JFK boys look to pick up the pace this winter Seven seniors to lead Mustangs on hardcourts BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer SCOTT PILLING staff JFK senior Vinny Marciano is the top offensive threat for the Mustangs this year as they look to improve on last season’s 4-12 campaign. There will be a bit of a different look to this year’s J.F. Kennedy boys basketball team, as head coach Jamison Panko looks to up the tempo a bit this year with a deep, athletic lineup. The Mustangs, who finished 4-12 last year, will need to find a way to replace the presence of four-year starter Corey Rosenbaum, who graduated last year after putting together a tremendous high school career on the football field, basketball court and as a triple jumper in the spring. However, Panko’s squad has plenty of experienced players back this winter, as well as some talented newcomers who will certainly get their chance to contribute this season. “We have seven seniors back, and I intend to play all 12 kids on the team in just about every game,” Panko said. “They can go into every game knowing they’re going to play.” The coach hopes that assurance will help his squad remain focused and working hard throughout the year. “We hope that’s the reaction we get,” he added. While the Mustangs will be a faster team this winter, they will need to take advantage of their quickness to overcome a lack of size under the basket. Senior Terrence Kessie, at 6-4, is the tallest player on the team. “We don’t have a true center, but we’ve got a lot of good guards,” Panko said. “We’re going to need to work hard on rebounding, because that’s going to be an issue at times against the bigger teams.” The Mustangs will be led by senior guard Vinnie Marciano, an All-Division player the last couple of years, and one of the better offensive players in the conference. Senior Shawn Hendricks is also back to assume the leadership role from his point guard position, while senior Dan Brown (a returning starter), Jason Morris and Billy Russyk are also among the strong contingent of guards at Panko’s disposal. Senior Mike Aucoin, like Kessie, will be asked to do much of the grunt work under the boards, while junior Jelanie Davis, who started last year, is also back at the forward position for JFK. “We also have three other juniors and a freshman who will fill in the rest of the spots, and see a lot of playing time,” the coach said. As far as what to expect from this year’s JFK squad, Panko seems comfortable with the notion that the Mustangs will be an improved team. “We’ve given them a system where they can be competitive in every game, so that’s what we’re asking from them,” he said. “We’ll be running things a little bit faster than we normally do, so we’ll see how that works out.” The Mustangs will get tested immediately, as they face one of the Greater Middlesex Conference’s top teams in their season-opener on Friday when they travel to South Amboy to take on Cardinal McCarrick. “We’ve played them the last few years, and it will really be a great gauge to see how much we’ve improved and how much we still need to improve on,” Panko said. The Mustangs will then play their home opener on Monday when they host another division rival, Highland Park.