By Alex Kline
The 2010-11 high school basketball season has been under way for a few weeks now, but hoops in the state of New Jersey didn’t begin until Friday.
The St. Anthony Friars kicked off their season with a 93-34 rout of Emily Fisher Charter of Trenton. Playing his first game for the Friars after spending three years at Paterson Catholic, Rutgers-bound point guard Myles Mack poured in 26 points, including the 1000th of his career.
Junior Kyle Anderson, the top point guard in the Class of 2012, added 11 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four blocks. Lucious Jones added 17 points and Jerome Frink 11.
Bob Hurley won his 985th career game and is on pace to reach 1,000 in mid-January.
St. Anthony faces a difficult task on Sunday as they play sophomore stud Jaren Sina and Gill St. Bernard (NJ) in the Hoop Group Tip-Off Showcase at Seton Hall.
Nationally ranked St. Patrick of Elizabeth also kicked off its season with a 60-28 rout of Westfield (N.J.).
Unsigned senior guard Chris Martin, originally from Washington D.C., had a game-high 19 points and Kentucky signee Michael Gilchrist chipped in with 14 points.
St. Pat’s heads to Florida for the City of Palms Classic this weekend. They face Whitney Young and Ohio State-bound Sam Thompson, as well as sophomore sensation Thomas Hamilton and freshman phenoms Jahlil Okafor and Paul White.
Seton Hall Prep team is also one of the best squads in New Jersey. The Pirates started off their season against Newark East Side and pulled out a 69-67 win.
East Side, which features Tariq Carey, Kasim Chandler and Aaron Bodie, gave the Pirates a run for their money. But senior Sterling Gibbs, a Maryland signee, had a game-high 30 points in the close win. Seton Hall Prep will play their second game this Sunday at Seton Hall in the Hoop Group Tip-Off Classic against Columbia (NJ).
While they may be the reigning New Jersey Tournament of Champions, Trenton Catholic still has a lot to prove with a team full of returning players who will have to step into bigger roles. Fred Falchi’s Iron Mikes on Friday made their first step onto the court since winning the title, handling Mooretown (N.J.), 42-37.
Led by senior leader Khalid Lewis, a guard heading to Delaware, the younger TCA team will rely on a strong 2012 class. Brandon Taylor went for 16 points, while Ronny Paden pitched in 9 points. The Iron Mikes face a tough challenge on Monday at the Hun School, who came off of a huge overtime win against St. Benedict’s (NJ) on Wednesday night.
In other notable news around the Garden State; Newark Tech, Hudson Catholic, Gill St. Bernard, New Egypt and St. Peter’s Prep all won their opening game of the season.
RECRUITING NOTES
Sonny Parker, the father of sophomore forward Jabari Parker, confirmed that his son received a scholarship offer from Duke. Parker, a native of Illinois, has a top five of Duke, Washington, Kansas, Michigan State and Illinois.
Villanova assistant Keith Urgo and Seton Hall assistant Shaheen Holloway both attended the St. Anthony game tonight to watch junior standout Kyle Anderson, among others.
Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo, who on Saturday will serve a one-game suspension for a secondary violation of NCAA rules related to a summer basketball camp, took in junior guard Gary Harris’ game Friday.
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