Tag: HS Basketball

by Mike Pavlichko

Longtime East Brunswick boys’ hoops coach Mark Motusesky steps down after 13 years leading the Bears

Coming off one of the program’s most successful campaigns in over a decade, East Brunswick boys’ basketball coach Mark Motusesky has stepped down as head coach after 13 seasons at the helm.

Motusesky made the announcement Friday afternoon.

“It was a very difficult decision,” Motusesky wrote, “but ultimately it was the right one to be made. My daughter is going to be a freshman, and I know I would regret not being there.”

That’s his daughter Ashley, who will be on the freshman team this coming school year. And, the girls’ program is somewhat of a family affair.

Sophomore Ava Catanho – the reigning CJSR GMC Girls’ Player of the Year – is his niece, and his sister Kara is an assistant in the program under head coach Travis Retzlaff. The Lady Bears were a GMC Tournament finalist this year, and also reached the semifinals of the Central Jersey Group 4 section in the state tournament.

Under Mark Motusesky, the boys won the GMC’s Red National division this past season, going 8-0 in their division and finishing 21-7 overall.  They reached the GMC Tournament quarterfinals, and made it to the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals in the state tournament, where they fell to Jackson Twp., 63-58.

Motusesky was 180-145 during his decade-plus tenure as head coach, but more than that, he was an East Brunswick lifer.

He was a standout for the Bears on the hardwood, graduating in 1988 with a GMC title the team won in 1987.

Nearly a decade later, he coached the eighth grade girls for two years in the late 1990s, then switched to the boys’ side, spending 14 years as an assistant to longtime varsity head coach Bo Henning, and won four JV tournament titles as that squad’s head coach.

He was named head coach by then-Athletic Director Frank Noppenberger for the 2013-14 season, taking the team to the GMC Tournament finals his very first year, just after going toe-to-toe in a double-overtime title game loss to St. Joseph-Metuchen in 2013.

Click here to listen to Mark Motusesky talk about his decision to step down as East Brunswick boys’ basketball coach with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Montgomery’s Kris Grundy honored with John Wooden Legacy Award from state, national Basketball Coaches Associations

After a third straight sectional championship in Central Jersey Group 4, and a second straight trip to the Group 4 state finals, Montgomery boys’ basketball coach Kris Grundy has been honored with the John Wooden Legacy Award, given annually to one boys’ and girls’ coach in every state.

It’s from the New Jersey and National High School Basketball Coaches association in conjunction with the John Wooden Family and the Wooden Foundation.

The award goes to a “long-time, active basketball coach who also serves as an outstanding educator and who, through their excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community, embodies the characteristics of coach John Wooden – Excellence, Longevity, Character, Leadership and Service,” according to the NCBCA website.

Grundy told Central Jersey Sports Radio Monday he was “extremely honored and surprised” when he got the news.

“Obviously, to win an award that has Coach Wooden’s name attached to it is something I never would have dreamed of when I started this journey over 20 years ago,” Grundy said.

Grundy received the award at the NJBCA North/South All-Star Game at Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, where Penn-bound senior point guard and two-time Central Jersey Sports Radio Somerset County Boys’ Player of the Year Ethan Lin represented Montgomery on the South squad.

Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy (left) with Penn-bound senior Ethan Lin at the NJBCA All-Star Game at Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, NJ, on March 29, 2026. (submitted photo)

“What made the day even more special,” Grundy added, “other than the fact that I had family members there to celebrate with me was the fact that one of my mentors, Jim Baglin, the legendary coach for Mendham High School, also got honored with a lifetime achievement award. So it was cool for him to be able to see me receive this award, considering how instrumental he has been in my development as a coach.”

The Cougars went 26-5 this past season, with only two public school losses – to Linden in the regular season by two, and to Plainfield in the state final – while winning the Central Jersey Group 4 title in an overtime thriller on the road against neighbor and rival Hillsborough. They finished the year with a No. 3 ranking in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten.mon

“Obviously, this was a very emotional season for a variety of reasons,” said Grundy, “and I know that my dad, although not here in person, was looking down with so much pride when I received the award.”

Grundy’s father, Michael, passed away at the age of 77 on February 23rd of this year, three days before the Cougars’ opening game in the Central Jersey Group 4 sectional playoffs, in which they beat Manalapan, 76-40.

Grundy says he “can’t stress to everyone enough that this award would not have been possible without the support of my wife, Megan, my three boys – Jack, Ryan and Matty – and a coaching staff, administration, booster club and an alumni base that is second to none.”

by Mike Pavlichko

Proposal for shot clock in high school hoops advances, per report, with May vote on tap

Big news to come out of Robbinsville Wednesday, as a proposal to join the 32 other states – including the District of Columbia – that currently utilize a shot clock in basketball advanced through the NJSIAA’s executive committee – after a Janaury presentation by its advisory committee – with a vote by the full membership coming in May.

The news was first reported Wednesday afternoon by Darren Cooper with NorthJersey.com.

