No. 4 Salem CC men open season at Ocean, women’s opener postponed
CARNEYS POINT – The bar is high for this year’s Salem CC basketball team. After winning the fifth-place game in the national tournament two years ago and the third-place game last year the natural progression would suggest there’s only one game left to conquer and that’s the one the Mighty Oaks have their sights on.
If that is to happen, and the captain of the team believes it can, the journey will look a lot like the one they took two years ago than it did last season when coach Mike Green said they “wobbled our way in there” after a record-setting start.
When the Mighty Oaks left Herkimer, N.Y., last year with the JUCO Division III third-place plaque it was expected most of the players would be back to try it against. But when they open the season Tuesday night at Ocean CC four of their returning starters and five of the top six returning players are either gone or working to get eligible for the second semester.
| JUCO DIVISION III POLL | Record | Pts. |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Essex (9) | 3-0 | 105 |
| Riverland | 3-0 | 98 |
| Dallas-North Lake | 2-1 | 91 |
| SALEM CC | 0-0 | 84 |
| Dallas-Richland | 1-1 | 70 |
| Dallas-Eastfield | 1-1 | 70 |
| Joliet | 0-2 | 63 |
| Herkimer | 3-0 | 56 |
| Onondaga | 3-0 | 49 |
| Montgomery Co. | 1-1 | 42 |
| Dutchess | 3-0 | 35 |
| Virginia Peninsula | 1-1 | 19 |
| Brookdale | 4-1 | 14 |
| Genesee | 0-1 | 9 |
| Ridgewater | 0-0 | 8 |
Under that scenario, their path to the nationals will look a lot like 2024-25 when they went through the first semester waiting for who would become their top three players to get eligible. The Mighty Oaks went 10-4 while they waited, then with their full complement, that team won 16 of their last 20 games, earned an automatic bid to the national tournament and finished fifth.
Last year it was with a whole new crew, too, and they started the year 22-0, were ranked No. 1 for a good part of the season and finished third in the national tournament.
Of the underclassmen in that group, leading scorer Jerrell Little is now at a Division I JUCO in Texas, but Nasseem Wright, Saaid Lee, Idris Rines, Zyaire Gibson and Qua Smith are ineligible for the first semester. Together, they accounted for 78 percent of the Mighty Oaks’ points, 67 percent of their rebounds, 82 percent of their assists and 81 percent of their 3-pointers.
Despite the losses, the Mighty Oaks were installed as the preseason No. 3 in the JUCO Division 3 poll. They were No. 4 when the newest poll was released Monday despite being the only team in the top 10 yet to play a game.
The only players available who have played in coach Mike Green’s system before are 6-1 Don Jones and 6-5 captain Jahseir Sayles. Jones played in 26 games during Green’s first full season two years ago, including 40 minutes three times in the first semester, but missed last season injured. Sayles averaged 13 minutes across 32 games last year. Both will draw opening night starts Tuesday night alongside 6-7 Waddy Johnson, 6-4 Diore Legore and 6-3 Sahin Rodriguez.
“They’re good enough to win,” Green said. “I don’t think it’s a good enough team to win nationals, but I think it’s a good enough team to win games within Region 19. We’re still expected to win games.”
The hope is the veterans working to regain their eligibility will make the newcomers better practicing together while they gain experience in games.
“If all those guys are eligible next semester we’ll be a better team than we were last year – no doubt,” Green said.
Sayles is confident the new-look Mighty Oaks will hold their own.
“We’re going be good regardless who’s on the court with us,” he said. “We’re going to be very, very scrappy, a very good scrappy team. As long we play together, communicate, I feel like we’re going to be one of the best teams in the country regardless of who’s on the court with us. If everybody plays their role, everybody does what we’re supposed to do, we’re going to come out victorious every time we play. There are going to be some bumps in the road, but I (believe) we’re going to overcome every obstacle this year.”
SCC Women’s opener postponed
While the Salem CC men are waiting for players to get eligible, the women’s team would just like to have players.
The Mighty Oaks women were scheduled to open their season under new coach J.J. Rapczynski at Cecil (Md.) CC Tuesday, but the game was postponed when they didn’t have enough players to safely play a game. Their roster listed only six players – Kimora Truitt, Justine Cardona, Eliyah Smith, RaNayjah Sydnor (Penns Grove), Kelianne Swartz and Breanne Ruhl (Pennsville).
Cardona and Ruhl both played last season. Cardona averaged 9.7 points in an injured-shortened campaign. Ruhl was scoreless in six games.
Rapczynski takes over for Brian Marsh, who restarted the program in 2023 and resigned at the end of last season that ended prematurely when they didn’t have enough players to field a team following the arrests of several players in an incident at the Pennsville Wal-Mart.
Both Salem CC teams play their home openers Saturday.