Two of the top players in the State will go head to head for the right for their team to be crowned New Jersey’s top team in Trenton! Syracuse bound Senior Tyler Roberson(bottom) and Kentucky commit Junior Karl Towns(right) will face off Tuesday for Roselle Catholic and St. Joe’s Metuchen respectively
in a game that should provide plenty of excitement with a bunch of talented players in the contest! St. Joe’s Junior Wade Baldwin is considered one of the best in the State in his class, while Roselle Catholic 6’5 Sophomore Malachi Richardson has some of the top college teams in the country recruiting him! St. Joe’s 6’3 Junior Marques Townes is also a highly recruited player with Division 1 schools all over him and Roselle Catholic Senior guard Hakim Santil is as good as they get in the State! Freshman guard Asante Gist is a top underclassman for Roselle Catholic while  St. Joe’s other two starters 6’0 Senior Jimbo Long and 6’8 Senior James Zienga are steady players throughout their careers!  Roselle Catholic’s 6’9 Chris Silva has a tremendous amount of upside and will most likely defend Towns! This game will go to the wire but in the end it looks like Roselle Catholic late!

  As the Basketball Season comes to a close and a lot of the games are one and done, Hoop Journal wants to acknowledge some of the players that have ended their scholastic careers! Some will go on to begin college careers, while others may never put on a team uniform again but they still have made impacts on the Highschool teams that they were associated with!

 

 

 

JETOR BROWN—-EASTSIDE—  Hoop Journal has known Jetor since he was a young baller and has seen him improve his game every season! He has the ability to play on the next level with the big question being what’s the best options for him(  D-1, D-2 or D-3) but his will to be as good as he can is the reason you can’t count him out! He is part of the special young crew that has come out of  the Paterson area so he has a special place in Hoop Journal annals! Not to mention you couldn’t find a finer family in the Browns! Here’s hoping for the best for Jetor in his future endeavors!

 

 

 

 

 

 

JOSH  MARQUEZ—- DEPAUL—– Josh’s season ended Saturday so next year when DePaul plays it will be a funny feeling watching them without him! He has been the fabric of the DePaul team for the past four years and many times their games were predicated on how he played! He became a 1,000 point scorer and will be playing on the Collegiate level! Hoop Journal also has known Josh for many years as he is a product of the Paterson Rec League, the Wayne Pal League and a member of the highly respected Playaz Basketball A.A.U. Club! Like Jetor he is a member of the crew that has played with or against each other since youth  and he also has a strong support group of good family members! Hoop Journal wishes the best for Josh in the future! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ISAAC WILLIAMS–PASSAIC COUNTY TECH—- Isaac has probably been known by Hoop Journal the longest of all the kids! He is another member of the Paterson crew that has been part of the basketball scene for the last 8 years! His main attribute is Football, but Basketball has been a big part of his sports career! Isaac was a 1,000 point scorer for Tech and spent the last two years as their go to guy! He will be playing football in College! Isaac has done his ball playing with the Paterson Rec team Positive Impact and also spent some time as a Playaz Club baller! His #3 will be missed by Tech! Hoop Journal wishes Isaac the best in the future!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RAHSAAN JOHNSON—-PASSAIC H.S.— Johnson was Passaic’s leading scorer and best player! Was the key to Passaic’s 11 game winning streak during the season! He has the ability to play on the next level and has a few schools looking at him! His season has probably made him an All-Passaic County selection this season! Hoop Journal hopes for nothing but the best in the future for Rahsaan!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOMMY RIVERA—EASTSIDE—–Tommy was as good as they got at the point guard position this year and his ability has many Colleges coming after him! His addition to the Eastside backcourt after playing with St.Patrick last year was key to the Ghost’s success! Hoop Journal hopes for nothing but the best in the future for Tommy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SANDERS GREEN—DEPAUL—-One of the hardest working players in the area Sanders is also a product of the Paterson Rec League and Wayne Pal! He has been looked at by many of the local Colleges and has a drive that will be a plus on the next level! Hoop Journal hopes for nothing but the best in the future for Sanders!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KYLE MENARD—PARAMUS CATHOLIC—- Kyle has been a stud for Paramus Catholic over the last two years! He was the key to Paramus Catholic’s success!His ability will land him on some Collegiate team next year! Hoop Journal hopes nothing but the best for Kyle in the future! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEION OSBOURNE—- DWIGHT ENGLEWOOD——- Keion emerged as one of the best perimeter shooters in the area! He had to play multi positions for Dwight-Englewood this season and was the one player they couldn’t be without! Keion’s has a bright future with plenty of room to grow! Hoop Journal hopes for nothing but the best for Keion in the future!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.J. REED—BERGEN CATHOLIC—- P.J. has had a solid highschool career with Bergen Catholic! The 6’5 Reed has numerous small schools interested in his services on the next level due to his athleticism! Hoop Journal wishes nothing but the best in the future for P.J..

 

 

 

HOOP JOURNAL WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGING MORE SENIORS IN THE COMING WEEKS!!

 

 

 

Monmouth University, Long Branch, N.J……. St. Joseph Metuchen and Roselle Catholic put two Non-Public teams into the Tournament Of Champions Finals with big Semifinal wins!

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                 ST. JOSEPH METUCHEN  63           ATLANTIC CITY  49

 

Kentucky commit Junior Karl Towns scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Junior Wade Baldwin added 15 points and 8 rebounds and Junior Marques Townes scored 15 points as St.Joseph Metuchen(Non-Public A) defeated a game Atlantic City(Group 4) 63-49 to reach their first TOC Championship in it’s school”s history! Atlantic City was in it the whole way as it led by two 31-29 at the half and kept the game close all the way to the 4th quarter when Stent on a 14-3 run to take a 55-44 lead with Baldwin accounting for 8 of the points! Junior Dennis White led Atlantic City with 15 points while Senior Dayshawn Reynolds added 14 points! Atlantic City ends it’s season at 30-3 while Joe’s improves to 28-4!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                   ROSELLE CATHOLIC  78         NEWARK TECH  64

   Roselle Catholic(Non-Public B) had five players in double figures and used a 33 point 2nd quarter to jump ahead of Newark Tech(Group 2) and hold on to a 78-64 win to move into the Tournament Of Champions! Sophomore Malachi Richardson(pictured) led the scoring with 21 points, including 4″triples”! Up 15-9 at the end of the 1st quarter Roselle Catholic shot almost 70% from the floor in the 2nd quarter and put up 33 points to take a commanding 48-28 lead at the half! Newark Tech made small runs in the 2nd half ,but the outcome was primarily decided! Senior Hakim Santil scored 13 points with 9 rebounds and 4 assists, Senior Kory Highsmith came off the bench to make three “triples” in the 2nd quarter and finished with 11 points, Syracuse commit Tyler Roberson scored 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds and Freshman guard Asante Gist added 10 points and 3 assists in a balanced attack! Newark Tech was led by Senior Rakwon Kelly with 19 points and Senior Dwayne Murrill with 13 points! Senior Tyreke Sykes added 10 points and 9 rebounds! The Championship will be played at Trenton