Tag: Jose Rodriguez

December 13, 2024 at 7:00 pmDecember 13, 2024 at 5:42 pm by Mike Pavlichko

Fresh off GMC Tournament championship, Colonia sets sights on another solid year

Like every high school basketball team everywhere, seniors graduate, new players come in. That’s the nature of the beast.

For Colonia, the names have changed over the last several years, but one thing remains the same: they consistently have success.

Colonia – which won the GMC’s top “pod” in the COVID-shortened 2021 season – broke out last season and won the GMC Tournament, beating St. Thomas Aquinas, led by Tournament MVP and then-sophomore Aiden Derkack.

Derkack is back, and among the top three teams in the GMC over the last few years, it might be the Patriots who have the most consistency. Both St. Thomas Aquinas – which had won the three prior GMC Tournaments – and St. Joseph – which hasn’t won one since 2019 – have new coaches in Bob Turco, Jr. and Karl Towns, Sr., respectively.

Now, the question is, can the Patriots take advantage?

Colonia finished 22-9 last season under Jose Rodriguez – who, ironically, has connections to Turco and Towns. With Turco, they go back to Jose’s playing days at Carteret, when Dave Turco was head coach, and Rodriguez coached under Dave when Karl-Anthony Towns – Coach Towns’ son – was at St. Joe’s.

Now, of course, he’s with the Knicks in the NBA.

This Saturday, the Patriots will open up 2024-25 against St. Peter’s Prep out of Jersey City in Game Six of the Tip-Off Showcase at Montgomery at 5:30 pm.

When they do, they’ll be without Jaeden Jones, but they will have the junior Derkack, who led the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals last year, scoring at a 20 point per game clip. Also back are senior Zach Smith and junior guard Dylan Chiera, who’s also the quarterback on the football team.

Click below to hear Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez look at the upcoming season with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

March 6, 2024 at 12:10 pm by Mike Pavlichko

Will the third time be the charm? Colonia to meet Ramapo tonight in Group 3 semis for a third straight year

For a third straight year, the road to New Jersey’s Group 3 boys’ basketball final for Colonia will go through Ramapo. But will this be the year they finally get there?

The Patriots have won three straight North 2, Group 3 titles. The Raiders have won five. And in three of those years – including the last two – Colonia has fallen to Ramapo in the state Group 3 semifinals.

Maybe it’s the venue. The last two years, they’ve played each other in Phillipsburg, a long trek for both schools.

Wednesday afternoon, they’ll meet up in Bloomfield at 4:30, with another trip to the state final on the line. You can hear that game right here on Central Jersey Sports Radio, beginning with the pregame show at 4:15 as Mike Pavlichko calls all the action. Click here to listen.

The Patriots are led by sophomore Aiden Derkack and senior Jaeden Jones. Derkack – the GMC Tournament MVP – is averaging 21.3 points per game in four state tournament contests, and had a double-double in the state tourney opener against Fort Lee, with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Jones is averaging almost 20 a game in the state tourney, five above his season average, lighting it up in the sectionals.

Ramapo has three four-year varsity players, including star guard Peyton Seals, who plays AAU ball with Derkack and is headed to Princeton. He’s averaging 15 points a game in the states, and overall, while Chris Cervino can bury the deep ball, and is averaging almost 17 points a game in the state tournament, four above his season average. He has a team-leading 84 treys.

Click below to hear from both coaches!

Colonia coach Jose Rodriguez after the Patriots’ North 2, Group 3 title game win over Millburn

Ramapo head coach Nick Vier

March 2, 2024 at 2:43 pmMarch 2, 2024 at 3:41 pm by Mike Pavlichko

Three-peat, and this one’s for Brix! Colonia finds shooter’s touch after halftime to beat Millburn for third straight North 2, Group 3 state title

The Colonia boys’ basketball team has had a roller coaster couple of weeks, to say the least.

Two Fridays ago, they beat rival St. Thomas Aquinas to take their first Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament championship since 2015.

