Tag: GMC Conference

by Mike Pavlichko

Umpire Bill Kilduff has seen it all as he wraps up 45 years of calling balls, strikes and outs with one last GMC Tournament title game

Wacky endings. Strange plays. Heckling fans.

Bill Kilduff has seen just about everything someone who’s umpired the game of baseball for 45 years could see, but come next year, he’ll be doing it from outside the fences of your local ballfield.

The 70-year-old Clark resident is calling it a career, and while he still expects to work some state tournament games this year, this Saturday will be his final GMC Tournament.

Kilduff doesn’t have a log book of how many he’s done, but he guesses it’s been well over 30. He even umped some of the old Middlesex County Coaches’ Association tournaments, pre-dating the GMC, when schools from the Mid-State, Central Valley and Bicentennial Athletic Conferences came together for the county-wide event.

He’s also not getting ready to ride into the sunset. “They can’t get rid of me that easily,” he points out. He’ll still be the assignor for the GMC Conference, a task he says he’s done for the last 20 years or so.

And he’ll keep working as an assistant basketball coach at Kean University. Yes, umpires have other lives, too. He’s with the Cougars under Dave Turco, whom he’d worked under at St. Joseph-Metuchen during their Tournament of Champions title run in 2014, with Karl-Anthony Towns, Marques Townes and Wade Baldwin.

Baseball umpire Bill Kilduff also has been an assistant at Kean University under Dave Turco the last several years. (Source: Kean Athletics)

Kilduff got his start in hoops coaching around Middlesex County, starting at the old St. Peter’s in New Brunswick with the legendary John Somogyi.

Click below to head Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Bill Kilduff, who is retiring and will be umpiring his last GMC Tournament title game this weekend:

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Thomas Aquinas moves quickly, stays in house, elevating Austin Whitehurst to succeed Turco as head boys’ basketball coach

For Athletic Director Jerry Smith, it was a no-brainer.

St. Thomas Aquinas – seeking continuity after the departure of head coach Bob Turco to Piscataway – has named Austin Whitehurst, an assistant with the Trojans for the last four seasons, as its new head coach.

Whitehurst played scholastically at Monmouth Regional, graduating in 2009. He got a scholarship to Drexel, but injuries cut short his playing days, and he spent two seasons at Brookdale Community College.

After some time as an assistant and coaching AAU ball, Whitehurst landed in North Edison four seasons ago, where some of his AAU players were already with Turco.

Now, he’ll head a program that won three straight GMC Tournament titles in six years under Turco, going 123-34. Several of his AAU players – including Jalen Pichardo – were on the most successful team under Turco’s tenure, in 2021-22, when St. Thomas went 27-2 with only one loss to a New Jersey opponent, to eventual Non-Public South A champion Rutgers Prep.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with new St. Thomas Aquinas coach Austin Whitehurst:

by Mike Pavlichko

With GMCT baseball seeding Friday, how could the top seeds shake out? We take a look

The final week of the season could very well have a lot to say about who gets the top four seeds in the GMC Tournament when the committee meets to draw it all up this coming Friday.

Winning and losing streaks – which also affected this week’s Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten – have jumbled up at least a couple of division races in the Greater Middlesex Conference, most notably the Red.

That’s where a 5-0 week by South Plainfield included three wins over teams that started the week ahead of them in the division, but now are looking up at the in the standings. After a 6-1 win over eventual White Division winner Woodbridge on Monday, the Tigers took a 9-7 home win over then-second place Red Division foe Monroe Tuesday, then swept two games from division leader Old Bridge. They beat the Knights 6-3 on the road Thursday, then came back home and claimed a 5-1 victory.

All that leaves South Plainfield in first by a half-game at 8-2, while Monroe and Old Bridge are 7-3. South doesn’t need any help either, to win the division, if they can sweep a home-and-home from St. Joseph-Metuchen (3-13 overall, 2-6 in the Red). Meanwhile, Monroe and Old Bridge have a home-and-home this week with each other.

Even if the Tigers only take one game from Joe’s, and the Knights sweep Monroe, with both 9-3, South Plainfield has the tiebreaker. If Monroe were to sweep, and both they and the Tigers split, that could get interesting. Monroe and South each won a game against the other this year.

