Last season, North Arlington posted its first winning season in nine years when it went 13-12. A mark made more impressive by a wild offseason marred by transfers and a fall coaching change.
But as much as the record helped raise the bar for the Vikings, now second-year head coach Chris Boyce wants that to represent the floor for the program moving forward. And with five of the top eight scorers back from that team, Boyce looks for this group to take another step this winter.
“Going over .500 was definitely an accomplishment to set that bar,” said Boyce. “But the message this year to the team is that’s our floor (moving forward). That’s where we want to start at, and we want to improve.”
Boyce sees a roster that is deeper and more versatile than a season ago and that starts with Jaydis Smith, a 6-foot-2, do-everything senior guard. Smith, who missed the first half of season, averaged 7.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game and got better as the year went on.
“Jaydis plays everywhere,” Boyce said. “He could play the one, the two, he’s covered bigs on defense for us in summer league. He’s the most athletic and versatile kid we have, so we plan on using him in multiple positions.
“He’s a guy that I think could get us 15 to 20 points one night and then another night he might only get us 10, but he’s going to get us 10 assists and then he’ll get us 10 rebounds. He came on really strong for us the last few games of the year. If we’re going to make some noise, he’s going to be the reason why.”
Another returning starter for the Vikings is junior Elijah Zaldivar. The 6-foot-2 guard was North Arlington’s leading scorer a season ago at 15.2 points per game.
“Last year he was really our prime player or prime shooter, but we have some depth this year (which will help ease pressure off of him),” said Boyce. “But he could score from inside, he could score on the pull-up, he could score a three, he could drive to the basket. So he’s worked on his game tremendously over the summer.”
Also in the mix at guard are junior Danny Higgins and senior Joey Lunelli, who were both key contributors off the bench last season. Talented sophomore Valentino Cruz, who saw some time last season, is set for a much bigger role this year as the likely sixth man.
The improved depth at guard has allowed 6-foot-2 senior Aiden Manna (8.3 points per game) to move from guard and into more of a point-center.
“Aiden’s taken on the role of a five and while he is on the shorter end at like 6-foot-2, he’s at the gym, he’s put on about 25 pounds of muscle since last year. He looks great and he can handle the ball.”
North Arlington has some depth at forward behind Manna. Senior Adam Janosek, a 6-foot-2 soccer standout returns after not playing the previous two seasons. Jacob Soler, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound senior and promising 6-foot-4 junior Vincent Hinojosa will also see time and bring a different dimension to the lineup.
Seniors Amaury Linares, Lucas Perdomo and Christopher Troyana bring added depth to the roster as does junior guard Alexander Zaldivar Jr.
North Arlington opens the season on the road with games at Pompton Lakes on Wednesday and Midland Park on Friday before its home opener on Dec. 22 against Bogota.
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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.)