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The Ballgame! w/Plainfield's Gordon · NorthJerseySports.com

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  Back on the ball game, North Jersey sports.com Original.
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  Multimedia series talking all things hoops across North
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  Jersey. This is Part 2 of this weeks
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  edition, the high school version.
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  I am Corey Dobiak being joined. By my partner and a Bergen
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  County high school hoops junkie himself, Brad Forest theory and
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  with his extensive contact list in his.
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  Phone. He reached out on game night.
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  Here, and we're spreading our wings a little bit outside our
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  normal comfort zone. Our guest is going to be the
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  head coach of the Plainfield Cardinals, Mike Gordon, an old
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  friend of Brad's and whose team just got finished not even an
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  hour or two ago of winning its way into the Group 4 state final
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  this year with a win over East Orange.
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  So let's just jump right in. This was we.
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  We have a longer edition talking about the rise of Felician
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  basketball that is standing alone this week.
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  So we'll pull out this portion and make this a stand alone
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  interview itself. So here we go, Brad and I's
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  conversation with Plainfield head coach Mike.
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  Gordon. Yeah, we actually won that state
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  semi final game today over East Orange.
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  It was a really good game. I think East Orange playing
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  really well. James Roberts was a dog today
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  for East Orange and they have a bunch of old guys who just like
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  really understand the game and played pretty well.
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  Our lending game we we really jumped out all to a real good
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  start 16 Oh, I thought we were really dog on defense and the
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  guys really honed in on the scout report.
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  Linden's pretty good and I just don't.
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  We are playing our best basketball right now.
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  I mean, you split with Linden during the regular season.
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  They got you the second time around and you know, that was in
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  a close game. So, you know, I'm sure you were
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  confident in everything else that you were going to win that,
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  you know, the ability to win it. But just, you know, was it
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  surprising the way it played out where you jumped to The Big Lead
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  and were able to, you know, ride it the rest of the way?
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  Any given night, yeah, it's hard to say one way or another.
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  We jumped out because I think, like I said, our guys really
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  locked in on the scouting report and did the things that, you
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  know, we talked about. We rebounded the ball pretty
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  well. We did.
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  We defended at a really high level early in the basketball
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  game and then we got out in transition.
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  We started getting on transition, got some layups,
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  started getting pink touches and, you know, kicking for the
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  extra and guys were making shots.
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  So, you know, shout out to our guys for really locking in the
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  scout report and, you know, taking full advantage of the
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  opportunities. No doubt.
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  Go ahead, Brad. Yeah, and, and and, you know,
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  you know, me and Mike go kind of way back, but, you know, they're
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  holding, you know, holding not just not just the Linden team,
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  but only any team to, you know, to under 50 points in high
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  school basketball. It was always difficult.
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  No, Ma, no matter who you're playing, you know, But, you
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  know, I know for a fact, based on our history, you're probably
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  doing a lot of things down at playing field that probably
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  weren't aren't done at the high school level all over.
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  Like you. You said guys are locked in on a
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  scouting report. Like, you know, that's that's
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  stuff that not a lot of high school programs are doing these
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  days. You know, it's probably it's
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  probably got to be real. You know, I got a proud moment
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  that you have kids, you know, high school student athletes
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  that manage their school work during the day and then they
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  come in for practice and and get a scouting report and and kind
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  of retain a lot of that information to prepare for, you
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  know, another opponent with all the things that they're
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  juggling, you know, on top of being a teenager.
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  Tell me about some of the things that you brought in from your
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  high level, right, You playing at Binghamton and and playing
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  overseas for a long time. Like how is that translated to
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  to your program? Yeah, I think one of the things
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  that a lot of coaches do, they try to dumb things down, not
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  understanding that these kids really have higher basketball
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  Iqs than they think. So I try not to dumb things
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  down, and I try to just pass on the knowledge that I have to
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  them in reference to this scouting report.
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  I don't really go to paper anymore as far as scouting
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  report. But the kids are, you know, used
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  to looking at things on text message, right.
