East Orange Campus' talented 6-foot-7 senior forward Mario Moody has had a strong summer for Team Izod. (photo courtesy of corbosport.com)

Daron Hoges has done a yeoman's job in directing the court fortunes of the East Orange Campus baskeball program. (Photo by Todd Mundt)

East Orange Campus Head Coach
Excited About Moody-Led Team
By Jim Whelan
For sidelinechatter.com

With a New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association North 1, Group 4 state sectional championship crown to their resume, the East Orange Campus Jaguars bowed to the Plainfield Cardinals in the state semifinals last March.

The Jags wound up just two games short of a goal the team from Essex County felt it could reach.

All things considered, the hard-fought defeat did not take away what the accomplishments East Orange enjoyed during a terrific late-season run.

EOC was seeded ninth in the NJSIAA North 1, Group 4 bracket. The Jaguars upset top-seeded Passaic in overtime, 77-70, and made quick work of their Essex County foe Montclair, 79-37, before knocking off a favored Paterson Kennedy in the sectional final on the Knights’ home court in the Silk City.

The team from Essex County then took the floor against a formable adversary in the Plainfield Cardinals. The Jaguars came up short against a hotter Plainfield team in a defensive contest.

As East Orange Coach Daron Hoges walked off the court that March night before giving a post-game speech to his team, he said he had no regrets on his approach against the Union County and summed it up by saying, “Plainfield was just a better team tonight.”

With a 17-10 record coming out of the tough Super Essex Conference, the team from East Orange had some growing pains early on before finding its successful identity for the stretch run in February and early March.

The foundation of their identity and the seed that was planted for the 2009-2010 magical season run was sown after a loss to Science Park 46-43 in early February. At that point, the East Orange coach called his troops for the all important “team meeting.”

After the Science loss, East Orange Campus record was 9 wins and 8 losses. The Jaguars coach knew his team was better than what their record showed.

Entering in his 9th year at the Essex County school, Hoges know that the meeting could go two ways- Good or Bad.

The mentor’s approach was to break down the season at that point far for his club- Game by game, Player by player, Play by play.

The ecliptic 6’10 coach saw something in his team that could be a special group and he challenged his squad and with some recommendations-

“We have great guards, good forwards, but if we don’t go through Mario Moody we are going to have a quick exit out of the tournament,” Hoges said as he recalled his observations of the season at that point while urging his Jaguars to reach their potential.

The Essex County team just squeaked into the post season play

”To get far in the tournament it was going to be on Mario’s back,” Hoges explained to his team.

East Orange Campus had nine returning seniors entering into the 2009-2010 campaign. Many of Jaguar players came off a good summer hoops activity.

Tweaking the EOC offense in the off -eason, the players did not adjust to the system well early on in the season. After the team meeting, there was an understanding from Hoges’ players of what they needed to do to make a run in the state tourney.

“Once the players bought into the system we started to gel,” the jaguars head coach noted.

Hoges knew full well that the “one Ace up the sleeve” going into the post season was a lanky 6-7 junior forward named Mario Moody, who was an unknown to most of the Jaguars opponents, but not for long.

Moody was a catalyst for the EOC club that loss only to Seton Hall Prep (beside the Plainfield loss is the state semis) in the quarterfinals of the Essex County Tournament.

With a wealth of basketball knowledge- Hoges is a transplant to New Jersey from his native of Lincoln, Georgia-the high tower EOC coach had a very successful high school career in the Peach state which rolled into a successful tenure as a collegiate forward at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.

In 1985 during Hoges freshman season, The UALR Trojans received a bid in the newly expanded NCAA 64-team tournament format -The Trojans earned a 14 seed and faced off against Digger Phelps’ third seeded Notre Dame Fightin Irish led by New Jersey guard David Rivers out of St. Anthony of Jersey City.

UALR pulled the upset and moved on to face Jim Valvano’s NC State squad which feature future NBA stars Chris Shackelford, Vinny Del Negro, and Nate McMillan.

“We put a scare into NC State and they had a killer squad,” reminisced Hoges “We went to double overtime and just couldn’t finish them off.”

The next season Hoges team did not qualify for the NCAA tournament, but did get to the consolation prize of the National Invitation tournament (NIT). Arkansas-Little Rock reached the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden.

In 1988, Hoges’ club found itself back into the NCAA tournament against Louisville and their stud player Pervis Ellison. Louisville had won the NCAA championship two years earlier. The team from the Blue Grass state proved to be too much for the Trojans.

Hoges ended his basketball career at Arkansas-Little Rock in 1990.

With a successful collegiate career behind him, Hoges answers the call of the new demand for American players overseas to rise the level of competition abroad. He signed a professional contract with an English team. After a cup of coffee-or tea if you will-in England, Hoges returned to the US and played in the Continental Basketball Association for two years.

Hoges then returned overseas to play professionally in Argentina.

Comparing the ‘Big-man’ game in the US with the European circuit and other leagues overseas, the 6’10 East Orange high school coach noted the differences:

“The big man shoots the ball from the outside more over there, and in the US, if you’re a big man, you tend to stay underneath the basket.

