Current St. Thomas Aquinas boys’ basketball assistant Victor Verdecia (back row, on right end) in a Perth Amboy team photo (circa 2010) with head coach Edwin Santana (back row, middle), who’s now an assistant at Colonia. (Submitted photo)
His name might not be as synonymous with Central Jersey high school basketball as Karl-Anthony Towns, Keith Hughes, or even one of the Taylor brothers from his hometown of Perth Amboy, but Victor Verdecia is a Middlesex County guy at heart, while also experiencing basketball on a global level.
But everything comes full circle.
This season – though he hired as an assistant coach – he’s been the head man on the sidelines for the St. Thomas Aquinas boys’ basketball team. It was a circuitous route.
Verdecia was brought on by Austin Whitehurst, who was hired to replace Bob Turco, when he left for Piscataway after last season, following three GMC Tournament championships in six campaigns. The staff was rounded out by Chris Young – a football assistant and father of gridiron standout Chase Young – along with Mike Rosario, the former St. Anthony product who played for Bob Hurley, Sr., and later went to Rutgers, then transferred to Florida.
But with Whitehurst’s status on hold, Verdecia has had to fill in the gap, and is expected to remain at least for the remainder of the season.
And so far, so good.
In the latest Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, the Trojans were ranked No. 7 with a record of 11-7, and 6-4 in the highly-competitive GMC Red Division, where they will finish third, and could get as high as the third-seed in the county tournament, when the seeding committee meets Friday morning.
All that said, many are wondering, “Who is this guy?”
Verdecia played his high school ball at Perth Amboy, graduating in 2011. His head coach was Edwin Santana, a man he credits as helping keep him out of trouble as he was growing up, having known each other since sixth grade. Santana has been an assistant for several years now under Jose Rodriguez at Colonia.
Verdecia played JUCO basketball in Oklahoma, and also spent some time at Division 2 Niagara Falls University before spending seven years playing overseas – four in the Dominican Republic, and three in Spain.
But, as often is the case, here he is, making a mark back in Middlesex County. Verdecia has helped guide St. Thomas through some turbulent waters, including a pair of wins over their non-public rivals just down Plainfield Avenue, St. Joseph-Metuchen.
Click below to hear St. Thomas Aquinas assistant Victor Verdecia talk about his journey with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:
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