If the May vote says yes, varsity girls’ and boys’ basketball games would begin playing with a 35-second shot clock in the 2027-28 season, two years away. Use of the shot-clock for freshman and jayvee games would be optional.

A similar proposal would institute an 80-second shot clock in lacrosse.

Cooper reports that the proposal can be discussed and tweaked as necessary in March, when sectional meetings of state athletic directors take place.

The NFHS – the National Federation of State High School Associations, which makes rules in high school sports across the country – adopted the shot clock in basketball in 2021, with the implementation of the 35-second clock coming in 2022-23.

Since then, 31 states and the D.C. have adopted it. (See a map and story on the NFHS site here.) Of those, three states are optional (Missouri, Kentucky and Florida) while three others use it in the regular season only (Wyoming, Alabama and South Carolina).

Most of the Western States use it, everything West and North of Colorado, including Hawaii and Alaska.

In the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast, only Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont and Maine have not adopted the shot clock in any way.

While some have worried about the cost and extra personnel required to run the clock, proponents believe it will make for better basketball, eliminating “holding” the ball late in games, and better prepare student-athletes for college, where a shot clock is used at all levels.

Two additional proposals will go before the executive committee in May, per Cooper. One would make flag football an official spring sport; it’s been running in “pilot” status for several years now. Another would allow “tri-op” teams (three schools, in addition to the “two-school co-op”) in girls’ wrestling.

by Mike Pavlichko

Happy 2026! A genie granted us three wishes. Will they come true for New Jersey high school sports this year?

Another year behind us. They seem to go faster and faster these days.

Can anyone believe that Central Jersey Sports Radio will be finishing up its sixth season of covering high school sports this June when baseball packs it in? And we started this thing in the middle (July) of the pandemic?

Pretty bold move, but then hey, there were limits on fans at football games, and basketball games didn’t see fans beyond parents until later in that shortened season. Baseball was literally a breath of fresh air, the only sport untouched in 2021 since it never got played in 2020 – except for the Last Dance tournament.

Well, as soon as the ball dropped in Times Square last night, something strange happened in the Central Jersey Sports Radio studios.

Out of a dusty old microphone case – from an ElectroVoice RE20 for any audio geeks out there, the standard FM radio microphone for decades, by the way – popped a genie. No magic lamps around here.

And while he made no promises, he did at least grant us the opportunity to make three wishes for high school sports in the upcoming season. We’re not sure how connected he is to the folks down in Robbinsville, but we thought it over and came up with three.

Turns out, we think baseball is pretty good. So we’re going to leave that one alone for now. Our three wishes are for football and basketball (and other sports, we don’t generally cover, but we’ll explain in a moment)

1. Let’s get a Shot Clock in Basketball…

The NFHS – the National Federation of State High School Associations, which makes rules in high school sports across the country – adopted the shot clock in basketball in 2021, with the implementation of the 35-second clock coming in 2022-23.

Since then, 31 states and the District of Columbia have adopted it. (See a map and story on the NFHS site here.) Of those, three states are optional (Missouri, Kentucky and Florida) while three others use it in the regular season only (Wyoming, Alabama and South Carolina).

Most of the Western States use it, everything West and North of Colorado, including Hawaii and Alaska.

In the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast, only Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Vermont and Maine have not adopted the shot clock in any way.

Here’s our take: Idaho and South Dakota aren’t exactly hotbeds of major high school basketball talent. Not like New Jersey and New York. But the Empire State has the clock, and the Garden State does not.

A scoreboard in a gymnasium displaying the home team's name 'Trojans,' with sections for the period, team scores, and fouls.
A recently installed scoreboard at St. Thomas Aquinas in Edison – whose gym was refurbished further this year – also has a shot clock, if and when New Jersey ever adopts it. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Will it increase scoring? Maybe. Take a look at some of those 39-6 scores you see at the lower levels, and there’s probably not much that can be done about that. We’d venture to guess the team that scored six points in 32 minutes missed a lot of the shots they took.

And we understand most teams in New Jersey don’t have a Division I prospect. But many will go on to play Division II, III or even NAIA and the JUCO route, and they all have the shot clock. Wouldn’t it be better to prepare them for the college game?

Plus, we can get away from team’s holding the ball – with no defense – for a minute or more on possessions late in the game.

The NJSIAA already adopted a running clock in the second half of games, so the time is going to run down. Might as well see some action!

2. Bring back the Tournament of Champions…

Joni Mitchell was right: you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone.

Following the 2021-22 season, the NJSIAA scrapped the Tournament of Champions in all sports, after a more than 30-year run that began in 1989. If we asked you a trivia question, to name the boys’ and girls’ teams to win the first one, only us old-timers might get it right.

Hoffman – now South Amboy – won the first girls’ TOC, while Bob Hurley’s St. Anthony of Jersey City won the first boys’ event. The Lady Guvs weren’t the reason the Tournament of Champions is gone now, but the Friars were, in a way.