“I wish I would have stayed in the CBA,” Hoges added. “It was just better competition.”

When his playing days were over-- over there, Hoges came back here, to his adoptive home of Montclair, N.J. with his wife. With his degree in hand and full of the sporting competitive fire, the young man plotted his next move, maybe teaching to maybe Law school.

Working out at the Montclair YMCA at 25 Park St., Hoges met the East Orange educator of Dr. Robert Morgan, who convinced the young and ambitious Hoges to come to then East Orange High School and give teaching a shot.

Hoges took up the next chapter of his life in education. Working as a substitute teacher and then working toward a teaching certificate he grew in his new profession and also took, once again, to the basketball court. He started his career as an assistant and moved up to the EOC head coach three years later.

“I really loved the three years at East Orange High.” Hoges said. “It all came to end when East Orange combined its two High Schools.”

East Orange High School and Clifford Scott High School were the two scholastic institutions for the residents of East Orange to attend secondary school but merged into one for the 2001-2002 school year.

“It only made sense,” the EOC head mentor said of the merger.

After the merger, some of the teaching positions were either eliminated or consolidated. Hoges’ head coaching tenure came to a brief end after the merger as he moved back down to assistant.

“Coach (Greg) Tynes was coaching at Clifford Scott for 20 years and I was only at East Orange for three,” explained the Southern gentlemen who made a hard transition very easy. “I had no problem with it and I got a chance to learn from a real good high school coach.”

Tynes did eventually resign his head coaching post at EOC and Hoges did get his chance to sit on the end of the bench and be the head man again.

Moody & Co. Preparing For Next Season

Mario Moody, the East Orange Campus standout player, has had a productive summer suiting up for Team Izod/Sports University.

The New Jersey native was invited to the Colorado State team camp and impressed the coaching staff there. The CSU Rams have yet to offer the East Orange native, but are keeping him on their radar.

Moody has received scholarship offers from James Madison, Robert Morris, and Siena.

The East Orange senior was Ranked 20 th for the class of 2011 by Jay Gomes’ NJ Hoops monthly newsletter before the summer Prep school exodus. Moody’s state ranking will go up with his play and the departure of some of New Jersey’s talent.

Moody’s opponent in the state semis last March- Plainfield’s Tyrone Johnson-verbally committed to Villanova- then later in month announced he was leaving his hometown to attend Montrose Christian Academy, a prep school, in Maryland. St. Peter’s Prep’s standout guard Myles Davis is also leaving his school and the state to attend prep school.

It was rumored that both Johnson and Davis would team up at Plainfield. Davis has yet to announce his college or his prep school plans. Both players are ranked in the state’s top five.

Moody also has interest from local colleges such as St. Peter’s and Rider. With the college recruiting season in full swing, playing in the AAU Hoop fest in West Virginia, Moody’s exposure could only increase, according to his high school coach, who believes his prize forward will be in high demand

“A lot of Mario’s success comes from the work at Sports U (with Team Izod),” Hoges said. “It is an AAU program that works on ‘the complete package’ of a basketball player on the court and off the court.

“His experience (with Team Izod/Sports U) allowed him to gain confidence in his game.”

After the team meeting following that Science Park loss last winter, Mario Moody became the focal point of the East Orange Campus team. The now rising senior developed an uncanny ability of filling up the stat sheet.

“From that point forward (after the Science loss), the players started looking for Mario and it changed our season,” Hoges explained. “It turned out to be a really fun post season.”

The Jaguars were not just a one-player team, however. During the state tourney win over Montclair, the players did what they were instructed to do and looked for their star forward.

In turn, their star forward relied on his four supporting players for scoring opportunities.

Losing nine seniors to graduation, Hoges will look to this season as a rebuilding year, with the one exception of Mario Moody, who can certainly be a game changer for the Jaguars.

“We are going to be competitive,” said Hoges. “We need guys to step up.”

A sparking youngster, 6-5 junior Kenny Grant is participating in the Team Izod/Sports U program and was a member of Team Izod’s 15-and-under team that finished as the runner up to the Texas Titans at the AAU Nationals in Little Rock, Ark., in July. He will be a player to watch for sure at East Orange Campus this winter.

Other EOC players:

Rashod Davis will be the Jaguars point guard and as his coach described him as the team’s “floor general”.

Speedy -Kareem White will get the promotion up from Jayvee and will provide some more of the underneath help.

Sakou Kaba, the brother of EOC graduate and outstanding guard Mahmadou Kaba, will be the sharpshooter who will round out the starting core players for Coach Hoges.

The now veteran EOC head coach has been in the trenches as a player and recognizes basketball talent. The buzz around his star player is attributed to outstanding coaching and allowing players to understand their role.

Mario Moody is going to be a special player for the Jaguars this season and will be a player that will be talked about for a long time by the East Orange faithful after his playing days are over on the EO Campus.

Jim Whelan can be reached @njhoops@hotmail.com

Mario Moody can soar with the best of the forwards in New Jersey high school basketball as the 6-7 senior prepares for the 2010-2011 season while his stock continues to rise. (photo courtesy of corbosport.com)

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