BOGOTA, NJ – State tournament action. March Madness is what dreams are made of. The term is synonymous on the collegiate level. The high schools are very much a part of that scene. Where dreams become a jubilant reality or take a hard crash back to earth. On this evening two Group I (small school classification in New Jersey) teams are squaring off.
Bogota is hosting Wallington on the last evening in February. Bogota is coached by Jay Mahoney, who I first met at a coaches clinic in 1984. He gave a talk on pressure defense, but also the background of building a program. Mahoney took over the reins at Bogota in the late Seventies. He inherited a three-win team. He also faced the local ‘experts’ declaring Bogota was a place you could not consistently win in basketball.
Mahoney got to work. In season, out of season (now by necessity but not as much in vogue back then), early morning individual skill sessions-nothing was left to chance. The Bucs soon saw their fortunes reversed. Over the years Bogota has earned Bergen County, state and conferences titles. On that November day Mahoney’s intensity, passion and enthusiasm stood out. Three and a half decades later- they are still evident as he roams the Bogota sidelines.
Parting with three dollars, a bargain and for a good cause, I enter the Bogota gym. No media room, free coffee or pre game stats or press notes. Just the essence and purity of the game. Two teams putting it on the line in the name of ‘survive and advance’. First run into Chris Clark, who starred for Mahoney in the early Nineties. State games will bring out a number of familiar faces. One surprise was John Blackgrove. He starred at Pascack Valley and later played at Fordham before transferring and finishing up at FDU. These days he coaches on the AAU/travel circuit. Blackgrove said he spent many early years shooting in this gym. His late dad, John Sr., was an outstanding player for Bogota in the mid Sixties. John Sterling, former Bogota girls coach, was also in attendance. Sterling still teaches at the school but now runs an excellent girls program at Secaucus. He has a big state game at Hanover Park the next night and we discuss that for a while. Donald ‘Ozzy” Osboune, who played at FDU and is another popular veteran travel coach, also is in attendance.
Game time. Bogota is out to an 8-7 lead after four minutes. By the quarter mark it is 16-7 in the hosts’ favor. Wallington has size but prefers to bomb from long distance. The visiting Panthers line up defensively in a 2-3 zone. Bogota does a good job changing defenses but prefers to stick to mostly zone. And it is a very active, rather than passive zone. In one sequence a Wallington player penetrates and scores. Mahoney is furious, calling time out. No matter time or score the Bogota mentor holds his players to high standards.
One of Bogota’s keys on offense is senior guard Kenjiee Polanco’s ability to get in the lane and the gut of the Wallington zone. If he cannot finish penetration he’s adept at finding an open teammate underneath or on the weak side.
At the half Bogota leads 33-18. The crowd is enthusiastic. One Wallington fan, a little too passionate, hollers at every call or no call. The act is annoying. Officials are doing a very good job and are not the reason Wallington is looking at a double-digit deficit. He looks like Donnie Wahlberg, and it gets to the point even those in his Wallington cheering section are ignoring him. Bogota big man Ben Lukabu spent a good deal of the first half on the perimeter. In the second half he’s stationed closer to the basket. Bogota, thanks to Lukabu’s presence on both ends of the floor, is dominant in the paint.
Bogota is in control. With a few minutes left Mahoney clears the bench and high fives his starters that are exiting the game.
Polanco finished with 21 points, including four shots from three point land. The Bucs hit a dozen from beyond the arc. Lukabu added 15 for the Bucs. Joe Tabaka led Wallington with 13 points.
My notebook has “ball movement and player movement” written at the bottom of the page. A point of emphasis for quick reference. When you attack a zone you want to move the ball naturally, but just as important, the players also must not be stationary. The last half especially, Bogota epitomized those principles.
Bogota finished with a 72-50 victory. The top seed in North Jersey Group I Section I, they would host Woodridge in the sectional semifinals on Saturday. Wallington’s campaign comes to a close.
Later in the evening Mahoney messages yours truly saying thank you for coming and that he could not say hello pregame. “After all these years,” he added, “ I still get very nervous before games.”
Some things never change.
