Francisco leads Trojan team into new season
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

EDISON — Bishop Ahr High School boys basketball coach Dennis O’Keef is a man of few words and a simple agenda that never alters from year to year.

“We’ll try to win every game,” O’Keef said. “You only play one game at a time, so we take things one game at a time.”

O’Keef is not suggesting his Trojan team will have the likelihood of going undefeated, but he instead keeps the focus where it should be — the next game. The Trojan’s next game and first game of the season is a 7 p.m. meeting with division rival Highland Park Dec. 15.

After opening with the road game this Friday, the Trojans will once again participate in the Roselle Catholic Holiday Tournament. Last year’s 17-7 Trojan team took second at the annual tournament behind St. Joseph of Metuchen.

Bishop Ahr suffered three key losses with the departures of Ernst Ambrose, Wesley Buffalo and Matt Newcomb. Ambrose is currently playing at the Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah.

Senior guard Corey Francisco is back and fresh off a strong season in which he averaged 18 points per game.

“Corey has got to do a lot for the team to be successful,” O’Keef said. “He’s the go-to guy and he can shoot.”

Junior Mike Williamson returns to the starting backcourt with Francisco. While Francisco will be looked upon to score for the Trojans, Williamson is the team’s defensive catalyst.

Classmate Billy Rooney will take the helm at point guard in his first season at the varsity level.

“Billy has to run the show,” O’Keef said. “He has to be a leader on the floor and keep things under control.”

Senior center Zach Widdoss and junior forward Martese Street will man the low post for the Trojans.

“Zach defends pretty well and he’s been working on his offensive game,” O’Keef said. “Martese is aggressive and he has a good knack for going to the basket. He rebounds very well.”

Also providing solid low-post defense is junior forward Jordan Madsen, while classmate Kevin Uzenski will be looked for to nail down the outside shot. Senior center Justin Dews is also expected to see plenty of minutes this season.

“Our strength is definitely our transition offense,” O’Keef said. “As far as our weakness, we’ll let the opposition figure that one out.”

O’Keef thinks his team will be competitive, but he also thinks it is no secret who the top teams are in the GMC Blue Division.

“Metuchen and Cardinal McCarrick have the two best teams,” O’Keef said. “We’ll find out what kind of team we have when we go up against those teams later in the season.”