Published in the Courier News on December 18, 2003
Derrick Caracter -- all 6 feet, 9 inches and 275 pounds of him -- raised hisright hand high above the crowd to receive the inbounds pass. He got the ball,and within the blink of an eye flicked it to 6-foot-7 teammate Lance Thomas,who threw down an uncontested dunk with two hands.
Two hundred spectators cheered, and no fewer than five video cameras preservedthe moment. This was the scene at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School's boys basketballscrimmage against St. Mary of Elizabeth on Tuesday. Get your tickets now, because it's going to be an awful lot of fun to watch theRaiders and their two towers this winter. And these guys are just sophomores.
"It's cool, having a big man just as good as me," said Caracter, whotransferred to his hometown school after spending his freshman year at St.Patrick. "It's somebody to pass to, somebody who can finish around the basket."It's cool -- and much more. Caracter's much-heralded return home, coupled withThomas' vast improvement, has made Scotch Plains-Fanwood the talk of NewJersey's seen-it-all hoops establishment. Suddenly, a team that finished 6-16last year is playing in three showcase tournaments and getting "swing by"visits from Michigan, Georgetown and Wake Forest college basketball recruiters.
"It's more than I even thought," head coach Dan Doherty said. The whirlwind began in the May, when Caracter decided to stay at ScotchPlains-Fanwood after transferring from St. Patrick in March. There were toomany distractions at the Union County catholic school, and his grades sufferedas a result. "I have my family close by and my friends," said Caracter, who has been ratedthe No. 1 sophomore in the country. "Everybody's not so gassed up here. Theytreat me like a normal person."
His arrival boosted an up-and-coming team to the top of everyone's rankings.Thomas opened many eyes after averaging 15 points as a freshman. Junior pointguard Lakiem Lockery and senior forward Mike Walker are solid contributors.Throw in St. Anthony's transfer Michael Johnson, a fleet-footed guard, and youhave the most talented lineup anyone has seen around these parts sinceBridgewater-Raritan West featured Eric Murdock and Lance Miller in the 1980s.
Still, there were chemistry concerns at the beginning. Caracter and Thomas hadgone to different middle schools. They had played together on traveling teamsbut, as Doherty says, "there might have been a little of `who's the big guy onthe block?'‚" That thought melted away when Doherty told Thomas who was coming to dinner. "I wanted to see his initial reaction, his face," Doherty recalled. "He kind ofnodded with a big grin and said, `We're going to be really good.'‚" That's Thomas for you.
The kid has the maturity of a 35-year-old, as Dohertywill tell you. His main goal amid all this hysteria: to earn the program'sfirst sectional title since 1960. Can't beat that for perspective. Thomas' game is mature as well. Hounding defenders of all sizes, handling theball like a guard and crashing the boards like a big man, he is a first-ratematchup nightmare. "He runs the court nonstop like an Energizer bunny," Caracter said. Mack Truck might be the more apt emblem for Caracter.
He swats away defenderslike flies. And his superior footwork allows him to avoid silly offensivefouls. Perhaps most impressive is his passing touch. He throws the balldowncourt to start the break with a quarterback's accuracy. Good luck guarding them, as St. Mary found out in its 79-58 loss. "That'd be real tough," Thomas said.
"Double team, that's going to leave one ofus open. A man would probably be the best thing to do. You just have to belucky and have somebody who's 6-10." Two guys, actually. Added Caracter: "Try to flop as much as possible
Thursday, December 18, 2003
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Scotch Plains Girls Basketball 2003-4
Published in the Courier News on December 17, 2003
Stockton and Malone. Kobe and Shaq. Jordan and Pippen. Burke and Klimowicz?
Is it a stretch to compare Jenny Burke and Hillary Klimowicz of the ScotchPlains-Fanwood High School girls basketball team to some of the NBA's mostfamed tandems? Sure. But it's not far-fetched to say Klimowicz and Burke are the foundation of theCourier News' No. 1 team.
They were catalysts to last season's 23-3 team andcarry the expectations of another banner season. As they go, the Raiders go. "We've been practicing really hard," Klimowicz said. "We've been practicingreally well, working a lot better as team. It's everyone. The whole team."
Klimowicz and Burke are the perfect complements. In Klimowicz, Burke has a consistent inside target who averaged nearly 20points per game, to go along with eight rebounds and nearly four blocks. InBurke, Klimowicz has a heady pass-first floor general who can deliver passes tothe post and break down opposing defenses. With gritty forward Jenn Russell and sharp-shooting guard Maura Gillooly addedto the mix, they have a supporting cast that not only make ScotchPlains-Fanwood arguably Union County's elite, but also one of the state's bestsquads.