(By the way, that first TOC? It was held at the Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands, home of the NBA’s Nets and NHL’s Devils at the time.)

One of the reasons the TOC was tossed out was that the NJSIAA said it was the same teams, every year. Out of 32 Tournaments on the boys’ side, St. Anthony won 13 of them, and St. Patrick of Elizabeth (now the Patrick School) won six. That’s two teams winning almost 60 percent of the time.

The girls’ side was often streaky, with St. John Vianney winning eight and Shabazz winning six. Vianney won a bunch in the 1990s, Shabazz more in the 2000s on. Franklin won two of three it appeared in, all in a row, taking the title in 2017 over Manasquan and 2019 over Saddle River Day, falling in 2018 to ‘Squan.

To which, we say, so what? If a program is good, let them win. Don’t people love sports dynasties? And the girls’ side was often won by public schools, in 19 of the 32 TOCs.

The other issue was allowing time for student-athletes to recover after a grueling season, and before heading on to the next. But that only lasted a couple of years.

In 2025, the last football game was played December third. Basketball teams could open up as early as December 8th, though many opened on the 13th. That’s still a span of just ten days for the teams that made the football state finals.

The winter-to-spring switch last year also was tight, and it will be again this year. In 2026, the last of the state hoops finals will end March 15th. Baseball competition may begin as early as the 16th, but for those who don’t, and start, say, a week later, still gives only eight days from the end of one season to the beginning of the next.

A basketball player wearing jersey number 20 hugs a coach in a celebratory moment surrounded by teammates in a sports setting.
The Hoffman girls’ basketball team celebrates winning the first Tournament of Champions in 1989. (Source: Newspapers.com)

As people say today, “Make it make sense.”

So, at this point, why not bring back the TOC?

We looked at the NJ.com posted rosters of the 12 teams – five on each side – that won Group Championships last year, the teams that would have qualified for the Tournament of Champions.

Of the girls, Group 3 winner Cherry Hill West and Group 1 winner New Providence were the outliers, with eight of 15 and seven of 11 roster players, respectively, playing multiple sports. Group 4 champ Hillsborough had one, Non-Public A champion Morris Catholic had none. Overall, 21 of 72 played multiple sports, and some only in the fall.

On the boys’ side, Manasquan had 12 of 15 playing multiple sports, but no one else had more than five, and the number was 25 of 91, a number likely higher due to football.

Keep in mind, not all of those multi-sport athletes are starters on both those teams, and some, like the boys’ on the Plainfield Group 4 champion squad, mostly played football in the fall. Few also played baseball, probably one of the toughest sports to get “game ready” for on a short turnaround.

Lacrosse coaches got together and got the NJSIAA to allow them to run their own TOC, although it’s not recognized by the NJSIAA. If they can do it, why can’t basketball?

3. Bring Back “true” Sectional Champions in Football

Ever since football adopted the state championship playoff format in football in 2022, we’ve bemoaned the fact that “sectional” champions are no longer champions from a certain geographic section.

Yeah, we know, we harped on that a lot this season, but when two teams from deep South Jersey are split up, like they were in Group 5 this year, allowing Kingsway to with the South Jersey Group 5 title and Washington Twp. – which is South of Philadelphia – to win the “Central Jersey” Group 5 championship, there’s something wrong with this picture.

In fact, adding state champions only makes it more important, in our mind, to go back to having predetermined geographical sections, rather than the top 16 teams in the North and South divided up by whatever the NJSIAA – led by the coaches and ADs on its Executive Committee – decide they want that year.

First, teams were broken up after the fact by geography. Then the sections were “snaked” by seed to ensure equal strength in both brackets. This year, the top two teams North and South were the seeds in each section, then the rest were split geographically and seeded in order of finish wherever they landed, ostensibly to cut down on travel.

What will next year bring?

There’s a push to go back to snaking, while some even want the best 32 statewide, then broken up after the fact. The NJFCA – New Jersey Football Coaches Association – asked its members their opinion in a survey, whose results have not yet been made public, but they say will be shared and considered by the NJSIAA.

But what makes football different than just about every other team sport in New Jersey? (Wrestling is, understandably, a different beast altogether.)

Absolutely nothing.

A group of high school football players in black and yellow uniforms pose for a photo, celebrating their victory with a trophy. In the background, a sunny sky and football field lights are visible.
North Hunterdon (left) and Edison both won sectional championships in 2022 which will never be forgotten, even with expanded playoffs going all the way to Group Champions. Do these kids look like sectional championships don’t matter to them? (Submitted photos)

And in any high school sport, anywhere in the nation, high school sports is inherently local. Does anyone in Middlesex County care about 90 percent of the Bergen County teams? Are they driving up there to see a Dumont and Fort Lee basketball game in early January?

Only if they have a niece, nephew, or grandchild playing.

By the way, it should be noted, the NJFCA honors excellence in high school football with its Super 100 list every year. Coaches nominate players, and the finalists are picked. There are 25 players – public and private together – recognized in each of four sections: North 1, North 2, Central and South.

