Once the holiday tournaments have come and gone the focus will turn to the conference races while also looking to solidify a high seed for the county tournament, and that includes all the schools competing in one of the state’s top conferences, the Super Essex, where the six division races promise to have plenty of intriguing finishes.
SEC-American- A division many consider one of the best in the state, the leading contenders appear to be reigning Essex County Tournament champion St. Benedict’s and last year’s Group 2 state runner-up Arts, which is now a leading contender in Group 1.
St. Benedict's owns an early-season 60-56 win over the Jaguars as the Gray Bees roared from behind with a big fourth quarter and stellar performances from their two freshmen guards, highly-touted Michai White and his equally young backcourt partner Chase Bray..
St. Benedict’s bid adieu to last season’s Sideline Chatter Essex County Player of the Year Chidi Nwigwe as the 6-7 senior is now playing for Sunrise Christian in Wichita, Kansas. Coach Mark Taylor’s Gray Bees also graduated standout guard David Johnson, but do have plenty of fresh talent they can continue to turn to including the addition of one of the state’s top impact freshmen in White, while senior Alex Sadek is another experienced guard to watch. Up front, the addition of 6-6 junior Dede Andre-Mushipu will provide strength and talent in the paint.
Arts returns a solid front line led by seniors Kevin Freeman and Shelton Colwell, while the addition of Orange High transfer Tyshawn Boyd, who also played at Newark Tech as a freshman, will bolster that frontcourt once Boyd becomes eligible in January. The Jaguars’ backcourt is led by sophomore Ayyub White.
East Orange Campus is another team to watch as coach Gabe Baltimore’s Jaguars could also be one of the top contenders in a usually wide-open North 1, Group 4 come state tournament time. EOC is led by 6-4 senior forward Carlyle Adams, who can score from anywhere on the court, and promising sophomore guard James Roberts.
Immaculate Conception, which went undefeated in the SEC-American last winter, returns standout junior point guard Jaren Barnett, who dictates a lot of what the Lions do on the hardwood, plus 6-5 senior sharpshooter Myles Blackley, who has committed to the University of New Hampshire; however, coach Jimmy Salmon’s Lions must adjust to life after Kole Grandison as the 6-6 junior is now playing for a national-level program at Overtime Elite in Georgia.
Seton Hall Prep is generating excitement with the arrival of first-year coach Sterling Gibbs, who is a former schoolboy star for the Pirates, who have added some fresh talent to a veteran roster, including sharp-shooting sophomore guard Anthony Gonzalez, a Union City transfer. Seniors Dylan Guzzardo and Primo Delgado along with junior Daniel Beazer are among the experienced guards for a deep SHP squad.
Payne Tech moves up from the Liberty to the American Division this season with a veteran squad led by strong rebounding 6-5 junior forward Gerard Edwell and high-scoring 6-4 senior guard Robert Foster.
SEC-Liberty- Newark Tech, coming off another solid season at 22-7, returns a wealth of talent led by the senior Bragg twins who lead the backcourt with 6-3 Malcolm, the team’s reigning leading scorer (17.8 ppg.) and his brother, 6-2 Marcus (12.6 ppg in 2023-2024). A strong presence in frontcourt is 6-6 senior Jalen Baker as Terriers seek to reach a third straight group state title.
Newark Collegiate, coming off a fine 23-7 season (13-0 in the SEC-Colonial) has another arsenal of talent under coach Jyron Brooks with 6-4 junior Alieu Kellah and senior guard Mohamed Swaray among the players to watch.
Newark public schools Central, East Side and West Side all look to be improved behind the expert guidance of their respective, veteran coaches Shawn McCray, Anthony Tavares and Akbar Cook.
East Side, which owns an early-season 40-29 division win over Columbia, has talented performers to turn to in its veteran forwards, senior David Ekhelar and junior Nyrie Robinson.
Columbia, behind second-year coach Deon Mingo, has a promising team to watch with young talent such as sophomore guard Zach Alexander and Montclair transfer Jayvon Rogers, a junior guard who brings his skills to the Maplewood-South Orange school.
