South River’s Alex Grospe looks to make a move against Bound Brook’s Jeremiah Williams in their January 7th, 2023 matchup in Bound Brook. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Two years ago, the South River boys’ basketball team had an extraordinary run.
The Greater Middlesex Conference – and the state – took notice when, four games in the season, they beat one of the league’s blue bloods, on their own floor, topping St. Joseph in Metuchen, 74-66.
That team would start the season 11-0 before suffering their first loss. They reached the GMC Tournament semifinals, and went all the way to the Central Jersey Group 2 title game, falling in their own gym by eight to Manasquan.
Current senior Alex Grospe was on that team, as a sophomore, along with his younger brother, Jeremy, and their cousin, Roman Santos. It was a well-balanced group, with players like Lax Rodriguez, Gavin Franco, and the off-the-bench spark of the enthusiastic Kobe Taylor.
A year later, Alex was the focal point of the Rams, scoring 797 points and averaging 30.7 points a game – tops in the state – a year after leading the state in assists. Last year, he led his team in that category, scoring, rebounding, steals and assists.
Now, coming off a 13-15 season, Grospe and company are looking for improvement, and the first goal is to compete with a strong Spotswood club – their arch-rivals – for the GMC’s Gold Division title.
As leadership, Grospe says Edward Herrera – “my best friend” – is right there with him, a real physical player who will make an impact.
But in the end, Grospe says, “All we can really do is focus on ourselves and what we need to do better.”
South River will open its season Friday with a home game against GMC Gold Division foe Middlesex at 5:30 pm.
Click below to hear South River senior Alex Grospe talk about the Rams’ upcoming season with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:
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