Either way, expect the Red champion to get the top overall seed. Woodbridge has been very good, too, but again, the Tigers won their crossover meeting Monday with the Barrons. And it would be a big jump for Spotswood – undefeated until last week – to get a crack at it either.

But there’s the next interesting scenario: the Blue Division should be decided this week as well. Spotswood and St. Thomas Aquinas are tied for first in the Blue. Both have three games left.

The Chargers play at JFK Monday, the team that handed them their first loss of the season Saturday morning. The Trojans host Piscataway, which they beat 5-4 over the weekend. Then, Spotswood and Aquinas face each other for a home-and-home, Tuesday in North Edison, Thursday at The Swamp.

A tie could get real interesting: both teams’ only GMC loss this year has come to Kennedy.

We think South Plainfield will wrap up the Red Division this week, as it’s unlikely they drop both to St. Joe’s. That would give them the No. 1 seed. So who comes after that?

The real question is: how many Red teams go before Woodbridge and Spotswood/St. Thomas? Old Bridge has been solid, so has Monroe, but they skidded last week, boyh going 1-3. If one sweeps the other, it’s a tough way to head into the seeding meeting.

With the GMCT playing the quarterfinals on at neutral sites (North Brunswick Community Park for the quarters, East Brunswick Magnet’s Ray Cipperly Field for the semis) the only “advantage” to a top four seed is getting to be the “home” team deep in the tournament, but that’s certainly a big plus.

Look, we know the Red Division is a very, very good one. Many in that division put it up against the best in the state. Argue it as you will, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to see the top three Red teams get the top three seeds. But could the lesser of Monroe/Old Bridge after this week’s games get bumped to four? Or even five? What if they split?

Woodbridge could very well make a case for the three seed. Could Spotswood or Aquinas make the four? Wins against teams on the board (already seeded) be damned, it would be hard to see the Chargers go below South Brunswick, currently fourth in the Red, even if they sweep North Brunswick this week to get to .500 in the division; Spotswood beat the Vikings 8-7 a week ago in the Autism Awareness Classic.

All we can say is: There’s a lot of baseball to be played.

by Mike Pavlichko

Greater Middlesex Conference announces basketball divisions for 2024-25 with a big change on the boys’ side

A major realignment is coming to the Greater Middlesex Conference boys’ basketball league next year, after a two-year pilot program in the GMC Red Division was not renewed.

The league will add an extra division in 2024-25 for boys’ basketball, with the Silver Division joining the Gold, Blue, White and Red. It’s a template that addresses competitive imbalance, and already exists in baseball and boys’ soccer, according to GMC President Mike Pede.

The girls’ side will remain with the traditional four divisions, and both alignments are only for one year, Pede said.

Pede says the main goal is to give everyone competitive schedules, but also to make sure teams have games. That became an issue with a pilot program started in 2022-23 where teams in the GMC Red only had to play each other once, though some did twice. Second meetings didn’t count toward the standings or division champs. Some public schools wanted more competitive games than those against St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Joseph-Metuchen, but those schools had problems finding opponents.

That two-year pilot was not brought back by the GMC, which ultimately decided to spread teams apart using five divisions.

Click here to listen to Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with GMC President Mike Pede about the new boys’ basketball divisional alignments for 2024-25.

Under the new alignment on the boys’ side, East Brunswick and South Brunswick move from the Red Division to the White, while the rest of the Red remains in tact, with six teams. The White will have seven teams, with Edison, North Plainfield and New Brunswick departing for the Blue. JP Stevens also drops down two divisions to the Blue.

The Gold Division is essentially this past season’s GMC Blue. While Carteret and Timothy Christian will remain in the Blue, JFK, Spotswood, Metuchen, South River and Middlesex join the Gold, along with Calvary Christian, which was in the Gold this past season.

The Silver will include all the Gold Division teams from 2023-24, plus Wardlaw-Hartridge, which drops down two spots to the Gold.

