Before the 2003-2004 high school basketball season began, Weehawken High School boys’ head coach Jake McNish surveyed his team and realized what was necessary if the Indians were going to contend for the Bergen County Scholastic League National Division championship.
“I thought we could contend,” McNish said. “Although we lost our two top scorers from last year’s team [graduated Alex Montanile and Wilson Veras], we had four seniors who were great athletes and solid kids. I told those kids that if they doubled their point production and played solid defense, we could win. The kids bought into it.”
Especially the Indians’ four seniors, namely Chris Jodice, Danny Lopez, Alfredo Alvarez and Kevin Kallert. “We all sat down together before the season and told each other that we had to pick it up for the ones who left,” Jodice said. “If we didn’t, we weren’t going to win. We also knew that we had to play together as a team.”
“When Coach [McNish] told us that we all had to double our points, we took that as a challenge,” Kallert said. “We just had to work at it. We all just stepped up on the offensive end.”
Sure enough, all four players increased their offensive production – to almost the exact same proportions. “With those four, we’ve had a different kid step up every night,” McNish said. “It’s incredible how close all four are in scoring.”
Alvarez averages 11 points per game. He’s up from about five points per game a year ago. Kallert averages 10.7 and 12 rebounds per contest. He scored at a four point-per-game clip last year. Guards Lopez (10.3 ppg) and Jodice (9.8 ppg) have also increased their production.
“I’ve preached all year long that they have to share the basketball,” McNish said. “I also preached defense. That had to be our main focus. Our defense would give us offense and the unselfishness could only lead to wins.”
Sure enough, McNish’s predictions became a reality. The Indians’ camaraderie and togetherness paid off in victories right from the outset of the season.
McNish thinks that the closeness of the team was fueled by not having a gym to begin the season. The gymnasium at the high school was under reconstruction, so the Indians had to find other places to practices and hold scrimmages.
“We were like a band of gypsies to begin the year,” McNish said. “We went to Memorial High School to play St. Al’s [of Jersey City]. We went to Hawthorne for a scrimmage. We were all over the place. But I think that helped us come together as a team. It helped them get a little bit of focus, handling that adversity.”
When the season began, the Indians were ready – and also had their gym back.
“I think it was the second or third week of the season, we played our league rivals, St. Mary’s, Wood-Ridge and Secaucus, all in a row,” McNish said. “And we won all three games. That was a sign for me that we were for real. We also beat Northern Valley/Old Tappan [a Bergen County Group III school], so that was another sign.”
McNish also knew that he had a special bunch of kids.
“The first day of practice was the day after Thanksgiving and we were having practice at 7:45 a.m.,” McNish said. “The kids were all there at 7:30, raring to go. That’s when I knew they were special.”
The Indians just steamrolled through the regular season, winning 20 out of 22 games, and managed to clinch the BCSL National championship last week.
It was the first league title for Weehawken since 1997-98 and it was the third league crown in McNish’s 10 years as a head coach.
“This one means a real lot, because I’m really tight with these kids,” McNish said. “They’re such a coachable bunch. They’ve been a pleasure all year. They’re like coaches on the floor and I never have to worry about them, because they totally buy into what you say.”
Jodice and Kallert have been a part of championship baseball teams in the past, but this title has a special meaning because it’s a different sport.
“I never was on a championship basketball team before,” Jodice said. “It feels great, because we all had a part in it. It’s an amazing feeling.”
“It’s definitely different,” said Kallert, who also learned last week that he has been selected to play in the annual Hudson-Essex All-Star Classic next month. “I guess because we always win in baseball, so this one seemed harder to get. This is proof that offense wins games, but defense wins championships. Defense was the bottom line with this team. We knew we could win if we had the total team effort.”
Weehawken High School athletic director Richard Terpak was proud of the team’s achievements.
“This is a tribute to Coach McNish’s outstanding coaching and leadership abilities,” Terpak said. “This team has become a great source of pride for the school and the entire community. They truly embody team play. There isn’t one star on the team and they all play so well together. It’s a tribute to the coach and his staff.”
After facing HCIAA Coviello finalist and state-ranked Emerson Thursday night at Weehawken High at 7 p.m., the Indians head to the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group I state playoffs, where they earned the top seed. The Indians face the winner of Ridgefield-Palisades Park in the first round of the state tournament March 4 at Weehawken.
“We won the league, now we definitely want the states,” Jodice said. “We can’t just settle for the league.”
Kallert said that he still hasn’t fathomed the thought that he’s helped to raise another banner in the school gymnasium, just like he did with the three BCSL National baseball titles the school has won.
“Maybe some day when I get older,” Kallert said. “It still hasn’t fully sunk in yet. Maybe some day I’ll know how good it will feel when I see those banners.”
If the Indians add a state sectional banner, then he’ll know for sure.