Kohl makes most of first year with MHS hoops

Point guard has Cougars in position for Skyland title

By: Bob Nuse
   Jay Kohl knew his time would eventually come. He loves basketball too much for it not to.
   Kohl, a senior at Montgomery High, spent the first three years of his Cougar basketball career playing for sub-varsity teams. As a junior a year ago, he saw action in four varsity games, but generally only for a few seconds at the end of blowouts.
   But even with limited time on the court, Kohl had no intention of giving up the sport he loved.
   "I really enjoy playing and I’ve always thought I was a pretty good player," Kohl said. "Last year we had a senior point guard who was ahead of me. I didn’t have anything against Coach (Pat) Lott. The other guy was better than me and he got to play. But I also knew that if I kept working hard, I would get my chance."
   This year Kohl is getting that chance as the starting point guard for first-year Montgomery coach Jeff Tagliareni. He’s the kind of point guard the new coach likes for his system, one who looks to set other people up to score rather than score himself. But one who can hit a key shot when it’s needed.
   "Jay doesn’t care about his own scoring," said Tagliareni, whose team advanced to the second round of the Somerset County Tournament with a 67-36 win over Manville on Monday. "He knows his role. In the summer and in the preseason we talked about what the point guard needs to do. If he gets the ball up court, passes it to the wings and gets us into our offensive set, he’s done his job.
   "We’ve also had a couple of games where he has hit some key buckets for us down the stretch. He did it against Rutgers Prep and also against Lawrence. So if he needs to score, he’s certainly capable of doing it."
   So after three years in the wings, Kohl has gotten the opportunity he hoped for at the varsity level. It’s an opportunity he has grasped and done a good job with as the starting point guard for a team that is 16-3 after a 62-54 win over South Hunterdon on Tuesday.
   "He was a JV player last year. But he put in a lot of time over the summer and he’s brought into the system I want us to run," said Tagliareni, whose team can clinch a share of the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title with a win over Delaware Valley tonight. "It doesn’t always happen that a junior who is on the JV moves in and starts on the varsity the next year. But he got the opportunity and he’s done a good job. Both he and Ryan Jenkins have done a nice job for us bringing the ball up the court."
   Kohl is just happy to be a part of the team’s success this season. He’s been friends with the other six seniors on the team for years, and this year he’s getting a chance to be part of the success on the court.
   "When the new coach came in, I basically felt like it was a new opportunity for me," Kohl said. "Last year’s point guard was a good player and he was ahead of me. But I saw this as a new opportunity for me. We have some guys on the team that can score, like Justin (Freid) and Adam (Hyncik). I just try to run the offense and get them the ball as much as I can.
   "All I want to do is win and have a good season. We have some big games coming up and we just want to keep playing well."
   The win over South Hunterdon on Tuesday was the Cougars’ sixth in a row and 14th in their last 15 games. The only loss along the way was a game against Somerville. At 11-1 in the Skyland Conference, Montgomery has a one-game lead over Somerville for the Raritan Division title. A win tonight secures at least a tie, with the conference finale Thursday at Voorhees.
   "We’re excited about having a chance to win the conference," said Kohl, who is glad to be one of the players making that happen. "We’ve worked hard and we’re pretty happy. And we’d also like to do well. We’re all close friends on the team and even though I didn’t play last year, I traveled with the team and felt like I was part of the team.
   "We’re excited about some of the games we have coming up. We know Immaculata (Monday in the SCT quarterfinals) will be a challenge. But we want to do well."
   Kohl scored a season-high 12 points in Montgomery’s season-opening win over Hackettstown. Since then he has scored more than six points just one other time and carries a 3.5 points a game scoring average into tonight’s game. But whether he’s scoring or not, Kohl has been as important to the Cougars’ success as anyone on the court.
   "His attitude has been great ever since the summer," Tagliareni said. "He’s started every game and he’s done a nice job running the offense."
   It’s an opportunity Kohl patiently waited for and is glad he finally got.