Player of the Year

Matt Farrell, Sr., Guard, Point Beach

Despite all of the talent that has passed through Point Beach over the last five years, the Garnet Gulls had not had a four-year player make the All-Shore team until Farrell’s selection this year. As far as Player of the Year choices go, it does not get much easier than Matt Farrell in 2013-14. In addition to winning the Shore Sports Network Player of the Year, he was named the Kerwin Award winner and was a unanimous choice by the Shore Conference coaches as the player of the year in the conference.

Point Beach senior point guard Matt Farrell drives by fellow first-tea All-Shore member Pat Andree of CBA. (Photo by Bill Normile)
Point Beach senior point guard Matt Farrell drives by fellow first-tea All-Shore member Pat Andree of CBA. (Photo by Bill Normile)
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The senior point guard averaged 19.5 points per game (fifth in the conference), 5.9 assists (second in the conference) and 3.9 steals (third in the conference). The numbers only tell a small part of the story, especially considering that Farrell and the rest of Point Beach’s starters routinely left the game after three quarters with large leads over the small schools of the Shore Conference Class B Central (and in some cases, larger schools from other divisions.) Beyond the statistical accomplishments, Farrell led Point Beach to a 29-2 record, its first Shore Conference Tournament championship and a second straight NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I championship.

Point Beach fell short of a second straight Group I title, but considering the team had never won a sectional title prior to last season, Farrell’s four years at Point Beach were nothing short of a smashing success. Farrell committed to play at the University of Notre Dame during the final week of the season.

 

First Team

Mike Gesicki, Sr., Forward, Southern

Mike Gesicki (right) and Southern picked up two wins over Eric Carter (left) and Jackson Memorial this season..
Mike Gesicki (right) and Southern picked up two wins over Eric Carter (left) and Jackson Memorial this season..
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If it's gaudy statistics you like, the Rams' super-athlete is the main course in the Shore Conference. The 6’6” future Penn State tight end ended his four-year varsity basketball career with his most impressive season, averaging 20.3 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 3.2 blocks and 2.1 steals per game. His rebounding and blocked-shot totals and averages led the entire Shore Conference and he finished fourth in the conference in points per game while finishing in the top 20 in steals.

Southern also made some history as a team this season, twice beating Class A South division champion Jackson Memorial and winning on the road against two-time defending NJSIAA Group IV champion Atlantic City in the South Jersey quarterfinal.  Gesicki scored 20 points in the win over Atlantic City before fouling out in the final seconds and averaged 19.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and four blocks in the two wins over Jackson Memorial and fellow first-team big man Eric Carter.

 

Eric Carter, Sr., Center, Jackson Memorial

Few players exemplify the benefits of hard offseason training better than Carter, who put together two standout seasons as a starter at Jackson Memorial and turned it into a scholarship to the University of Delaware. Carter was a second-team selection in his first season as a starter last year and boosted his game to the next level while leading the Jaguars to their fourth division championship in five years and a fourth straight trip to the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Jackson Memorial center Eric Carter vs. Sayreville during the Central Jersey Group IV playoffs. (Photo by Matt Manley)
Jackson Memorial center Eric Carter vs. Sayreville during the Central Jersey Group IV playoffs. (Photo by Matt Manley)
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As usual, Carter was a handful on the low block, averaging 15.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks, but he also improved as a high-post passer, as evidenced by his 3.3 assists per game (top-25 at the Shore). Carter accounted for one of the moments of the year when he capped Jackson Memorial’s come-from-behind win over Rumson-Fair Haven by scoring as time expired to beat the Bulldogs in the first round of the Shore Conference Tournament. He posted his first and only career triple-double against Shore on Feb. 27 by recording 24 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and put up 20 points and 19 rebounds in the Jaguars’ NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV first-round win over South Brunswick. Carter finished just two points shy of 1,000 for his career, finishing with 16 points in a Central Jersey Group IV quarterfinal loss at Sayreville.

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Dom Uhl, Sr., Forward, Point Beach

Many fans and observers who put down a few George Washingtons to watch the German import and University of Iowa recruit expected to see a dominant tour de force. What they were really watching was the Swiss (or in this case, German) Army Knife of the Shore. Uhl played alongside the Shore Conference’s best player in Matt Farrell and depending on how things were going for the Garnet Gulls, Uhl gave his team what they needed when they needed it. And in the end, the numbers add up to an All-Shore season: 13.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.1 blocks per game.

Uhl’s standout performance came during a regular-season rout of Lakewood, in which Uhl scored 13 points to go along with 10 rebounds, three assists, five steals and seven blocked shots. It was the prototypical Dom Uhl game in that Farrell and senior teammate Noah Yates combined for 44 points and Uhl simply filled in the rest. Uhl has plenty of room to grow at the next level and plenty of tools with which to do it, especially after showing glimpses of his potential throughout his two seasons in the U.S.

 

Pat Andree, So., Forward, Christian Brothers Academy

Pat Andree made a name for himself last season when he started and thrived as a freshman on CBA, a rare occurrence reserved only for the greats of the program. This season, however, he established himself as one of the best Shore Conference prospects of the last decade by displaying a refined set of offensive skills and a knack for showing up on the big stage.

