Trenton……….. St. Benedict’s 6’4 swingman Vaughn Gray verbally committed to George Mason University! Gray who played his first three highschool years at Don Bosco Prep Highschool in Ramsey, N.J. said” Everything about the school was perfect and is very comfortable with the decision” Hoops Journal wishes nothing but the best for Gray and his family and as his father Virgil Gray said ” Its finally over”

            The 2010 Eddie Griffin Challenge is set for this Sunday October 17th. The three game showcase will be held at Trenton Catholic Highschool at 175 Leonard Avenue in Trenton, New Jersey. The event opens at 3:00pm with the sophomore game! The coach for New Jersey will be Team Izod’s Carlos Cuetos, while Philly will be coached by Warren Greene of Team Philly. The junior game will sart at 4:30pm. NJ Hotshots Mike Keller will patrol the sidelines for Jersey and Philly will be coached by Gene Rice of Philadelphia Playas and Cedric Jones of Philly’s Finest. The senior game will conclude the event and is scheduled for a 6:00 start. The Jersey team will be coached by C.J.E.T.O. Academy’s Ian Turnbull and former Paterson Catholic head coach Damon Wright, while Philly will be led by Rodney Westcott of Philly Assault and Paul Gripper of Team Phenom of Philadelphia. Admission for the event is $8 for adults and $5 for students and children        New Jersey has a lot of local flavor in the games!  The senior team has Myles Mack( St. Anthony’s)(pictured top), Sterling Gibbs( Seton Hall Prep),Vaughn Gray( St. Benedict’s) and Mario Moody(East Orange), also joining them will be Ohio State recruit Laquinton Ross(Life Center Academy), Desmond Hubert(New Egypt), Jarelle Reischel(Point Pleasant),  Derrick Gordon(St. Patrick’s),Tyler Harris(St. Benedict’s), Khalid Lewis-El(Trenton Catholic) with Rob Poole(Paul XI) an alternate.The junior team consists of local players Kyle Anderson( St. Anthony’s)(pictured middle), Rashad Andrews( St. Anthony’s), Jerome Fricke( St. Anthony’s), Dallas Englin( Seton Hall Prep), Dom Hoffman( Gill St. Bernard), Tariq Carey(Newark Eastside) and Neville Fincher( St. Benedict’s) to go along with Jaylen Beckham(St. Benedict’s),Brandon Taylor( Trenton Catholic)and Jameel Warney(Roselle Catholic) with Da’shawn Suber( St. Patrick) as an alternate. The sophomore game also has Josh Brown( St. Anthony’s), Mike Young( St. Benedict’s), Reggie Cameron( Hudson Catholic), Kavon Stewart( Hudson Catholic), Jaren Sina( Gill St. Bernard), Tyler Roberson( Union), Spencer Weicz( Seton Hall Prep), Shacore Edwards( Irvington), Austin Colbert( St. Patrick)(pictured bottom) and Jordan Forehand(St. Anthony’s) and Jarrett Hall( Newark Tech) as alternates.

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 !