Shaun Kolmer knew that his second year as the head boys’ basketball coach at Hoboken High School would be a good one.
“Just by the way we finished last year, I knew that this year would be better,” said Kolmer, who guided the Redwings to an 8-15 record last year in his initial season. “I was pretty confident based on the way we played at the end of last year.”
The Redwings entered the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group I playoffs as the No. 15 seed, but knocked off No. 2 seed Dunellen, then lost to American History of Newark by one point in the second round a year ago.
“I was confident we would be back, even if we won only eight games,” Kolmer said. “We were just coming around in my opinion. We had a solid group coming back. I knew how committed the returning players were. We turned it into a 10-month program and got some solid responses.”
The Redwings played together in two summer leagues in Kearny and Cliffside Park. They played together in a fall league in Kearny.
“We used the summer and the fall for them to buy into it,” Kolmer said. “We needed the success we had to carry over into the season.”
It seemingly has had some sort of a positive carry over, because the Redwings are currently 5-1 after a huge win over North Bergen Tuesday night.
Another gigantic victory for the Redwings came early in the season when they upset Union City. They also won the Weehawken Holiday Tournament with wins over Hawthorne in the opener, then knocked off the host Indians, 75-62, handing Weehawken its lone loss of the season.
Sure looks like Kolmer’s premonitions about his team are coming true.
Because he knew he had a good squad, Kolmer scheduled games that were more competitive, taking on Group IV schools like Fair Lawn, another early season win.
“I don’t think we’re ahead of schedule,” Kolmer said. “I think we’re right where I thought we would be. I don’t think we’ve fully arrived yet.”
The Redwings have received stellar play from their two leaders, namely juniors Tyshon Hanberry and Justin Davis.
Hanberry has been nothing short of sensational in the early going. The 6-foot-3 Hanberry was named the Most Valuable Player of the Weehawken tourney and had a phenomenal 36-point effort in the 75-68 win over North Bergen last Tuesday. Hanberry earned Second Team Hudson Reporter All-Area honors last season.
“He’s our best athlete,” Kolmer said. “He can jump right out of the gym. He blocks shots and dunks. He can handle the ball to break pressure and he can score. He really can do everything.”
The 6-foot-4 Davis is another gifted athlete.
“He does it all,” Kolmer said. “He can score at the post, then pop out and hit the three [point shot].”
Needless to say, Kolmer is pleased with the play of the two juniors. Hanberry is averaging 20.8 points and nearly eight rebounds per game. Davis is also scoring 20.8 points per contest and grabbing eight rebounds. It’s like the two are complete mirror images of each other.
“I’m really blessed to have the two of them,” Kolmer said. “The best thing about them is that they’re not selfish. They are for each other. They are genuinely happy for each other and pull for each other. There is no jealousy whatsoever. One might do it one night, then the other does it. It’s amazing to see.”
Both Hanberry and Davis have registered in double figures in all six games thus far. That’s also consistency.
Another key contributor is 5-foot-9 senior point guard Aaron Rapalo, who is averaging nine points, six assists and four rebounds per contest.
“He makes me go crazy every game,” Kolmer said with a laugh. “He’s our high energy guy. He gets us going, but he’s going to give me a heart attack with some of the things he does.”
Senior Jeffrey Garcia, a 5-foot-6 guard, is the team’s resident ball hawk.
“He’s our best defender by far,” Kolmer said. “I put him on the other team’s best player and regardless of size, he’s going to shut him down. He takes pride in his defense.”
Senior Jimmy Rosa is a 5-foot-10 guard who gets a lot of playing time.
“He’s our best shooter,” Kolmer said. “He can hit the three [pointer] all the time.”
The Redwings go to two juniors off the bench in 6-foot-3 Anthony Melendez and 5-foot-10 Zion Rodriguez.
The Redwings have received assistance from two major players on the Hoboken state championship football team. Quarterback Wilden Germain, the 2015 Hudson Reporter Most Valuable Player, and receiver Kyeise Lopez have brought that winning edge to the basketball team.
“Kyeise never played basketball before,” Kolmer said. “They’ve brought a lot of leadership. They’ve been good additions to the program.”
Needless to say, things are going well in the Mile Square City.
“I’m very happy with what’s going on,” Kolmer said. “We’re beating some Group IV teams. We either go hard or go home.”
Kolmer said that he’s been receiving some guidance from former Hoboken head basketball coach Buddy Matthews.
“He’s been great with us,” Kolmer said. “He’s a big supporter of ours. I’m always looking to him for advice.”
So far, it’s been a great combination, the best basketball season Hoboken has enjoyed in quite some time…
Hudson Catholic has suffered some tough early season losses and has an uncharacteristic 2-3 record in the early going. But the Hawks looked impressive Tuesday night in scoring 105 points against Memorial, including an astounding 39 points in the first quarter. Going back to 1971, the first year that the mental notebook remembers watching Hudson County basketball, there’s never been a team to put up 39 in one period. It was truly incredible.
The Hawks got 27 points and 11 assists from Luther Muhammad and 22 points from Jahvon Quinerly. Both of those are only sophomores. Quinerly had an incredible eight steals in the win. Patrick Strzala, who gave a verbal commitment to Holy Cross last week, despite being only a junior, added 15 points, as did senior Marion Williams. Danny Rodriguez added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Dickinson is next on the Hawks’ schedule…
St. Anthony is off to a rousing 5-0 start with a different hero every night. The Friars defeated state-ranked Pope John, 71-48, behind 22 points from R.J. Cole and 14 from Daniel Mading. They also defeated Iona Prep in the Skyline Classic get-together, 66-31, behind 16 from Jagan Mosely, 14 from Javaris Hayes and 12 from Idris Joyner.
Lincoln is off to a rousing 6-0 start in girls’ basketball with Zhan’e Williams leading the way. The senior guard Williams exploded for 33 in a win over Snyder last Tuesday…
Spotted at a recent stop was Memorial junior varsity basketball coach Fernando Fuentes. The former Weehawken standout athlete who played pro baseball for a bit was decked out in a nice suit and tie, definitely the best dressed junior varsity coach in history.
It was good to see Fuentes so fervently coaching his team, which was definitely overachieving and listening to his instructions. Fuentes has a bright future in coaching and if not, then he can model some of the clothes he wears, although this suit was a little soaked from sweat and was certainly headed to the dry cleaners…
Hudson Reporter Boys’ High School Basketball Top Five: 1. St. Anthony 5-0. 2. Hudson Catholic 2-3. 3. Snyder 4-2. 4. Hoboken 5-1. 5. Dickinson 5-1…
Hudson Reporter Girls’ High School Basketball Top Five: 1. Lincoln 6-0. 2. Bayonne 5-2. 3. Secaucus 5-3. 4. North Bergen 4-2. 5. Marist 4-3…-Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.