2/20/2012 - Lawrence Makes Big Splash With PJ
I’ve seen the future of Pope John basketball and its name is Jermaine Lawrence.
With apologies to Jon Landau who wrote similar words about a young Bruce Springsteen after watching him perform in a club in Boston 40 years ago, Lawrence is the real deal, folks.
Lawrence, a transfer from Benjamin Cordozo High School in Queens, N.Y., made his debut with the Lions last week and I finally got to see him in person on Saturday in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex semifinals and the 6-8 junior was as good as advertised.
Like a Springsteen concert there was much anticipation to see what kind of performance Lawrence would give and minutes into the game, he swatted away the first of seven shots which led to a fast-break 3-pointer by JaQuan Bryant and the Lions really never looked back against a game, but overmatched, South Hunterdon squad in a 67-43 win.
The Lions (18-6), the No. 1 seed, from Sussex, will face top-seeded Hunterdon Central (14-11) from Hunterdon/Warren and its star guard Evan Klimchak in the H/W/S final 6 p.m. Friday at Phillipsburg High School.
There has been a lot of mystery and intrigue on how Lawrence landed on PJ’s campus here in Sparta. I started to hear the rumors of the “New York City transfer” right after the New Year.
People were asking me if it was true that the Lions had landed a top-100 prospect. I had heard the same things, but nothing was confirmed until Lawrence enrolled in Pope John after telling the people at Cordozo he was leaving on Jan. 13, according to a report in the New York Post.
Lawrence, who is listed in some publications at 6-10, but looks more like 6-8, 6-9 to me, had to sit 30 days as per NJSIAA regulations and since joining the Lions after their tough home loss to Sparta, PJ has won four in a row and looks primed to win the tri-county title and make a run in the always very rugged, North Non-Public A state tournament.
I checked with Pope John Athletic Director Mia Gavan to see if Lawrence would be eligible to play in the state playoffs due to his late transfer date and she said he was.
So, Lawrence is here, the Lions are now even better, so the question is, how did he get here?
I was going to ask Pope John coach Jason Hasson and Lawrence that question after he went for 19 points, 10 boards and seven blocks against South Hunterdon.
But before I even could, Hasson politely asked me not to ask any questions on why he transferred. Hasson was polite, but he made it very clear that if I did ask, the interview would be over.
As a journalist for the last 20-plus years, the request did not sit well with me, but I figured some sort of sound bite would be better than nothing. After a month of rumors I wanted to give the viewers of Sussex County something from the big guy.
Lawrence seemed a like a nice kid and gave great sound about helping the Lions on the defensive end and becoming a part of an already good team.
This was all being said under the watchful eye of Hasson and a woman, who I assume was his mother Marcia, who according to published reports played a huge role in Lawrence coming to PJ.
According to a statement released by Marcia Lawrence to the New York City newspapers prior to his transfer, she said, “After a family discussion, we decided that it is in Jermaine’s best interest to focus on academics.”
She would later say in the release that she liked PJ’s 12-to-1 teacher-student ratio and that Pope John’s fine arts program would benefit Lawrence who would like to major in that in college.
Okay, makes sense. But why Pope John, over an hour commute every day from Queens? Nothing against Pope John, but I’m sure there are schools closer that could serve his needs.
Cordozo coach Ron Naclerio was quoted in the Post and the New York Daily News as being “devastated” and “numb”
“I’m surprised. I want to know what happened,” Naclerio said. He also said that Lawrence was doing well in school and was taking college prep courses. Adding, “I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back next year.”
I’m sure that is news to Pope John and Lawrence and remains to be seen.
Cordozo was 11-2 and 9-1 in PSAL Queens AA before he left. He was averaging 17 points per game and 15 boards a night.
According to the Post, he has 17 Division I offers, including Rutgers, St. John’s and Virginia Tech.
There is no question that Lawrence is a marvelous talent, and is the best player this area has seen since Chris Jent of Sparta graduated in 1988 before going onto a fine career at Ohio State and a short stint in the NBA.
In the game I watched, Lawrence proved he can do it all on the floor. He can run, pass, handle when he has to, dunk, pretty much a foreign activity in Sussex County, and his defense is superb.
He immediately makes the Lions a threat. PJ was pretty solid with the likes of Bryant, Glenn Gavan, Noah Brown and company. The Lions earned a share of the NJAC American Division title with Sparta and Mount Olive and the Lions also own a nice win over JFK Paterson without Lawrence.
But again, the question still lingers, why Pope John? Why not St. Anthony and the legend Bob Hurley, or St. Pat’s or St. Benedict’s? They would be much closer and all have a national reputation.
Again, this is no slight to Pope John, but if you are going to come all the way up here, why not Blair Academy? We all know what kind of program Joe Mantegna runs and the players he has sent on out of Blairstown.
Right now, Lawrence and Hasson aren’t saying, and that is their right. Maybe later they will shed some light on how he got to PJ, but for now the only thing PJ fans care about is that Lawrence puts the Lions on the statewide hoops map, a place they have never been before.
So basketball fans of Sussex County enjoy the ride and enjoy the young man’s talents on the hardwood. How he got here is really no one’s business unless rules were broken and there is nothing to lead me to believe that any were.
So enjoy the show, it may not last long, and Lawrence, like Springsteen, will be the Boss when it comes to Sussex County hoops.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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