Why not just do the best 100 overall? Well, that might shut out some whole counties or regions in the state.

So why are we even entertaining the thought when it comes to the football playoffs?

Of those coaches who voted several years ago to allow state championships in football, many wanted it, while others saw the writing on the wall, and didn’t want to prevent it from happening, but some feared less importance would be placed on winning a sectional title.

It’s not that way in any other sport, although it’s starting in football. But it’s not because of the new “state championships” – after all, every other sport had them (and some even had the Tournament of Champions beyond that).

It’s because crowning a South Jersey team a Central Jersey champion is just ludicrous.

by Mike Pavlichko

Central Jersey Sports Radio’s basketball coverage set to start, as 2025-26 could be one of the more interesting in years

We’re just three days away from the opening of the 2025-26 high school basketball season in New Jersey, and while only a handful of teams will play on Monday, Opening Night, we’re tipping off our coverage this weekend.

We’ll get it going with previews of some of the top boys’ and girls’ teams in the area starting Saturday, December 6th, and running through next weekend, when many teams start getting underway.

We’ll have our preseason Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten rankings out the day after, on Sunday, and reveal our 2025-26 broadcast schedule on Monday afternoon. That will be a slate of around a dozen or so regular season games split between the boys and girls in both the Greater Middlesex Conference and the Somerset County portion of the Skyland Conference.

Of course, Central Jersey Sports Radio will be there for the GMC and Somerset County Tournaments in February, as well as the NJSIAA State Tournament as far as our local teams will go.

Season outlook…

The season proves to be an interesting one, notably on the boys’ side in the GMC, where there’s been much off-season upheaval. Colonia took its fourth straight North 2, Group 4 title, and won its second straight GMC Tournament with Aiden Derkack as MVP, but he announced over the summer a transfer to Spire Academy in Ohio.

Then, this week, R.J. Wortman signed on for a football scholarship at Rutgers, where he’ll be enrolling early in January, taking him out of the equation. That and the springtime hire and return of Mark Taylor as St. Joseph-Metuchen head coach, with a slew of newcomers, leaves things more up in the air than usual.

And don’t count Piscataway in its second year with Bob Turco at the helm, as well as St. Thomas Aquinas, whose new head coach Tom Weiler is a former Turco assistant.

On the girls’ side, the heavy favorite to win the GMC is St. Thomas Aquinas, which has won the last six county tournaments.

Over in Somerset County, the Rutgers Prep girls will look to make it back to the Somerset County Tournament final after missing it last year for the first time since 2014, snapping a streak of nine straight appearances, of which they had won seven, including four straight until last year. (There was also no tournament in the COVID-shortened season of 2020.) Gill St. Bernards won the SCT for the first time since 2014, beating Hillsborough, which knocked Rutgers Prep out in the semis. And while the Lady Raiders were the NJSIAA state Group 4 champions, they lose a ton, including all-time leading scorer Francesca Schiro, who’s leading Siena in scoring as a freshman. Gill also took some key losses, so the county could get quite interesting.

On the boys’ side, the big three still are Montgomery, Gill St. Bernard’s and Rutgers Prep until someone else makes a move. The Knights topped the Argonauts in another battle for the SCT title, while Montgomery made it all the way to the Group 4 final, falling to Plainfield at Rutgers on the final day of the season. All three should be stacked again, and it could be a play here, a play there, or some x-factor newcomer who will make the biggest difference this season.

christmas gifts under the christmas tree
by Mike Pavlichko

It’s Black Friday, so here’s our Wish List for High School sports in 2026 and beyond

We’re not greedy.  This isn’t a long list. 

Granted they might be some big ticket items, but that’s why we’re keeping this list short.

Still, as much as we love high school sports, there’s always room for change.

Many of you will be headed out to the malls today.  Some of you probably already have been and are headed home, shopping bags in hand.  You might even be headed back out after lunch for Round Two.

But here are a fewal things we’d like to throw in the proverbial cart for 2026, and even the 2026-27 school year, in chronological order.

Shot Clock in Basketball…

The NJSIAA this fall made it official, instituting a running clock in high school basketball.  A few leagues had already done it, with the Skyland Conference adopting it two seasons ago, and the Greater Middlesex Conference adopting it for this year, but now all that has been trumped by the state’s version.

Similar to what has been used for years in high school football, a running clock will automatically kick in during any game where the margin is 35 points or more in the second half, only to return to normal if the game goes to overtime.

The clock would only stop for time outs, technical fouls, injuries, or when requested by the officials, such as a scorebook discrepancy.

A shot clock at that point might seem counterintuitive, as it would encourage more shooting, and could lead to more scoring and even bigger blowouts.

But one of the complaints about the mercy rule clock is less time for development of players.  We think a shot clock will at least help that by discouraging teams from standing around just to run the clock down.  Rather, it would force the play to some degree, and encourage teams to run specific sets or plays.

