In response to some reader inquiries, I am considering more than a handful of players for player of the year. Not just 3. Not just 5. Each candidate has different strengths. Some more valuable. Some more talented. Some better scorers. Some better all-around. But I do love hearing your thoughts. Maybe something you say will stick with me. So keep those thoughts coming.
Also, what about Coach of the Year? There are not nearly as many candidates as last season when I could have picked almost any of the 36 local coaches. That was an anomaly. I don't see anyone as a lock here yet, but I do see 3-4 people who stand out. Any thoughts on this matter?
I went a perfect 7-for-7 in picking games this week. Unheard of. All it means is I'll probably go 0-4 in my county finals predictions. In case you missed it on the podcast or in the scouting reports, I picked Voorhees, Westfield, Immaculata and South Plainfield to win their respective finals.
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In a previous post you stated: "But I am a strong believer that it is extremely difficult for one team to beat another three times in the same season. Look no further than Montgomery's win against Watchung Hills last week."
Then Franklin lost to Montgomery for the third time this season.
Are you no longer applying the above logic to the game this weekend, Immaculata vs. Montgomery?
Good luck to all teams playing this weekend.
1 for 2 so far, Ryan, but I think you'll end up 3 for 4
Coach of the Year may be from Montgomery - don't even know the name since a new coach, with a very young team, got off to an awful start against tough competition, and then ran the table to qualify for states, and then get to the SCT final (and maybe win today) is pretty impressive. Coach Cook from Voorhees always turns out nice teams, and South Plainfield's coach has built a program that has really progressed over the years, and it too has reached its county final.
The below are based on pre-state performance:
Player of the Year: ??
1st team:
Carr (best individual in terms of numbers and for carrying her team, no brainer)
Jenkins (super player, best team, no brainer)
Kopecki (cornerstone of one of best programs, excellent numbers, clutch performer most of the time)
Kutch (four-year starter at Boro, solid numbers, may be replaced with Patrick, but seemed to have a very consistent season)
Melone (lock if Immaculata wins SCT, is the point guard so some days doesn't have great numbers but comes through in clutch, against probably tourghest schedule in area)
2nd team/3rd team:
Bay (best shooter in area, opens up court for Melone by keeping defenses honest, and is money in big moments)
Bernstein (decent numbers for a good team and MVP of H/W; consistent but not as dominant or as good as anyone on 1st team)
Houston (can do a little of everything, puts up solid numbers for an excellent team, and has a nose for the ball)
Jones (best defender in area, can score, directed Boro to nice season, but is here for her defense - one of few to take pride in that aspect of the game)
Laub (struggled in big games, but has solid numbers, a couple of game-winning shots, better in BR rematch than stinker in SCT, and asked to do more for decent team than 3rd teamers)
Miller (team has really improved, all she really does is throw the ball up, but it goes in enough, just not in the UCT final),
Patrick (so good in big games, but not as consistent number-wise as any 1st teamers, but Pway is loaded even more than Boro and may not deserve two 1st team spots)
Santiago (makes SP run, can score, play some d, etc., and her placement may depende on today's game)
Voight (led Monty on big turnaround - not as consistent as many of the others listed, but with young team you get inconsitency)
Zazalli (has carried SPF from the line during the last few weeks, and led team to UCT championship)
Others to consider:
Central and North have good teams, but no players stand out as top 3 material. There isn't enough that makes a single player among the top 15 around, since different folks have stepped up at different times - good players, though.
Gill kids put up nice numbers but have to show against good comp - Simmons, in particular, is someone to watch since she seems to create havoc, gets her own shot, and gets to the line. Big turnaround for team, but not sure about top three teams yet.
Guist (solid numbers, with some really big games, but not consistent enough yet)
Law (inconsistent, but had some big games)
Mgbada (will be very good, but inconsistent numbers this year didn't fulfill last season's hype which was unfair since she wasn't the centerpiece then)
Occhipinti (stat packer against awful teams, scores on steals or on her own misses to help with numbers)
Staats (solid numbers, but plays no one, and isn't as good as those listed up top)
Ziggarelli (numbers were OK, but not consistently solid, and Kopecki got most of the defensive attention that freed up the others)
good info, seems accurate, but get a life
For Player of the year...ask yourself who makes the rest of the players on her team better. Its the multiplier effect that really makes the difference as basketball is a true team sport. Based on this perspective, I have to give Melone the strongest consideration of all.
