Sports

Sports & Recreation

Maroon Raiders preparing for opening of basketball season

Photo by Jason Bernstein

Left to Right: Nutley head boys basketball coach Bob Harbison with senior returning varsity players Donte DuBose-Carter, Morgan O’Brien, Richard Nguyen and Anthony Pinal.

By Jason Bernstein

jason@theobserver.com

Bob Harbison looks around the practice gym at Nutley and sees a host of interesting pieces that, with additional time and cohesion, could form a pretty good team.

Unfortunately for the veteran boys basketball coach, injuries and illness have prevented the Maroon Raiders from having all of those parts together at the same time. And with the season opener at West Orange approaching on Thursday, Dec. 15, time isn’t on their side as it moves up to the Super Essex Conference - Independence Division.

“Right now I feel like I’m up against it a little bit,” Harbison said. “We got some young kids that have to contribute. Not being at this level yet, they have a lot to learn and it’s going to be a process.”

As many as four sophomores could see extensive time in the Nutley rotation this year, but it does return a solid inside-out combination in seniors Anthony Pinal and Donte DuBose-Carter.

Pinal, a 6-foot-4 center, is the leading returning scorer from last season at 7.5 points per game.

“Physically he looks great with his size and strength,” said Harbison. “Anthony has a tendency to create his own offense inside.”

DuBose-Carter, a 5-foot-10 combo guard, averaged 6.8 points per game last season, a number that should rise quite a bit thanks to his development as well as the graduation of Nick Schroeder (20.8 ppg last year).

“Donte has really picked his game up,” Harbison said. “He has matured, he’s gotten better physically, he’s stronger, he’s shooting better, he’s kinda running the show a little bit. He’s improved and he’s going to pick up the slack a bit.”

Joining DuBose-Carter has been the biggest surprise of the preseason in sophomore William Llanza, who has gone from the fringes of the rotation to the likely starter at point guard.

“He’s all of 5-foot-7, 5-foot8., a little skinny kid who’s got a great knack (for making the play),” said Harbison. “He’s quick, he handles the ball well, he makes open shots, he creates some shots. He and Donte are probably the two most natural basketball players I have.”

Another sophomore, Andrew Slomkowski (6-foot-2) is expected to start on the wing

Lyndhurst-NA wrestling team preps for new season

By Jason Bernstein

jason@theobserver.com

Veteran head coach Scot Weaver knows that the high school wrestling season will often feature its fair share of ups and downs over the course of two-plus months. For Weaver, that sentiment rings especially true right now for his Lyndhurst-North Arlington team.

The combination of injuries and wrestlers not hitting their proper weight classes has already tested the team’s depth in multiple areas. And while Lyndhurst does have numbers within the program, many are still relative to newcomers to sport.

“I’m looking for a competitive lineup with the kids falling into the right weight class,” Weaver said. “Until that happens, it could be a rollercoaster season. I feel like we could be a pretty good tournament team, but right now as a dual team I’m a little concerned right now due to the injuries and the weight certification last week not falling the way I had hoped it would.”

While Weaver might have his concerns in some areas, one weight class he certainly has none at is at 157 pounds where his son Damian is set to compete at.

At 33-3, Damian Weaver’s junior season was a stellar one, albeit with a heart-breaking ending with a loss in the “Blood Round” of the state tournament in Atlantic City, leaving him one win short of placing on the medal podium at 150 pounds. Damian, a reigning Bergen County and district champion has taken that disappointment to heart though and has been focused on a big senior season, even while enjoying a fine fall on the football field.

““He has gone completely next level with his work ethic,” Scot Weaver said. “He took a week off after state’s last year and has not stopped wrestling since then. Not (always) competing, but with the workouts. All summer he was working out. Then when they went into doubles for football during August, he would do doubles with football and then go to wrestling every night. He hasn’t stopped.”

The upper-middle weights should be the strength of the Golden Bears lineup as Damian Weaver is followed by Michael Simeone (16-13) at 165 and Tommy Montillo (24-9) at 175. Both seniors qualified for regions last season and have legitimate chances to make it to Atlantic City this time around.

Simeone in particular is one who looks poised to make significant strides this winter.

“He’s competing well, he looks good,” Scot Weaver said. “Technically, he’s gotten a lot better. He’s not as sloppy as he was at times last year. He was a district runner-up last year. I think he’s going to build on that and we’re hoping that he competes well enough to get in the car and take for the ride down to Atlantic City.”

Another one with Atlantic City aspirations is Kieran McNeil (27-7), who lost in the “Blood Round” of Region 3 at 113 pounds. This year, McNeil, a junior, is set to go at 126 pounds.

Kieran’s younger brother, sophomore Evan McNeil