Remsen guides Montgomery past Hillsborough

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/sports/high-school/basketball/2015/12/18/cn-boys-basketball-remsen-guides-montgomery-past-hillsborough/77605982/

MONTGOMERY – The Montgomery High School boys basketball program has a growing reputation for turning blossoming point guards into high-quality players. In fact, coach Kris Grundy heard a new nickname earlier in the week.

It’s Montgomery Point Guard University.

Junior Matt Remsen is the newest addition to the rich class of point guards who have seen their roots develop while wearing the green and gold. Remsen exploded out of the gates, on his way to a game-high 15 points. His performance led the Cougars to a 46-32 victory over Hillsborough on Friday night in front of a home audience.

“We have been very fortunate here at Montgomery High School,” Grundy said about the surplus of point guards to enter his program. “When I was doing an interview.  someone brought up that it is kind of like point guard university here. We had Ryan McCoy, who had a full ride to Manhattan University, we went from Ryan to Kevin Johnson, from Kevin to Chase Ta, and now Chase hands it off to Matt Remsen.

“I told him at the end of last year, when we had that heartbreaking loss to Marlboro in the quarterfinals of sectionals – I sat him down the next day and said, ‘You know what Rem, this is going to be your team for the next two years. We are going to go as far as you take us.’ You saw tonight, when he’s firing on all cylinders, we are a tough team to beat.”

“In the beginning we were a little nervous; just getting use to the game,” Remsen said. “We got together in the second quarter and played as a team. That worked out well.”

Remsen is following the footsteps of Ta, who is continuing his career Skidmore College. Luckily for Montgomery, Remsen has seen a high volume of experience since he joined the team as a freshman. During his first year in high school, Remsen was a key contributor for a squad that went 27-2 and lost to Trenton by two points in the sectional final.

“It’s definitely a big role stepping into Chase’s shoes,” Remsen said. “It’s a team effort here. We want to play together as a group.”

He continued about getting thrown into the mix during his freshman year, “It was great to start at the top. You never want to leave the top. It motivates you to get better-and-better.”

“We have been excited about Kevin since he has been coming to my camps,” Grundy said. “I don’t think he missed a camp through the years. We knew he was a player and he showed it tonight. He stepped up and hit a few shots for us. He’s going to be a player.”

Arguably the biggest headline of the night was Ian Progin not leading Hillsborough on to the court for the first time in 12 years. Progin put the Raiders on the map and made the rivalry with Montgomery intense. Instead of on the sidelines, Progin was found monitoring the competition from his seat in the bleachers.

“Ian and I have been talking all week through text and email,” Grundy said. “Even when I went to scout Hillsborough last Saturday I told him, ‘It’s very strange and surreal, I don’t like not seeing you out there.’ Ian is such a great guy and he’s one of my best friends in the business. It’s tough not coaching against him.”

New coach, Lennie Parham, didn’t receive the welcome back he expected. His team struggled to find a consistent scorer and at times surrendered the ball to Montgomery’s severe pressure. Although Hillsborough lost to its rival, it saw some positives in the third quarter. Parham is still juggling his young lineup around. He’s hoping to have his boys better prepared when the next whistle sounds off against Somerville on Wednesday.

“It felt good to be back out there. We should’ve had them better prepared,” Parham said. “I think it’s natural to have nerves. I probably could’ve done a few things different.  I don’t think we were ready in the first-half, but we settled down in the second-half. I know we played 10-plus guys. We are trying to give guys opportunities and see what they can do.”