Boys Basketball: Star Ledger awards All-Group & Conference post season honors

Second Team All-Group 1

Ka’Juan Gee, Paterson Charter, Sr., G

 

North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Honors

Player of the Year:

Anthony Pizzuti

Lyndhurst, Sr.

Pizzuti is one of the most explosive athletes in Bergen County and he showed that off again this season. The 6-foot-4 forward is a high-flier who can get above the rim and throw down vicious dunks. That’s what draws in eyes, but Pizzuti is really one of the best all-around forwards in the area. The senior averaged 23.9 points per game and led Lyndhurst to a National Division title.

Pizzuti used his length to clean up on the boards. He also blocked 40 shots.

The senior kicked off this winter with 30 points, eight rebounds and two blocks against Paterson Charter. Pizzuti kept his foot on the gas after that and put together some amazing games. His stat line of 35 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks in an upset win over Saddle River Day really stood out and so did 44-point game against Hasbrouck Heights.

Pizzuti had the wow factor every time he stepped on the court.

Lyndhurst had it too as a whole, with Pizzuti, CJ Baillie and Matt Slaby slamming down dunks. Baillie is a 6-foot-4 guard and Slaby is a 6-foot-4 guard. That type of height and length is impressive. Shawn Bellenger, Johnny Chaname and Jake Mayer also played key roles this season and the totality of that talent is the reason why this team won its division.

Pizzuti has scored more than 1,100 points the past two years and played like a star.

 

Team of the Year:

Paterson Charter

For the second time in the last three years, Paterson Charter won a divisional championship.

The Lions (24-4) went toe to toe with Cresskill in the North 1, Group 1 final and made the plays they needed late to take home a 46-40. That win came a few weeks after Paterson Charter went the distance and won the NJIC Tournament title. This team was not as explosive as the squad that won the overall Group 1 title two years ago, but there was a lot of talent to work with.

Seniors Ka’Juan Gee and De’Angelo Hibbert really settled in as leaders in their second year with the program. Junior Giovanny Figueroa took over at times and was the team’s top 3-point shooter. He also led Paterson Charter in assists. Junior Kyle Fulcher played well and added to a good group of guards. Senior Tyler Martin earned starting minutes at points this year and senior Amare Devonish came in off the bench and made a splash throughout the year. Rookie Jahki Singletary gave the team size, playing next to Hibbert. It all added up and led to titles.

Paterson Charter was perfect in conference play and won the American Division title.

That earned the Lions a spot in the NJIC Tournament and Paterson Charter opened its run with a win over Lyndhurst in the semis. It secured the tournament title with a win against Glen Rock.

Paterson Charter won its first three state playoff games by an average of 21 points.

Paterson Charter trailed at halftime of the sectional final, but the Lions charged back and pulled away late for the win. Hibbert led the way with a double-double that night – a performance to remember in his second year since transferring from Manchester Regional. Paterson Charter’s run in the playoffs came to an end in the Group 1 semis a few nights later. This team played at a high level this season though and proved again that it was championship material.

“I make sure we’ve got the right attitude and that we’re all working together,” Hibbert said after the sectional final. “That’s the end goal, that’s how we win. Not a singular person can win a championship, we win by playing together so I’ve got to do my part to keep everybody focused and ready to play.”

 

Coach of the Year:

Hershey Groff, New Milford

New Milford won a divisional title for just the second time in program history, winning the Liberty Division championship during a banner year. The Knights (20-8) finished above .500 for just the third time in the last 15 years and this year’s team had more wins than those other two squads.

Junior Luis Placido played really well this year and his ability to take control of games and play calm in hectic situations really kept things rolling in the right direction this winter. Senior Jaiden Ortiz played unreal when he was on his game and lit it up from 3-point range all year. Senior Amaurys Beato also had a good year, helping lead a team that relied on sophomores Jake Johnson and Dariel Liranzo. New Milford started the year 8-1 and kept that going all year.

“We have not been known for our basketball the last few years, but I’ve been preaching to these guys that they just needed to stick with it,” Groff said after a win over Waldwick in the sectional quarterfinals. “They’ve done a remarkable job and they’ve exceeded even what I thought they could do. We may not be the biggest team and we may not have the best shooting percentage every game, but we play hard and I’m really proud of these guys.”

Other Notable Storylines

–Glen Rock (20-9) shocked the conference when sophomore Robert Lopez hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to knock out St. Mary (Ruth.). That shot sent the Bergen County squad into its first NJIC Tournament final. The Panthers were paced by leading scorer Mason Mangione. Seniors Jack Hattersley and Matt Kaplan stepped up all year too as leaders for this team. Lopez and junior Sam Viggiano added to the effort and made Glen Rock tough to beat this winter.

–St. Mary (Ruth.) (22-7) came out on fire this season and was knocking teams off left and right in NJIC play, including an 84-4 win over Wallington. Senior guard Luke Gaccione was a tone-setter at the point and led a team that looked to B.J. Cunningham, Ilan Santos, Sammy Tornabene and Victor Torres to help spark the offense. This is a well-run program and St. Mary (Ruth.) has done a good job of bringing in talent and making this a tough team to beat.

–Cresskill (17-13) held off Park Ridge and its star forward, Deron McLaughlin, to win the Patriot Division. McLaughlin finished the year with 21 double-doubles. Cresskill had a great all-around team and counted on Jack Hayward, Luke Kopczynski, Marko Radovich, Omar Tal and Rocco Webster to step up in big moments. Cresskill made it back to the sectional final for the second year in a row and played well in that championship game before falling to Paterson Charter.

 

Brandon Gould can be reached at bgould@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrandonGouldHS.

 

North Jersey Interscholastic Conference

1-Paterson Charter (24-4)

2-Glen Rock (20-9)

3-St. Mary (Ruth.) (22-7)

4-Dwight-Englewood (15-12)

5-Lyndhurst (18-10)

6-Rutherford (18-9)

7-Cresskill (17-13)

8-Saddle River Day (10-14)

9-Lodi (18-7)

10-New Milford (20-8)