Newark East Side has a strong coaching staff, headed by Bryant Garvin, seen here giving his point of view on what the strategy should be to Anthony Tavares (left) and the rest of the assistants during a timeout in SEC game. (Sideline Chatter photos)

Anthony Tavares (right) has been a motivational figure for the Red Raiders since he arrived along with Bryant Garvin as a tandem to guide the East Side boys basketball program in the fall of 2001. Tavares is a vice-principal in the high school building.

Aaron Bodie (22) is a 4-year starter and stablizing presence in the East Side lineup

Anthony Tavares (left) and Bryant Garvin have been able to work well together during their 11 seasons in guiding the fortunes of Newark East Side basketball.

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“Coach Garvin and I spoke right about the time I was able to move back into my house in Union and we decided I’d have a more expanded role moving forward after being more of an advisor early on this season,” said Tavares. “What I’m so fortunate about is that in addition to being able to move my family back home after the work that had to be done there after Irene is that we’re blessed with a great support system of coaches on our staff at East Side, with Bryant, Dan Sharpe, Troy Long, Uron Hawkins and John Thomason, all of whom do such terrific jobs with the kids on and off the court.

“I’m able to concentrate more on the basketball, and I enjoy being in the building every day seeing the kids as a vice principal, but the main thing is we have a good group that is working hard and accepts our rules in terms of what we expect of them.

“Winning is nice, but there are bigger battles we face every day, and these kids have to learn what’s important. So far, this season has been a great experience with our veteran kids leading the way and the younger guys growing up before our very eyes.

“We’ll see what happens the rest of the way, but it was a great January and, hopefully, February and March will be just as enjoyable for East Side basketball.”

Garvin, a crisis counselor at East Side, and head coach since the 2001-2002 campaign when he and Tavares began their association as a strong tandem on the sidelines, had been talking in December about this being his last season at the helm of the Red Raider court fortunes.

However, just like Tavares remerging on the bench, Garvin may now be back in 2012-2013.

“I may be back next season, but I may not be in the same role, we’ll just have to see what happens,” said Garvin. “I also want to be able to see my daughter (13-year-old Jayla) play as her basketball career takes off so I’ll see how I can balance everything as the time approaches.

“But, I’m very pleased with how this season has taken off after a bit of a rough start, but any time you have to replace three starters with young sophomores there is simply going to be some growing pains and a need to be patient as they develop.”

The one biggest constant in the lineup is Bodie, the 4-year starter and reliable inside force who can also run the court well for a big man and averages around 12 ppg and 10 rpg. He has received a scholarship offer from Central Connecticut State University and will weigh his possibilities in terms of either accepting the D-1 offer or perhaps going the prep school route next year.

“Bodie is Bodie, he’s just consistent,” said Garvin. “He’s the type of veteran presence you know is going to be there each night and the younger kids can see how hard he works every day.”

Reid, who Garvin said turned down a scholarship offer from St. Francis (Pa.), is a very active guard who helps trigger the effectiveness of the Red Raiders’ fullcourt pressure when they want to apply that area of the defensive game plan.

Sanogo and Gilbert are both just 15 years old so both have plenty of growth as players in front of them. The former, at 6-6, could grow a couple of more inches, while the latter, who began the season penciled in a sparkplug off the bench, has earned a regular starting job as his confidence begins to rise along with his game.

“There are certain games when Sanogo looks like he could be a future Big East player and then there are those days when he shows some of his immaturity, but I have to remind myself that he’s just 15 and he still has a lot of time to develop his game,” said Garvin, who along with Tavares have guided East Side to two ECT titles, a pair of state sectional crowns and one overall Group 3 state championship. “Gilbert is developing into a good high school guard but it took him a little while to get used to our style of play after coming over from Newark Tech.”

Hoffman, who Garvin said sometimes reminds him of past East Side stars Corey Chandler and Randy Foye in terms of his pure athleticism, has also raised his stock in the Red Raider lineup. Lewis is an athletic kid who, like Sanogo, has a tremendous upside as a young, tall inside force.

All that has occurred, from the emergence of the four sophomores, to the increased role once again of Tavares, has coincided with the ascension of an East Side squad that despite its early ouster in the ECT with Saturday's upset loss to BT, could still be a major player in the North 2, Group 3 state tournament that gets underway the week of Feb. 27th. That scenario, as far as contending for a state title, was something that seemed to be a far-fetched notion after last year’s troubles which led to the departure of two of the team's best players– guards Tariq Carey (now at St. Anthony) and Corey’s cousin, Kasim Chandler (Imani Christian).

In addition to both Carey and Chandler leaving the school with a season of high school eligibility still remaining, junior starting forward Will Carey also decided to transfer, leaving East Side to attend Piscataway Tech.

“It’s been a transition for us this season, and opportunities have arisen for freshmen and jayvee players from last year,” said Tavares. “Again, I can’t say enough about the great job all the coaches have done throughout the summer and fall, and now you’re seeing the benefits from continued hard work from everyone in the program because the team is starting to gel, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch develop.”

East Side’s 2011-2012 Boys Basketball Season To Date: (11-5 overall, 7-2 in SEC-American Division):

Dec. 16: vs. East Orange Campus, 53-44 Win

Dec. 17: vs. Paul Robeson (N.Y.), 42-41 Loss

Dec. 20: at Montclair, 55-54 Loss

Dec. 27: vs. Arts (Newark Public Schools Tournament), 79-39 Win

Dec. 28: vs. University (Newark Public Schools Tournament), 46-41 Loss

Jan. 3: vs. Millburn, 55-32 Win

Jan. 5: vs. at University, 51-42 Win

Jan. 10: at Science Park, 68-27 Win

Jan. 12: vs. Seton Hall Prep, 51-48 Loss (in 3 OTs)

Jan. 14: vs. Samuel Gompers (N.Y.), 58-42 Win

Jan. 16; vs. Paterson Kennedy (at Paterson Eastside in Freedom Fighters), 53-35 W

Jan. 19: vs. Irvington, 46-34 Win

Jan. 24: vs. Montclair, 60-49 Win

Jan. 31: vs. University, 43-39 Win

Feb. 2: at Shabazz, 72-42 Win

Feb. 4: vs. Bloomfield Tech (Essex County Tournament first round), 41-38 Loss

When he deems it necessary, East Side assistant boys hoops coach Anthony Tavares will discuss what's transpiring in the course of a basketball game with the officials. (Sideline Chatter photos)

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