And, it could keep the games entertaining for fans, who came out hoping to see a game, but might instead see the contest over so fast they might miss it if they blinked.

But it would be even more valuable in games that don’t have a running clock, which would be the majority of games.

No one likes watching a team up by ten kill time by holding onto the ball.  Consider than even in football, when a team “eats the clock” by taking their time and keeping the ball on the ground, running it up the gut, there’s still a play clock.  Imagine if there wasn’t?

According to the NFHS, which makes rules for high school sports – some of which are optional for states to adopt, like the basketball shot clock – 32 of 50 states use some form of a shot clock.

It’s time for New Jersey to become the 33rd.

Professional Baseball Championship Venues…

Very few high school sports have the ability to hold championships at professional stadiums.  After all, there is no “professional” track and field in New Jersey, no bowling arena per se.

High school football, of course, has Rutgers (college) and MetLife (home of the NFL’s Jets and Giants), while basketball plays the state finals all at Rutgers now, ditching Toms River North (nice arena) in the name of equality for the boys and girls (we agree).  And ice hockey’s state finals are at the Prudential Center in Newark, home of the NHL’s Devils.

Know what other sport Jersey has plenty of professional venues for?  Baseball!

Mercer County’s Veterans Park and Bob DeMeo Field is a picturesque setting, we’ll grant you.  But parking is limited.  Internet – especially for media – is spotty.  (Electronic parking ticket takers even had issue last season.) 

What’s more, if it rains, the fields are often unplayable for at least 24 hours.  A quick, half-hour deluge suspended the Non-Public A final two seasons ago and postponed the B final between St. Thomas Aquinas and Gloucester Catholic, which was decided just as the STA bus pulled into the lot, a wasted trip.  Then there’s the issue of the late night curfew, which reared it’s head last season

Admittedly, the NJSIAA likely either gets to use the park for free (the association is headquartered in Mercer County, in nearby Robbinsville) or a reduced rate, and it’s convenient for staff either coming from their offices or who live close to work, but there are so many minor league parks in the state.

Imagine if they rotated each year:  once at Yogi Berra Stadium in Montclair, the next year at TD Bank Park in Somerset, then at the Trenton Thunder ballpark on the waterfront.  All three are beautiful, capable facilities – with full infield tarps, by the way – with plenty of parking, cell service, scoreboards with video, and food options for fans.  There are locker rooms in which to get ready.

Sure, there’s the cost, but keep in mind many high school teams rent these facilities for individual games.  TD Bank hosts dozens of high school games every year.  If Manville and Montgomery can afford a single game at the home of the AA Yankee-affiliated Somerset Patriots can’t the NJSIAA afford a few?

And how cool would a team photo look with an NJSIAA trophy and Sparkee the mascot?

Scheduling could be tricky, but with three to choose from – not to mention the new Middlesex College facility being built in Edison, which will be a bit smaller but also have a full press box and be shared with Rutgers, allowing for Big Ten Network broadcasts – this could work out well.

Replay in Football…

Granted, this has been tried before, and it failed, as officials literally blew two replay calls in one playoff season before the NJSIAA ended it, but we think it’s time for a “review.”

The technology has gotten better.  Nearly everyone has a video replay system.  State finals will have multiple angles on the game broadcasts by NJ.com at both Rutgers and MetLife Stadiums this weekend.  They even show plays on the video board in the stadiums.

So why can’t we get video replay right?

Study what went wrong, figure out how to fix it, and maybe even have someone in the booth there whose some job it is to conduct a review.

Times have changed.  Everyone has a cell phone now, there’s a lot of media taking video, and when the common person can tell a call was wrong by calling it up on YouTube, but the officials have no recourse to overrule, we’re doing the game a disservice.

Remember the Camden-Manasquan basketball fiasco two years ago?  Know what the NJSIAA did in response?  They paid themselves to have backboard lights installed at each of the high school venues that host neutral site state tournament rounds, whether it’s the Non-Public sectional finals or the Public state semifinals.  And, of course, Rutgers has those lights for the state finals.

A problem occurred, and the NJSIAA made the perfect call in doing something about it.

For football, let’s start with the state finals, and hopefully work out way back to other rounds, and maybe the regular season.  That part may be the most difficult of the bunch, but at least for the finals, we owe that much to teams that are playing longer than anyone else, and for the biggest trophy the NJSIAA hands out.

by Mike Pavlichko

NJSIAA adds another tweak to power points, affecting all sports in 2025-26, except football

More changes are coming to the state’s power point system, under a change recently announced by the NJSIAA.

According to an email sent to athletic directors and coaches across New Jersey that was obtained by Central Jersey Sports Radio, the NJSIAA made the changes based on two “areas of concern” it says emerged after seeking feedback from member schools: how out-of-state opponents factor into calculations, and whether all games should be averaged, or if instead a only the best results should count.

Based on the feedback, the NJSIAA is making changes in both areas that will immediately go into effect this school year in all sports that use power points, with the exception of football. In football, power points are just part of the New Jersey UPR formula, which also uses the Strength Index component.

