Seton Hall Prep's Anthony Gonzalez defends a player with the ball during a game this season.
BELLEVILLE/WEST ORANGE, NJ — Anthony Gonzalez, a sophomore basketball player, really enjoys being at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange.
“I like being at Seton Hall Prep,” said the Belleville resident, a 6-foot-2 guard. “It is different from my original school last year, Union City High School. I like the brotherhood and the way the students treat each other. When I got here, the players really welcomed me and made me feel part of the team right away. I like the style of offense we use, which is fast, but under control. Our pressure defense makes everyone on our team work hard, while the other team struggles to make easy baskets.”
The top-seeded Pirates advanced to the 78th Essex County Tournament championship game against No. 3 seed Payne Tech (Newark) on Saturday, Feb. 22, at Essex County College in Newark. The result of the game was after press time.
Following the 70-66 semifinal win over No. 4 seed St. Benedict’s Prep (Newark) on Feb. 15 at West Orange High’s Tarnoff Gymnasium, Gonzalez was averaging 12.8 points and 3.3 rebounds on the season, including making 83 % of his free-throws (53 out of 64). He also had 120 assists and 48 steals. SHP, which improved to 18-5 on the season, appeared in its 31st ECT finals appearance and sought its 20th ECT title.
First-year head coach Sterling Gibbs recently commented on Gonzalez, “Anthony has been a huge asset to our program. He’s a leader, on and off the court, and has continuously shown his maturity and winning mentality. Having a special player like Anthony gives everyone on the team confidence going into each game. He has a natural ability to exude confidence that spreads to others on the team, without saying much at all. There is no surprise to me regarding the great season that Anthony is having. He works extremely hard, pays close attention to detail and knows the game. When you mix his talent with his work ethic, you get a special kind of player that doesn’t come around too often. We are happy to have him at Seton Hall Prep and excited to watch the program grow with him as part of it.”
Photos Courtesy of Seton Hall Prep
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