Schools
Week in Sports: Previewing Basketball Season
With football finals over, high schools ready for basketball season.
It’s a sad truth, but after Rumson-Fair Haven’s devastating 3-0 loss to Matawan High School in the Central Jersey Group II Football Final, fall sports have finally come to a close for 2011.
The leaves have fallen off the trees, the sky turns dark much earlier than most are used to, and our beloved high school sports are moving indoors as student athletes prepare for their respective seasons.
After an exciting 2010-11 season for Monmouth County boys basketball, fans have plenty to look forward to in 2011-12. Plenty of familiar faces will continue to shine, new stars are sure to rise and all teams look to either continue their recent successes or return to glory.
Find out what's happening in Rumson-Fair Havenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Coming off the football team’s aforementioned heartbreaker, Rumson-Fair Haven’s boys basketball team is sure to raise some chins around the area. Last season’s edition of the team finished with an impressive 18-8 overall record, falling just short in two different tournaments. They lost to Raritan by a mere eight points in the Shore Conference Final and to Ewing by a single basket in the NJSIAA Group II Semifinal.
The best overall record of the bunch, though, came from Middletown North, who finished 22-5 in 2010-11. Each of their 22 wins last season came by ten points or more, with the exception of only one. They’re returning guard Jason Huelbig who made an appearance on the All-Shore Boys Basketball Third Team in his junior year.
Find out what's happening in Rumson-Fair Havenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
On the other side of town, Middletown South looks to improve upon a 1-15 overall record from last season. One of their few bright spots in 2010-11 came in the form of losing by only five points to NJSIAA State Tournament quarterfinalist Brick Memorial High School.
The two Red Bank schools finished last season as almost mirror opposites of each other. The Caseys of Red Bank Catholic recorded 16 wins and only seven losses, while Red Bank Regional finished with only seven wins and 18 losses. The Caseys’ season came to an end thanks to a 12-point loss via Holy Spirit in the NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public Semifinal. When the two schools faced off in last year’s season opener, it was RBC who came out on top with a 64-45 win.
While last season’s end results remain fresh in the minds of those who lived through them, they were deemed irrelevant on Nov. 25 when practices opened up for your favorite local basketball teams, and only time will tell what the new season holds.