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  So why not, you know, put the scouting report on text message,
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  They're going to read it, and then you got to show them what's
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  going on. Yeah, like you got to show them
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  what's going on on film, you know, so we actually have film
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  sessions. We lock in on teams, offenses,
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  defenses and show them how we're going to attack them both
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  offensively and decently. Like I try to run our program
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  exclusives possible to a college program.
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  You know, the kids spend a lot of time together with the
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  coaching staff and themselves, you know, as as a team, we have
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  long days. So we, we practice at 6:00 PM so
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  early in the season, we're still trying to figure out lift
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  schedule, study hall schedule, and then, you know, end up
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  having practice. So once again, it's, it's, it's
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  really similar to, you know, a college program.
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  You know, I tried to mimic what was taught to me by Al Walker,
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  coach Al Walker at Binghamton and also Kevin Brutis.
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  You know, you just take bits and pieces from, you know, every
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  program, etcetera. I didn't really start getting a
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  lot of scouting reports until my junior year in high school with
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  coach Dale Harris, Harrison and then.
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  Also policing guy. Lenny Parham Yeah, yeah.
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  Jay Harrison, he's a playful guy and you know, he's Felicia.
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  I know he's there for a while. And then coach Lenny Parham,
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  who's been all over. So I really started to lock in
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  on those type of things and just learn.
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  Once again, you just take bits and pieces from from your
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  journey and you incorporate what you think is best for your
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  program. And that's what I've been doing
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  throughout our program and you know, it's been working for us.
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  You know, like you said, just keeping the kids locked in and
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  engaged is a tough thing to do in this generation with all the
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  social media, etcetera. But it's been working for us.
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  And, you know, I'm proud of our guys, no.
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  Doubt about it, especially when you look, you know, I'm just
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  looking at your schedule here. I mean, 5 losses on the season,
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  3 of them, Rozelle Catholic 2 and Patrick Patrick School
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  another one and then I don't know, Jackson Reed, if that from
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  Maryland and Linden. I mean, you're playing
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  everybody. You're 25 and five.
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  You're one or two group four teams left standing in the state
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  and it has to be gratifying. You know, Brad and I are doing
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  the show tonight. We're talking about his Felician
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  team doing it with home grown guys and everything else.
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  Yours is the ultimate story of home grown guys.
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  You're a Plainfield guy doing it with your son, as you know, one
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  of the top talents in New Jersey, in the nation.
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  Everything else, I mean, he could have gone anywhere.
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  You probably could have gone anywhere.
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  You guys decide to stay home together in the hometown and do
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  this. I mean, how much I know what
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  your answer is going to be, but how important to, you know, show
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  out for Plainfield? Yeah, I'm, I'm born and raised
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  in Plainfield. He's raised in Plainfield.
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  He's born in North Carolina. But you know, he's playing for
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  all through his blood. I've always like people don't
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  realize this. This was like my dream job.
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  I'm a police officer by day, but I've always wanted to be the
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  head coach at playing for high school.
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  I played there. I understand the environment, I
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  understand the the logistics and everything else that goes around
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  playing for basketball as humbly as I can be.
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  I've been around for the last three state championships.
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  I was assistant back in 2011 and 2012 and then we won the state
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  championship last year and I was the head coach, so I kind of
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  understand how this thing works. It's not going to always be
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  pretty. I think I'm in year 8 as the
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  head coach here and this thing really comes and weaves.
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  But what you need to do is find a group of kids that are just
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  consistent. Like this group that we have now
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  with a few additions. Have been together since 7th
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  grade, you know what I mean? So it's a group of kids that
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  that understand each other. They've been through adversity,
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  they've been through the tit for tat like they've, they've been
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  through it all. They've been at the highs,
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  they've been at the lows and they've just been pushing
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  through it, you know what I mean?
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  And that's the beauty of having homegrown kids because they
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  understand each other, right? And then once again, you still
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  have homegrown kids, but now you're adding a sophomore who's
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  right on the cusp of being a really good varsity player later
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  on, maybe a year or two away, you know, and that's just been
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  working for us. You know, I get a lot of slack
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  for bringing the Jai hunts. And people don't even realize he
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  was born in Plainfield and he was supposed to be back like 2
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  years ago. Right, Yeah, People just make it
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  look like it was bad because he came from a different state.
