Lawrence boys basketball
By: John E. Powers
The Lawrence High School basketball team had a successful season last winter, finishing with a 17-9 record and pushing Mercer County Tournament and Colonial Valley Conference Colonial Division champ and state Group IV finalist Trenton hard throughout the campaign.
But the Cardinals 9-3 in divisional play and a Central Jersey Group IV semifinalist lost quite a bit on the floor and in the locker room. The team lost three-year starting point guard Matt Stein, guard Randall Zapolski, guard Jamil Brown, forward Frankie Saez, forward Shamil Rodriguez and guard Mike Sheehan.
"It was one of my favorite teams," said Cardinals head coach Pat Tarrant, who enters his 16th season with 209 wins. "It was a team with very good chemistry and good character."
He’s quick to point out, however, that the 2005-2006 version of the Cardinals are capable of doing well. Returning is senior 6-foot-6 forward Brett Brackett. The Penn State University-bound quarterback led the Cardinals to an 8-2 season in the fall, but he’s now focused on basketball, where he is a bruising forward, closing in on the 1,000-point mark. He averaged 14.2 points per game last year.
The season begins at Notre Dame on Friday night. The home season begins Tuesday night with Hamilton coming to town.
"Brackett is an exceptional athlete a great rebounder and scorer, who is also a good passer," Tarrant said.
Senior guard Chris Martine also is back.
"I expect Chris to have a good year," Tarrant said. "He’s a very good shooter."
One of the potentially big additions is Kurtis Brown, a Hurricane Katrina evacuee who relocated to Lawrence. A 6-foot-2 small forward, Brown averaged 18.9 points per game for Walter L. Cohen High School in New Orleans. He played quarterback for Cohen and switched to cornerback for the Cardinals this past fall.
"I think that once he (Brown) becomes comfortable, he will make a difference," Tarrant said. "He’s getting better with every practice."
Point guard is a position that needs to be filled. Senior guard Kyle Mitchell is a candidate. Senior swingman Ryan Welsh is in the rotation, along with 6-foot-3 junior guard Pat Beighley, a transfer from High Point High School in Sussex County. Junior forward Brandon Ervin, a transfer from North Carolina, is another player that will be looking to mesh. Others looking for time are junior guard Chris Trapp, junior guard Joe Mitchell, sophomore forward Dan Ciccone, junior forward Kevin McCummings, junior forward Dave Schindewolf and junior guard P.J. Kackubicki.
"We have a lot of new bodies," Tarrant said.
"I think once we get through Christmas, we could be a tough team.
"It’s going to be an adventure, but we’ve already made a lot of progress."