‘This is my Super Bowl’: Tales from JSBL opening night, where everyone has a story to tell

MANASQUAN – One of the great things about the Jersey Shore Basketball League is that everyone has a story to tell. A personal hoops journey that landed them in the Manasquan High School gym for Wednesday night’s doubleheader to open the league’s 56th season.

Take Hazlet’s Mike Aaman, the 6-8 forward who led Raritan High School to the 2011 Shore Conference Tournament title, played two years for Dan Hurley at Rhode Island before three solid seasons at Wagner.

“This is my Super Bowl,” Aaman said. “All these guys play pro, they play college. I’m 30. I have a bum knee. I lost 21 pounds in three weeks just to get ready for this. This is just loving the game.”

It certainly is.

All Aaman did was score 37 points, on 16-of-25 shooting, and grab 17 rebounds to lead Ortho-NJ to a 115-107 win over Larson Ford, which got 30 points from Rutgers forward Aundre Hyatt and 26 from Nate Pierre-Louis, the former Roselle Catholic star now the NBA G-League.

Ortho-NJ’s Mike Aaman shoots in first half action. Larson Ford vs OrthoNj in Jersey Shore Basketball League game at Manasquan, NJ on June 26, 2024.

“It’s a blast,” said Aaman, now a youth basketball coach. “I’m all basketball. I coach kids, I train kids, everything is basketball, basketball, basketball. So I’m investing in myself and hopefully in a few years I’ll be a college coach.”

Then there was the nightcap, in which Rutgers transfer guard Jordan Derkack poured in 39 points to lift an undermanned Sterns Trailer to a dominating 123-95 win over Sea View Jeep.

More: Jersey Shore Basketball League showcasing NBA, G-League, overseas stars, college players

With Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell in the stands – Pikiell’s son Kevin, a rising senior at CBA, was in the Sterns starting lineup – Derkack scored 27 points in the first half alone, hitting 16-of-26 from the floor for the game, while grabbing 12 rebounds.

It was the latest chapter in Colonia native’s homecoming story. He played three games early last season…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/super-bowl-tales-jsbl-opening-105702389.html

Author : App.com | Asbury Park Press

Publish date : 2024-06-27 10:57:02

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