Just five days later, assistant coach Danny Brix passed away suddenly. The Patriots delayed their playoff opener a day out of respect, and to gather themselves emotionally.

Now, with Brix still on their minds, they’re on top yet again.

Second-seed Colonia (22-8) beat fourth-seed Millburn (22-6) Saturday afternoon at home to win its third straight sectional title, 61-53, and move on for a third straight year to the Group 3 semifinals, where their season has ended each of the last two years.

It was a tight game through the first half, with neither team leading by more than four. Millburn was knocking down threes, but Colonia had yet to find its groove.

After halftime – maybe feeling a little momentum from a thunderous Aiden Derkack dunk that brought the house down just before the break – they found that groove in a big way, jumping out to a double-digit lead, and them some, thanks to a 9-2 run to start the second half, leading at one point 48-34 in the third.

Millburn was able to get it to under ten in the fourth quarter, but Colonia kept at it and was able to hold off the Millers in the end. It was as close as ten with 2:21 left, but the combination of the sophomore Derkack and senior Jaeden Jones were able to help finish it out, hitting baskets and free throws down the stretch.

Derkack finished with 17 points, while Jones had 18, and Zach Smith added 10.

Colonia players are mobbed by their fans after winning their third straight North 2, Group 3 title, after a 61-53 win over Millburn on March 2, 2024. (Photo: Chris Tsakonas)

And afterwards, the team brought out Brix’s seat from the bench, with his jacket, and placed the trophy on it while the team took pictures around it.

Colonia will play its Group 3 semifinal at 4:30 pm this coming Wednesday, March 6, at Bloomfield High School against North 1, Group 3 winner and top-seed Ramapo, a 50-34 winner over second-seed Northern Highlands.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

Sophomore Aiden Derkack, senior Jaeden Jones

Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez

February 16, 2024 at 10:01 pm by Mike Pavlichko

Colonia wins first GMC boys’ title since 2015, winning slugfest with St. Thomas Aquinas

The final margin might have been ten, but it was much closer than that for about 30 of the 32 minutes of game play in Friday night’s Greater Middlesex Conference boys’ championship game.

No one led by more than six until the final minutes, as second-seed Colonia got to the foul line and hit its shots to pull away.

The Patriots ended fourth-seed St. Thomas Aquinas’ three-year reign as GMC Tournament champions, pulling out a 55-45 win at Monroe Township High School, despite trailing after each of the first three quarters of play, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Sophomore Aiden Derkack was named MVP after pouring in 21 points for the champion Patriots (18-8), while senior Jaeden Jones chipped in 14.

Rinelson Dilone led Aquinas (16-10) with 20 points in defeat.

Colonia led early, 8-2 in the first quarter, but Aquinas went on a 14-4 run to make it 16-12. Those were the last big runs anyone would make until the Patriots pulled away, holding Aquinas without a field goal for almost the last four minutes of the game.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

February 16, 2024 at 8:00 amFebruary 16, 2024 at 1:18 am by Mike Pavlichko

GMC Tournament Boys’ Final Preview: Colonia looks for clean sweep of Aquinas and first title in a decade as Trojans go for a four-peat

There are only four active boys’ basketball head coaches in the Greater Middlesex Conference who have ever coached in a GMCT championship game.

And if you come to Monroe High School Friday night to watch second-seed Colonia take on fourth-seed and three-time defending champion St. Thomas Aquinas, you won’t have to scan the crowd to find two of them. They’ll be on the bench, encouraging their players, and sweet-talking the refs from opposite ends of the scorer’s table.

Jose Rodriguez of Colonia was there two years ago, making his first appearance. Bob Turco not only has made the last three county finals – and won them – but he also made a trip as the head coach of Monroe, in 2010, when he lost to his brother Dave and St. Joseph-Metuchen, in the Falcons’ first of nine titles in ten years under the elder Turco’s watch.

(The other two are Mark Motusesky of East Brunswick, and Darius Griffin of Piscataway.)

