East Orange's James Roberts shoots the bal during the win over Orange on Jan. 20 in the annual Orange High School MLK Classic.
EAST ORANGE, NJ — The East Orange Campus High School boys basketball team has started an active summer season.
The Jaguars, under head coach Gabe Baltimore, competed in the “Just June” Summer League, which took place at Cicely Tyson School. The league competed every Monday and Wednesday.
The Jaguars went 7-0 in the league, with victories over Orange, Newark Collegiate, Payne Tech Tech, Seton Hall Prep, Northern Highlands, Newark Arts and Union City.
In addition, the team participated in team camps at Georgian Court University, going 1-1, as they defeated St. Thomas Aquinas and lost to Piscataway, on June 7; and at St. Peter’s University, winning both games against Kennedy Catholic, of New York, and John Campe, of Virginia, on June 14.
They also competed at “Jersey Live” at Montgomery High School, going 2-0 against Camden Catholic and Hackensack, on June 18.
At the Bloomfield team camp, the Jaguars won both games against Ridge and Caldwell on June 20.
The Jaguars traveled to Connecticut to compete in the “Battle of the Bridge,” where they won two games, defeating Harding, Conn.; and Notre Dame Prep, Conn.
They are also competing at the Bloomfield College Summer League, which began July 1 and will continue to July 31 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They won their first game there, defeating Montclair.
This year’s summer team has 12 players. The rising juniors are 6-foot-2 point guard James Roberts, who has picked off several collegiate scholarship offers and interest; 5-9 PG Elijah Caldwell; 6-foot PG Stageon King; 5-10 PG Will Dyer and 6-3 forward Sincere Jones. The rising seniors are 5-11 guard Bashir Lucas, 6-4 shooting guard Tayshon Brown, 6-5 forward Ubayd Aly, 6-6 forward Azahn Collins, 6-5 forward Davion Canzater and 6-6 forward Roy Bynum. Rising sophomore Jezi Lewis, a 6-2 guard, rounds out the team.
The Jaguars are coming off another great season this past winter. They finished with an 18-12 record after losing to Ridgewood for the second year in a row in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 state tournament.
“Our goal always remains consistent, to simply do everything in our power to get better,” said Baltimore, who will enter his eighth year at the helm. “Our program motto is ‘Just work!’
Notes – Several East Orange High School basketball players from the 1970s recently had a mini reunion, including former legendary EOHS head coach Bob Lester, who resides in Georgia. Baltimore was in the area at the time and happened to join the get-together. Lester was the EO head coach from 1971-1977, leading the Panthers to four straight Essex County Tournament titles (1974-77), six straight state sectional titles (1972-77) and three straight state group championships (1972-74). The Panthers were vying for a fourth straight state group title in 1975, but lost in the Group 3 final to Lakewood, 72-71, in controversial fashion. The official called a foul on EO after the final buzzer. Lakewood’s Kelvin Troy hit the subsequent two free throws to win the game, giving EOHS its only loss. EOHS finished with a 29-1 record.
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