They all return from a team that last year pummeled opponents by an average of31 points. But for all the blowouts, the Raiders went home empty-handed. They twice fell to Tournament of Champions victor Shabazz, including asectional final defeat, and fell to Union Catholic in the Union CountyTournament semifinals. Scotch Plains-Fanwood once again will be lumped into a competitive sectionalbracket that should include Shabazz, Voorhees -- the Courier News' No. 3 team-- and No. 10 Ridge.
"It's a curse," coach Brian Homm said, referring to the North Jersey, Section2, Group III bracket. "Especially with the teams that were added in this year(from realignment)." "We do concentrate on winning the big ones," Burke said, "but we've kind of hada problem with that. If we don't win Union County, there's definitely somethingwrong with us."
Stockton and Malone. Kobe and Shaq. Jordan and Pippen. Burke and Klimowicz?
Is it a stretch to compare Jenny Burke and Hillary Klimowicz of the ScotchPlains-Fanwood High School girls basketball team to some of the NBA's mostfamed tandems? Sure. But it's not far-fetched to say Klimowicz and Burke are the foundation of theCourier News' No. 1 team.
They were catalysts to last season's 23-3 team andcarry the expectations of another banner season. As they go, the Raiders go. "We've been practicing really hard," Klimowicz said. "We've been practicingreally well, working a lot better as team. It's everyone. The whole team."
Klimowicz and Burke are the perfect complements. In Klimowicz, Burke has a consistent inside target who averaged nearly 20points per game, to go along with eight rebounds and nearly four blocks. InBurke, Klimowicz has a heady pass-first floor general who can deliver passes tothe post and break down opposing defenses. With gritty forward Jenn Russell and sharp-shooting guard Maura Gillooly addedto the mix, they have a supporting cast that not only make ScotchPlains-Fanwood arguably Union County's elite, but also one of the state's bestsquads.
They all return from a team that last year pummeled opponents by an average of31 points. But for all the blowouts, the Raiders went home empty-handed. They twice fell to Tournament of Champions victor Shabazz, including asectional final defeat, and fell to Union Catholic in the Union CountyTournament semifinals. Scotch Plains-Fanwood once again will be lumped into a competitive sectionalbracket that should include Shabazz, Voorhees -- the Courier News' No. 3 team-- and No. 10 Ridge.
"It's a curse," coach Brian Homm said, referring to the North Jersey, Section2, Group III bracket. "Especially with the teams that were added in this year(from realignment)." "We do concentrate on winning the big ones," Burke said, "but we've kind of hada problem with that. If we don't win Union County, there's definitely somethingwrong with us."
Friday, December 12, 2003
Yankees Collapse Column by Vaccaro
By MIKE VACCARO
YOU don't have to plumb the depths of your imagination to see the ominous windsblowing around the Yankees. Just take a look around. Shades of 1965 areeverywhere. Shades of 1982 abound. Signs of Great Collapse III are all around you. Anyone with eyes can see that. Well, anyone with eyes who isn't holed up in hisbunker in Tampa, releasing more defiant pearls of wisdom like this one:
"Weknow the fans may be disappointed, but if you're counting us out for next year,don't bet the house." George Steinbrenner should know better, of course. He wasn't here for GreatCollapse I, in '65, when a Yankees dynasty that had won 29 pennants and 20World Series (news - web sites) in the previous 44 seasons crumbled to dust,thanks to years of farm-system decay, years of neglecting African-Americanprospects, and, in Whitey Ford's famous words, the fact that "everyone got oldat the same time." But Steinbrenner most certainly was present in '82, for Great Collapse II, whenfive first-place finishes and two world titles in six years evaporatedovernight. He engineered it, in fact masterminded it, put in place all the squeaky wheelsand slippery slopes that kept the Yankees postseason-free for the next 14years, despite a checkbook that was just as accessible in those years as inthese years, despite the presence of plenty of talented players, despite theyearly belief the Yankees were a player or two away from glory. "What I remember most about the way our team fell apart is how shocking itwas," Graig Nettles said during the summer of 2001. "It was like being in abathtub, and you jack the temperature up bit by bit, a few degrees at a time,and before you know it you've scalded yourself to death." That's precisely where the Yankees find themselves now. One night, you go tobed and you have a clubhouse that is the envy of every baseball fan ever born,a mixture of talent and character, a gentle blend of grit, guile and guts, ateam even the most ardent Yankees-hater has difficulty truly loathing. The next