Andree’s day-to-day numbers were All-Shore worthy, especially considering his stats as the top scorer on the No. 2 team in the Shore Conference: 15.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists. His top performance of the season came in one of CBA’s few defeats, against Point Beach in the Shore Conference Tournament championship. Andree scored 23 of CBA’s 41 points in a 49-41 defeat, shooting a cool 10-for-16 from the floor to keep CBA in the game or most of the afternoon. As the lone underclassman on the First Team, Andree will return next season as one of the top players in the Shore Conference for a CBA team looking to take the next step by winning its first SCT championship since 2010.

 

Jason Dunne, Jr., Guard, Matawan

One-third of Matawan’s three-headed monster backcourt, Dunne was the best all-around offensive player of the bunch. He averaged team-highs in points (15.1) and assists (3.6) while also checking in with five rebounds and 1.2 steals per game for Matawan’s first sectional champion in more than a 50 years.

Dunne was a consistent force from the start of the season, starting with an MVP performance at the Husky Classic Holiday Tournament, which Matawan won. He scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half of an SCT semifinal win over Manasquan and poured in 15 more in a loss to Point Beach in the semifinals. During Matawan’s Central Jersey Group II title run, Dunne scored 23 points in a win over Carteret in the quarterfinals and poured in 20 in the sectional final against Rumson. Dunne will be back with teammate Joe Piscopo to defend the Huskies’ Class B North title and Central Jersey Group II title.

 

Second Team

Dan Niblack, Sr., Forward, Lakewood

The Jackson Liberty transfer made an immediate impact with his new Class B South team and got better and better as the season progressed. Like Andree, Niblack’s best game might have been in defeat late in the Shore Conference Tournament when he scored 25 points in a 57-47 loss to CBA in the SCT semifinals. Niblack averaged 13.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his final high school season.

Noah Yates, Sr., Guard/Forward, Point Beach

With three players among top 10 individual talents in the Shore Conference, it’s not hard to figure out why Point Beach was the wire-to-wire No. 1. Yates actually bettered Uhl’s averages, posting per-game averages of 13.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.9 steals. Yates had his hottest shooting night when he buried seven three-pointers in a win over Lakewood in late January.

Shakeem Richardson, Sr., Guard, Neptune

The coaches' pick as the top player in Class B North, Richardson was the Scarlet Fliers' most dynamic player on both ends of the floor, averaging 17.9 points, 3.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Richardson played some of his best basketball against divisional opponents, pouring in 30 in a home win over Long Branch and posting 25 points and seven assists in a regular-season win over Central Jersey Group II runner-up Red Bank.

Joe Piscopo, Jr., Guard, Matawan

The spark plug of Matawan’s Central Jersey Group II championship team, Piscopo set the tone for the Huskies on a game-in-game-out basis. Piscopo averaged 10.9 points, 2.5 assists and 1.9 steals and often guarded the opposing team’s top guard. Both Piscopo and Dunne return next year as arguably the Shore’s best backcourt duo.

Jack Fay, Sr., Guard, Manasquan

Despite losing two 1,000-point scorers to graduation, Manasquan remained the class of Class A Central. Fay had a lot to do with that, averaging 15 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and two steals while providing stingy defense for one of the top defensive teams in the Shore Conference.

 

Third Team

Dan Pillari, Sr., Guard, Shore

Pillari began the season with a bang, dropping 40 points on eventual Tournament of Champions winner St. Joseph-Metuchen, which was a season-high for any Shore Conference player outside of Keyport’s Alex Thomson. Pillari finished the year averaging 17.2 points, 2.6 assists and 3.2 steals per game.

Terrel Cox, Sr., Guard, Long Branch

With a quick release and his deep range, Cox was one of the Shore’s most dangerous scorers during his four varsity seasons and proved it by joining his father, Timmy Cox, in Long Branch’s 1,000-point club. He finished the season by averaging 15.8 points per game and averaged 29.5 in two games vs. rival Neptune.

Louie Pillari, Sr., Guard, Christian Brothers Academy

Pillari scaled back his shot volume in order to have the ball in his hands as a facilitator while also expending emerging as the team’s best perimeter defender. The end result was still a successful offensive season for the recruit of the U.S. Naval Academy: 11.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the No. 2 team in the conference.

Quenton Nelson, Sr., Center, Red Bank Catholic

The Caseys retooled their offense this season and did so around their skilled-yet-bruising man in the middle. Nelson signed his National Letter of Intent to play football at the University of Notre Dame and seemingly took off right then and there on the basketball court with back-to-back 30-point games. He also flashed his skills as a standout passer out of the post while dominating the glass for the 19-6 Caseys. He was selected as the Class A Central Player of the Year by the coaches.

Jack Herrmann, Sr., Forward, Rumson-Fair Haven

If any player clinched an All-Shore spot on postseason play alone it was Herrmann, who had a solid-but-unspectacular regular season followed by an outstanding NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II tournament. Herrmann’s overall numbers – 18.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game – are All-Shore worthy, and he delivered during the state tournament, when he averaged 21 points and 8-plus rebounds in four tournament games to help the Bulldogs reach the sectional final.

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