For out-of-state opponents, the NJSIAA’s had been assigning a .500 win percentage to all teams, but that rule has now been eliminated. Instead, the formula will use the team’s actual record when calculating residual points, based the first “N” number of games played by the opponent, with that number potentially varying by sport.

For example, if the basketball “N” number were hypothetically set at 14, a basketball team that plays an out-of-state opponent – such as at a showcase or other more regional event – would only get residuals based on that out-of-state opponent’s first 14 games. A team that was 20-5 overall, but 12-2 through its first 14 games would be considered 12-2 for the purposes of calculating power points.

The second change would no longer calculate the average of all games for power points. Instead, it would use only the top “N” number of games. This is different from the out-of-state rule, which would count the “first” “N” number of games. Essentially, it would drop the lowest scores.

Again, choosing basketball as an example, with a hypothetical “N” number of 14, a team that has played 16 games would have its power points average only calculate its highest 14 game values. Put another way, it would drop the two lowest scores.

This might be helpful for some schools that are forced to play teams in their division our county tournament that don’t have many wins. For example, a team that has played 18 games, but five of them have come against one-, two- or three-win teams – while others might have come against 12- or 13-win teams – would have its lowest four scores dropped. In that case, only one of the games against those weaker teams would count; the lowest four would be dropped.

by Alec Crouthamel

Standout Aiden Derkack to leave Colonia for Spire Academy (OH) for senior season

One of Colonia’s all-time great basketball stars is headed to Ohio.

Aiden Derkack, the Patriots’ boys program’s all-time leading scorer, will leave Colonia for his senior season, he announced on Instagram Sunday.

He’ll be headed to Spire Academy in Ohio to play for legendary high school basketball coach Kevin Boyle, who once rose to prominence as head coach at St. Patrick’s Elizabeth before taking over at Montverde (Fla.) for a decade. He moved to take over Spire in March.


“For developing me beyond basketball, I needed to take this step,” He told CJSR in a phone interview on Sunday. “For basketball, obviously the facilities are great there. But I think the most important thing that I saw there was the people, the coaching staff, [even] the strength guys, everyone there is just winning. People who just want to win and just want to be better, which definitely caught my eye the most.”

The accolades speak for themselves with Derkack and the Patriots program as a whole. In three years, Colonia won three straight sectional championships, two GMC Tournament championships in 2024 and 2025, and went a combined 71-23, including an epic last-second victory over national power La Lumiere in February’s Metro Classic.

As a junior, he was also named the Central Jersey Sports Radio GMC Boys Player of the Year, after a season where he averaged 27.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game. Colonia started its season with a big-time win over St. Peter’s Prep in the NJ Basketball Coaches Tip-Off Showcase, and from there rolled into the postseason at 19-4.

In the GMC Tournament, the Patriots won their first three games by an average of 25 points, and took down Piscataway in an intense 70-63 victory to win the GMC for the second year in a row.

The North 2, Group 3 tournament went by in a similar fashion, with Colonia defeating Mendham 62-43 on its home floor, before falling to Ramapo in the Group 3 semifinal, though the Patriots completed a 29-6 postseason record in Derkack’s three years.

Under head coach Jose Rodriguez, Derkack and the Patriots have consistently been one of the state’s finest public school programs – and top teams in general.

Spurred by a standout season in the AAU ranks for the EYBL’s Team Final, Derkack makes the next step in his basketball career, and his journey to the highest level. He leaves Colonia as one of the program’s all-time greats as part of one of the school’s best basketball families.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel speak with Aiden Derkack on his time at Colonia and his basketball future:

by Mike Pavlichko

Dennis McNulty steps down as Timothy Christian boys’ basketball coach

After six seasons as the boys’ basketball coach at Timothy Christian School in Edison, Dennis McNulty has stepped down, and will no longer teach at the school as well.

McNulty made the announcement Wednesday on his social media accounts.

In six seasons, he brought Timothy Christian to new heights and unprecedented success, reaching double digit wins each season, even in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign, with standouts like Jalen Fleming – the school’s all-time leading scorer – and big man Chukwudi Raphael Mamah.

“Today I tendered my resignation and will not be returning to TCS next year on the court or in the classroom,” McNulty wrote in an Instagram post. “It was a grueling decision that was made after lots of prayer and contemplation. As you might imagine I have a mix of emotions.”

In his first season as head coach, he took a 5-19 squad in 2019 and went 15-10 with a third place finish in the GMC Gold Division at 13-5.

His teams were 73-66 overall, and 66-16 in divisional play in the GMC. They shared or won outright three division titles, sharing the 2021-22 Gold Division title with Wardlaw-Hartridge, the 2023-24 Blue Division title with Spotswod, and winning this past season’s Blue title outright, with a 9-1 record.

The Tigers – who were the ten-seed in this year’s GMC Tournament – also knocked off seventh-seed St. Joseph-Metuchen in the opening round, with a 56-53 road win.

