PATERSON – The tears welling within Jerry Wimberly’s eyes Tuesday night came from what was, not just what could’ve been.
Paterson Charter’s first-year boys basketball coach couldn’t be more proud of his team. The second-seeded Lions lost to fourth-seeded Verona, 58-48, in the North 1, Group 1 final, but there wasn’t a group of returning players in North Jersey that overcame more adversity.
Paterson Charter’s best player from last season, Armoni Sexton, was shot to death in April. The 6-foot-7 Sexton, 15, was ranked New Jersey’s No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2018 by njhoops.com following his tremendous freshman season.
In addition to coping with that loss, Paterson Charter also lost coach Tommie Patterson to his alma mater, Kennedy. Jaylen Colon, Paterson Charter’s starting point guard as a freshman last season, transferred to Kennedy.
“This is a championship to me because we got to this point,” Wimberly said. “If you would’ve asked anybody from the city if we would’ve gotten here, after seeing this team in the fall, they would’ve said no. They would’ve said we would’ve won three games.”
Paterson Charter finishes the season, just its third at the varsity level, with a 17-7 record.
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