Deep bench bodes well for Ewing boys b-ball
Just how good is the Ewing High boys’ basketball team this winter?
Only time will tell.
Even though their season opener did not go the way they had planned in a 72-65 home defeat at the hands of West Windsor-Plainsboro High South Dec. 15, the Blue Devils are considered to be one of the top teams in the Colonial Valley Conference this season.
The defending Patriot Division champions have the CVC’s most balanced scoring attack returning this season thanks in part to its large senior class. Third-year head coach Shelly Dearden has six seniors returning to the fold, including 6-foot-1 forward Pervis Donaldson, who averaged 9.9 points per game last season; 6-foot-2 guard Antoine Rogers, who averaged 9.7 ppg a year ago; and 6-foot-3 swingman Will Brown, who returns 8.0 ppg.
Overall, Ewing returns close to 35 points per game from a year ago, which is more than any other CVC team.
Cousins Anthony Hunter, a 6-foot-1 guard, and Shelly Hunter, a 5-foot-7 guard, round out the senior class, along with newcomer Erik Morris, who figures to be a presence as a 6-foot-3 forward.
“We lost six games by six points or less last season, and we ended up missing states by one game,” Dearden said, reflecting on the Blue Devils’ 12-11 campaign in 2005-06. “So our expectation is to make the state tournament.”
Anyone who knows Dearden or her players knows the expectations do not stop there.
“Our goals are always to win everything,” she said.
With Ewing dropping to Group II status this year for NJSIAA Tournament play, that lofty approach may not be too far-fetched.
To get to states, however, the Blue Devils will also need help from their solid junior class of 6-foot-5 forward Stephen Shimko, 6-foot-2 forward Jerome Christie, 5-foot-9 guard Nykai Rambharan and 5-foot-8 guard John Christie.
Sophomores Darrien Hutton, a six-foot swingman, and Jon Richardson, a 5-foot-9 guard, round out the current roster. Jeremy Frazier, a 6-foot-2 forward, is another promising sophomore who figures to see time between the varsity and junior varsity programs this winter.
“One of the best things about this team is we have no real superstar,” Dearden said. “All the guys score. We have a lot of balance. Any one of them can step up in any game.”
Fresh off the Blue Devil/Red Devil Holiday Classic, which it hosted Dec. 27 and 29, Ewing will need to step things up as it prepares to start the new year with key showdowns versus Hamilton West, the defending Group III state champions whom the Blue Devils took to double overtime last season, and archrival Trenton High, with whom Ewing figures to battle to be the best in the CVC. The Blue Devils will host Hamilton in their North Gym at 7 p.m. Jan. 5, then they will travel to Tornado Alley for a 4 p.m. showdown Jan. 9.
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