Just a year ago Chris Simpson was coaching 22- and 23-year-olds on the University of San Diego as a member of coach Steve Lavin’s staff with the West Coast Conference school which on a regular basis goes up against national powers such as Gonzaga and St. Mary’s.
Now, the well-seasoned 33-year-old St. Benedict’s graduate is back home in Newark working with 16- and 17-year-olds as the head coach for the Gray Bees, the No. 2 seed in the 79th Essex County Tournament as the Brick City Catholic school prepares to host seventh-seeded Newark Tech, 2 p.m., in one of the four quarterfinals to help determine the ECT Final 4 Feb. 14 at West Orange.
In the other quarterfinal matchups set for this Saturday (Feb. 7) top-seeded Seton Hall Prep hosts eighth-seeded Payne Tech at noon in a repeat of last year’s championship game matchup. Also in the upper bracket, fifth-seeded East Orange Campus visits fourth-seeded Shabazz at 2:30 p.m.
Playing to meet the St. Benedict’s-Newark Tech winner also from the tournament’s lower bracket it will be sixth-seeded Newark Collegiate at third-seeded Arts at 4 p.m.
St. Benedict’s (13-5 overall, 6-1 in the Super Essex Conference-American Division), is currently alone in first place in the top division in the SEC following a 60-55 victory over visiting Seton Hall Prep on Tuesday night in the Dalton gymnasium nestled in the ‘Bee Hive’ at the building on High Street.
“We’re maturing as a group game by game and I’m happy that we’ve been able to string together some wins now and be back on some sort of winning streak,” said Simpson. “What’s best for me is to see them having fun playing together which makes it a pleasure for me as a coach in seeing them continue to improve.
“It’s great to be back at St. Benedict’s. I enjoyed my time with Coach ‘Lav’ at San Diego and although it can be different from coaching 22- and 23-year-olds in terms of getting their attention at times, we have a great group of kids who want to learn and are motivated to play their best basketball as this season hits it stretch run.
“Winning the counties would be huge for us and it’s what we have on our minds and have been working toward. Now, we have to go out and earn that championship while also continuing to try and clinch a conference title.”
The ECT and SEC titles are what the Gray Bees have left to shoot for after they were banned from this season’s NJSIAA Tournament when it was revealed that at least three St. Benedict’s players had left the team bench during a brief scuffle at Arts back on Jan. 8, according to an article that appeared in nj.com.
According to NJSIAA rules, when three players from a team leave the bench during any altercation, that team will be disqualified from the state tourney without appeal.
Simpson said he did not want to comment on the state tournament in regards to his team, but instead focused on what is ahead for the Gray Bees with much to shoot for in terms of county and conference play over the next two weeks.
“It’s a joy to coach these kids and it’s hard to beat a situation where your players are enjoying being with each other on and off the court and are competing at a high level,” he said. “We’re focusing on our next game, and practicing with the thought of continuing to play as strong a fundamental brand of ball as we can in both the county tournament and the remainder of our conference season.”
Leading the way for St. Benedict’s are highly-recruited 6-5 freshman MJ Postell, who is the team’s leading scorer (14.5 points per game); 6-5 junior forward Daniel Hinkov, who is a force on the boards, 6-3 junior forward Terrance Jamison, a resident of East Orange, who is one of the veteran members of the squad and a strong 2-way player, and 6-foot junior guard Jack Martinez.