Central Jersey Sports Radio will have coverage of Friday’s GMC Tournament Championship Doubleheader, with Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino calling all the play-by-play. Tip-off for the boys’ final is set for 8 pm, with pregame at 7:40, all following the girls’ game – with the same two opponents – at 6 pm. Click here to listen.

This may have been Turco’s most challenging year yet. While no one in Middlesex County is shedding tears for a man who has won three straight county titles, only seldom-used Davon Grant returned from last year’s squad. The rest were lost to graduation and transfers.

And even through a spate of illnesses that started in December, and – on occasion – has the Trojans down to seven players, according to Turco, the team has come through it, and returned to the final once again.

Perhaps the biggest reason is the young man Turco calls a “double-double machine.” Rinelson Dilone is averaging 20.3 points and 16.3 rebounds a game in the GMC Tournament, both above his season average. Against St. Joseph-Metuchen – the top seed they knocked off in the semifinals – the STA guards found Dilone with good looks, and his timing to avoid the defense made several buckets underneath look easy.

But they also can play stifling defense, even better when they need to be, as evidenced late in the game against the Falcons, frustrating one of the county’s top players in Jeremy Clayville all night long. Sophomore Greg Reyes has been a huge part of that, his defense being of immensely greater value than his 4.3 points per game on the offensive side.

For Colonia, it’s been the Aiden Derkack show, growing the family’s impact on the Colonia basketball program. His dad, Gene, is a Colonia legend. His brother, Jordan, is slaying up at Merrimack. And his older sister Taylor is the all-time leading scorer – girls or boys – in school history. He’s averaging 20.3 points a game this season, but 23 in the tournament. He’s scored in double figures all but two games this season, and gone over 30 four times. He had a really good freshman year, and has taken it to another level in 2023-24, avoiding any hint of a sophomore slump.

But let’s not forget they have other players too, including Central Jersey Sports Radio’s football Offensive Player of the Year Jaeden Jones, the star quarterback who’s quick on his feet and will be playing at Monmouth next year. He’s contributing almost 14 points a game, and still the team leader in assists, running the show on offense. Zach Smith has been a key contributor on defense.

Click below to hear both coaches talk about the semifinal matchup, and scroll down for more info on the game:

Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez

St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Bob Turco

MORE ON THE GMC TOURNAMENT BOYS’ FINAL:

(2) Colonia (17-8) vs. (4) St. Thomas Aquinas (16-9)
When: Friday, 8 pm
Where: Monroe Township High School
Broadcast Team: Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino (LISTEN HERE)

COACHES:

Colonia: Jose Rodriguez, 6th season (111-38)
St. Thomas Aquinas: Bob Turco, 6th season (117-32)

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Colonia: The Patriots cruised through their first two games, beating 15th-seed Perth Amboy in the first round, then got past in-town rival and seventh-seeded Woodbridge in the quarterfinals Saturday, 65-38. Adien Derkack scored 41 points in the first two games, including 23 against the Barrons, all without the benefit of the three-point arc. In the semis on Wednesday night in Monroe, Colonia used a big second half to top 6th-seed South Plainfield by a surprising 70-37 score. Aiden Derkack scored 27 and had eight rebounds, while Jaeden Jones added 13, and Zach Smith just missed a double-double, with 11 points and nine rebounds.

St. Thomas Aquinas: The Trojans topped 13-seed North Brunswick at home in the first round, and topped 12th-seeded Red Division foe East Brunswick 57-45 in Saturday’s quarterfinals at Piscataway behind 23 points from Aiden Ur, and a double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds from Rinelson Dilone. In the semis Wednesday night in Monroe, Rinelson Dilone tallied his third straight double-double in the GMC Tournament, going off for 21 points and 18 rebounds. Aiden Ur added 12, while seven of the eight Trojans who played got in the scoring column.