SEC-Colonial- This could be a wide-open division title chase with any one of the six teams capable of putting together a strong campaign. Irvington has a bevy of athletes including junior guards Jazmir Taylor and Jayden Bermudez, while a dangerous North Star Academy squad returns high-scoring senior guard Johnny Mayers II, while Montclair is led by veteran high-scoring guard Jahi Whitney, who had a career-high 30 points in a season-opening 67-58 win over North Star.
The Mounties have a strong junior class that despite seeing key figures from that group transfer to other schools, still has talent from that core nucleus of 11th graders who had combined to have much success at the sub-varsity levels, including winning both ECT freshmen and JV tourneys the past two years.
Caldwell, with senior guards Joe Giannetta and Brodie Cook; Bloomfield, with veterans Daveion McClain and Talan Bacot plus sophomore perimeter threat Sean Perrotta, and Millburn, with returning standouts such as junior Chase Plotkin and sophomore Chace Redler, all have superb backcourts to build around while looking to win their share of games in what should be a series of weekly battles in the Colonial Division.
SEC-Independence- Orange might be one team to keep an eye on in this division although the Tornadoes have already been stunned by Livingston, 54-52, in overtime, in a recent, early-season division clash. Veteran senior guard Gregory Burton and senior forward Ky-sir Green are back for Orange. The Lancers are led by high-scoring senior guard Zach Smith.
Science Park, with junior guard Nyad Walters and forward Dante Terrell, was edged by Belleville, 42-41, in another early-season contest. The Buccaneers, always well-coached under Jim Catalano, are led by their steady senior guards Connor Cook and Elijah Pickering.
Another well-coached team is West Essex under co-head coaches Billy Humes and Mike Llauget, and multi-sport standouts are usually key performers with the Knight hoopsters, including current senior standout Max Garcia as the football-basketball-baseball 3-sport star poured in 30 points in a season-opening 84-50 win over University.
The Phoenix, under their solid, veteran coach Elijah Allen, will look to keep progressing with key performers including veteran senior guard Amir Smith.
SEC-Freedom- Shabazz, under the guidance of coach Nassir Barrino, could be ready for a big season if the Bulldogs continue to see the development of their promising underclassmen such as junior guard Zaim Barnes and junior swingman Talib McLean.
The Brick City school was knocked off by Newark Academy, 51-47, in season-opening division action as the Minutemen's veteran standouts Jaden Simon and Zach Shirodkar helped lead the way. Coach Danny Petrillo, a former Minuteman star athlete, guided NA to the state prep B-Division Tournament title last winter.
West Caldwell Tech, guided by former Orange star Robert Cole, has its own athletic arsenal including 6-2 senior forward Joel DeSuze and 5-9 senior guard Nasir Rauf as the Group 1 power looks to build on its early-season division win vs. Montclair Kimberley Academy.
Veteran coach Tony Jones' Cougars have to reload after graduation losses but do return their reliable senior forward Van Girton Marshall.
West Orange looks to improve with veterans such as 6-6 football star receiver Terrell Wilfong also a force on the hardwood, and senior guard Nick Matos, while Glen Ridge looks to build on last winter’s 17-7 season behind 6-2 junior Jacob Javier and 6-6 sophomore big Ryan Law.
The Ridgers had the upper hand over the Mountaineers in an early-season division clash as they posted a 58-47 victory.
Barringer, which is led by 6-3 junior forward Frederick Guerreo, fell to Verona, 47-43, in an early-season division clash. Veteran coach Eric McElroy, who always does a solid job, hopes that the Hillbillies can return to their winning ways after a sub-500 season, with the return of a strong nucleus including seniors such as forwards Will Herman and Jack Harmon and guard Gianlucca Checchetto.
SEC-National- The SEC’s newest division, as the conference moves from five to six divisions this season, could see an old Essex standby looking to revive its standing with Weequahic a possible division title contender with the return of standout sophomore guard Bart Jordan and senior Tasir Barnes. Cedar Grove looks to make inroads with its leading scorer, 3-sport standout Nick Russo, back to lead the way once again for the Panthers on the hardwood. Always-dangerous Eagle Academy looks to count on the proficiency of senior forward Yasin Collier and senior guard Zaqui James.
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