Orange HS boys basketball team seeks to make a strong run this season

ORANGE, NJ — The Orange High School boys basketball team is looking to build off last year’s 13-13 campaign.

The Tornadoes return their two top players from a year ago – A’juan Tiggs and Gregory Burton.

Tiggs, a 6-foot-1 senior point forward, brings versatility on both ends of the floor.

“He can play point guard, he knows how to get to the basket,” said second-year head coach Esak Crawley of Tiggs, who made the second team in the all–Super Essex Conference–Colonial Division last season. “He gets a lot of rebounds. One-on-one, he can score. We’re definitely looking for him to shoot the ball more, but he can get downhill. In the high post position, he is a lot of trouble, because he knows how to get to the basket.”

Burton, a junior, returns as the team’s starting point guard.

“He has a really good skill set when it comes to handling the basketball,” Crawley said. “He makes good decisions.”

The Tornadoes welcome 6-6 sophomore forward Tyshaun Boyd. A transfer from Newark Tech, Boyd is coming off a strong all-conference and all-county season for the OHS football team this past fall.

The other projected starters are 6-foot junior shooting guard Ky’sir Green and 6-1 senior small forward Joshua Gravesande. Green saw some varsity time late last season after playing mostly JV, while Gravesande is back from last year.

The key reserves are 6-4 senior forward Jamesly Philippe, senior small forward Alijah Jamison and 6-5 junior forward-center Jaylen May-Green.

Crawley feels the Tornadoes, who went 9-5 in the division last year, can make some noise in the county tournament and postseason. “I feel really good about this season,” Crawley said. “If we continue to compete and play with each other and play a lot of team basketball, we’re very capable of going deep in the counties and going deep in the states, perhaps winning our conference.”

Orange will host Millburn to tip off the season on Thursday, Dec. 14, at 4 p.m.

Here is the rest of the schedule:

• Dec. 16: at Montclair, noon
• Dec. 19: vs. Newark Collegiate Academy, 4 p.m.
• Dec. 21: vs. Belleville, 4 p.m.
• Dec. 26-27 and 29: Hillside Holiday Classic
• Jan. 3: vs. Memorial, 5:30 p.m.
• Jan. 4: at West Essex, 7 p.m.
• Jan. 6: vs. West Orange, 1 p.m.
• Jan. 9: at University, 4 p.m.
• Jan. 11: vs. Verona, 4 p.m.
• Jan. 13: at Bloomfield, 11:30 a.m.
• Jan. 15: Orange MLK Classic, vs. East Orange Campus, 5 p.m.
• Jan. 16: at Millburn, 4 p.m.
• Jan. 18: vs. Montclair, 4 p.m.
• Jan. 23: at Newark Collegiate Academy, 4 p.m.
• Jan. 30: at Belleville, 7 p.m.
• Feb. 1: vs. West Essex, 4 p.m.
• Feb. 6: vs. University, 4 p.m.
• Feb. 8: at Verona, 4 p.m.

  East Orange High School boys basketball