TOP SCORERS:

Colonia: Aiden Derkack (20.3 ppg, 20 treys), Jaeden Jones (13.7 ppg, 10 treys)
St. Thomas Aquinas: Rinelson Dilone (16 ppg), Aiden Ur (15.2 ppg, 40 treys), Paris Papadatos (13.3 ppg, team-best 43 treys)

TOP REBOUNDERS:

Colonia: Aiden Derkack (7.8), James Curet (4.3)
St. Thomas Aquinas: Rinelson Dilone (13)

RECENT MEETINGS: St. Thomas Aquinas swept Colonia last season in the regular year, but they didn’t face each other in the GMC Tournament, and Aquinas won it all – again. This year, Colonia won both regular season meetings. Will the Patriots win it all this year?

GMC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:

St. Thomas Aquinas: The combo of Aquinas/Bishop Ahr has four GMC Tournament titles – third-best all-time, by the way, behind the 12 of St. Joseph and Piscataway’s five titles – as well as the Middlesex County Tournament title in 1982. Interesting side note: Aquinas girls’ coach Tim Corrigan was a ball boy on that 1982 team; his brother-in-law was on the coaching staff. Then they won it again in 1992, he was on the St. Joe’s team that lost to the Trojans.

Colonia: The Patriots are the last public school team to win the GMC Tournament, briefly snapping a string of five straight titles won by St. Joe’s from 2010-2014. Colonia won it in 2015, before the Falcons won the next four to make it an unprecedented nine titles in a span of ten years. Colonia has won three GMC titles and two MCT championships. They’re 5-6 all-time in finals, 2-1 in the MCT and 3-5 in the GMC title tilt.

OTHER NOTES:

Dominating: A public school hasn’t won the GMC boys’ tournament since 2015, when Colonia upset St. Joseph in a battle of No. 2 vs. No. 1. In fact, since 2010, either St. Joseph-Metuchen or St. Thomas Aquinas has won all but one of the last 13 full GMC Tournaments. (Colonia won the four-team, two-game Karl-Anthony Towns/Jay Williams top GMC pod during the COVID-shortened 2021 season.) But it wasn’t always like that. In fact, since the first GMC Tournament in 1986 – it was the Middlesex County Tournament before that since 1965 – only six of the first 24 titles went to non-publics. (Now-closed Cardinal McCarrick won two of them.) And in the 21-year history of the MCT, only five times did the title go to a non-public. (Now-closed St. Peter’s won four of them.) That’s 11 out of the first 45 titles going to parochials, then 12 of the next 13 since 2010.

Who’s been to the big game? Believe it or not, only four current GMC boys’ coaches have ever been to the finals. That includes Bob Turco of St. Thomas Aquinas, who’s 3-1 overall. He has three wins with the Trojans and one loss at Monroe in 2010 – when he lost to his brother, Dave, who was the head coach at St. Joseph-Metuchen, and now is at Kean University. But he’s the only current coach to win one. The other, North Brunswick’s Ed Breheney, retired after last season. The other three who’ve coached in the GMC finals before are Jose Rodriguez (lost in 2022), Darius Griffin of Piscataway (lost to St. Joe’s in 2019) and Mark Motusesky of East Brunswick, who lost to the Falcons in 2014, his first season taking over for longtime coach Bo Henning.

Up the list: St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Bob Turco is tied for third on the all-time county championship list, MCT or GMCT. Paul Schoeb of Piscataway, Ken Pace (at JFK and Colonia) and John Somogyi of St. Peter’s also have won three. But Turco will have a long way to go to get to No. 2, where his brother Dave sits, having won eight titles. Seven of those came with St. Joe’s, while he also won one in 2002 while coaching his alma mater, Carteret. Turco is No. 1 if you just count the GMC, but overall it’s ill Buglovsky of Perth Amboy, who won eight, including the first Middlesex County Tournament in 1965. The won the next three, another in 1970, and four more from 1972-1975.

Consecutive Titles: St. Joseph-Metuchen is on this list twice, with the longest stretch of consecutive wins of five from 2010-2014, and again tied for second with four from 2016-2019. Perth Amboy also won four from 1972-1975. Three teams have won it three times in a row, including St. Thomas Aquinas in 2020, 2022 and 2023, St. Pete’s (1983-1985) and Perth Amboy (1965-1967).

