With seven experienced seniors combined with a move to the Super Essex Conference’s National Division, the pieces were in place for Nutley’s boys basketball team to do quite a bit more winning than it did a season ago.
But even with that in mind, eyebrows were raised when veteran head coach Bob Harbison told his team that he thought the Maroon Raiders could win 20 games.
“I told our kids before the season, and I exaggerated, but I said, ‘listen, we can win 20 games,’ and my assistant coach just looked at me and said we’re now going to win 20 games,” recalled Harbison about the conversation he had with his team, that has won just 12 games over the past two seasons. “But what I’m saying is, we can win a lot of games. There’s a lot of winnable games here.”
Embellished or not, Harbison’s prediction suddenly seems a lot less crazy.
In just two weeks, Nutley has matched last season’s win total and, after defeating Kearny for the Charlie Dolan Holiday Tournament title on Saturday, the Maroon Raiders are 5-0.
“I think they’re just maturing,” Harbison said. “As long as they don’t look out for themselves too much and continue to enjoy winning together, I think we will continue to win.
“When you’re winning, kids listen more, they buy in a little bit more. Hopefully it will continue.”
Leading the way has been senior guard Jordan Small, who was named Tournament MVP after going for 17 points in the first round against Morristown on Friday and 16 the next day against Kearny. Small was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Nutley teammates Ryan Ibrahim and Tim Gordon.
The 5-foot-11 Small leads the Raiders in scoring at 17,4 points per game, but has been so much more than just a scorer.
“Jordan Small is having a great year,” Harbison said. “He’s averaging 17 points per game, but it’s the most quiet scoring that I’ve had in that he doesn’t try to do anything he’s not supposed to do. He’s just making shots when he’s supposed to. He covers the other team’s best player. He’s matured a heck of a lot. He just keeps us on track.”
Joining Small in the backcourt for the third season in a row is point guard Will Llanza, who came alive for 11 points in the win over Kearny.
“He’s very talented and lets me do things that we haven’t been able to do before because I know I got a guy who can handle the ball against pressure,” said Harbison. “He’s a three-year starter and he’s starting to figure it out.”
The 6-foot-7 Ibrahim is another veteran, who has made significant strides this season. Ibrahim, a senior, is averaging 11.4 points per game, highlighted by back-to-back 13-point efforts against Morristown and Kearny. The face-up forward has started receiving interest from multiple NJAC schools.
“He’s figuring out how important it is to play with energy and to be a little more assertive,” said Harbison. Each game he seems to be getting better.”
Joining the veterans in the starting lineup are a pair of very promising sophomores in Gordon and Sean Fealey.
Gordon, who starts at linebacker in the fall, has immense potential as a wing, while Fealey, a 6-foot-3 center, is good around the rim, while developing his defensive game.
One thing Nutley has plenty of, more than perhaps any team Harbison has had, is shooting. In addition to all five starters, Michael Misner, Noah Riley and Gian Duan are all dangerous shooters off the bench. Misner, a junior, made three 3-pointers against Morristown.
“We let it fly. The rule is if you see it and you have space, you shoot it,” Harbison said. “Throughout the game, we don’t take a lot of bad shots and they’re getting much better at getting themselves free (for open looks).”
Noah Smith, last year’s starting center, is a strong defender off the bench, He and forward Justin Figueroa can both shoot it, while Drew Slomkowski, a Seton Hall commit for baseball, brings added athleticism up front after missing all of last year due to injury.
Senior Nick Gallo and sophomore Noah Tan bring added depth off the bench.
Nutley begins the new year with its most challenging week of the young season as it travels to Glen Ridge on Friday before home games with Belleville and Weequahic.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)