Guards Pave Way For East Side With Eyes Set On The ECT Title

By Steve Tober
For sidelinechatter.com
The anticipated return of 6-7 center Ismael Sonogo when the rehabilitation of his injured shoulder is completed before the start of the NJSIAA state tournament will be huge for Newark East Side’s No. 1 ranked boys basketball team, one which could still be the team to beat right up until the end of the season with the Tournament of Champions in late March.
And, while the versatile Seton Hall-University-bound Sanogo and athletic 6-8 Abdul Lewis (South Alabama) are an outstanding inside tandem, and the capable fill-in Taj Price, a 6-7 junior is also a valuable cog - as all three Red Raider forwards are long, effective off the boards and can alter opponent’s shots - what is just as evident is the fact that the team’s backcourt, paced by last season’s Sideline Chatter Essex County Player of the Year runner-up Akbar Hoffman, is still the pulse that dictates the rhythm on both ends of the court for this very talented team.
It’s a very likeable and unselfish group, and one which has found its ‘A’ game once again with a pair of impressive victories over the weekend, dominating Newark Tech, 54-42, in the Essex County Tournament semifinals on Saturday night in West Orange, and then edging Hudson Catholic, 52-48, in overtime on Sunday in the Metro Classic at Kean, showing its resiliency with a fourth-quarter comeback and then completing the mission in the extra session, boosted by five free throws from Hoffman (21 points) in OT.
For the most part in high school basketball – just as it is in college hoops – guards set the tone, and with Hoffman returning this past week after a bout with pneumonia which sidelined him for the Red Raiders’ lone loss of the season, a 59-57 setback at Seton Hall Prep on Feb. 6, and the hard-fought ECT quarterfinal win over The Montclair Kimberley Academy on Feb. 8, the rotation of backcourt performers is impressive indeed.
Plus, valuable sixth-man Jibreel Ahmad, a supreme defender and adept passer (he had five assists vs. Newark Tech in Saturday night’s ECT victory) has also returned from a sprained ankle that kept him out for those two aforementioned games.
Hoffman, who appears to have fully regained his strength, and fellow 6-2 senior Jamar Gilbert, who has blossomed into a superb player this season, are both capable scorers and distributors, as are Ahmad and 6-2 junior Ahmad Harrison.
The fact that East Side (18-1) can throw four guards of that high quality out on the floor, either at one time – as was the case during effective sequences against Newark Tech Saturday night – or as different combinations with Lewis and either Price or – eventually, again, Sanogo – makes this team extra special, and one which can still win both an ECT title and a Group 3 state crown.
There were initial reservations, including from this reporter who thought Sanogo’s injury could hinder the team’s title chances; however, as was evident in one 24-hour period when the Red Raiders went out and won back-to-back games against Newark Tech and Hudson Catholic, this team is definitely for real.
And, as Bloomfield coach Pat Brunner said recently, “Every player on the East Side team got better,” and that is as full evident in players such as Lewis and Gilbert as any since both those veteran performers have become top tier Essex County players along with Hoffman and Sanogo.
“I just love going out there on the court every day with this team,” said Lewis after his 14-point effort vs. Newark Tech Saturday night as he dominated inside and held the Terriers’ 6-6 Tyree Sykes in check. “Although we lost Ismael for a while here, having Akbar back with his ability to get the job done on the offense end at any time, and Jabreel’s energy on defense, we feel we’re in very good shape heading down the stretch, and hopefully Ismael will be back for the states.”
Lewis runs the floor and rules the glass at both ends as well as any ‘big’ in New Jersey, and his ascension as a bona fide insider performer who can also pass and shoot the medium range jumper has made him a very nice pickup for South Alabama.
“I’ve just kept working at my game as hard as I can, and we all simply had a great summer and fall together,” he said. “All that work is starting to pay off now, and we’re all clicking together out there, which is great to be a part of.
“Having all the talented guards we have just helps put us over the top, I think, in being the complete team that can get the job done at both ends of the court on a continual basis.
“This is fun, and we’re focused now on winning an Essex County Tournament. I haven’t won since I’ve been here, we lost to Seton Hall in last year’s final, and we haven’t won the championship in a long time (back-to-back crowns in 2002 and 2003).
Top-seeded East Side will take on second-seeded SHP, 1 p.m., this Saturday (Feb. 22) in the 2014 ECT title tilt, at Essex County College in Newark. The Pirates defeated the Red Raiders, 58-47, in last year's final.
“We’re strong now, and I think we’ll even be stronger in March," said Lewis. "But, first up for us along with trying to clinch our division crown (Super Essex Conference-American) is to win the county title!”