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  But yeah, he's a, he's a, he's a local kid at, at.
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  He's a local kid, played in our pot wonder program when he was
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  younger, etcetera, right? We, we've been known who he was.
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  You know, we just had a really good season and then he was just
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  like, you know what, I'm coming back home, you know what I mean?
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  Like we don't go out. I don't recruit kids.
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  That's that's one thing I can, you know, really stand on.
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  I'm not going out recruiting a 1415 year old kid and having to
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  cater to them and give it to their parents.
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  I'm not doing that. Like it's not authentic.
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  It's not authentic. It's not.
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  Nope. It's not no knock to anybody
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  else, no knock to any other coaches that are doing it.
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  It is what it is. None of my business.
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  I'm not calling NJFIAA and I, it's none of my business, you
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  know, because I heard that too. Oh, he called the NJSI can care
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  less. We're going to line up with.
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  Yeah, we're going to we're. Going to line up with Plainfield
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  kids day in day out and let the basketball bounce where it made.
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  Yeah, like we, you know, we were 4 and 18 three seasons ago.
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  Right and no one was saying like, oh, how come this kids not
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  from Plainfield when you're 4 and 18, right and they all play
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  the changes around how how about I mean, I'm sure you know, to
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  get to watch your son is probably, you know, gratifying
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  on a day in a day out basis. It has it been tough to manage
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  though, you know, being his coach, being his dad, because
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  there's so much outside influence.
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  Like you said before, you know, social media this day, he's
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  getting recruited by, you know, just about everybody.
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  And he he's a great talent of, you know, once in a generation
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  talent to come through the hometown high school and all of
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  those things. Has it been hard to balance the
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  father role versus the coach role?
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  Or is it all in one? And you, have you been able to,
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  you know, while you're sending out those scouting reports, have
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  you been able to enjoy the ride of just watching your boy?
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  You know, the joy of watching your boy play basketball.
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  I I guess I enjoyed it more after the fact.
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  Yes. Like while it's in the moment,
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  it's a little tough because I'm more watching game team,
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  etcetera. After the after the fact.
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  It's it's more, you know, watching film and things of that
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  nature. It's like, damn, he just did
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  that. Yeah.
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  You know, the kid can be special.
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  I think he's a great teammate. I think he's a great leader.
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  I'm hoping that the outside world doesn't think that it's,
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  quote UN quote, daddy ball because I've seen him do this
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  when I'm not coaching him. I've seen him do it, you know,
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  all over the country, you know, But it's all perception.
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  His dad is because he's able to do this.
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  Yeah. But you guys aren't there when
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  he's in the pool at 5:00 AM or he's in the gym at 5:00 AM or
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  he's shooting at 11:00 at night. Like, you know, he's a humble
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  kid. He's laid back, doesn't talk
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  much, but he works. You know what I mean?
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  So that's what makes it special on on my behalf.
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  You know, tough coaching them at the beginning.
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  It was because the demand like I'm very demanding as, as dad,
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  like don't tell me you want to play at a high level and then
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  the work doesn't match, you know what I mean?
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  And we've gotten past that hump and as you can see, he's
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  starting to really develop and, you know, really figure these
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  things out. So it's a lot less stressful now
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  and we're able to separate dad, coach, etcetera.
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  So. Yeah, you know.
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  And a lot less stressful. And for, you know, for me, Mike,
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  it's, it's, it's really cool to see his growth, not just on a
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  basketball court, but, but just as a young man, like, you know,
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  me and you, I, I've been teammates.
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  We played against each other for years and years, right in our,
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  in our post, you know, collegiate days and, and pro
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  days, right in our men's leagues and stuff.
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  And, and, you know, I got to see Michael from a, a kid running
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  around, you know, the Hoopsville gyms to, you know, seeing him in
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  his first hoop group event down at, you know, Sportica and to,
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  to see his game progress to now. But, but just like you said, he,
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  he is he, he is a quiet kid, but he's very loud on the basketball
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  court because the things he does on the basketball court are, are
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  night and day. And to watch his progress from
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  on the basketball standpoint, it is really cool seeing.
