Unbeaten Montgomery boys’ basketball are still seeking respect
http://www.nj.com/times-sports/index.ssf/2014/02/unbeaten_montgomery_boys_baske.html
When it comes to public school basketball programs, conversations routinely include the likes of Newark East Side, Paterson Eastside, Linden, Teaneck, Trenton, Ewing, maybe Haddonfield. Or golden oldies like Camden and Neptune.
This season, the list includes Montgomery High School. That’s undefeated Montgomery, a team going for win No. 18 tonight at Voorhees.
It is currently second in power points in Central Jersey Group IV, just behind Trenton, the team that knocked it out of the states last year.
Now ranked in The Star-Ledger Top 20 for the first time this season — at No. 20 — Montgomery finally is getting noticed as one of some 10 schools in New Jersey that have yet to lose.
Montgomery has played only a few games where it nearly fell off the tightrope. It came from five down in the final two minutes to beat Bridgewater-Raritan in overtime, and also beat Rutgers Prep in overtime. It won at Ridge by three points.
Next week the team hosts Ridge (14-2) and Hillsborough (12-2) before opening play in the Somerset County Tournament against an undetermined opponent.
Surrounded by fields and woods in the wide-open spaces of Skillman, and in the shadows of the Sourland Mountain Preserve, winds have started to whisper that this is no paper Cougar.
“Personally, I like it when nothing is really expected of us, because we’ll just keep winning,” said senior tri-captain Justin Kovacevich, who passed the 1,000-point career mark Tuesday in his team’s 36-point win over Somerville. “We know we’re good, and that’s what matters mostly. If other people don’t think we’re good, that’s even better for us — because we’ll come out and beat them before they even know what happened.”
If that sounds like a team with a chip on its shoulder, it’s only because it is.
“Early in the season (the lack of recognition) didn’t bother us,” senior tri-captain Ananth Chemimineni said. “But after a while, we started to play with a chip on our shoulders and used that as motivation.’’
Montgomery may be located in the suburbs, but it’s playing an urban game.
The Cougars come at you man-to-man, full-court on defense, pressing, trapping and producing the expected baskets in transition. Historically a half-court team that liked to keep games below 50 points, this group is averaging in the mid-60s. The points come from everywhere.
“That’s the biggest thing right now,” coach Kris Grundy said about the ball movement. “Justin is the most unselfish leader that a coach could wish for. (Tuesday) we had four players in double figures. As long as we win, that’s all this group cares about.”
The rotation includes 6-foot-3 tri-captain Greg Tarca, 6-foot-4 Darren Wallace, the 6-foot-5 Kovacevish, and guards Chase Ta and Tim Youreneff. Chemimineni comes off the bench, as do Alex Miller and Matt Remsen.
“Everybody can shoot, everybody can play,” Tarca said. “Take away one player, and we have five or six more that can hurt you.”
In his ninth season as head coach — moving up from coaching freshmen at age 25 — Grundy began his first four seasons winning 47 games and losing 56. In his fifth season, the Cougars won the Central Jersey Group IV sectional title.
“We’ve been competitive ever since,” he said.
Tonight they go for the Mid-State’s Raritan Division title, which would be their fourth in the past five years. But this team has bigger goals — realistic goals since the summer.
“I knew we were going to be good,” Grundy said. “We had three starters returning, and my sixth man. And the team chemistry is through the roof. They love to play together and hang out with each other.
“I told them you don’t win championships in the summer, but you can lose championships in the summer. They really committed themselves, and the results are there.”
So is that big, fat zero on the right side of the ledger. While the school record for wins is 24, it is the zero that so far has defined this season. It is an elephant that may be gaining weight.
“I think they’re very comfortable with where we are,” Grundy said about being unbeaten. “Again, it goes back to their confidence. I tell them all the time: Keep working hard and good things are going to come.”
“It is a big zero,” Tarca said, “and I think we can sense there is pressure. But we knew it was something that was possible going into the season. So we knew it was somewhat expected. So I don’t think the pressure is too much.”
The lack of respect can sometimes be.
“We just don’t get the respect on the state scene that I feel we deserve in basketball,” Grundy said about Somerset County. “Last year we played eight teams in the Top 20. This year, you look at Plainfield beating Roselle Catholic. Ridge beat Plainfield, and us and Hillsborough beat Ridge. So what does that tell you?”
Perhaps that until Montgomery becomes consistently good, it will create only occasional mention in basketball circles.
“I tell the kids, ‘You should walk around with a little bit of a chip on your shoulder. You’re playing well, and you’re undefeated, but you still only got a No. 2 seed in your county tournament, and it took 17 wins to even crack the Top 20,’” Grundy said. “All we can do is keep doing what we’re doing and let the chips fall where they may.”