Here are the GMC Boys’ Basketball Divisions for 2024-25:

  • GMC Red: Colonia, Monroe, Old Bridge, Piscataway, St. Joseph-Metuchen, St. Thomas Aquinas
  • GMC White: East Brunswick, North Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Sayreville, South Brunswick, South Plainfield, Woodbridge
  • GMC Blue: Carteret, Edison, JP Stevens, New Brunswick, North Plainfield, Timothy Christian
  • GMC Gold: Calvary Christian, JFK, Metuchen, Middlesex, South River, Spotswood
  • GMC Silver: Dunellen, East Brunswick Magnet, Highland Park, Perth Amboy Magnet, Piscataway Magnet, Somerset Tech, South Amboy, Wardlaw-Hartridge

With the girls’ side staying at four divisions, there was a lot less movement. North Plainfield moves up from the White to the Red, while North Brunswick moves down into the White from the Red and Spotswood moves up to the White from the Blue.

Sayreville and JFK move into the Blue from the White, while Dunellen and Timothy Christian move up from the Gold to the Blue. New Brunswick and Somerset Tech come down from the Blue to take their place.

Here are the GMC Girls’ Basketball Divisions for 2024-25:

  • GMC Red: Colonia, East Brunswick, Monroe, North Plainfield, Old Bridge, Piscataway, St. Thomas Aquinas, South Brunswick
  • GMC White: Edison, JP Stevens, Middlesex, North Brunswick, Perth Amboy, South Plainfield, Spotswood, Woodbridge
  • GMC Blue: Carteret, Dunellen, Highland Park, JFK, Metuchen, Sayreville, South River, Timothy Christian
  • GMC Gold: Calvary Christian, East Brunswick Magnet, Mother Seton, New Brunswick, Perth Amboy Magnet, Piscataway Magnet, Somerset Tech, South Amboy, Woodbridge Academy Magnet, Wardlaw-Hartridge
by Mike Pavlichko

Greater Middlesex Conference unveils 2023-24 All-Conference, Division teams

The 2023-24 All-Division teams have been announced by the Greater Middlesex Conference, with ten student-athletes on the boys’ and girls’ side being named All-Conference.

On the boys’ side, GMC Tournament finalist St. Thomas Aquinas had Rinelson Dilone named to the all-conference team, along with Aiden Derkack from Colonia.

On the girls’ side, from the GMC Tournament finalists, Taylor Derkack of tournament finalist Colonia was honored as part of the all-conference team, as was Gianna Chuffo of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Woodbridge’s Jonathon Toczynski was named Boys Coach of the Year, while Derrick Eatman of North Plainfield was chosen as Girls’ Coach of the Year.

Below are all of this year’s selections, as chosen by the league’s coaches:

BOYS – ALL-GMC

  • Jeremy Clayville, St. Joseph
  • Aiden Derkack, Colonia
  • Alex Grospe, South River
  • Myles Dickerson, Jalen Fleming, Timothy Christian
  • Micah Eason, Woodbridge
  • Myles Marabuto, Monroe
  • Rinelson Dilone, St. Thomas Aquinas
  • Abdul Adebule, South Plainfield
  • Daniel Yarus, Spotswood
  • Coach of the Year: Jonathan Toczynski, Woodbridge

Boys’ All-Red Division

  • Jeremy Clayville, Dave Caruso, St. Joseph
  • Aiden Derkack, Jaeden Jones, Colonia
  • Myles Marabuto, Monroe
  • Rinelson Dilone, St. Thomas Aquinas
  • Krish Patel, Old Bridge
  • Matt Mikulka, East Brunswick
  • Dan Swirad, South Brunswick
  • Anthony Hicks, JP Stevens
  • Coach of the Year: Jan Cocozziello, St. Joseph
  • Sportsmanship: JP Stevens

Boys’ All-White Division

  • Micah Eason, Woodbridge
  • Abdul Adebule, Ikenna Ibeku, South Plainfield
  • Brandon McCain, Tommy Koroma, North Brunswick
  • Sam Jones, Chidi Chukwurah, Sayreville
  • Angel Rosario, Perth Amboy
  • Ricky Harvey, Edison
  • Omari Williams, New Brunswick
  • Coach of the Year: Jonathan Toczynski, Woodbridge
  • Sportsmanship: New Brunswick

Boys’ All-Blue Division

  • Alex Grospe, South River
  • Jalen Fleming, Myles Dickerson, Timothy Christian
  • Kiye Walker, Daniel Yarus, Spotswood
  • Owen Reynolds, Middlesex
  • Mason Clemetson, Wardlaw-Hartridge
  • Ben Santus, Metuchen
  • Grant Lorentzon, JFK
  • Tyrece Parrott, Carteret
  • Coach of the Year: Steve Mate, Spotswood
  • Sportsmanship: Wardlaw-Hartridge

