By Richard Greco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Must-see games for opening weekend
The boys basketball season gets started on Friday, Dec. 15 and the schedule is absolutely loaded. From regular season matchups to amazing showcase showdowns, top squads are facing off from North Jersey all the way down south. NJ.com took a look at 24 must-see games this weekend.
Friday, Dec. 15
George McNish | For NJ Advance Media
Neptune at Marlboro, 4
Marlboro will start its hope to get back to the Shore Conference final with a season-opening test against Neptune. The two sides split the season series last year. Dylan Kaufman and Justin Marcus will be the key returners for Marlboro. The two will need to step up for Marlboro in its opening game.
Mainland at Egg Harbor, 5:30
Mainland took down Egg Harbor in its season-opener last season and will be hoping to do the same this year. Egg Harbor has a deep team led by Jovany Perdomo that will look to give Mainland all that it can handle.
Bogota at Saddle River Day, 5:30
Saddle River Day took it to Bogota in last year’s season-opener, but both squads reached 20 wins last season. The player to watch in this one will be Timothy Uzor as he hopes to lead Bogota to a win on opening day.
Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Florence at New Egypt, 6:30
Florence and New Egypt split two close contests last season. Jabril Enmond led Florence with 14.5 points per game, while Nick Hazel had 11 points per game. Owen Raab will be the key for New Egypt after having 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
Tim Hawk | For NJ.com
Haddon Heights at Haddonfield, 7
Haddonfield got the better of Haddon Heights in a one-point game last season. This one should be just as close. Haddonfield graduated just one key player from last year's team and will ride senior Will Bond (14 ppg) and junior Mike Depersia (14.9 ppg) to success. Jared Latane returns for his senior season after leading Haddon Heights with 15.3 points per game.
Larry Murphy | For NJ Advance Media
St. Joseph (Met.) at East Brunswick, 7
Mike Thompson will be making his coaching debut for St. Joe’s on Friday night. St. Joe’s graduated some key pieces and lost a few more to transfers. East Brunswick went 14-13 last season. It brings back Joe Sampson, who had 11.2 points per game.
Kearny at North Bergen, 7
North Bergen took down Kearny in its season-opener last season. Kearny ended up winning 15 games last season, while North Bergen won 22. Kearny graduated its top two scores and will look to Robert Myers to pick up the slack after averaging 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Abdallah Saleh is North Bergen's top returning player with 11.1 points per game.
Keith A. Muccilli | For NJ Advance Media
Chatham at Delbarton, 7
Delbarton took down Chatham twice last season. Three-point threat Jack Rooney will continue being Chatham's top player after averaging 12.2 points per game. Miles Leniw is Delbarton's returning leading scorer after averaging 8.3 points per game last year.
Larry Murphy | For the Times of Trenton
Rutgers Prep at Immaculata, 7
Head coach Matt Bloom will also be making his debut at the school. Nahshon Battle is the top scorer back from last year's Rutgers Prep team after averaging 11.8 points per game. Rutgers Prep defeated Immaculata in last year’s season-opener. Jared Chambliss averaged 20.4 points per game for Immaculata last year.
Stephanie Maksin | For NJ Advance Media
Williamstown at Triton, 7
Williamstown finished last season 20-8, while Triton went 17-9. Mike Patterson is Williamstown's top returning scorer after averaging 12.4 points per game last season. Jalen Collins is Triton's top player back with 13 points per game.
Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media
Seton Hall Prep vs. Montclair Immaculate at Caldwell University, 8
Seton Hall Prep defeated Montclair Immaculate twice last season and will hope to keep the streak going in the Hoop Group Tip-Off Showcase. Jabri Abdur-Rahim is Seton Hall Prep's top player back after averaging 11.7 points per game. Montclair Immaculate will have a new look this season after a ton of transfers. Some key players added were Zion Bethea and Elijah Hutchins-Everett from DePaul.
MORE: NJ.com's boys basketball preview
Saturday, Dec. 16
Jesse Bair | For NJ Advance Media
Delsea vs. Cherry Hill East at Cherokee, 1
The key to Delsea's success this season will be do-it-all junior Javon Gordon. He averaged 13.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Cherry Hill East will try to keep him in check after going 17-11 last season.
Al Amrhein | For NJ Advance Media
Mainland vs Highland at Cherokee, 3
Both Mainland and Highland reached the 20-goal mark last season. Sahmir Jones will be the key player for Mainland after averaging 12.5 points per game last season. Highland returns its top three scorers in Zafir Brower, Damola Dairo and Dante Masino.
