Group IV State Recap

MIGHTY MINUTEMEN

Elizabeth came into the season with high expectations and hopes to win a state championship. Phil Colicchio's charges delivered the city its second title in three seasons and finished with a 23-5 record. 6'4" senior guard London Carson cemented himself as the top player in Union County and also in Group IV statewide. Junior guard Cam McRae had a big year and 6'5" junior forward JoJo Torres played his best basketball down the stretch. Senior Chris Clark provided rugged post play while freshman Jayden Johnson gave a glimpse into the future.

The Dunn Center was at or over capacity numerous times this winter and for New Jersey hoops, that's always a good thing.

A YEAR TO REMEMBER

Phillipsburg High knew they'd be good this winter. Even their rivals across the river in Easton,PA were talking about the ceiling for this team...but how good could they be?

The answer, in short, to borrow our promotional partner in Rahway, Wheelie,Wheelie Good(Pierogi, get it?).

Todd Sigafoos guided the Stateliners to a magical 24-3 season, powered by electric junior guard Matt Scerbo. Seniors Ameer Herran and Andrew Martin both chipped in with big seasons at both ends of the floor as Pburg lost their opener at Watchung Hills and then rattled off 20 wins in a row.

They'll be stinging from the upset loss to a very good Vernon team in the HWS tournament semifinal and then dropped a heartbreaker to Plainfield in the state tournament but they will go down in history as one of the top teams in Pburg history.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN...

That's what will be ringing out on Saint Geroge Avenue this spring. Linden came into the season with expectations of competing for county and state titles. They had the core of the team back, there were new faces who arrived with talent to drive the depth to 10 deep.

Linden took on a very difficult schedule and hit some rough patches, including one stretch where they lost 5 of 6, however those losses were to Plainfield twice, Camden Eastside, Roselle Catholic and Elizabeth.

Linden made a run in states, downing Hillsborough and Scotch Plains on the road before losing to Plainfield for a third time in the North II Group IV Semifinal. Linden didn't have a bad loss, but conventional wisdom is that the entire program, from Drejaj down to the freshmen playing JV, were expecting more than 16-11....but nobody can say Linden ducked anyone...and at the end of the day, GSBR champions teams who go out and play to the maximum level at every opportunity, which Linden does.

CENTRAL JERSEY'S BEST

Kris Grundy's Montgomery team has to be satisfied with its season this winter. Powered by Franklin&Mashall bound Steve Donahue, role man Jack Fromelt hitting shots outside, sensational sophomore Ethan Lin and Ukrainian big man Bohdan Biekietov, they finished 25-4....and only lost to Rutgers Prep and Lenape. Twice.

They were dominant throughout the season in Somerset County but the eye opener for fans across the state was their 78-62 win over College Achieve. That win set the tone of the remainder of their season.

With Bohdan and Lin back, they have the top two players in Central Jersey Group IV next winter. With a little help, they could replicate this run.

Team Of The Year

Elizabeth

State Champs once again and we covered it above. The question is, with London Carson the only loss from this team....Can they be back in the final next year? Let the speculation begin.

Coach Of The Year

Michael Gordon, Plainfield

Conventional wisdom says give this one to Colicchio. They won the state title. He's certainly deserving of the award, right? Right. Phil is a legend in Jersey basketball. We could name the COTY award after him if we wanted to...but if possible, we like to stretch outside the realm of "state champ=COTY"

That said, Michael Gordon of Plainfield is our Group IV Coach Of The Year. Plainfield went from 4-18 to 19-8 in one season. Gordon took a team that was still very heavy on underclassmen, started out 1-4 against a brutal slate--Losses to Saint Benedicts, At Franklin, At UC and at Elizabeth---Then finished the season on an 18-4 tear, culminating in a run to the sectional final, losing a nailbiter to Elizabeth in front of an overflow crowd at the Dunn Center.

With four of five back, including sensational freshman Micah Gordon, Plainfield will be in the mix next year for a state title run.

Group IV All State Teams

Player Of The Year: London Carson, Elizabeth

First Team Group IV Sensational Seven

Tye Dorsett, Lenape

Micah Gordon, Plainfield

Jaycen Santucci, Central Regional

Steve Donahue, Montgomery

Johnny Jackson, Ridgewood

Cam McRae, Elizabeth

Matt Scerbo Jr, Phillipsburg

Second Team Group IV Sensational Seven

JoJo Torres, Elizabeth

Lewis Pantaleon, Memorial of West NY

Eugene Byass, East Orange

Max Portnoy, Eastern

Kaiyri Barkley, East Orange

Damien Edwards, Eastern

Aiden Sosinov, Manalapan

Third Team Group IV Sensational Seven

DJ Orloff, Howell

Myles Marabuto, Monroe

Jonas Herrera, Memorial of West NY

Brave Haugh, Marlboro

Micah Ford, Toms River North

John Kelly, Watchung Hills

Jariel Garcia, Paterson Eastside