Boys’ All-Gold Division

  • Gavin Pelkey, Jake Eberle, South Amboy
  • Robert Kauffman, Michael Schafer, Calvary Christian
  • Estevan Atanacio, East Brunswick Magnet
  • Christian Torres, Perth Amboy Magnet
  • Marcus Hantsoulis, Highland Park
  • Vibert Reynolds, Dunellen
  • Coach of the Year: Felix Romero, Perth Amboy Magnet
  • Sportsmanship: East Brunswick Magnet

GIRLS – ALL GMC

  • Taylor Derkack, Colonia
  • Jessica Devine, Middlesex
  • Jennah Johnson, Woodbridge
  • Ghelsey Go, Edison
  • Layla Gutierrez, North Plainfield
  • Gianna Chuffo, St. Thomas Aquinas
  • Lizzie Calandruccio, Spotswood
  • Hailey Cottrell, Monroe
  • Meher Vig, South Brunswick
  • Katherine Bogutskyy, JP Stevens
  • Coach of the Year: Derrick Eatman, North Plainfield

Girls All-Red Division

  • Hailey Cottrell, Evangelina Francisco, Monroe
  • Leilani Pinder, Meher Vig, South Brunswick
  • Courtney Edmundo, Piscataway
  • Juliana Delos Santos-Branson, East Brunswick
  • Abigail Jazmin, Old Bridge
  • Gianna Chuffo, Jordan Barnes, St. Thomas Aquinas
  • Coach of the Year: Chris Pruder, Piscataway
  • Sportsmanship: North Brunswick

Girls’ All-White Division

  • Katherine Bogutskyy, Trisha Nair, JP Stevens
  • Jessica Devine, Middlesex
  • Izabella Pardo, Perth Amboy
  • Ghelsey Go, Edison
  • Jennah Johnson, Woodbridge
  • Stella Sweeney, South Plainfield
  • Paula Antunes, JFK
  • Layla Gutierrez, Kaelynn Hester, North Plainfield
  • Trisha Nair, JP Stevens
  • Coach of the Year: Derek Eatman
  • Sportsmanship: JFK

Girls’ All-Blue Division

  • Lizzie Calandruccio, Gabby Hill, Ava Fama, Spotswood
  • Jahaysia Ledesma, Anilah Diggs, Carteret
  • Madison Vitucci, Natalia Vera Cruz, South River
  • Vanessa Kohler, Highland Park
  • Kaitlyn Connors, Vicky Zaniecki, Metuchen
  • Coach of the Year: Kathy Glutz, Metuchen
  • Sportsmanship: Calvary Christian

Girls’ All-Gold Division

  • Rhaiyna Brown, Leah McNulty, Timothy Christian
  • Matti Miller, Piscataway Magnet
  • Dhanashri Balamurugan, Woodbridge Magnet
  • Wendy Woll, Sophie Jiminez, Dunellen
  • Arlette Batista, Perth Amboy Magney
  • Emma Kalantis, South Amboy
  • Kayla Martel, Italia Penevolpe, Wardlaw-Hartridge
  • Coach of the Year: Keith Connery, Dunellen
  • Sportsmanship: South Amboy
by Mike Pavlichko

No. 8 Colonia girls looks to keep ball rolling in Red Division when No. 5 Vikings come to town

Colonia girls’ basketball team has achieved a number of firsts over the last couple of years. 

They won their first division title of any kind (the GMC White) in 2021-22, and made their first trip to the GMC Tournament finals last season.

At the same time, Mattison Chiera capped off a great career, departing to graduation – and William Paterson University – as the top all-time girls’ scorer in program history, and third best all-time, boys’ or girls’.

This year, with Chiera gone, the 8th-ranked Patriots are off to a hot start. They still have Taylor Derkack, now a senior, and a solid supporting cast. Derkack is just 127 behind Chiera’s 1,514 points, and should overtake her sometime early in the New Year.

With three wins in their first three games – the first time that’s happened – Colonia (3-0, 1-0 GMC Red) looks to keep things going when South Brunswick visits Thursday evening for their second GMC Red Division game of the young season.

