Hoboken hoops hurt by loss of Miller; Stevens basketball clinic set
The Hoboken boys’ basketball team, considered a solid contender for the HCIAA Seglio Division title and a possible Group I state sectional title, suffered a huge loss when the Red Wings’ leading scorer, Terique Miller, apparently ran into a disciplinary problem in the school last week and subsequently left the school.
Last Wednesday, Miller, headed toward a certain All-County season, scored 20 points in leading the Red Wings to a big victory over defending HCIAA Seglio champion St. Mary of Jersey City.
Whether Miller is eligible to return has not been determined.
“I don’t know where he stands,” Hoboken head basketball coach Buddy Matthews said. “As of this conversation, he’s off the team.”
Matthews said that Miller’s departure hurts the Red Wings in many ways.
“Terique had come a long way since he was a sophomore,” Matthews said. “He was acting as a model citizen. He had shown a growth and a maturity that I hadn’t seen before. He’s grown up a lot. He held the team together like glue. I really am disappointed. I don’t know how to express it.”
Matthews said that he was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place with the Miller incident.
“I’m the disciplinarian in school and I have to show discipline to all the students,” Matthews said. “But I’m also the basketball coach and I know how well he had been acting with our team. Without him, we have to grow and jell as a team. With him, we had a chance to win the state championship.”
Matthews said that the next few games will determine how well the Red Wings will fare without their leading scorer.
“Every game without Terique, we’re getting better and better,” Matthews said. “We’re getting a little bit from everyone.”
Eddie Castellanos, who began his career at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark before transferring to Hoboken, has emerged as a leading scorer in Miller’s absence. Tony Crawford has been cleaning up around the basket and Levon Lyons has been a steady influence.
“Eddie Gonzalez has been doing a lot of the extra things, playing good defense as well as being one of our leaders in scoring,” Matthews said. “I feel we have a well balanced team and I still think we can do some damage in the county and state playoffs.”
However, the road will be a little tougher, now that Miller is apparently finished as a Red Wing…
The Stevens Tech men’s basketball coaching staff will hold a free basketball clinic Monday for boys and girls, ages five through 16. Head coach Steve Hayn will take the youngsters through the two-hour session, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., with registration beginning at 1:30 p.m. A pizza party will follow the session at Canavan Arena, on the campus of Stevens. Any interested youngster should arrive at the gym at 1:30. It should be a fun day for all…
Condolences to the Hurley family, especially Chris Hurley, the wife of St. Anthony basketball coach Bob, who lost her mother, Hedwig Ledzion, known affectionately as “Babci,” last week. Danny Hurley, the coach at St. Benedict’s in Newark, said that his grandmother was his biggest fan.
“Babci probably saw more of my Seton Hall games than anyone else,” Danny Hurley said. “She would tape all the games and watch them. She really got into them.”
“Babci” had a long and good life, filled with pride over the accomplishments of her grandchildren and the St. Anthony basketball program. She will be sorely missed… — Jim Hague