Jackson Memorial High School’s boys basketball team comes off its best season in school history and will rely on the emergence of Eric Carter to offset significant losses due to graduation.
“Eric Carter has a lot to live up to every day,” said coach Joe Fagan. “He has huge shoes to fill, but he has looked tremendous. He lost 25 pounds and has a lot of offers coming his way before we start our season (Dec. 14 at Brick Memorial High School) with schools looking at him like Fairfield, St. Peter’s, Rider, Marist, Delaware and Robert Morris, and Monmouth has come on recently.”
Four players who saw a significant number of starts last season graduated off the team that set a school record with a 25-4 mark. Of those losses, one came against Middletown High School North in a Hoop Group showcase in January, another came in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals when Carter broke his foot and another was in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV semifinals.
Gone are forwards Brandon Holup and Brandon McDonnell, and guards Brian Kenny and Elliot Bell, as well as trusty reserve swing player Anthony Skwiat. They played a major role in last season’s success but Fagan is not overly concerned.
“Overall, this is the most skilled team I’ve coached in my five years here,” Fagan said. “Carter is dominating and this is probably the best shooting team I’ve seen, but we’re not as good defensively. This team could have 25 wins; it could have 15.”
Hard work will take care of the defensive side, as the Jaguars jump right into hotly competitive Shore Conference A South Division action in their opener and continue on Dec. 17 in their home opener against Toms River High School South. Jackson Memorial has not lost a division game in the last two years.
“This is the best A South has been in my years here,” Fagan said, expecting big challenges from Toms River High School North in particular, as well as Toms River South, Southern Regional High School and Brick Memorial.
The Jaguars return to defend their WOBM Classic title at Toms River North starting on Dec. 22. They also have a tough game against Notre Dame High School scheduled on Jan. 19 in a showcase at Lawrence High School.
But, there’s not as much rebuilding as it would seem. “The faces are the same, but nobody recognizes them,” Fagan said. Three of those faces had visible roles last season. The Specht twins — seniors Mike, a 6-foot-3-inch tall forward, and Nick, a 6- foot-2-inch tall guard — got a lot of starts, and Salam Simon, a senior guard, started at the end of last season.
“Simon is probably the most skilled guy we’ve got,” Fagan said. “He can dribble, pass and shoot well.”
He will also be filling the lineup from a group of fine prospects that include 6-foot- 5-inch tall senior Aaron Burroughs at forward or center, as well as junior Mark Ademilola (6’3”) and seniors Casey Gochinski (6’1”) and Pete Hetzel (6’) at forward. The Jaguars are a little thin at guard, where 6-foot tall Matt Hogan was injured part of last season and played on the junior varsity.