By Danny Wild
MaxPreps.com
NEW JERSEY – First of all, let’s talk about last week. I wrote at length about the “scheduled” heavyweight showdown between then-No. 1 St. Benedict’s Prep of Newark and Brooklyn’s Lincoln High School on Friday night.
The game never happened. According to Adam Zagoria of The Herald News (N.J.), Lincoln was unable to get the game sanctioned. Neither team updated their schedules, apparently, so I hope you weren’t left out in the cold on Friday looking for the Lance Stephenson limo to cruise through the Lincoln Tunnel.
There is still some Gray Bees news to report, however. St. Ben’s slipped by Passaic County Tech on Saturday, 59-47, thanks to 17 points from Tamir Jackson. Louisville-bound Samardo Samuels did not play in the game.
The Newark squad, ranked No. 3 nationally by USA Today, then beat up on Hill (Pottstown, Pa.) by 12 points on Wednesday night in Pennsylvania.
Two wins, 18-1 overall, and the Bees, somehow, lost their top spot in the national MaxPreps rankings. You’ll recall that St. Benedict’s overtook fellow New Jersey rivals St. Anthony in the Jan. 23 national poll. As of Jan. 30, the Friars are back on top.
Let’s be honest though – No. 1 or 2, who cares? We know both of these teams are arguably the most talented and unstoppable in the country.
Burwell Leads the Garden State
Based on stats submitted to MaxPreps.com as of Jan. 31, Michael Burwell of Cardinal McCarrick leads the state with 29.7 points-per-game. Bloomfield’s Jamil Goodwin (24.8), Metchuen’s Dejaun Miller (24.1), Princeton Day’s Joe Rogers (22.8) and Bound Brook’s Erron Banks (21) fill out the Top-5. If you think you’re missing from the leader board, check this out.
The Star-Ledger of Newark named Burwell Player of the Week after he had 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes during Cardinal McCarrick's 70-37 victory over Spotswood on Thursday. Burwell scored 29 points, 13 rebounds and dished out five assists on Saturday when Cardinal McCarrick crushed Bishop Ahr, 75-55, for the team’s 12th straight win. The victory also snapped the Ahr’s seven-game winning streak.
Gets even better: Burwell, a 6-foot-6 senior, sizzled on Jan. 12 with 42 points -- 34 coming in the second half -- when Cardinal McCarrick snuck past Piscataway, 70-65, in overtime.
Leading the state in scoring has its advantages. According to NJ.com, Burwell has received interest from Seton Hall, Notre Dame, Old Dominion, Virginia Commonwealth, Northeastern, Bradley, Wagner, Western Kentucky and Arkansas State.
“I'm keeping things open,” Burwell told the newspaper. “I'm just worried about playing ball, and when that time comes, I'll deal with it."
Cardinal McCarrick coach Joe Lewis praised Burwell for his leadership and dedication.
“Mike worked very hard over the summer, he really improved his shot,” Lewis told NJ.com. “It's nice to have a 6-foot-6 kid who can shoot the three off the dribble and go to the post when necessary. He's really picked up his leadership and he's been playing defense tremendously. He's just going all out."
Rank ‘Em
St. Anthony and St. Benedict’s continue to trade each other for the nation’s top spot in the MaxPreps Top-25 rankings; the Friars hold the honors in the latest poll. St. Patrick was ranked No. 40 in the poll, one spot above NYC neighbors Holy Cross (12-6), and one spot below Simi Valley (21-1), the California political capital of the week. This week we see Plainfield knocking out Piscataway from the Top-10 as well. Here is the rundown on the latest New Jersey state rankings:
1. St. Anthony: Nation’s best team showed no mercy against Christian Brothers Academy (Lincroft), with a 90-32 win.
2. St. Benedict's: Bees will keep it in PA and face Harrisburg (12-9) on Sunday in the Battle by the Bay. I’m guessing it won’t be much of a battle.
3. St. Patrick: Elizabeth squad is 17-2 and will face Los Angeles’ Fairfax at the Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei. Fairfax is 18-3. Like a retro hip-hop East-West coast showdown.
4. Linden: Improved three spots. A dozen straight wins for the Tigers after beating Shabazz by 24 points on Jan. 29. They’ll face Scotch Plains-Fanwood on Saturday.
5. Science Park: Undefeated (10-0) in league play, the 14-2 Chargers will take on Millburn (7-9) on Saturday at the Essex County Tourney.
6. Bloomfield Tech: Tech will take on Trenton Catholic next on Feb. 7. A hot date with the Bronx’s St. Raymond on Fed. 13 as well.
7. Paterson Catholic: The Cougars are scheduled to play at the Passaic County Tourney this weekend before a trip Maryland for the PrimeTime Shootout.
8. Don Bosco Prep: Ironmen are 11-2 after getting slammed, 82-39, by the appropriately named Kamit Institute for Magnificent Achievers (DC) on Jan. 29. Must be a lot of pressure on kids who go to a school with that name. They did beat Bosco, magnificently, though.
9. Bridgewater-Raritan: The Panthers (17-1) have not lost since Dec. 15! Yikes. That’s real bad news for Watchung Hills fans on Feb 5.
