Boys Basketball – VOTE: Week 2 OC Sports Medicine Player of the Week

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For the remainder of the 2022-23 season, Shore Sports Network will recognize the top boys basketball players in the Shore Conference each week. We will recognize the top player in each of the eight Shore Conference divisions, as well as two wild cards for 10 contestants per week.

This week's group is nominated for their performances during the week of Jan. 2 through Jan. 8. Read about this week's nominees and vote for the one that strikes you as the best pick for overall Player of the Week.

Vote in the poll at the end of the post once per hour until the poll closes on Thursday at 10 p.m.

Ocean County Sports Medicine Week 2 Players of the Week

Class A North Player of the Week

Anthony Leger, Manalapan

The week started off rough for Manalapan, with the Braves dropping a road game at CBA, but they finished it off by climbing over .500 with back-to-back wins outside of the Class A North division. Leger was instrumental in both wins, scoring a career-high 25 in a win over Long Branch before capping the week with 20 in a win over Middletown North.

Class A North Honorable Mention: Justin Fuerbacher, CBA; Will Bradley, CBA; Jayden Holmes-Cotter, Freehold Twp.; Malachi Harris, Freehold Twp.; Alex Frank, Marlboro; D.J. Orloff, Howell; Nick Cardone, Freehold Twp.

Class A Central Player of the Week

Jack O’Leary, Raritan

Raritan has senior leaders across the board and share the glory among them, but last week, O’Leary showed that he is the guy who can carry the Rockets when the game is on the line. In three more Raritan wins last week, the senior averaged 23.3 points and nine rebounds, scoring at least 23 in all three games. O’Leary put up 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead a triple-overtime win at Central and scored 23 of his team’s 44 points in a win over Hillsborough on Friday.

Class A Central Honorable Mention: Jayden Elijah, Matawan; Colin Haluska, Matawan; Chauncey Brown, Matawan; Ben Kipnis, Holmdel; Nick Seeloch, Holmdel; Mike Diller, Raritan; Connor Howard, St. John Vianney; Christian DiGiso, Freehold Boro; Brian Tassey, Freehold Boro

Class A South Player of the Week

Tom Menegus, Southern

Southern surged into first place in the Class A South standings and once again, the Rams have been buoyed by a balanced, unselfish lineup that gets it done on both ends of the floor. Menegus has embodied that during his senior season and last week, the 6-foot-6 senior averaged 10.25 points and 9.5 rebounds Southern’s 3-1 week, which included a huge road win over Brick Memorial in which Menegus put up 13 points and 12 rebounds – including the go-ahead basket with two minutes left.

Class A South Honorable Mention: Samir Padilla, Jackson Memorial; Respect Tyleek, Jackson Memorial; Josh Michigan, Brick Memorial; Dorian Alston, Brick Memorial; Dylan Russell, Toms River East; Delani Hyde, Toms River North; Kai Barckley, Toms River South; Pat Gaffney, Southern; Micah Ford, Toms River North; Jordan Jones, Toms River South; Caden Schubiger, Southern

Class B North Player of the Week

Tyler Burnham, Red Bank Catholic

The Caseys turned in a 3-0 week that got them back in the Shore Sports Network Top 10 and capped it with an impressive win over Red Bank at the Boardwalk Showcase. Burnham was in his element on the floor of Collins Arena at Brookdale, decimating the rival Bucs with a career-high 30 points to go with 15 rebounds in a 74-65 Red Bank Catholic win.

Class B North Honorable Mention: Luke Schorr, Rumson-Fair Haven; Ryan Prior, Red Bank Catholic; Colin Cavanaugh, Red Bank Catholic; Pat Brown, Middletown South; Ryan Barnao, Middletown North; Jason Quardt, Middletown North; Braydon Kirkpatrick, Red Bank; Vova Trotsko, Colts Neck; Will Surdez, Colts Neck; Dylan Csik, Middletown South

Class B Central Player of the Week

Kyle Kolans, Point Beach

Kevin Burns had another strong week and made big plays down the stretch of Point Beach’s biggest win of the year to date – a 44-41 win over Class B Central rival Keyport – but Kolans was the x-factor in Point Beach’s huge win. The senior scored a game-high 19 points to help the Garnet Gulls top the Red Raiders, which came after he scored nine points and hit a big go-ahead three-pointer in the fourth quarter of a win over Brick on Tuesday of last week.

Class B Central Honorable Mention: Kevin Burns, Point Beach; Jack Fitzpatrick, Henry Hudson; Dominico Dispenza, Keyport; Shaborn Goodman, Asbury Park; Mike Nichols, Keyport

Class B South Player of the Week

Chris Venturoso, Lacey

Lacey got a key Class B South win over Manchester to improve the Lions to 4-0 within the division and Venturoso had his best performance of the season in leading the way. The senior poured in 26 points and grabbed six rebounds, part of a week in which Venturoso averaged 16 points in three games for Lacey.

Class B South Honorable Mention: Jamari Smith, Barnegat; Jaycen Santucci, Central; Royalty Riley, Central; Brandon Farber, Brick; Miles Chevalier, Central

Class C North Player of the Week

Isaac Hester, Ranney

Hester has been as automatic as any player in the Shore Conference so far this year, scoring 21 points or more in each of his team’s 10 games to open the season – including 23 Monday at No. 1 St. Rose. Last week, Hester put up three 20-plus-point games as Ranney extended its winning streak to five games. The six-foot senior scored 23 points to go with 10 rebounds and four assists in a Thursday win at Rumson-Fair Haven, then went for 24, eight and four in a win over Holmdel at the Boardwalk Showcase on Saturday.

Class C North Honorable Mention: Alex Konov, Manasquan; Ryan Frauenheim, Manasquan; Jayden Hodge, St. Rose; Darius Adams, Manasquan; Jack Dettlinger, Manasquan; Matt Eisenberg, Wall; Jake Venturoso, Point Boro; Drew Buck, Ranney; Griffin Linstra, Manasquan; Bryan Ebeling, St. Rose

Class C South Player of the Week

T.J. Thomasson, Monmouth

Monmouth welcomed senior standout Ta’haj Wiggins back to the lineup last week and while he made an immediate impact, it was Thomasson who sparked two key wins for the Falcons last week. He scored 11 points in a win over Pinelands with Wiggins still out of the lineup, then poured in a team-high 18 to lead a Class C South division win over Ocean.

Class C South Honorable Mention: Zayier Dean, Ocean; Dylan Caldeira, Jackson Liberty; Derrick Marsh, Lakewood; Pete Farlekas, Donovan Catholic; Lukas Latvys, Jackson Liberty; Liam Gajewski, Shore; Alex George, Shore; Ta’haj Wiggins, Monmouth; Ron Richardson, Ocean

Wild Cards

Jayden Elijah, Matawan

The Huskies put the finishing touches on a five-game winning streak and the 6-7, 280-pound Elijah was a beast during the tail-end of that streak last week. The sophomore center exploded for 28 points and 22 rebounds in an eye-opening win over Holmdel and capped his week with 14 points and eight rebounds in a win over Neptune – a team that opened this week by putting a scare into No. 2 Manasquan.

Josh Michigan, Brick Memorial

Michigan had two of his best scoring days as a varsity player last week, putting up 27 points in a win over Lacey and erupting for a career-high 35 in a Saturday win over Point Beach.