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***With the seeding meeting for the Union County Tournament fast approaching Linden's girls were hoping for a big win on Saturday which they got vs. Roselle Catholic! ***Even upon learning that wide receivers coach P.J. Fleck has left the Rutgers staff, Linden's Ruhann Peele remains pleased to be Scarlet Knight after signing his letter of intent. Read "Feature Articles" ***Talk about creating plenty of chatter on the girls hoops front, how about Cranford knocking state ranked G.L. from its undefeated status? Check out much more about a gigantic win for Cougars in the UCC-Mountain in "The Buzz" |
Longtime Newark East Side assistant coach Anthony Tavares is back as a more visible presence on the Red Raider bench after dealing with a busy fall in which he was displaced along with his family from their Union home due to the aftereffects of Tropical Storm Irene. East Side has been a very red hot team since January. (Sideline Chatter photo) |
Tavares' Increased Role & Growth of Sophs
Boosts East Side In Its Strong 2012 Showing
By Steve Tober
For sidelinechatter.com
NEWARK- Anthony Tavares always enjoys spending time with his mom in her home Down Neck, especially since the aroma of great food cooking and memories of growing up as a passionate Newark East Side Red Raider are always fond thoughts, especially when the stresses of the daily task of steering students in the right direction can have its detours, pitfalls and just general immense challenges.
However, the vice principal and highly-regarded assistant coach at his high school alma mater wasn’t counting on spending three-and-a-half months at mom’s house, that was until the devastating flooding caused by this past August’s Tropical Storm Irene forced his own growing family out of their Union Township home.
Tavares, in turn, took what he describes as a “step back” in terms of his role as a usually very visible and animated assistant coach for the Red Raiders to taking on more of an “advisory” role behind the scenes from the start of the team’s pre-season drills, through the beginning of the current season.
But, that has all changed, plus the fact he’s been able to move his family back into their house in Union. Since the start of the New Year, Tavares – who has developed a reputation as a superb game tactician and strong motivating force for his Red Raiders – has been much more visible on the team’s bench, reemerging as that very visible coaching voice as the lead assistant for Bryant Garvin, who is the team’s head coach, but maintains a much more low key presence on the bench during games.
Along with Tavares’ return to more prominence in terms of his vocal coaching role in the New Year, plus the ascension in the continued progress of four key sophomores among the team’s first six players, East Side (11-5 overall, 7-2 in the Super Essex Conference-American Division) had been one red-hot team before being upset by Bloomfield Tech, 41-38, in Saturday's Essex County Tournament first round contest. The setback to the talented, 12th-seeded Spartans (12-7) ended a 6-game win streak for the fifth-seeded Red Raiders, who before their setback in the ECT hadn't lost since a 51-48 triple-overtime setback to the county’s No.1 team, Seton Hall Prep, back on Jan. 12.
While there are two veteran seniors still in tow who were among the top six players from last winter's 17-8 East Side squad in 4-year starting power forward Aaron Bodie and 5-11 guard Jamal Reid, the next four are up-and-coming 10th-graders, led by 6-foot-6 forward Ismael Sanogo, who forms a terrific 1-2 starting tandem inside with the 6-6 Bodie; guards Jamar Gilbert, a 5-10 transfer from Newark Tech; and Akbar Hoffman, an athletic 5-11 performer who complements Reid and Gilbert in the 3-guard alignment. The team’s sixth-man is yet another very promising soph with loads of potential in 6-7 Abdul Lewis.
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