By: Redd E. Patrick
One glance at his 6-foot-4, 195-pound frame and new South Brunswick boys basketball coach Dave Turco knew what his plans were for one Cliff Breese.
One glance at his smooth stroke from the outside, however, changed those plans in a hurry.
Although he is the Vikings’ second tallest player, Breese quickly emerged as the team’s ‘go-to’ guy, but not because of his physical stature. Although he has the ability to go to the basket and mix it up inside, Breese makes it extra tough on defenders because he can also stroke it from the outside. In fact, that’s his trademark.
Averaging 15.3 points per game, the junior swingman is the only double-figure scorer for the Vikings, who took a 9-5 record and a four-game winning streak into the St. Joseph gym Thursday night, where it played Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division’s No. 1 team. St. Joe’s (11-5) defeated South Brunswick 54-51 earlier in the season.
Breese has nailed 33 3-pointers on the season, which is tied for the sixth highest in the GMC. He is averaging 2.7 3-pointers per game and has made at least one in every game.
"When we first took over," explained Turco, who was hired for the job last fall. "We heard about this kid Cliff Breese, who they said was a good shooter. When we first saw him, we immediately thought inside. Coming from Carteret, we didn’t have much height inside, so we thought that’s where he would play for us.
"But when we got on the floor and saw how he could shoot it from the outside, we changed our minds."
Breese, who saw limited varsity time a year ago, scored 12 points opening night vs. Edison, then followed it up with 17 against Scotch Plains. In his third game, against state power Roselle in the South Brunswick Holiday Tournament, Breese lit up for 28 points.
"That was the game that got his confidence going," Turco said. "Early on, if he missed a couple of shots, Cliff would hang his head. But we told him not to worry about it, just keep chucking them up. All he really needed was the confidence and now he’s getting there."
While Breese is the offensive key to this defensive-minded club this season, he also represents hope for the future.
"Cliff has such a big upside," said Turco. "Once he gets in the weight room and develops physically, we’ll definitely be looking for him to have a big season next year. He’s a hard-worker, so he should improve a lot."
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With victories over North Brunswick, J.P. Stevens, Edison and most recently Piscataway, the Vikings put together a four-game winning streak and qualified for the NJSIAA State Tournament in the process. The state tourney begins at the end of the month.
With the seeding meeting for the GMC Tournament set for a week from Saturday, a lot can happen between now and then for the Vikes.
Based on games against St. Joseph last night, Perth Amboy (home Friday), Old Bridge (Saturday) and then games next week vs. East Brunswick and J.P. Stevens, the Vikings can go from a seed as high as the top five or as low as the teens depending on these outcomes.
"This is a huge stretch for us," Turco said. "We’re playing well. Our defense has picked up and the kids seem to understand their roles. We’ve been getting a lot of good scrimmaging done in practice, so we should be ready. I’ve always heard about how tough the Red Division is, but now I see. Every night is a fight, there is no easy games. Even the teams at the bottom can win."
Against Piscataway, a 46-43 victory, Breese led the way with 16 points, point guard Joe Kannampuzha continued his steady play with 10 points, while 6-8 sophomore Dan Stonkus scored just five, but recorded another double-digit rebounding effort.
Chris Brown, who finished with eight points, upped to his record as a varsity player to 5-1 vs. his father Charles, who is the head coach at Piscataway.

