have a lot to look forward to! Teaneck’s team has been impressive in their games so far. Smart will be relying on a number of players, but it looks like the main weapons will be his youthful trio of  juniors Chris Jones(left) and Kris Hargraves(right) and sophomore Joel Hernandez. The 6’3  Jones was a starter for Coach Curtis March’s Teaneck squad last year and will be looked on to put up double digit numbers this coming year! Hargraves came on late last year and will be looked upon to control the tempo as he is proving he can do in the fall league games. Hernandez is showing how strong a player he is on both ends of the floor. He will be getting his real true taste of varsity level play this year and is more than capable! Teaneck will go as far as this trio takes them this season!

Paterson, N.J……. Newark Tech’s Jared Hall(right) led The Playaz in the We Got Next Tournament championship game for 10th graders with 22 points as The Playaz defeated Izod 52-46. The guard hit 5 treys in the contest including a 4 point play with 46 seconds to go! St. Benedict’s Mike Young added 11 while Kavon Stewart and Reggie Cameron, both from Hudson Catholic chipped in 8 points apiece. Izod was led by Life’s Center guard Matt Johnson with 10 points and St. Anthony’s guard Hallice Cooke added 8. Hall was chosen M.V.P. in the game. The Playaz reached the chip by defeating the N.J. Pirates 63-52 as Stewart led them with 14 and Cameron scored 11. That help overcome the good play of fellow Hudson Catholic teammate Raekwon Kelly who led all scorers with 20. Izod made it to the chip with a 72- 64 win over D.C. Assault. Cody Jenkins of St. Anthonys had 15, Cooke had 13 while another St. Anthony’s player Josh Brown(pictured) added 12. Notes: The Playaz team and the Izod team possess some of the best sophomores in the state. Austin Colbert and the Playaz Shacore Edwards are considered the # 1 and 2 players in the state, while Brown, Young, Stewart and Cameron are all in the top ten! Jenkins and Cooke showed well, while Hall, Jordan Arthur and Joel Hernandez of The Playaz proved to be elite level players!

                                          Unique Select- 57                         N.Y. Gauchos- 54

              The Unique Select of Long Island won the 9th grade version of the We Got Next Tournament beating The Gauchos of the Bronx 57-54! Bishop Loughlin’s Elijah Boone went off for 29 with 23 of his points coming in the second half. Nick King led the Gauchos with 11 points in a highly contested game. Boone (pictured)was voted M.V.P. Select reached the finals by defeating the L&L Rebels of Pennsylvania 63-34 behind Boone’s 21 points. The Gauchos reached the chip by beating The Playaz 9th grade team 67-61! Chris Robinson led the Chos with 15, while King added 12. Nassir Barrino led the Playaz with 21!