By Bob Nuse
Sports Editor
Kris Grundy feels like here has been something special about every team he’s guided in his 14 years as the Montgomery High boys’ basketball coach.
But this year’s team has something that none of Grundy’s previous teams have had. This year’s roster contains 11 seniors, which the veteran coach finds remarkable due to the demands he puts on the players in his program.
“It is a special group,” said Grundy, whose team improved to 8-1 with a 59-42 victory over North Hunterdon on Tuesday. “We go so hard. We’re working out at 6 a.m in the summer. I had 11 kids make it four years and that is unheard of with all that we do. Usually my senior classes are three, four, five or maybe six kids that make it through. The fact we had 11 kids battle and claw and fight and just love being a part of this basketball family leads to this being a very special group.
“They battle together. They take each other’s back all the time. They always play for each other and they play for the alumni. They respect the program and they respect what we’re all about. They just go out there and play. So far this year it has been going in our favor more times than it hasn’t been going in our favor.”
The Cougars opened the season with a pair of victories before falling to Ridge. Since then they have rattled off six straight victories and took that 8-1 record into a showdown with highly-regarded Gill-St. Bernard’s on Thursday.
“They are a real litmus test as the No. 3 team in the state,” Grundy said. “So we’re going to get to see what we’re all about.”
Montgomery showed its grit in the decision over North Hunterdon, falling behind 10-0 out of the gate before taking control of the game. Riley Greene finished with a team-high 17 points, while Rohan Prakash had 15. Kevin Fromelt had 11 and Joe Elicone added 10.
“That’s the beauty of having this many seniors,” Grundy said. “We have six captains and they are all phenomenal leaders in their own right. We fell behind 10-0. We just didn’t come out with a lot of energy. Then we started making plays. You look at a kid like Will Marripodi who is one of our captains. He got on floor for about five minutes and made one of most ridiculous plays you’ll ever see. He almost landed on his head as he jumped over backwards and got a deflection that led to a steal and a three-pointer. We’re getting it from all different guys each and every night.”
Greene, Prakash, Fromelt, Elicone and Marripodi are five of the 11 seniors, joining Kyle Howard, Ben Heubach, Andrew D’Avino, Shiwon Kim, Tommy Loffredo and Anthony Bellavia. After going 17-11 last year and making deep runs in both the Somerset County and the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 4 tournaments, the Cougars are hoping for bigger and better things this year.
“We won 17 games last year and made the Somerset County semifinals and the Central Jersey, Group 4 semifinals,” Grundy said. “It was tough to see Lawrence (Levy) and Mack (Bloom) and Aaron (Thomas) graduate, but we knew we had the majority of our varsity team coming back. So we were pretty excited coming into the year. We had a really good summer and a really good fall. The kids worked hard. So we thought we had something special brewing so hopefully we can continue it out throughout the rest of the year.”
After the showdown with Gill-St. Bernard’s, the Cougars will serve as the host to the all-day Coaches vs. Cancer Shootout on Saturday. The day begins with Watchung Hills facing Bernards at 9 a.m. and will include eight games, capped off with Montgomery facing West Morris in an 8 p.m. start.
In addition to the strong senior group, sophomore Chris Rubayo has been making an impact, while freshman Ryan Curry has started to get more opportunities with the varsity team.
“Chris Rubayo is playing phenomenally well,” Grundy said. “He’s a 6-8 sophomore and he has learned a lot from this senior group. He’s learned how to play hard and compete and how to ead. He is having a great year. He is only going to get better. Ryan Curry is a freshman who plays full-time JV and has been seeing some spot varsity minutes. He’s going to be ultra good as well.”
In all, this is a team that loves playing together and it shows on the court. The team doesn’t get rattled by slow starts, as evidenced by the victory over North Hunterdon. It’s a group that shows experience matters.
“It is such a special group,” Grundy said. “All of the teams are all special in their own way. But to have 11 of them battle through and put up with all the stuff this program demands of their players, it is just special. And they love playing together at practice every day. They love the games and the bus rides. I want this season to be special for them because they deserve it.”
