Tonight. Linden 55 Roselle Catholic 52

[Knights 1212]

Linden just defeated RC 55-52 a few moments ago. RC is so much bigger than Linden but Linden is just so scrappy. Last year LHS took 2 out of 3 from RC who won the Tournament of Champions.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Congrats.....Was there D1 talent playing in the game? Notice any coaches there from RU or other schools?

 

[Knights 1212]

GRF, RC is supposed to have 4-5 D-1 players. I got to the game just 10 minutes before the start and the game was sold out. About 50 of us were outside getting the updates so the policeman was telling us things about every 5 minutes. It wasn't that cold so I waited the hour and 15 minutes outside. I figured if I went home I wouldn't see what happened on the Ledger site until much later. Saturday Linden plays Brighton from Boston in Jersey City in the Dan Finn Classic. Brighton played one of our TOP rated NJ teams just a few weeks ago and lost in a close game. It might have been St. Benedict's but I must check.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

wow

 

[NJ4life]

Their leading scorer didn't play because he was suspended and the foreign kid is out until Monday with a concussion.

 

[Knights 1212]

Doesn't matter. RC has 4-5 D-1 players and LHS probably doesn't have any but possibly one. RC gets any player they want from their AAU contacts. Excuses, excuses. RU has 4 guys out. I should feel sorry for RC with all of their talent from all over. Their center is like 7' and Linden's tallest player that plays is Phelps who is only about 6'4"-6'5". LHS beat RC with Briscoe, Silva and all of their D-1 players last year two out of three times. They have now taken RC 3 of the last 4 games. That is impressive to me. Before RC got their connection with Sandy P. they could never match Linden. Getting players for high school ball from all over is not what the NJSIAA should be allowing. Having coached at a public school for 36 years this really bothers me. Parochial schools get away with so much.

 

[B1GNJHoops]

Can someone explain Sandy P's relationship with RC?

 

[SleepingGiantIsAwake]

Better question right now is what is Sandy P's relationship with St. Mary's of Elizabeth.....

 

[Knights 1212]

Yes, that has been happening too. Union County has The Patrick School, Roselle Catholic, Linden, Westfield, St. Mary's and Union Catholic all in the Star Ledger's Top 20. That is insane how tough Union County is at this time. That is 6 teams in the Top 20 from one county out of 21 counties.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Does linden still have that large kid on the team that killed ridge last year?

 

[Kbee3]

Doesn't matter. RC has 4-5 D-1 players and LHS probably doesn't have any but possibly one. RC gets any player they want from their AAU contacts. Excuses, excuses. RU has 4 guys out. I should feel sorry for RC with all of their talent from all over. Their center is like 7' and Linden's tallest player that plays is Phelps who is only about 6'4"-6'5". LHS beat RC with Briscoe, Silva and all of their D-1 players last year two out of three times. They have now taken RC 3 of the last 4 games. That is impressive to me. Before RC got their connection with Sandy P. they could never match Linden. Getting players for high school ball from all over is not what the NJSIAA should be allowing. Having coached at a public school for 36 years this really bothers me. Parochial schools get away with so much.

I agree. I don't know how anyone can think it's in anyway like a level playing field for the public schools.
It's just not fair. Put them in their own league

 

[NJ4life]

Hold up I coach HS/AAU as well and the let's just say certain public always get someone to transfer into their town from NYC every year. Not on the same level as a catholic, but they can't cry about recruiting either. No need to put them in there own league, for states you play the appropriate teams and once in awhile a public can make it to the finals.

 

[Russ Wood]

Congrats.....Was there D1 talent playing in the game? Notice any coaches there from RU or other schools?

I know that Andre Rafus, Nazreon Reid and Nate Pierre-Louis play for RC. All underclassmen, all D1 guys.

 

[Knights 1212]

GRF, No he is not back. He graduated. Linden only has one starter back from last year (Crawford) but so far guys are contributing who barely played last year. It is amazing as I thought they would not be that good this year but they have made huge strides.

 

[Kbee3]

Not on the same level as a catholic.....

That's why the catholics should play with themselves.

 

[NJ4life]

I'm not crying about playing them and only the good publics have to. If linden wasn't good, they would be moved down a level in the counties. Same thing happens in Essex County. It makes beating them that much better. Kids want to play that game.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

GRF, No he is not back. He graduated. Linden only has one starter back from last year (Crawford) but so far guys are contributing who barely played last year. It is amazing as I thought they would not be that good this year but they have made huge strides.

He was great in that game.

Sounds like the guy can coach.

 

[nirrad]

If he can do that with the talent he has, next RU coach? Just a thought.

 

[Kbee3]

final from last night:
Patrick School 56
Linden 51

 

[MadRU]

Mike Rice still at Pat's?

 

[Knights 1212]

As far as I know Mike is still coaching the Patrick School. It must have been a great game but I was at the RU game. I read that it was 51-50 with just about a minute left. The Patrick School is right now #2 in the state and Linden is #3. Linden is 10-2 with both losses to the Patrick School which is in the Top 5 nationally I believe. The Union County Tournament should be amazing. I just found out that Sayreville will play Linden on Feb 11 at Kean in the Metro Classic at 7PM. Sayreville is supposedly pretty good this year

 

[RUforJERSEY]

Colicchio is an incredible coach. I can imagine if some of the past Linden teams had a coach like him on the sidelines. Amazing that we hadn't won any state titles until he came onboard.

 

[Knights 1212]

Phil is definitely an outstanding coach. As a kid I remember Linden losing a state final to Bloomfield by a point or two and Bloomfield had won like 60 games in a row. I think that was in about 1958 or so. In 1966 Linden lost to Weequahic with Mo Layton and Dana Lewis when I was a senior in college in Louisville. Weequahic was selected as the #1 high school team in the nation that year. My dad called me with the final score. After getting married I saw Linden lose to Camden at Princeton in the state finals. A few years later I saw Linden lose to Cinnaminson at the Meadowlands in the state finals. That was four state finals that LHS had lost that I remember well. I never thought I would see LHS win even one state championship. Now I have seen Phil lead his LHS team to four state titles. They should have won last year too but got upset in the state semi finals by Paterson Eastside. They still finished as the #3 team in the final Star Ledger poll and the #1 public school in the state. Two years before that they lost in the finals at RU to Atlantic City in overtime. LHS is almost every year in the Top 5-10 teams in the state. LHS has always been one of the top teams in the state but Phil has brought them to heights they never reached before he became coach. Linden is a basketball town and always has been.