BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer
Paul Cisek has become a film critic.Since surgery (on Jan. 7) has kept him away from games and practices, he has gotten a different look at his Brookdale Community College men’s basketball team. He has been watching them on film.
Thus far, the reviews have been positive. The Blues are on a four-game win streak and in a solid position to make the Region XIX tournament next month. The Blues are 10-9 overall, but 5-1 in the Garden State Athletic Conference North Division.
While Cisek was convalescing, he never had any doubts that the Brookdale team would move forward with longtime assistant Charlie Hawthorne (he’s been with Cisek for 14 of his 15 years at Brookdale) and John Rivera now in charge.
“I knew the program was in good hands,” he said. “I handed it off to two great guys. They’ve done a tremendous job.”
Cisek hopes to return to the team this week. When he does, he’ll see a team that has made great strides since the calendar turned to 2007.
“We have the talent,” he said. “It’s not that they weren’t playing well, they weren’t playing well together.
“They’ve stepped it up big time,” he added. “No. 1, we’re playing solid defense, and No. 2, we’re spreading it out. The other night [a 99-67 win over Salem], we had six players in double-figures.”
Cisek credited his sophomores for fueling the turnaround.
“Sophomores need to be leaders and it took a while for them to become leaders,” he pointed out. “Once they did, the freshmen followed.”
Derrick Truesdale (Passaic), Sean Carter (Freehold Borough), Kevin Fallon (Roselle Catholic), Theo Fujita-Luklachyk (Middletown North), Jon Guzman (Rutherford) and Jebidiah Marquez (Jackson Memorial) are the second-year players who have provided the strong leadership on and off the floor.
Truesdale has been putting up a double-double each night (14.55 ppg) and 10.16 ppg), and Guzman has been running the team at point guard and contributing in the scoring column as well. Guzman is dishing out 4.25 assists a game.
Among the freshmen who have stepped up recently is Rashad Stephens (Passaic), who has become a scorer. Mike Doherty (Mater Dei) has also put up double-figure games for the Blues.
Brookdale climbed over the .500 mark Thursday night with a 98-55 road win at Sussex. Carter had 14, Truesdale, 13, and Marquez, 12, as the Blues continued to spread the scoring around.
On the season, the Blues have three players averaging in double-figures, led by Truesdale, Marquez (12.88) and Stephens (12.11). Guzman is at 9.87 a game with Chris Brown (6.35) and Jevon McCluney (7.93) making themselves someone defenses have to be concerned about.
Defensively, the Blues have been pickpockets, coming up with 214 steals in the first 18 games. Stephens, with 34, is tops, followed very closely by Marquez (29), McCluney (28), Truesdale (28) and Guzman (27).
An upgraded schedule has also played its role in Brookdale’s five-game winning streak. Cisek called it the most difficult schedule his team has had, and though it has kept the Blues from sporting a gaudy won-lost record, the tough early-season games has primed them for GSAC play.
Brookdale is home tomorrow night (5 p.m.) against TCI in a nonconference tilt. They hit the road for two weeks before returning for GSAC game with Bergen on Feb. 8 (7 p.m.).
The Region XIX Tournament begins Feb. 24 with first-round games at the home of the higher seed. The second round is Feb. 27, again at the home of the higher seed. The semifinals and finals on March 3 and 4 at a site to be determined.