If Player of the Year is the player that elevates those around her, I'd give it to Megan Kopecki. When she first started at WH she was the leading scorer and almost the only reason her team was winning (other than Coach Whelan who seems to be doing a great job at WH). Now, she has lead the team to back-to-back conference championships where at times, all 5 starters have scored in double digits (against tough teams like Hillsborough). But, my jury is still out on both POY and First Team. There is still alot of basketball to be played.
Be careful on coach of the year...one who was mentioned might not have a team next year...just because a team does good doesn't mean the coach is good...Cook from Voorhees is the best choice mentioned...
Caity Laub had a terrific showing last night against Franklin. 28 points, the only reason Somerville lost was because none of her supporting cast showed up. She didn't exactly have a bad game against BR in the first game in the SCT, she just didn't take control and let inexperienced underclassmen take many shots. She was much better in the rematch.
It's hard to quantify what exactly determines the POY but I do know that Kopecki and Watchung Hills did beat Immaculata the last 4 times they played....unfortunately it won't be in the county finals.
Cook for CoY is choice here
Tough choices with PoY - Carr and Jenkins are the best individual players; Jenkins, Kopecki and Melone have talent surrounding them.
Who makes their teammates better is tough, since the other girls do or don't work on basketball skills in the off-season. All four girls have the ball in their hands a lot and set their teammates up for good shots, so that will be a tough call.
Take a player off of her team, and which suffers the most? All four teams would suffer huge blows, but I think Piscataway and probably Hills stay in top 10. Lata would not be, but would be respectable, and Bernards not so much.
Any of those four players would be good choices, but I am leaning at moment toward Carr, mainly because she is the only player on her team that you focus on and she still does everything. Plus, her team has like 20 wins even if it's against the small schools, she is from a small school with small school (no) talent around her.
Jenkins is the best player - done, send her to the photo shoot. Pat Mayo for Coach of the Year - it ain't easy managing so much talent and keeping jealousy from ruining the chemistry
Coach Whelan from Hills has done another fantastic job this year, and even though the SCT slipped away again, she deserves tons of credit for building that program and making sure that everyone knows their role - to support Kopecki and take turns running 2nd. It works, and she deserves credit.
Player of Year will come down to Jenkins and Carr; Kopecki and Melone are good, but not in that class. Jenkins plays big-school basketball with big-time talent around her. Carr has been a one-woman team for four years at a small school. How about co-players of the year?
refs robbed south plainfield of a GMCT title today. end of stoty
Without a doubt the player of the year award should go to jenkins. She has a d1 scholarship for a reason.
Jenkins/Melone co-player of the year. Although the Rutgers Prep/Gill St Bernards/Montgomery coaches did a very good job with a bunch of underclassmen, coach of the year has to be the Voorhees coach. Lost only two games this year to MC and BT, both close games.
With out a doubt you have to say that no other point guard or player has led her team (mostly only 5 players) to victory in the Somerset County Tournament. Of course that is Lindsay Melone. She gets the credit she deserves in the Courier and Star Ledger at times but to look at the schedule Immaculata plays and the other girls schedules that are in contention you can only come to one conclusion. Lindsay is the Player of the Year.
To that Coach of the Year is also from Immaculata. Jen has done an excellent job with teaching and the respect that the players and the parents have for her proves that being young has nothing to do with experience and knowledge of the game.
How about a mention for Brit Muscatell for second or third team. She has proven her defense is up there with all the rest and she can shoot from outside the paint.
Cook is the coach of year. Hilgenberg has done a good job, but she's got a stud in Melone, and a sharpshooter in Bay, while the team is improving, the record ain't all that. Mayo and Whelan have done a good job, but teams are pretty loaded.
Carr and Jenkins and maybe Melone are the players to watch for player of year. Melone has had some bad games, though not recently. Jenkins has not had the same type of season that was expected, but she has come up big the past week or so. Carr has carried her team, but they don't face the same competition as the bigger schools, and they'd get hammered if they did. She's legit though.
Go with the Cs, Cook and Carr. Both get the most out of their cast of characters, and are true leaders. Cook is a great coach, and Carr has been the show for four years. Both have had year after year of excellence regardless of the cast around them.
Jenkins and Kutch are the only two area players named to the coaches association state wide all star game
Coach Cook of Voorhees should be coach of the year. His program is solid. His team continues to be successful and he encourages his team to be community minded as well. Every year they do a Hoops for Hospice campaign, raised over $6,000.00 this year. Some may say what does that have to do with bb.....everything
Jenkins from Piscataway and Kutch from Hillsborough both got picked to be on the North/South All-Star game.
Carr, Laub, Melone, Kopecki, etc. didn't get chosen for this...
