As the dog days of winter are underway, the boys’ basketball season is also underway as well. Coming into this season with 9 returning seniors, and their leading scorer from last year, Spencer Cook ’16, the Minutemen are poised to be a dominant team in south jersey this year. The Minutemen were the number 4 ranked team in South Jersey, and were looking to open up strong and prove to everyone that they are a legitimate team.
The Minutemen opened the season against Cherry Hill West in front of a packed student section, all of which were rowdy and dressed in all white, also known as a white out. With the loud student section cheering them on, the Minutemen put on a show in front of the home crowd, dominating the boards and playing suffocating defense, forcing many turnovers and never allowing the West offense to settle in and get comfortable. On top of this, the minutemen displayed tremendous discipline on the offensive side of the ball, as they made the extra pass and often passed up a good look for an even better look. This unselfishness and good decision making led to an outburst of scoring, headed by of course, none other than the star of the team, Point guard Spencer Cook ’16. Cook dropped 23 points, and led the way scoring for the Minutemen, which is nothing new for cook. Although the team did win in dominating fashion, starting center Aj Michaels ’16 collided with a player from west and suffered a bad cut on his head that required stitches and would hold him out of the team’s next game.
In their next game, the Minutemen faced off with a tough Kingsway team, and playing without their starting center Michaels, this would certainly not be an easy game to win.
“We knew playing without Aj was going to be tough” said forward Nick Foti ’17 “But we also knew we had the depth to be able to have the next guy up come in and still be effective”
Once again, the team was dominate on both sides of the ball, and came away with an impressive 56-42 victory. Cook led the way once again with 21 points and 9 rebounds, and Justin Ortiz, the second go to scorer on the team added on twelve. Cook was 8 of 9 shooting in the first half, and ended with 17 points at half, as the Minutemen went into halftime with a commanding 36-18 lead. As the second half came around, the Minutemen continued to play dominate defense and get timely buckets from seniors Oritz and Nick Mcough when needed. As the team topped off this impressive victory, they couldn’t bask in the glory of it for long, as they had to prepare for their game against the third ranked team in south jersey, Winslow Township.
“We knew playing Winslow was going to be a tough game” said guard Mekhi Greene ’16 “but we also were confident and knew that if we played our game we could beat them”
As the Minutemen walked onto the court, it was clear this game was going to be a battle. With a packed and rowdy white out student section, the team certainly had the crowd behind them to will them on. Also, there were multiple reporters from different newspapers at the game to get a look at the battle between two of the most talented teams in south jersey. Right from the tip off, it was clear that Cook was the best player on the court. He was getting to the rim with ease, and converted multiple and ones to get the crowd fired up and give the Minutemen momentum. With suffocating defense from Mekhi Greene ‘16 and Mike Simmons ’16, the Winslow team was having a hard time getting their offense going. The Minutemen also dominated the boards, and senior big men Rasheen Merlin and AJ Michaels were dominate in the paint, continuously grabbing clutch rebounds and even adding a little low post offense. With Cook heading the offense and scoring with ease, the Winslow team had no answer. When they began to clapse in on cook, he would dish out to shooters such as Ortiz and Rich Racobaldo ’17, who knocked down multiple open looks from beyond the arc. As the game came to a close, the Minutemen had secured a dominate 67-61 victory, in a game that did not seem nearly as close as the score might say it was.
“Spencer was awesome that game” said Foti “I don’t think I saw him miss a shot, and every time we needed a big bucket he came up big for us.”
Cook finished with a career high 39 points, and showed everyone that he was not only the best player on the court, but also one of the most prolific scorers in south jersey.
“I just tried to get to the basket as much as I could” said star Spencer Cook ’16 “When they gave me the lane I drove and converted a couple and ones, and when they backed off me I was able to hit my jump shots. I was just in a zone and I felt good.”
On the 23rd, the Minutemen once again dominated and took a 66-55 victory over the always tough Camden Catholic team. The Minutemen jumped off to an impressive 3-0 start, and had proven to everyone that they were a legitimate force in the always tough Olympic Conference. After the hot start, the team traveled down to Florida to compete in the KSA Event Tournament. The team went down on this trip to see how they could match up against teams from all over the country, and also knew it would be a great way to bond as a team and build the chemistry which is an important ingredient in being a good team.
“Every great team has a great chemistry” said Foti ’17 “It’s a huge part of winning, and I can’t think of any better way to bond with the guys than spending a week together in Florida.”
After opening the tournament against Cardinal Newman High School (FL), the Minutemen came away with a 52-37 victory, and Junior Rich Racobaldo led the team in scoring with a game high 13 points.
“Winning the first game was a huge confidence boost for us” said Greene ’16 “It showed us that we could play with these teams, and that we certainly could make some noise in this tournament”
In the second game of the tournament, the Minutemen squared off with a talented Olentangy Liberty Highschool (OH). After a tight three quarters, the game was tied heading into the fourth. In the last quarter of the game, the Minutemen turned it up a notch, holding the ohio squad to only 6 points, while their offense caught fire and put up 18 points in the quarter. This led the Minutemen to a 58-46 victory, and the dominant fourth quarter showed that the team had the ability to finish and close out a tight game. This game gave the team a huge confidence boost as they headed into the championship game for their bracket.
In the final game, the Minutemen faced off with Ramsey High School (NJ). The Minutemen offense caught fire right from the start of the game, and put up an impressive 19 points in the first quarter, setting the tone for the rest of the game. The Minutemen offense was firing on all cylinders, and they were playing stingy defense and not allowing the Ramsey offense to get comfortable. As they carried this play on for the rest of the game, the boys found themselves the champs of their bracket, with a dominating 65-51 win.
“Going into the tournament I wasn’t sure what we would do” said Foti ’17 “but after the first game it was clear we belonged in this tournament, and after that we just played our game and were able to pull it out and win our bracket.”
The Minutemen not only won the tournament, but also bonded as a team on their excursion to Florida, as they spent almost every minute of every day with their teammates.
“Spending the week with the guys and going to the parks and just hanging out certainly brought us closer as a team and really helped bring us together as a team, which is a big part of winning” said Cook.
As the Minutemen are now off to a 7-0 start, it was clear that they a very talented team, and a legitimate threat to make a run come the state tournament. With a potent offense lead by Cook, the Minutemen also have the depth to reach into their bench and still get productivity on the offensive side of the ball. With big men Merlin and Michaels eating up rebounds, the team has a great blend of speed and size, and also has the ability to kill teams from behind the arc if they decide to back off and give them the shot. On top of all this, the team plays suffocating defense for all four quarters, and have the ability to completely shut down the opponents leading scorer, and force the teams role players to beat them. The skill, size, and experience of this years minutemen team makes them a very fun team to watch and also a very talented team who is certainly a contender to make some noise in playoffs. On January the fifth the team takes on Eastern on the road in their first game back from Florida, as we look to see if the Minutemen can keep their perfect record.