VERONICA YANKOWSKI Brookdale’s Harold Bautista goes up for a shot over Suffolk’s Darrin Miller during their game Sunday afternoon in Lincroft.
MIDDLETOWN — "Ask me after six games" was Paul Cisek’s response to what can be expected from his Brookdale Community College men’s basketball team this winter.
"It’s a team I don’t know very much about," he said. "We have four sophomores and 12 freshmen. We lack the sophomore leadership that we had last year. We’re a young team that has to grow up real fast. After six games, we’ll see who it is that we can lean on to carry us."
Cisek has turned the Lincroft college into an emerging junior college national power. The Jersey Blues enjoyed a Top 10 national ranking in 2000-01, going 24-5 while winning the Garden State Athletic Conference South Division championship, and they were just a win away from the national championship tournament. They lost at home in the Region XIX final to Atlantic Cape.
Unfortunately, as is the nature with a junior college program where there is always a big turnover, the Blues have no starters returning, and the four sophomores they have are not very experienced. Ryan Singley from Point Pleasant Borough and Charles Randell from Raritan are the only returners of last year’s GSAC regular-season champions. Both are guards with Singley a top shooter.
Matt DelosSantos, who played two years ago for the Blues, is the point guard, and his familiarity with the BCC system is very important. He’ll run the show. The other sophomore is off guard Lateff Ojoye. Cisek does have a solid incoming freshman class, which he likes very much and which should prevent the Blues from going into a rebuilding mode.
"We have a talented class that we can build a team around," he pointed out.
Chris Brown, a Howell High School grad, is a versatile forward who can score from the inside or outside. Bobby Vardo, who led Mater Dei far into the state playoffs the last two years, is an off guard who can provide scoring. Freehold Borough’s Bilal Saluhuddin is a very quick guard who can penetrate or knock down the three.
Dwayne Ailey, another Howell grad, is a slasher who can break defenses down and create his own shot.
For the three-point game, the Blues have Rumson-Fair Haven grad Brian Wong. He led the Shore area in three-point shooting with the Bulldogs. Given time to square up and shoot, he is close to automatic with his threes.
For size, the Blues have 6-3 Monmouth Regional grad Corey Lewis. He plays much bigger than his size because of his jumping ability. He could be a big presence in the paint. Mark Wright of Freehold Borough and Gary Barella, a pair of 6-6 forwards, bolster Brookdale’s front-line game. Peter Richardson at 6-5 and the 6-4 Oswal Ramirez add depth up front.
Brick Memorial guard Dennis Dellisanti and Harold Bautista from Emerson fortify BCC’s backcourt. In early scrimmages and practices, Cisek has been able to draw some positive conclusions about his 2001-02 Jersey Blues.
"We have guys who can score, but what I don’t see yet is that consistency of shooting you need at the college level," he explained. "We’re a quick team, and we can score some points…We’re going to run and press. We don’t have size, but I think this team plays man-to-man defense as well as any team I’ve had."
Cisek was certainly happy by what transpired over the weekend when his young Jersey Blues opened the season 2-0, winning the Brookdale Tournament against some strong opposition.
Brown just may be the player the Blues can lean on. He scored 42 points in BCC’s two wins. The forward notched 23 points, including three three-pointers, in the Blues 74-69 win over Nassau on Saturday. Bautista chipped in with 16, including two from downtown.
In Sunday’s 81-69 victory in the final against Suffolk County Community College (Selden, N.Y.), Brown had 19 points and 15 rebounds. But it was another ex-Rebel, Ailey, who put the game away. Ailey matched Brown for team high with 19 points, but he went on a tear late in the game, scoring nine points in a three-minute stretch, which sealed the win for the host Blues against a Suffolk team that was 4-0.
Brookdale’s defense lived up to Cisek’s expectations, holding both Nassau and Suffolk to 69 points. Brookdale will begin a three-game home stand on Tuesday against Bergen at 8 p.m. That is followed by games with Passaic (8 p.m. Dec. 13) and Luzerne, Pa. (1:30 p.m. Dec. 15). Brookdale starts GSAC and Region XIX play on Jan. 5 against Cumberland.