Which, if any, local coaches are on the selection committee? Jenkins is a given, but I wonder who was present at that meeting. I have a feeling the Boro coach was there, since DeLuca got "chosen" last year. Kutch is good, but not one of the best in the state.
PROBABLY WHO WAS ALSO PRESENT WHEN SHE GOT HER MC DONALDS ALL AMERICAN NOMINATION, LOW LIFE
and if the boro coach wasn't there would you concede that perhaps she earned it-guess you should ask the boro coach huh?
Melone Deserves POY. Its not all about points. Look at everything that kid has done. Pure Point guard who isnt the leading scorer on her team, but makes everyone on her team better. She has a teamate leading the county in threes. how do you think she gets open for all those threes? Melone gets it to her because she has at least two girls defending her drive at all times. Look at her other stats, she leads her team in rebounds (she is 5'3) , asists, steals. Her assist/turnover ratio is amazing if you watch how much time the ball is actually in her hands throughout a game. Melone would also have 2000 pts this year if she took 35 shots a game like Carr. Player of the year should go to an ALL AROUND player not a bunch of ball hogs!!!
hilgenberg for coach of the year... she respects and talks to her team like they are normal human beings...sit behind her bench on thursday night and listen how she talks to these girls! She is firm, knowledgeable and has respect from every coach, player and parent. She has stepped up and took the Immaculata girls program to a new level... best of luck to her.. i watched a pretty impressive game tonight...Mellone is a STAR !
absolutely consider Jen Hilgenberg. The team gets better every game and that comes from coaching. Team had some illnesses and injuries to deal with at start when they played top teams in the state but now they are clicking. When you don't even realize the coach is present and a team responds to situations..they were down 9-2 at start tonight and having trouble... you know you're dealing with a class act...so much poise for someone so young. Go Spartans!!
All of this depends on the definition of player and coach of the year: Is it best record, individual stats, strength of schedule, County Tournament/State Tournament run, who elevates rest of team, sportmanship, etc?
Asia Jenkins is the best all-around girls basketball player in the area...this is pretty self evident from the D1 scholarship.
Melone is a great point guard and player...I'm not sure how she was anointed the best "pure" point guard, or even what that means. Somerset County Champion.
Carr is prolific scorer but usually against weaker schedule than others.
Kopecki is all around great player, with head to head success over Melone for 2 years, but knocked out of County this year.
Kutch is also solid all around player. County champ with honors.
If it's just the best player, Jenkins... if it's all things, I'd go with Kopecki. Great scorer, passer, has post-up ability, excellent defense, tough conference, and helped turn around Watchung program.
Coach of the year: Cook, Hilgenberg, Kretschy(sp),in that order
Cook: just does a great job with program
Hilgenberg: County Champ, great coach, has a well coached team.
Monty Coach: Kretschy...ran the table to make States, huge County showing.
Good luck to all the girls.
I agree with the above post about Kopecki. The Star Ledger has correctly pointed out that Ebony Jones of Hillsborough is the best defender in the state. Kopecki has averaged over 20 ppg against Hillsborough. Also, I believe that she has led the county in steals per game the last couple of years...not sure about this year but you can check with her coach. Don't overlook the Group 4 competition either.
COY-Hilgengerg; POY-Melone; All Area: Jenkins, Melone, Carr, Kutch, Laub
All the POY maybes are pulling it out for their teams-each and everyone. It's exciting to pick up the paper and see a local girl ripping up the courts. Good luck to all of them and may the best "man" win!!! Because there's so much talent I have to believe that performance (individually not necessarily the team's)in the States and Counties is the determining factor.
It seems to me that there are a lot of good coaches in this area and they have all done an excellent job. Ryan, one coach who seems to get overlooked is the Coach Swan from Somerville. I remember seeing them play a few years ago and they were awful. I think they won maybe 9 or 10 games. Then he gets hired and they seem to be back on the map again. I know they don't play the tough comp like Watchung, Hillsborough and some of the others, but you can't fault him for that. They are a small Group 2 school and he is able to still compete with the bigger schools. He also has a very young team with the exception of Laub,similar to Montgomery with a lot of sophomores, but again, there are many coaches in this area who do a nice job and they should all be congratulated in my opinion. You can tell by how many local teams are still left in the state tournament what great coaches we have.
Melone and Kutch are having great playoff runs....
So are Kopecki and Laub. Overall, the top 'Skyland Conference' teams are all doing well - Hillsborough, Watchung, Immaculata, Somerville, Voorhees,Central....
Maybe Mayo should have saved some of those 92 for Perth Amboy
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