Opinion....................................................................................Online Sports

Sports & Recreation

WITH Jim Hague

ogsmar@aol.com

Maroon Raiders look to veteran group to lead the way

NUTLEY – Bob Harbison, the veteran Nutley High School boys’ basketball coach, tried to take some positives out of the truncated COVID-19 season of a year ago.

“I think the year did some good,” Harbison said. “We played basically all juniors last year and they got good experience.”

The Maroon Raiders did manage to play all 15 games mandated by the NJSIAA among the pandemic restrictions.

With that in mind, Harbison likes the character of the Maroon Raiders.

“I like my kids,” Harbison said. “I like my guys. We have such great kids. There’s not a bad kid among the bunch. I also think we’re a pretty deep team. There are a lot of kids that I can run out on the floor. The kids have to learn their roles, but if they accept their roles, put the ball in the basket, well then I think we’ll be okay. If we don’t lose the ball and the kids make shots, we’ll be fine.”

Harbison likes the way the Maroon Raiders have meshed in the first week of practice.

“Our kids are ahead of themselves defensively already,” Harbison said. “I’m really excited about that. I think these kids want to win more than anything else. The theme thus far is that we have pretty good kids who will accept their roles. We’re already doing things in our transition offense. We want them to feel fine about what they’re doing. We don’t want them to hesitate to shoot the ball. We want them to just play.”

The top returnee is 6-foot-2 senior shooting forward Nick Schroeder, who averaged 12 points per game last year.

“I expect him to be a coach on the floor for me,” Harbison said of Schroeder, who has already committed to attend and play at York College in Pennsylvania next year. “He’s the one guy we’ll look to score some points and he has the ability to do it. He’s a versatile kid. There are times he might have to bring the ball up the court. He can do it all.”

The power forward is 6-foot-4 senior Jake O’Connor.

“He will play either the four (power forward) or five (center),” Harbison said. “He can really shoot it and when that happens, he can really shoot it. He’s also a very good shot blocker and helps out a lot defensively. He’s surprising, but not imposing. But he’s very

Golden Bears display a ton of promise

Photo by Jim Hague The Lyndhurst boys’ basketball team will count on a solid senior class to compete this season. Front row, from left, are Isaiah Delgado, John Lembo, Anthony Maldonado and Ricky Rainey. Back row, from left, are head coach Tom McGuire, Vin Auteri, Ben Nowinski, Anthony “T.J.” Jimenez and Carson Rodriguez.

By Jim Hague ogsmar@aol.com

LYNDHURST – Tom

McGuire begins his seventh season as the head boys’ basketball coach at Lyndhurst High School and the 11th season all totaled, when you add his years at his now-defunct alma mater Queen of Peace, where he was a standout football and basketball player.

And McGuire feels that this year’s version of the Golden Bears already has a distinction in his coaching career.

“This is probably the deepest team I’ve ever had in my 11 years of coaching,” McGuire said. “We have a really good mix of leadership and youth. We had a lot of juniors from last year who got a lot of seasoning last year under their belts. I am very optimistic about this team. I think our depth will really help if we have an injury or two.” The Golden Bears were 6-9 last season in the COVID-19 truncated schedule, but they did manage to get all of their games in despite the major pandemic restrictions.

“It was a really difficult year,” McGuire said. “We had lost a lot of guys from the year before, so we had juniors that had to play a lot of minutes right away.”

But those juniors are now seniors, guys like 5-foot-10 point guard John Lembo. The football standout, known as “Johnny Football,” by Golden Bear grid followers, is also a fine basketball player.

“I think he’s a matchup problem for everyone,” McGuire said of the All-North Jersey Interscholastic Conference selection last year who averaged close to 16 points a game last year. “His frame is thicker than most point guards, so he’s stronger than most of the guys who try to cover him. He’s a decent shooter and a crafty driver who gets to the rim. He’s very tough getting into the lane.”

Senior Anthony Maldonado is the 5-foot-10 shooting guard.

“He’s a defense first and a defense second kind of player,” McGuire said. “But he’s a pretty good scorer. He could get about eight (points) a game for us. But as a defensive player, he’s annoying. I know I wouldn’t want him covering me if I were playing. He’s a smart player, a heady player. He’s really worked on his outside shot. He put a lot of work in with his outside shot.”

Senior Anthony “T.J.” Jimenez is the team’s 6-foot swingman.

“He’s a slasher,” McGuire