There will be a new, but familiar, voice calling the shots for the John P. Stevens High School boys’ basketball team this season.
Chris Garcia, who has been on the staff as an assistant coach for five years, has taken over command as the head coach for the Hawks.
Garcia has replaced Bobby Jones, who was the coach for J.P. Stevens for nine years before he decided to step down to devote more time to his family.
Garcia inherited a program at the Edison school that finished 9-13 and fell to Sayreville War Memorial High School, 56-31, in the first round of the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Tournament last season.
Garcia revealed that he will not revamp the program in his first season.
“I don’t want to change too much,” he said. “I don’t want the kids to be overwhelmed. Something that we always emphasized in our program is hard work ethic; [we] always want to outwork our opponents. We won’t settle for anything less. We need to pay attention to detail because the little things matter in a winning program. And we’re going to continue our ‘We, not me’ motto. We’re trying to build that family atmosphere.”
Another issue that he will not tinker with is the defense that J.P. Stevens will play.
“We’re a defensive team first,” the coach said.” Two years ago, we were the defensive team of the year in the GMC. So we just want to keep that going and bring that mentality back.”
He believes that a group of veterans will help make the transition easier this winter.
“We’re very senior-heavy,” Garcia said. “We have about eight seniors. Former head coach Bobby Jones did a great job of developing these kids. We’ve done a great job of running the program. So picking it up wasn’t very difficult, especially since he left me with a senior-led group. We did all the work in the offseason — all summer league and summer camps and fall leagues, I mean we’ve done it all. We’re ready to go.”
Garcia has placed a lot of a trust in his senior backcourt.
“Tyrese Conover is our starting point guard and a captain for us,” Garcia said. “He’s a senior. And Elisha Smith is our two guard, and he’s a senior. We’re expecting them to lead us on and off the court. We’re expecting big things from them in their play and in their abilities, and we’re expecting them to always lead our defense.”
The duo also has high expectations for the team.
“We want to win the [GMC] Red Division,” Conover said. “In order to do that, we need to play hard and execute. As a leader on this team, it’s my job to bring the energy. That’s what I’ll do.”
“I think we could win the Red Division,” Smith said. “We have a lot of confidence. We just need to continue to work hard. We have to finish all of our games and play great defense all year. I just need to continue to motivate everyone, let them know what [it takes] to play the right way, and just lead by example. If they see me doing what coach asks us to do, they’ll follow. So it’s up to me and the other leaders of this team to set the example.”
The Hawks will also rely on other veterans such as Makai Crawford, Frank DiSerio, Rohan Rao, Jessie Shiluli and Dylan Zamora this season.
J.P. Stevens opens its season at home against Monroe Township High School on Dec. 15 at 7 p.m.