Another Highschool season will begin this friday and Hoops Journal will be there keeping you informed with Passaic and Bergen County action.     Here’s a look at our top 25                                                                                                  

1.Paterson Catholic: Lance Brown,Fuquan Edwin,Jayon James and Myles Mack will lead P.C.(also checkout 6’6″ freshman guard Kyle Anderson)                                

2.St. Joseph H.S.:Joe Efese and Kai Dominguez are the keys to Joe’s success                                                                                                                                          

3.Kennedy H.S.: Shondell Stewart is the best kept secret in the area. Daquere Hayes is still there to run the show.                                                                               

4.Eastside H.S.: Karon Abraham and Dave Robertson are good enough to get the Ghosts back to the state finals.                                                                                 

5.Don Bosco Prep:Kenny Click, Brandon Beckford and Vaughn Gray will try to make up for loss of  Kyle Smythe and Georgio Milligan.                                                                                                                                                                          

6.Teaneck H.S.: Addition of Javae Gilchrist is just the answer to compliment Shemar Barber for the highwaymen.                                                                         

7.Depaul :Might have the best player in area in St. Joes recruit Justin Crosgile but,will miss junior Shakim Phillips due to football injury.                                                                                                                                                            

8.Hackensack: Alex George, Romaine Wall and Junior Solice will have difficult time making up for loss of player of year Keon Williams.                                                                                                                                                                      

9.Paramus Catholic: Paladins will look to Andre Blackledge to put them in elite status.                                                                                                                                             

10.Pascack Hills: Jake Wolfin is the key to sucess. How he goes is how far Hills will go. Big time player can handle it.                                                                            

11.Wayne Valley : Nick Siljee and Jason Rosenberg hope to repeat magical run of last year.                                                                                                                                   

12.W. Milford : Hope to avenge loss to Wayne Valley in states.                                                                                                                                                                                         

13.Wayne Hills: Team all ways competes hard against the elite                                                                                                                                                                   

14. P.C.T.:Maynard Freeman has to overcome last years injuries for the Bulldogs to reach their level.                                                                                                          

15.Elmwood Park : Ryan Belilse and Jared Forestieri will lead Elmwood Park.                                                                                                                                                            

16.Passaic H.S.:The Indians will compete because of the coaching of Ken Slappy, arguably the best coach in the area.                                                                          

17.Passaic Valley: Another well coached team who always play above their talent level.                                                                                                                                             

18.Bergen Catholic: Interesting season for a team that lost alot of players through graduation and transfer.                                                                                                

19.Manchester H.S.: Two big men ,Isaiah Suber and Jaquese Franklin should give Falcons legitimate shot this season.                                                                          

20.Queen Of Peace:Return of Dwayne Moffat is what Q.P. is banking on.                                                                                                                                                                        

Last Five……………….                                                                                                             

21.St. Mary 22. Englewood H.S. 23.Old Tappan 24. Rutherford 25(tie)  Indian Hills and Eastern Christian.

Whatever happened to the point guard?  On every team, on every court there is a position called point guard which has become a term thrown around very loosely.  Kids today all seem to want that sacred moniker, but seem truly not to understand the responsibilities that come with the position.  It seems now that to be a point you either have to be the best dribbler on the team or the quickest player on the floor.  Now, both of these things are a plus to be an elite point guard but it doesn’t make you one.  They say point guards are born, not made but that’s an “urban myth.”  If you truly want to be the point guard of your team this is how you start:

1. You must like to watch others score more than yourself.  The gratification of a basket for your team must always be first and foremost.
2. You have to be able to communicate without fear.  Remember, you are considered the coach on the floor. 
3. Learn your teammates.  Know and understand there strengths and weakness because a true point guard wants to put his teammates in position to succeed.  That way you maximize their ability.
4. Be able to make an open mid-range shot.  You have to keep defenders honest by being able to hit that shot in order to effectively penetrate into the lane.
5. Probably one of the most important aspects of a point guard is game awareness.  An elite point guard always knows game situations. (ex: what offense you are in, how much time is on the clock, how many time outs there are, who has the posession arrow, who is in foul trouble and most of all what is the score)  A point guard must stay up on every part of the game even if you are resting on the bench. 
6. DEFENSE: “Nothing else needs to be said.”

GOOD LUCK TO ALL WHO ACCEPT THIS CHALLENGE…..

November 12th was national early signing day and three area ball players made their commitments. Justin Crosgile of Depaul Catholic signed his letter of intent with St. Joseph University from the Atlantic 10 conference. Crosgile,the 5’10” guard, is a scoring machine who will be looked at as the point guard of the future for coach Phil Martelli’s Hawks. St. Joe’s is known for developing guards(Marvin O’Connor, Jameer Nelson and Delonte West) and Justin hopes to continue the tradition. Lance Brown of Paterson Catholic signed with Fordham University of the Atlantic 10 and will join Jio Fontan from St. Anthonys H.S. by way of Paterson. Brown is a 6’3″ swingman who is an all out gamer and a do it all type player and Coach Dereck Whittenberg should be thrilled to have this type of kid in his program. Lance is also a big time character person which is why he has a chance to be a success on and off the court.The third player to commit was Eastside Highschool’s Karon Abraham.The 5’8″ combo guard will join Robert Morris University of the Northeast Conference. Robert Morris was the N.E.C. champs last year and Coach Mike Rice feels that Karon can feel the void on the perimeter and also play some point. Abraham is a small player who plays much bigger than his stature and is a pure shooter who can knock it down from deep. Coach Rice said he was looking for a bigger player but fell in love with”this little pitbull’ after seeing Abraham on the a.a.u. circuit.Props also has to go out to Elmwood Park’s Jared Forestieri. The swingman has turned his attention to baseball as this dynamic lefthanded pitcher received a scholarship to the University of Arizona.