Preseason Favorites: Shore Conference
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Year in and year out the Shore Conference is where you can find some of the best basketball in the state of New Jersey. Even with a pandemic this year will be no different as some of the best talent…
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Continue ReadingYear in and year out the Shore Conference is where you can find some of the best basketball in the state of New Jersey. Even with a pandemic this year will be no different as some of the best talent in the state get ready to start their season. So before we tip off for another year of basketball here are some teams to look out for in the Shore Conference.
St. John Vianney
One of the best teams in the entire state of New Jersey, St. John Vianney is once again looking at another deep run in tournament play this year. Last years 28-1 record was tops in the Shore Conference and easily the best record in the B North Division in which they had a six game lead on Red Bank Regional. The team returns the entire roster as last years team didn’t have a single senior on the depth chart, something that should make the rest of the conference nervous. This year St. John Vianney is once again led by senior and recent University of Richmond commit Katie Hill Katie Hill 6'0" | SF St. John Vianney | 2021 State NJ who averaged 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as well as one of the top ranked juniors in the state in Madison St. Rose Madison St. Rose 5'10" | PG St. John Vianney | 2022 State #65 Nation NJ . St. Rose led the team in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals as a sophomore with averages of 18.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 4.3 steals per game. The junior is a Princeton University commit and will look to add another sectional tournament championship and potential state championship to her resumé. St. John Vianney has the depth and the top talent to challenge for the state title this year so don’t be surprised to see their names at the top of the Shore Conference this year.
Marlboro
Marlboro impressed a ton last year, their 22-6 record shows just how good they were in a stacked Shore Conference. While they might be considered a cut below the top teams like St. John Vianney and Manchester Township I think this is the year they join that group of teams. Although they were eliminated in the semifinals of the sectional tournament Marlboro still gained major experience for their younger players who will need to step up this year. The team returns four of their top five scorers and while they did lose four players to graduation those players were mainly depth pieces to this roster. This year Marlboro will be led by senior Jessica Riepe, a Holy Family University commit who averaged 13.2 points per game as a junior. The load won’t just be Riepe’s to shoulder though as she can rely on junior Dani Schlesinger Dani Schlesinger 5'9" | CG Marlboro | 2022 State NJ , senior Sammi Jay and sophomore Erica DiSimone, each of who were top five in scoring on last years team. This is a deeper team than many realize and that should help them when it comes to playing the giants of the Shore Conference.
Manchester Township
This years Manchester Township team is going to look a lot different than last years squad. The team graduated three seniors including the fourth leading scorer on the team in Kemari Reynolds and then also lost two young budding stars to the transfer market. Sophomore Gabriella Ross, who was second on the team in scoring as a freshman, is now a student at Donovan Catholic while sophomore Angelica Velez Angelica Velez 5'6" | PG Webb Bell-Buckle | 2023 State TN , the fifth leading scorer as a freshman transferred to Trenton Catholic.Even with all of those losses Manchester Township still boasts one of the best prospects in the state, North Carolina commit Destiny Adams Destiny Adams 6'3" | SF Manchester | 2021 State #26 Nation NJ . As a junior Adams led the team in scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game to go along with 11.7 rebounds per game on the way to a 28-4 record. Adams with couple with junior Amyah Bray (7.8 points, 3.5 rebounds per game) to make a nice pairing but it is to be seen whether the star power of Adams can make up for the several departures of last years team.