“My prayer is that I left it better than I found it,” McNulty added in his post. “I solicit your prayers during this season of transition.”

by Mike Pavlichko

More tributes pouring in for Hillsborough alum and former basketball coach Ian Progin; plus a one-on-one with Montgomery’s Kris Grundy, and our postgame chat after Raiders’ 2015 CJ4 title

As word spread over the weekend that former Hilllsborough basketball coach – and Rutgers walk-on – Ian Progin had passed away Friday at the age of 47 after a long battle with brain cancer, the tributes came pouring from all over.

In our original story Monday, we heard from his longtime assistant Chris Fox. We asked him to reach out to former players and coaches who wished to say a word or two, and many of them got back to us. They are presented virtually in their entirety here.

We also spoke with Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy, who started with the Cougars’ boys’ basketball program shortly after Progin took over at Hillsborough in 2004. The two became instant friends, often getting together at the end of seasons, along with others in the coaching fraternity.

Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko

We went digging for some nuggets, old pictures, anything we can find. But much of Progin’s run with the Raiders came before the explosion of social media and all things being digitized. We did find a good one, though.

A year after Hillsborough upset Gill St. Bernard’s to win the Somerset County Tournament in 2014, they were a 13-seed in the Central Jersey Group 4 playoff bracket. I was working at WCTC 1450 AM in New Brunswick at the time, and with that game being played out of our coverage area, at Freehold Township, we opted to broadcast a game closer to our area: Ridge hosting Linden in the North 2, Group 4 final.

The Red Devils had just come off a thrilling win over Columbia in the semifinals, which we also covered. So, we stuck with the higher seed and the hot hand. As the game – which Ridge lost – came to a close, we got word Hillsborough had stunned the Patriots to win the title, the program’s first ever. During the commercial break, I went to my phone, got his number, and told my producer in the studio, David Raisch, to call and see if the could come on the air.

We got him, while he was on the team bus, graciously telling us about the game and how proud he was of the Raiders. You can hear that interview below.

Hillsborough head coach Ian Progin with WCTC’s Mike Pavlichko after the Raiders won the Central Jersey Group 4 title on March 9, 2015.
Ian Progin (in back, with trophy) and the Hillsborough Raiders celebrate their Somerset County Tournament title win over Gill St. Bernard’s, 53-52, at Franklin High School on March 1, 2014. (Source: Progin Basketball)

Here are comments from various former players and coaches, as sent to Central Jersey Sports Radio:

Nick Alaimo, HHS ’13, boys’ basketball: “Coach Progin was more than a coach to me, he was my role model. He is the reason I decided to go into education and coaching. Coach cared about us all more than just basketball players. He was there for us on and off the court. He played a vital role in me having the opportunity to play college basketball. I will cherish the memories I had with coach Progin forever.”

Olivia and Erin Buckman, HHS ’18, girls’ basketball captains: “Coach Progin was so much more than a coach to us – he was family. He was always there with support, advice, and genuine care and he touched our lives in so many ways. The life lessons he taught us are something we will carry with us forever.”

Brett Bisconti, HHS’07, boys’ basketball, current Bernards girls’ coach:  “Ian was my coach throughout high school and brought me onto his staff at Hillsborough when I was just 21 years old with zero coaching experience – he took a chance on me and gave me my first real opportunity. I wanted to be a teacher and a coach and he made it his priority to mentor me to help reach my fullest potential both on and off the court. He was always patient, kind, and modeled how a true leader operates day in and day out – I wanted to be like him. He loved his players and truly only wanted what was best for them. He was so detail-oriented, organized, and prepared – which is why there is no surprise he had the success he had both with the boys and girls programs.

After playing for him, then coaching with him, I got to see first hand what a special and selfless person he really was. I am beyond grateful for everything he did for me, I just completed my 15th year coaching and without the impact he had on me, none of it would be possible – he changed my life.

Courtney, his children, and the rest of his family will always be in my prayers. “

Jill Stanton, HHS ’20, girls’ basketball: “I played basketball for Coach Progin all four years of high school from 2016-2020. Progin embodied what it means to be a true Coach. He took the time to teach every single player how to become a better player, and he tailored his coaching style to our individual needs to help us succeed as individual players and as a team. He was the first coach that really made me feel seen and valued as a player. I was never an outspoken leader, yet he understood that and still trusted me enough as a freshman to be able to contribute and compete against girls three years older than me.

To outsiders, Progin may have just been our Coach. But to the girls lucky enough to play under his leadership, he wasn’t just a Coach. He was the best Coach I’ve ever had. He cared about us as people off the court just as much as he cared about us as players. He was a mentor and another father figure to us all. In just four years, he was able to take a basketball program and turn us into a family, and I will be forever grateful for him. I hope he knows how much we all love and miss him and that he will remain forever in our hearts.