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  It's got, like I said, Corey asked the perfect question
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  because that was the, that's the question I was asking, you know,
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  with the gratification. But, but it's got to be, you
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  know, it, it's got to be like a proud dad moment, even though,
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  you know, in those 32 minutes it, it's, you know, you got the,
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  the hat flipped around. It's coach mode.
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  But there's also got to be sometimes where, you know, at
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  the end of quarters or at the end of the game when it's, it's
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  a pride. It's definitely a proud dad
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  moment. And, and I'm, you know, proud
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  to, you know, to see you be able to, to have that opportunity
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  because whether you were with the head coach there or not,
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  you'd be in the front row to stands anyway, you know, guiding
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  him and coaching him as if it was anything else.
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  Absolutely. Absolutely.
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  So yeah, it's it's cool to see and I'm happy for you, happy to
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  see Mike's success. And and you know, you guys are
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  get to, you know, defend your your group four title this week
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  coming up. But yeah, you've got, you know,
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  it's very deserving of it. And, and if you guys have
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  homegrown kids, you know, putting on for their city where
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  they grew up and, and it's really, really cool to see
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  turning around a program. You know, we, we've done an
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  affiliation. You know, like I said, we, we,
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  you know, we've turned it around and, and you know, it's, it's,
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  it's always tough. You know, you lose a fix for the
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  kids to to see them. All right, graduates and I
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  really say no. Well, it's just Mike, you know,
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  they're not going to succeed. And here you guys are getting
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  playing for playing for the group title.
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  That was definitely good talks, which is OK.
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  Like I don't I don't get into the politics.
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  And once again, these are kids that that been through adversity
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  and been through every grit grind.
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  There is, I guess in this in this basketball, this high
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  school basketball world. So they they put the work in and
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  they understand each other. It's never going to be perfect.
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  Like tonight, East Orange is kicking our butt.
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  All right, Well, we just kept fighting.
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  They came together as a brotherhood and we we Wooster
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  the punching, you know, they started making plays for each
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  other and that was the difference.
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  You know what I mean? Like no.
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  When when time gets up, you got to band, you got to band
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  together instead of instead of separate.
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  Yeah, and they do that. They do that whether they they
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  and and or not they, they come together.
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  Yeah, and, and you can see it, you know, in the fourth quarter
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  of the 27th to 12th quarter that kind of push the game away.
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  But right through those first three, I mean, yeah, it's a,
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  it's a, it's a war, you know, it's, you know, 2 cities known
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  for basketball, you know, going at it, you know, both have rich
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  basketball histories in Plainfield and East Orange.
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  So, yeah, I'm sure, I'm sure it was a rocking gymnasium as well.
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  So I'm sure just the atmosphere to be a part of the environment.
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  Yeah. And be a part of the ride is
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  always cool. And and, you know, my hat's off
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  to you and what you've done there.
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  And, you know, I enjoy it. We have the same profession and
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  we talk about that all the time. But it's really cool to see.
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  And I'm glad to see you guys succeed as a program and and to
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  see you guys succeed as a, you know, as a father with your
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  kids. Really cool.
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  Appreciate you. Last one from me coach, give us
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  a quick scattering report on Brad Forest theories game and
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  can he? Oh.
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  Geez, I know one thing can't leave Brad open.
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  Brad start making shots and got a nice little mid range and he
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  played his back to the basket a little bit.
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  Yeah, Brad was good. Brad.
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  Couple couple cheap fouls here and there.
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  I. Know absolutely that's part of
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  the game. I put make him guard Micah, get
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  him tired real quick. Coach, it was great to meet you
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  tonight. I'm thankful that Brad reached
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  out and you were able to join us.
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  Really. Yeah, it's a great story.
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  I, I love public school basketball.
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  You know, I, I cover it mostly up here in in Bergen County.
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  And I'm always looking for great stories like yours.
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  So I'm glad we could spread our wings a little bit, get to know
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  you a little bit. And I wish you the best of luck
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  in the Group 4 final. Yeah, no problem.
• 18:21
  I appreciate you guys follow the leader.