WEST ORANGE- When Immaculate Conception closed its doors for good last June after 100 years as the Montclair-based Catholic high school, Infinite Sincere-Amen Ra had just completed his freshman year and wasn’t yet sure where he would wind up attending to continue with three more years of high school.
He considered schools such as Newark Tech where his IC coach Jimmy Salmon had headed to direct the Terriers’ basketball team and was someone he had known since being courted by the longtime North Jersey hoops honcho as an eighth-grade prospect out of the Brick City.
However, the next destination for the talented sophomore would be another Essex County Catholic school, and in making his move to Seton Hall Prep Sincere-Amen Ra has experienced a rather seamless transition from being a fledgling Lion who had made some nice contributions as a freshman at IC to being one of the primetime performers for the 2025-2026 Pirates in one of the better backcourts in the state.
‘Infinite’ is a family name that refers to a never-ending ‘light force,’ and Sincere-Amen Ra has provided great illumination among SHP’s arsenal of weapons in a fairly brief period of time since first donning the Pirate blue and white singlet.
Following a career-high 22-point output - including five made 3-pointers - as top-seeded SHP defeated second-seeded St. Benedict’s, 68-63, in the 79th ECT final on Saturday, Feb. 21, SHP’s rapidly-ascending, young backcourt performer is the latest Parisi Fairfield/Sideline Chatter Athlete of the Week.
“I’m extremely proud of Infinite and the way he has fit right in with what we’ve been doing from Day 1,” said SHP’s second-year head coach Sterling Gibbs. “He came into a new program with a different style of play and with different players, and it had to be an adaptation process for him while getting used to a new system, but he was able to latch on to it, has put in the necessary work in order to understand everything we do, and heh as fit in extremely well with our team and in the school.
“I told him at the start that I want him to be him; but, with that being said, I felt that I could put him in situations to be able to showcase himself, and with that he has given our team a great effort and a high level of performance on both ends of the court.
“Most of all, I feel the best is yet to come for Infinite as the long-term picture for him in the game of basketball and in life itself is extremely bright!”
Sincere-Amen Ra has had six straight games of hitting at least two 3-pointers and last Saturday’s perimeter performance in the ECT championship win with five ‘tri-fectas’ marked his third game with at least four made 3’s.
“We have a lot of talented players on this team and I just look to do my part to help us win,” said Sincere-Amen Ra. “I feel like I work very well together with ‘AG’ (junior point guard Antony Gonzalez), who is such a talented and unselfish player, and we both try to be aggressive.
“We also have a great shooter in (junior) Avery (George), a terrific freshman in Bryce McCray, and other guys who all do their jobs to make us what I think is a complete team and one that I believe can go far in the state tournament.”
The Pirates are the second seed behind No. 1 ranked Bergen Catholic in Non-Public, North A and will begin state tourney action on Monday evening (March 2) hosting the survivor of the first-round contest between 10th-seeded Pope John and seventh-seeded DePaul.
Potential sectional semifinal opponents on Thursday, March 5, include sixth-seeded Don Bosco Prep and third-seeded Hudson Catholic. The sectional final is scheduled for Monday, March 9, likley at top-seeded Bergen Catholic.
While basketball season is just part being at his new school, the entire experience at SHP has been an enjoyable one for the Pirates’ very promising sophomore standout.
“Everyone has made me feel at home right away, and my teammates and classmates have been great,” said Sincere-Amen Ra, whose favorite subjects include Biology and Math. “We have very good teachers and a great brotherhood at The Prep.”
Sincere-Amen Ra leads the Pirates in scoring at 13.8 points per game, just ahead of Gonzalez, who hits for 11.9 per contest. He led the way for the Pirates with 15 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in a key 64-49 Super Essex Conference-American Division victory at Arts on Tuesday, Feb. 17, while Gonzalez had 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
In a 67-43 ECT semifinal win vs. previously-undefeated Shabazz on Feb. 14, Sincere-Amen Ra contributed 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists while George hit for a career-high 22 points.
The trio of Sincere-Amen Ra, Gonzalez and George combined to connect on 11 of 17 from beyond the arc in a sensational ECT championship game shooting performance vs. St. Benedict’s in the rubber match between the co-leaders atop the SEC-American Division after they split their two regular season meetings.
“We all shot the ‘3’ well on Saturday, and when you’re connecting like that you just continue to feel more confidence as the game moves along,” said Sincere-Amen Ra. “But, you also have to make sure you focus on all areas of your game because we will have to all continue to contribute in other ways as well..
“We’re all locked in right now and we will continue to work hard in practice because we know there are very big games ahead of us in the states!”
NOTES- Sincere-Amen Ra’s favorite players include University of Arkansas freshman guard Darius Acuff, Jr., the San Antonio Spurs’ standout guard and former UConn star Stephon Castle and longtime NBA star Kyrie Irving, formerly of West Orange, who is currently with the Dallas Mavericks although is sidelined for the rest of the season following ACL reconstructive surgery on his left knee…Infinite’s father, Naim Sincere-Amen Ra, is a former baseball player at Delaware State, and an older brother, Shawn Johnson, is a former point guard for St. Mary’s of Rutherford…Sincere-Amen Ra is still deciding on an AAU travel team for this summer after playing with the New York Lightning last year.
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