David Gard | For NJ Advance Media
Hunterdon Central at Morristown-Beard, 5
Hunterdon Central claimed the H/W/S championship last season, while Morristown-Beard was a Morris County Tournament finalist. Sam Johnson will need to step up with Tucker Richardson graduating from Hunterdon Central. Johnson had nine points per game last year. Justin Rodriguez is the guy for Morristown-Beard. He had 17.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game last season.
Joe Warner | For NJ Advance Media
St. Joseph (Hamm.) vs. Wildwood at Ocean City, 5:15
These two sides will meet in the Ocean City PBA Tournament. Marcellus Ross led St. Joe's with 19.8 points per game, while Kyion Flanders led Wildwood with 29.2 points per game.
John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Pope John vs. Hudson Catholic at Caldwell College, 6:15
The sky is the limit for Hudson Catholic and its season starts against Pope John. Jahvon Quinerly, Luther Muhammad and Louis King spearhead one of the state's most dangerous three-headed monsters for Hudson Catholic. Aaron Clarke is Pope John's top player after averaging 21 points per game last season.
David Gard | For NJ Advance Media
St. Augustine vs. Winslow at Ocean City, 7
St. Augustine is going to have a much different look this season after graduating Justyn Mutts and Austin Kennedy. The scoring will fall on Marlon Hargis, who had 10.8 points per game last season. Winslow also graduated its top two scorers in Sidney Brown and Jordan Herrin. Winslow will be relying on seniors Robert Magnum and Kameron Johnson to pick up the scoring.
Tim Hawk | For NJ.com
Woodbury at Cherokee, 7
Woodbury's quest to return to the Group 1 final starts with Cherokee, which was a South Jersey, Group 4 semifinalist. Aaron Estrada is Woodbury's top player back after averaging 16.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game as a sophomore. Anthony Dicaro is Cherokee's returning leading scorer with 11.1 points per game.
Union Catholic vs. Rutgers Prep at Caldwell College, 8
Rutgers Prep’s schedule doesn’t get any easier after Immaculata as it takes on Union Catholic, which won 17 games last season. Union Catholic graduated its top three scorers and will rely on senior Robert Miller to lead the way this year.
READ: Transfer tracker for the 2017-18 boys hoops season
Sunday, Dec. 17
Robert Samuels | For NJ Advance Media
St. Mary (Eliz.) vs Mater Dei at Caldwell University, 1
This intriguing matchup should be a great game. Kenneth Jones is a great point guard for Mater Dei and the addition of St. Anthony transfer Alexander Rice should set up Mater Dei for an impressive season. St. Mary had two transfers join hit year in Kyle McGee from St. Anthony and Zegary Scott from Marist. St. Mary also returns a very good group in Jay'von Jackson, Casmir Ochiaka and Papie Roberts.
George McNish | For NJ Advance Media
Atlantic City vs. Ewing at Ocean City, 1:45
Ewing advanced to the Group 3 final and will hope to finish the job this season. Ewing loses its entire starting lineup with five graduations and one transfer. Seniors David Aikens and Nazim Derry will spearhead Atlantic City's offense this season.
David Gard | For NJ Advance Media
Gill St. Bernard's vs Shawnee at Caldwell University, 2:40
This North-South Jersey face off is a great chance to see a very good Shawnee squad play up North. Shawnee was the Group 4 runner-up last season and Gill St. Bernard’s was a semifinalist in the South Jersey, Non-Public B tournament. The matchup to watch in this one will be Shawnee’s Dylan Deveney, who averaged 16.6 points per game, against Gill's Paul Mulcahy, who averaged 15 points per game.
John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Bergen Catholic vs Linden at Caldwell University, 4:20
Linden claimed the Group 4 championship last season and fell to Don Bosco Prep in the Tournament of Champions semifinals, while Bergen Catholic fell to Bosco in the North Jersey, Non-Public A final. Linden graduated a bulk from last year's squad and will rely on Mikey Watkins, who averaged 10 points per game, and Tavon Jones, who averaged 17 points per game. Bergen Catholic graduated its top two players in Taj Benning and Gabriele Stefanini. Sunday's showdown will be a huge test for Bergen Catholic.
Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Newark East Side vs Don Bosco Prep at Caldwell University, 6
Don Bosco Prep has a serious test ahead of it as it hopes of returning to the Tournament of Champions final. It brings back two very good scorers in Marcellus Earlington and Ronald Harper. East Side fell to Linden in the North 2, Group 4 final last season. Hassan Ceesay is East Side's top player back after averaging 11.5 points per game.
Richard Greco may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Richard_V_Greco. Like NJ.com HS sports on Facebook.
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