How have the seeds fared? There have been 57 MCT/GMCT championship games, and the top seed has won 27 times. But they’re not in it this year, as St. Joseph was ousted in the semifinals by St. Thomas Aquinas. The 2-seed – in this case, Colonia – has won 15 times, while the four-seed has only won it twice. One of those was Colonia, in the 1969 Middlesex County Tournament, over 6th-seed South River. The last four-seed to win the GMC was Carteret, in the very first event, in 1986, over third-seed New Brunswick. The last time we had a two-seed against a four-seed? It was the only time, and it came in 2020, the beginning of St. Thomas’ run, when the second-seeded Trojans beat fourth-seed South Brunswick.

February 14, 2024 at 6:49 pmFebruary 15, 2024 at 12:09 am by Mike Pavlichko

Aiden Derkack’s 27 help Colonia boys get back to GMCT final for first time in three seasons

Whether the Colonia boys’ basketball team gets another crack at St. Thomas Aquinas – the team that beat them in the GMC Tournament finals two seasons ago, last time they were there – or faces top-seed St. Joseph doesn’t matter to them.

They’re back in the finals for the first time since 2022, and that’s all that counts.

Speaking of counting, you could be forgiven if you had a hard time keeping track of how many points sophomore Aidden Derkack had for the Patriots. He finished with 27, almost equally distributed among all four quarters, as 2-seed Colonia used a huge third quarter to extend a six-point halftime lead, beating 6-seed South Plainfield 70-37 Wednesday night in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Jaeden Jones had 13 for Colonia (17-8), even though he didn’t score until the third quarter. Thanks to Derkack, he didn’t have to.

South Plainfield (18-7) was led by Dante Dupiche, who had 13, including three triples.

Click below for postgame reaction with Colonia’s Aiden Derkack and head coach Jose Rodriguez:

January 11, 2024 at 9:06 am by Mike Pavlichko

No. 4 Colonia hoping narrow defeats turn into victories as season progresses

The Colonia basketball team may be 6-3 on the season, but the fourth-ranked Patriots’ three losses have come by a combined six points.

It’s just part of the trials and tribulations almost every high school basketball team goes through at some point in the season. But the fact that one of those losses came to St. Joseph-Metuchen on opening night makes Thursday night’s matchup against 3rd-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas all the more important.

You can hear that game on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Chris Tsakonas and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Pregame from Colonia is scheduled for 5:20 pm, with tipoff at 5:45. Click here to listen.

What helps is when you have two guys who can run the point. That includes senior Jaeden Jones, the reigning Big Central Offensive Player of the Year in football, who’s averaging four assists per game and seven points.

Then there’s sophomore Aiden Derkack, who simply doesn’t know the meaning of the phrase “sophomore slump.” After a fantastic freshman year, the 6-6 sophomore – who’s a year more mature, and two inches taller – is averaging nearly 21 points per game to lead the team. Junior Zach Smith and his 13 triples on the season hasn’t hurt either.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel talk with Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez:

December 13, 2023 at 8:00 amDecember 9, 2023 at 3:36 pm by Mike Pavlichko

Colonia ready to roll again in GMC Red, with Jones and Derkack leading the way

Colonia boys’ basketball has been one of the more consistent programs in the Greater Middlesex Conference over the last decade or so.

No, they don’t have the titles St. Joseph-Metuchen had, where they won nine out of ten from 2010 through 2019. And even now-division rival St. Thomas Aquinas has won the last three full GMC Tournaments. (Colonia beat them in the top four-team “pod” playoff in the abbreviated COVID season.)

But the Patriots have won the last two NJSIAA North 2, Group 3 titles, and three of the last four dating back to 2019. All that has come in five seasons with Jose Rodriguez as head coach, whose team hasn’t missed a sectional final in four playoff years (none in 2021 due to COVID).

Noah Taylor and Anthony Gooden, who combined for over 700 points last year, are gone to graduation, but plenty is back, starting with senior point guard – and newly-minted CJSR Offensive Player of the Year in football – Jaeden Jones, who will spend his third-year running the point for the Pats.

