Edison High School’s boys’ basketball team clicked in January, winning its first six games of the month.
With the hot streak, the Eagles overcame a slow start (1-5) to the season. At 8-7 overall, they are firmly in the seeding race for the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament and the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 Tournament.
“It took a little longer to jell,” said Edison coach Charlie Mohr. “We’re defending better than we were. We’ve bought into defending and rebounding. That has helped us turn things around. That’s how you win ball games in high school.”
Edison “took longer to jell” because its players didn’t play together until the winter season started.
Like most programs, the Eagles played in a summer league. But a lot of their varsity players were tied up with other commitments, like baseball, football and summer jobs.
So, the Eagles weren’t able to play as a unit in the offseason. When their season began in December, they needed a month to figure things out.
“It’s about playing together and being connected,” Mohr said. “We’ve bought into that as a team. We mix man and zone on defense, but whatever we’re in, we try to be aggressive.”
Mohr is an old school coach. He tries to build teams that grind out possessions, play tight defense and control the boards. This Edison team is playing that way now, and doing it well.
Strong defensive teams hold opponents to low point totals and pull out close games.
Edison’s first victory of 2019, 57-54, over Woodbridge High School on Jan. 3, was a one possession game. In its next five victories, the Eagles held opponents to less than 50 points.
They held John P. Stevens High School and Sayreville War Memorial High School to 38 points each, beating J.P. Stevens, 40-38, on Jan. 14 and Sayreville, 59-38, on Jan. 17.
“It feels like we’re getting better and better as the season goes on,” Mohr said.
Edison started to turn its season around when its players began to understand their roles. Now, they are getting better at them every game.
Forwards Christian Wantong and Thomas Johnson are Edison’s top scorers and rebounders. Wantong is recording 14.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Johnson is averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest.
Johnson is a wing who can drive and shoot. Wantong is a matchup nightmare. He can post up smaller defenders and dribble by bigger defenders.
“You can’t play them one way,” Mohr said.
Junior Emanuel Davila played a two guard role for most of his life. He is used to getting the ball and trying to score. But on these Eagles, he has embraced the point guard spot and grown into it nicely.
Now, he is doing point guard things, like feeding hot hands and exploiting matchups.
“Manny has really accepted the point guard position. He is also a very smart player,” Mohr said. “He’s developing into a point guard. I think he’s always had pieces of it but he’s really starting to put it together now.”
Another guard, Franklyn Martinez, covers the other team’s best scorer, a crucial role on a defensive minded team. Another forward, Nasir McLean, is Edison’s glue guy, meaning he makes the connecting plays that keep a team together, like grabbing loose balls and making extra passes.
“Nasir does all the little things that don’t show up in the box score,” Mohr said. “He’s a very tenacious player.”
Edison, now that it knows itself, is a very tenacious team. The Eagles will be a tough out for anybody down the line.
“I think we can beat anyone,” Mohr said. “But we have to play well night in, night out.”
