Roselle Catholic Lions Boys Basketball, NJ’s #1 Team

The Roselle Catholic Boys Basketball team is off to a great start one month into the 2017-18 season.  From the opening tip-off in the Lions Den vs Newark Westside HS on Dec 15th, the team has hit the ground running.

The team has already racked up big in state victories over Gill St. Bernards (Ranked #3 in NJ) in the Metro Holiday Classic and St. Marys (ranked #11 in NJ) in the SFIC Classic at Kean.  The Lions picked up very big national victories over Smyrna (DE) and Gray Collegiate Academy (SC) in the Slam Dunk To The Beach in Delaware over the holiday break as well.  In the first month of action, the team remains unbeaten against Jersey opponents, and have only obtained losses this season to Imhotep Charter (PA) (ranked #23 in the nation by MaxPreps) and Oak Ridge (FL) (ranked #17 in the nation by MaxPreps) in the Spalding HoopHall Classic in  Springfield, Massachusetts this past weekend.

Led by Senior Nax Reid, the Lions are looking primed to make big runs in both the Union County Tournament and NJSIAA State Tournament this year.  Reid was recently featured during a segment on the show Sports Stars of Tomorrow  which aired on ABC.  You can catch that feature at http://www.sportsstarsoftomorrow.com/articles/detail/National/Profile/Naz-Reid---Roselle-Catholic-Forward---HighlightsInterview---Sports-Stars-of-Tomorrow.  Naz currently averages 16.8 points per game along with 9 rebounds per game for RC.  He has certainly proved why he is a top rated national player, and will be playing for the LSU Tigers next year.

Along  with Reid, seniors Alanzo Frink and Ithiel Horton were recently 3 of only 9 NJ boys basketball players nominated for the coveted spots to be named a McDonald’s All-American.  Horton, already committed to the University of Delaware, has added a spark to Roselle Catholic since transferring over to the Lions after the closing of St. Anthony’s this past summer.  Frink continues to impress as well on the defensive end, and has helped offensively in many key situations.  Senior Jason Battle’s guard play has helped pace the offense, and poses a strong outside threat from beyond the arc.  Junior Kahlil Whitney, a top ranked national player for the Class of 2019, is a versatile player who helps run the floor offensively as well as create a disturbance defensively.  Josh-Pierre Louis, a junior, runs the point for the team, helping to create the action.  Colby Rogers and Cliff Omoruyi help round out the team, both having a strong presence inside, and Rogers being a strong shooting threat for the team.

The Junior Varsity team has also had a successful start, amassing victories throughout Union County and beyond.  Most notably, the JV team picked up the Championship trophy at the Keith Benovengo Memorial Holiday Tournament at Scotch Plains, with big victories over Roselle and Union Catholic.  The Freshman team defeated Oratory Prep in their Christmas Tournament before being edged by St. Marys in the Championship Game, earning runner-up status.  All levels of Lions Boys Basketball have a lot more excitement ahead this season.

While the team continues to travel around the country, you can enjoy many of the team’s games from the comfort of your own home.  Many of the RC Lions Boys Basketball games are streamed on their very own site, at http://www.nfhsnetwork.com/schools/roselle-catholic-high-school-roselle-nj.   You can purchase a monthly, seasonal, or yearly subscription to catch all the action.

Full schedule can be found at https://www.rosellecatholic.org/athletics-calendar-varsity-boys-basketball.