You can hear that contest on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen on the call. Coverage starts with pregame at 5:15, tip off at 5:30 pm. Click here to listen.

Colonia is coming off a three-point win over Howell Tuesday night, 53-50, while the Vikings (1-2, 1-2 GMC Red) are coming off a 70-51 loss Tuesday night to 2nd-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko of Central Jersey Sports Radio talk with Colonia coach Sandi Chiera:

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Joseph-Metuchen off to great start, even without DeCaro in the lineup

Head coach Jan Cocozziello knew he would have a lot to replace with the graduation of Josh Ingram, who averaged 21.5 points per game for St. Joseph-Metuchen last season, but whose contributions could be measured in many other ways that don’t show up in the box score.

So far this season, Jeremy DeCaro has been unable to play due to injury – a big blow to the Falcons to be sure – but the rest of the Falcons have done quite alright, thank you.

They’re 3-0 a week into the season, 2-0 in the GMC Red Division. As good as Joe’s has been the last several years under Cocozziello, that’s the first time his team has opened with three straight wins, and a first for the program since Dave Turco’s final season as head coach, 2016-17, when they went 26-2 and won yet another GMC Tournament Championship, their seventh in a string of nine over a ten-year period.

It didn’t hurt that Jeremy Clayville stepped up in last Thursday’s opener, dropping 43 points in a 92-82 win at Piscataway. He also led the way with 18 against Monsignor Farrell of New York Saturday, while Owen Griffiths led with 15 in a 43-42 win Tuesday night at Colonia.

Griffin and fellow senior Dave Caruso also have been among the leaders offensively, which will play JP Stevens Thursday at home before heading into their holiday tournament up at Livingston High School.

Click here to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with St. Joseph head coach Jan Cocozziello about the Falcons’ 3-0 start to the season:

by Mike Pavlichko

GMC Coaches announce 2023 All-Conference, All-Division teams

The Greater Middlesex Conference coaches have announced their All-Conference and All-Division teams for the 2023 season, as well as their team awards.

The GMC Red Division – recognized as one of the toughest in the state – earned 12 of the 17 selections on the all-league team, with three going to the White and two to the Blue.

Following is the complete list of honorees, as released by the league:

GMC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM:

  • Edison: Jaxon Appelman
  • Monroe: Harrison Lollin
  • North Brunswick: Zack Konstantinovsky, Omar Carreras, Yomar Carreras
  • Old Bridge: Frank Papeo, Kyle McSorley, Justin Hascup
  • St. Joseph-Metuchen: Mark Gialluisi, Jimmy Mulvaney, Robbie Carvelli
  • Sayreville: Jake Romanello
  • South Brunswick: Joey Tuttoilmondo
  • South Plainfield: Dom Massaro
  • South River: Julius Rosado
  • Spotswood: Casey Cumiskey
  • Woodbridge: Ty Kobylakiewicz

GMC Coach of the Year: Matt Donaghue, Old Bridge
GMC Sportsmanship Award: East Brunswick

ALL-RED DIVISION TEAM:

  • East Brunswick: Dustin McGuinness
  • Monroe: Harrison Lollin, Lucas White
  • North Brunswick: Zack Konstantinovsky, Omar Carreras, Yomar Carreras
  • Old Bridge: Kyle McSorley, Frank Papeo, Thomas Papeo, Justin Hascup
  • St. Joseph-Metuchen: Mark Gialluisi, Jimmy Mulvaney, Rob Carvelli
  • South Brunswick: Joey Tuttoilmondo
  • South Plainfield: Dom Massaro, Zach Robinson, Jayden Alvarez

Red Division Coach of the Year: Matt Donaghue, Old Bridge
Red Division Sportsmanship Award: East Brunswick

ALL-WHITE DIVISION TEAM:

  • Colonia: Casey Chiola
  • Edison: Jaxon Appelman, Paul diPasquale, Jordan Martins
  • JP Stevens: Justin Bonito, Mihir Patel
  • Middlesex: Aidan Kozak, Justin Gordon
  • Perth Amboy: Sebastian Aponte
  • Sayreville: Michael Colonnello, Jake Romanello, Aayush Mehta, Mike Novak
  • Woodbridge: Ty Kobylakiewicz, Eddy Nunez, Drew Lukachyk, Tyler Weber