Also back is Aiden Derkack, who had a fantastic freshman season for Colonia, avergaing 10.6 points a game while leading the team in steals with 39, and dishing out assists at the same rate as Jones, who he can spell when they want to have Jones do other things in the offense.

Colonia, St. Joe’s and St. Thomas Aquinas are widely considered the three teams to beat yet again this year in the GMC Red Division, and the Patriots again are the only team in the division playing both the Trojans and Falcons twice in a season, as per usual, but under a pilot program in its second year in the GMC Red where public schools aren’t required to play either more than once, in order to gain more flexibility in scheduling for the state tournament.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko preview the season with Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez:

February 22, 2023 at 10:35 pm by Mike Pavlichko

South Plainfield, Colonia earn all-GMC semifinal matchup in North 2 Group 3 Friday night

The Greater Middlesex Conference is guaranteed to have at least one team playing for a sectional title this year in the NJSIAA State Tournament.

Top-seed South Plainfield and fourth-seed Colonia won their North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 quarterfinal games on Wednesday night, with both teams rallying for wins.

The Tigers beat 8-seeed Summit 55-51 in overtime behind a monster game from Brandon Dean’s 34 points, who has now scored 34 twice in his team’s last three games. South got off to a slow start, trailing 14-9 after one, but came back to take a 28-24 lead into halftime, before again falling behind in the third quarter. Down 36-32 heading into the fourth, Dean helped his team send the game to OT at 46-all, then win in the end.

Click below to hear South Plainfield coach John Greco talk about the game:

Fourth-seed Colonia came up with a 60-51 win over fifth-seed Chatham, and – like the Tigers – also got out to a slow start, trailing 19-9 after one, and they made no progress before halftime, going into the break still down ten. But a refocus on the Patriots’ game plan and an emphasis on rebounding helped Colonia to go on an 18-9 run, doubling up Chatham, to get to within one going into the game’s final eight minutes, before pulling it out in the fourth. Noah Taylor had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, while James Curet added 11 boards.

Click below to hear Colonia head coach Jose Rodriguez talk about the win:

The wins set up an all-GMC semifinal game Friday night, with Colonia visiting the South Plainfield for a 5:30 pm tip-off. Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas will have live updates on Twitter (follow him at @tsakonas_chris for updates) and postgame reaction after the game on our site, cjsportsradio.com.

The winner will move on to the North 2, Group 3 finals next Monday, time TBD, but will be guaranteed to host. That’s because of two seed upsets on the other side of the bracket, as 6th-seed Snyder of Jersey City knocked off 3-seed Mendham 56-53, while 7th-seed Payne Tech out of Newark toppled 2-seed West Morris 69-59. Whoever wins the South Plainfield-Colonia game will be the higher seed, earning the sectional final at home.

January 12, 2023 at 8:00 amJanuary 12, 2023 at 8:33 am by justinsontupe

Colonia will need to snap long streak tonight at Aquinas to win GMC Red crown

Colonia controls its own destiny, as they say.

A win for the third-ranked Patriots (10-1) at top-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas (11-1) Thursday night would give Colonia the GMC Red Division title outright, and very likely the top overall seed in the league tournament next month.

But to do it, they will need to stop a very long streak.

To be clear, it’s not necessarily one of their own.

While the Trojans won all three meetings between the teams last year, Colonia did beat STA in the finale of the GMC’s Karl-Anthony Towns/Jay Williams Pod in 2021, the top mini four-game pod in the COVID-shortened season.

No, we’re talking about the St. Thomas streak of 52 straight wins in divisional play, which has continued this year despite a move up to the GMC Red Division, along with Colonia.

This will be the first meeting between the teams this year, and it could be the only one of their two games to count toward the Red Division title, thanks to a one-year pilot program approved last spring by the GMC. That pilot only mandates one game against every divisional foe, with a second matchup optional. And only the first go-round through the schedule will be considered to determine the division champion.