morning, you wake up, and Tino Martinez has become Jason Giambi; DavidCone and Orlando Hernandez have become Javier Vazquez and Jose Contreras; PaulO'Neill has become either Gary Sheffield or Vladimir Guerrero; Scott Brosiushas become Aaron Boone; and Andy Pettitte has become Kevin Brown. Instead of having a beautifully crafted jigsaw puzzle where all the pieces fitsnugly and comfortably, you have lots of scattered jagged pieces lacking bothplan and pattern. Good enough to win plenty of games, perhaps. But good luck to Joe Torre andwhoever succeeds him on the Yankee Stadium throne, trying to coax that hideoushybrid team deep into October. "The thing about the Yankees all these years," a baseball executive saidyesterday, "is that you always knew the good guys outnumbered the bad, so thegood guys were going to make sure the bad guys found religion before too long.I don't see that being a given any more. The balance there has shifted, maybefor good." Pettitte's departure is one more nudge into the long winter that's been comingfor these Yankees for so long, the balloon payment for all the good times.Steinbrenner is back where he used to be, collecting expensive toys and seeingif they can play nice together. All the while, the core of his team becomes a corpse, lying at the bottom ofthat bathtub, scalded beyond recognition, right in front of our eyes. Winter hasn't felt this cold around here for a long, long while
YOU don't have to plumb the depths of your imagination to see the ominous windsblowing around the Yankees. Just take a look around. Shades of 1965 areeverywhere. Shades of 1982 abound. Signs of Great Collapse III are all around you. Anyone with eyes can see that. Well, anyone with eyes who isn't holed up in hisbunker in Tampa, releasing more defiant pearls of wisdom like this one:
"Weknow the fans may be disappointed, but if you're counting us out for next year,don't bet the house." George Steinbrenner should know better, of course. He wasn't here for GreatCollapse I, in '65, when a Yankees dynasty that had won 29 pennants and 20World Series (news - web sites) in the previous 44 seasons crumbled to dust,thanks to years of farm-system decay, years of neglecting African-Americanprospects, and, in Whitey Ford's famous words, the fact that "everyone got oldat the same time." But Steinbrenner most certainly was present in '82, for Great Collapse II, whenfive first-place finishes and two world titles in six years evaporatedovernight. He engineered it, in fact masterminded it, put in place all the squeaky wheelsand slippery slopes that kept the Yankees postseason-free for the next 14years, despite a checkbook that was just as accessible in those years as inthese years, despite the presence of plenty of talented players, despite theyearly belief the Yankees were a player or two away from glory. "What I remember most about the way our team fell apart is how shocking itwas," Graig Nettles said during the summer of 2001. "It was like being in abathtub, and you jack the temperature up bit by bit, a few degrees at a time,and before you know it you've scalded yourself to death." That's precisely where the Yankees find themselves now. One night, you go tobed and you have a clubhouse that is the envy of every baseball fan ever born,a mixture of talent and character, a gentle blend of grit, guile and guts, ateam even the most ardent Yankees-hater has difficulty truly loathing. The next morning, you wake up, and Tino Martinez has become Jason Giambi; DavidCone and Orlando Hernandez have become Javier Vazquez and Jose Contreras; PaulO'Neill has become either Gary Sheffield or Vladimir Guerrero; Scott Brosiushas become Aaron Boone; and Andy Pettitte has become Kevin Brown. Instead of having a beautifully crafted jigsaw puzzle where all the pieces fitsnugly and comfortably, you have lots of scattered jagged pieces lacking bothplan and pattern. Good enough to win plenty of games, perhaps. But good luck to Joe Torre andwhoever succeeds him on the Yankee Stadium throne, trying to coax that hideoushybrid team deep into October. "The thing about the Yankees all these years," a baseball executive saidyesterday, "is that you always knew the good guys outnumbered the bad, so thegood guys were going to make sure the bad guys found religion before too long.I don't see that being a given any more. The balance there has shifted, maybefor good." Pettitte's departure is one more nudge into the long winter that's been comingfor these Yankees for so long, the balloon payment for all the good times.Steinbrenner is back where he used to be, collecting expensive toys and seeingif they can play nice together. All the while, the core of his team becomes a corpse, lying at the bottom ofthat bathtub, scalded beyond recognition, right in front of our eyes. Winter hasn't felt this cold around here for a long, long while
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