10. Plainfield: The Cardinals (11-4) travel to Elizabeth and Kearny this weekend. Three of Plainfield’s four losses have come on the road this season, but the redbirds are 4-1 in their last five.
USA Today rolled out their weekly Super 25 poll on Tuesday. St. Anthony is No. 1 in the nation after Mike Rosario hit five three-pointers and finished with 21 points in a 90-32 win over Christian Brothers Academy.
St. Benedict’s is No. 3, and St. Patrick is No. 10. UNC-bound Dexter Strickland had nearly half of the Celtics’ total points (20) in a 50-37 win over St. Joseph of Montvale last week. St. Pat cruised past Blair Academy on Jan. 27, 59-51, before crushing Living Faith Christian Academy on Jan. 29 by 48 points, 88-40. Man, who set up the Living Faith schedule – they already endured a 96-50 loss to St. Patrick on Jan. 3.
And this is interesting: Living Faith (5-5) has been outscored by nearly 200 total points this season, but they managed a 65-63 win last week over the aforementioned Kamit Institute of smart kids – the same pompous Washington, DC school that smacked around No. 8 Don Bosco. Go figure.
Meet Samardo
Actually, you might not want to meet Samardo Samuels … he is a large, intimidating man. At 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds, he’s already got NBA size on a high school court. Scout.com recently ranked Samuels as the No. 1 center in the nation and compared him to “a young Eddy Curry.” Rivals.com has him listed as the No. 2 center in America. Sports Illustrated’s Kevin Armstrong recently provided a detailed look at the rising star.
Samuels earned MVP honors at the City of Palms Classic, and I had the opportunity to watch him in-person at the Garden at the Nike Super 6 last month. Domination. Champ TV has Samuels ranked as the No. 4 player in the nation. You can bet the folks at Louisville are eager to see him suit up next year as a freshman… can already hear Dick Vitale mumbling/drooling about diapers.
NBADraft.net compared Samuels to Al Jefferson and said he “is a load to handle in the paint.” I’ll concur on that – he is head and shoulders (literally) above everyone else on the court. “He has the strength to muscle his way around the basket. He has a nice handle for a big man, and a soft touch around the hoop.”
Samuels, who averaged 19 points per game last season, was being wooed by North Carolina, Connecticut, Florida, St. John’s, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Georgetown, but eventually chose Rick Pitino and the Cardinals. Louisville apparently promised him the most minutes and best opportunities, athletically and academically.
“He's the best player as a junior that we have had at St. Benedict's since I've been here,” Gray Bees coach Dan Hurley told CSTV.com. “He's pushing 6-foot-9, and he puts winning first. He wants to make his team great."
From the Turnpike to the Parkway
No. 3 St. Patrick improved to 17-2 on Thursday night with a 58-49 win over Lawrenceville. Quintrell Thomas hit six from long range and led the Celtics with 20 points, while Dexter Strickland added five three-pointers and finished with 15 points. Brian Kelly’s 15 points led Lawrenceville, which led after the first quarter but was outscored 22-8 in the final eight minutes.
Bloomfield Tech knocked off Adelphi Academy (N.Y.) on Thursday, 62-52, when senior R.J. Hall scored five of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. Todd Fleming added four three-pointers and 18 points for Tech, while Marcus Romain led Adelphi with 18.
Junior forward Mike Friedberg scored a game-high 19 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked six shots to help Pascack Hills past Bergenfield, 54-36, on Jan. 31.
J.D. Griggs provided the drama on Wednesday when he hit the game-winning shot from the top of the key as time expired – his only basket of the game – as Piscataway earned a 41-39 win over J.P. Stevens.
Secaucus narrowly topped Lyndhurst on Thursday when Michael Nunez drilled a short jumper and hit the bonus free-throw with 18 seconds for a one-point win. Nunez led the game with 23 points, while Anthony Dorio scored 16 points for Lyndhurst.
Trenton knocked off Allenton, 73-55, thanks to 25 points from Mike SanFillipo.
Mike Gibbons was the hero for Lakeland on Thursday night when he hit a game-tying buzzer-beater in the fourth quarter and then hit a pair of clutch free-throws with 12 seconds remaining in overtime for a 68-65 win. Gibbons finished with a game-high 28 points, while five players finished in double-figures for Madison.
Jeff Ashamole scored 11 points and Kunyepa Alley added a season-high 10 points, all in the fourth quarter, to help North Brunswick past New Brunswick, 54-42, on Thursday.
Old Bridge coach Tom Knowles earned his 200th career victory on Wednesday when Quinton Crawford scored a game-high 20 points to help edge Perth Amboy, 51-48.
No. 5 Science Park crushed Newark Arts on Thursday, 93-49, as Ken Ortiz led Science with 22 points. Stan Elliot added 20 and Rameel Johnson chipped in 15 for Science, while Prophet Kates led Arts with 22 points.
It’s easy to be captivated and enthralled by Tom Brady’s perfectly-trimmed stubble, dashing good looks and various super model girlfriends, etc. Brady and his cheating Patriots are the exact opposite of the Meadowland’s best, so let’s show ‘em why -- Let’s go Giants!
Danny Wild is a MaxPreps.com writer and photographer. He can be reached at danny@danny-wild.com