White Division Coach of the Year: Mike Novak, Sayreville
White Division Sportsmanship Award: Perth Amboy

ALL-BLUE DIVISION:

  • JFK: Jeremy Ricourt, R.J. Coleman, Grant Lorentzen
  • Metuchen: Lucas Weiss
  • North Plainfield: Davyn Ciriaco
  • Piscataway: Bobby Bressler, Mike Wojick
  • St. Thomas Aquinas: David Ryden, Artis Ray, Zach Dias
  • South River: Julius Rosado, Joseph Lepore, Parker Lane
  • Spotswood: Casey Cumiskey, Carter Cumiskery, Breckyn DeAngelis, Jackson Walsh

Blue Division Coach of the Year: Glenny Fredricks
Blue Division Sportsmanship Award: North Plainfield

ALL-GOLD DIVISION TEAM:

  • Carteret: James Rodriguez, Justin Santana, Nick Kee, Jhoalvin Ledesma, Eric Thompson
  • East Brunswick Magnet: Ryan DellaFave, Scott Pede, Jack Clements
  • New Brunswick: Ronaldy Peralta
  • Somerset Tech: Ryan Delsordo
  • South Amboy: Ben Hernandez, Steve Evanski, Diego Colon, Gabe Albarran
  • Timothy Christian: Josh Francis, Josh Thiero, Dylan Spivey

Gold Division Coach of the Year: Dan Morvay, Carteret
Gold Division Sportsmanship Award: Timothy Christian

ALL-SILVER DIVISION TEAM:

  • Piscataway Magnet: Jacob Lyerly, Matthew Baez, Nomar Carreras, Jurodh Santos-Carabello
  • Highland Park: Seamus MacKinnon, Aidan O’Connell, Luca Sheldon, Owen Roth-Zappo
  • Perth Amboy Magnet: Nelson Concepcion, JohnKelly Jiminez, Jean Felipe-Lozado
  • Wardlaw-Hartridge: Luke Tan, Cian Nicholls
  • Dunellen: Ryan Hutchins, Mark Stein, Corbin Evans, Myles Harrada

Silver Division Coach of the Year: Jake Rosenberg, Piscataway Magnet
Silver Division Sportsmanship Award: Wardlaw-Hartridge

by Mike Pavlichko

GMC will keep pilot program for Red Division boys’ basketball in ’23-’24

The pilot program that allowed GMC Red Division boys’ basketball teams to only play each other once this past season will continue next year.

Greater Middlesex Conference President Mike Pede confirmed the recent extension of the program by the division’s Athletic Directors for another season, since the league is in the middle of a two-year scheduling cycle.

Typically, teams in each division play each other twice. But some public schools didn’t want to play powerhouses like St. Joseph-Metuchen and St. Thomas Aquinas twice in a season, fearing it would hurt their potential playoff standing. And the pilot allowed some schools more scheduling flexibility to play in showcases in and out of the state.

The GMC Red was a mammoth nine-team division last year, meaning each team otherwise would have had 16 division games, more than anyone else in the conference. With a shorter season thanks to NJSIAA changes to the school year sports calendar, that limited opportunities to find opponents that could help their power point totals.

So, a pilot program approved last spring that would allow teams to play each other once. They would be permitted to play any other school twice, but when it came to seeding the county tournament, only the first matchup would count.

Now, that will continue for another season. Beyond that, in the future, the league could change divisional alignments, scheduling, or come up with some other idea entirely.

“The GMC has done an amazing job looking forward and thinking outside the box,” Pede told Central Jersey Sports Radio. And he says all those changes are considered with the student-athletes in mind.

For example, in baseball, the league moved to a five-division setup based on factors beyond school size, adding the GMC Silver. As a result, Piscataway – a large school which has struggled in the Red (5-15 in 2021) and White (7-18 last year) Divisions of late – is in the Blue this year. They are 3-5, but have lost only one of those five games by ten runs or more. Last year, they lost eight of their 15 games by that margin.

“This is not a GMC issue,” Pede said, indicating that it’s not something being considered in other sports. “This is a boys’ basketball Red Division issue.”

“If they feel there’s a problem with boys’ Red Division basketball, let’s fix the problem,” Pede added. “Let’s not fix what’s not broken.”