Brandon Shamy, HHS ’05, boys’ basketball:  “I played for Ian Progin for two years, from 2004-2005, his first two years as head coach. After college, Ian hired me to be the freshman coach for his program. It was such a honor to coach with someone I loved playing for. As a coach, Ian brought incredible preparation, passion and energy. He was a great mentor for me, on and off the court. He cared deeply for his players. A special coach, but an even better man.

Ian taught me so much about playing and coaching basketball at a high level. I’ll never forget the amazing memories and accomplishments we shared on the court. He had such a huge impact on so many of our lives. His legacy will last forever. He was such a special coach and man. He’ll be greatly missed by so many.”

Matt Hornich, HHS ’14, boys’ basketball: “In short, Coach Progin was a Hillsborough legend, changing many lives on the court and off. Coach knew how to get the most out of all his athletes and held us to a high standard on and off the court. He will be missed, my thoughts go out to his wife and two kids. The good die young, rest in peace.”

James Smith, HHS ’14, boys’ basketball: “Coach Progin believed in us — not just as players, but as people. He cared deeply for his team, his students, and his community, always showing up with unwavering support. His quiet confidence helped us grow through every challenge. I’m grateful to have known him and will always cherish the time we shared.”

Michelle Fratianni, HHS ’20, girls’ basketball: “Coach Progin was someone who had such a drive to see every girl who stepped onto a court succeed. However, off the court he was caring and had a passion for teamwork, collaboration, and supporting one another. He implemented a poster creation of a new word every week throughout my senior season, and it was a word the team lived by. Coach Progin really brought us all together and is the reason for the team being so successful and bonded. He truly changed the girls basketball dynamic at Hillsborough.”

Amy Rachilla of the Hillsborough girls’ basketball team with Ian Progin – who had stepped down three years prior – on Senior Night in 2023. (Submitted photo.)

Amy Rachilla, HHS’ 23, girls’ basketball:  “In 2019-2020, I was a freshman on the girls varsity basketball team and Coach Progin coached me for his last year before stepping down. Progin was a passionate, dedicated, and supportive coach. He loved the game of basketball and I was lucky enough to have been coached by him for my first year of high school. Not many girls get the opportunity to play on varsity their freshman year, but Coach Progin took a chance on me and paved the way for me to become the basketball player I am today. Progin embodied what being a coach is. He ran a well-organized, close-knit, resilient team. He knew what it took to WIN and he pushed us everyday to be the best version of ourselves. As an only freshman on the team, I was timid and nervous, but he guided me day in and day out whether that was at practice, games or even during school. He had so much confidence and faith in me and put me in positions he knew I would do good in. He only coached me for one year, but for the 3 years after that he always made sure to stay in touch with me and continue to meet with me yearly to check in. He always supported me, and even though he wasn’t my coach for the next 3 years, he still came to watch me score my 1,000th point and celebrate my Senior Night. That shows you the coach he really was. Without him, I would have not been where I am today. He taught me so much about the game and more importantly about life. I was so lucky to have him as my coach. I will truly miss him so much and that smile he always had on his face. He always wanted everyone to be there best as individuals and he would do anything for anyone. He was a coach, mentor and guidance counselor, but he was another father figure to all of us. He built more than just a high school basketball program, he built a family. We will forever miss him and the legacy he built. He will remain in my heart forever.”

Former Hillsborough Girls’ basketball coach Ian Progin (middle) with Senior Night honorees, 2018.  (Submitted photo)

Elizabeth Suseck, HHS ’18, Girls’ basketball:  “Coach Progin was the best coach I ever had. He didn’t just teach us basketball; he taught us how to show up in life, how to work hard, push through, and never settle. I watched him coach my brothers with intensity and high standards, and when he came to the girls’ team, he brought that same energy- he believed in us just as much. I’ll always remember the tough practices, the big wins, and the post-game bus ride sing alongs with Coach (only after the wins of course). I feel very lucky to have known and played for Coach Progin.”

Caitlin Kolesar, HHS ’20, girls’ basketball:  “

When I moved to Hillsborough, I didn’t know what to expect. But one of the first people I connected with was Coach. He sat down with me, listened to my story—where I came from, what I hoped to do with basketball—and he met me with nothing but openness and excitement about what the future could hold. I’ll be honest, our relationship wasn’t always perfect, but when it mattered most, he showed up for me in a way I’ll never forget.

In 2019, after my concussion left me unable to finish my junior year and part of my senior year, Coach never stopped checking in – asking how I was doing, how my recovery was going, and keeping tabs on my progress with the doctors. With their help, I made it back my senior year, and though the road was tough, Coach made sure my fight didn’t go unnoticed. At our senior banquet, he surprised me with the “Comeback Player of the Year” award – an acknowledgment I’ll always hold close to my heart.

Coach was more than just a coach—he was someone who truly cared. On and off the court, he had a heart for his players, and even now, I believe he’s still watching over all of us, cheering us on. I’ll always be grateful for the impact he had on my life, and I’ll carry his memory with me in every step forward.”