Plainfield's 6-foot-7 Yale-bound forward Justin Sears is a force underneath, a leader and an all-state candidate for state's No. 2 ranked team. (Photo by Joel I. Plummer- plummerphotos.com)

Jameel Warney, a Plainfield native, has enjoyed his four years at Roselle Catholic and has earned a basketball scholarship to Stony Brook. (photo courtesy of Roselle Catholic)

Both Plainfield’s Sears & RC’s Warney
Have Emerged As Two Stars In Union
By Jim Whelan
For sidelinechatter.com

Plainfield’s Justin Sears and Roselle Catholic’s Jameel Warney are certainly two of the leading candidates for this season’s Union County Player of the Year top honors.

The 6-foot-7 Sears leads the state’s No. 2 ranked team (15-1), while the 6-6 Warney is a veteran standout for the No. 19-ranked Lions (9-6), who should only get better as the season hits its stretch run in February and March.

During a recent Union County Conference-Watchung Division battle, the two talented big men dueled down on the blocks at Roselle Catholic as Sears’ terrific Plainfield team emerged as the victor, 58-48.

Their style of play is similar.

The noteworthy senior frontcourt performers are also key leaders for their respective teams.

They both look to get their teammates involved before electing to take their own shot.

They rebound the ball with power and efficiency and are both adept at working effectively against any defender.

In order to beat them, you have to stop them.

More importantly, their work on the basketball court and in the classroom has earned them a chance to play and thrive as scholar-athlete at the collegiate level next fall.

Sears will continue his academics at Yale University where he should also fit in very well as a burgeoning top big man in the Ivy League, while Warney, a Plainfield native, will attend Stony Brook, which is currently one of the red-hot teams in Division I, having won 10 of its last 11 and is currently leading its conference: America East.

“The Stony Brook coach (Steve Pickiell) was working hard to get me to come there with Jameel,” Sears said with a smile. "I know that it is a solid D-1 program."

In the end the Ivy League school from New Haven won out.

Like most scholar-athletes, studies have to be attended to, while athletics can still open several doors.

However, it was not too long ago that their basketball play was not so appealing for the pair of then future high school standout centers.

“We were probably the two most unskilled basketball players at Plainfield,” said Warney. “We had a lot of work to do to get to the point we’re at now.”

Warney and Sears were classmates and friends while attending Cook Elementary School (K-5th grade) in Plainfield.

“Jameel and I were probably the two worst players at the school,” offered Sears. “We really weren’t very good at all.”

While playing AAU basketball in the eighth grade with eventual Plainfield High School standouts Jahmal Lane, Diijon Allen-Jordan, and Sakou Harris, hoops was certainly growing in importance for both young men, but academics were still very much of paramount concern, along with other factors.

Warney enrolled at Roselle Catholic seeking the structure provided at the Catholic high school with its rich, close-knit family atmosphere.

“It really had nothing to do with basketball,” insists Warney. “It was purely about academics, and I was comfortable at Roselle Catholic, which is a school I felt could offer me what I needed in terms of promoting my overall growth.

Standing at 6’6 as a freshman, Warney made the RC varsity team.

“I was fortunate to play on the varsity team that season,” he says now. “And, thanks to continued hard work and good coaches I have been able to improve every year.”

Sears applied to the Union County Magnet school-Academy for Information Technology and was accepted. It is a high-level, select high school that only takes what it determines are the two best students from each municipality in Union County. Acceptance to the highly touted school is granted based on a student’s academics, and they do only take the best.

After playing three solid seasons, Sears is closing in on the 1,000-point and 1,000- rebound plateaus. Last season, Plainfield won its first NJSIAA State Championship since 1983, copping Group 3 honors, while also advancing all the way to the Tournament of Champions final against national power St. Anthony.

It had been a long drought in terms of state championships for a city where basketball is still king. The Cardinals finished 23-9 while facing a very formidable schedule. Sears averaged a double-double with 12.8 points/13.8 rebounds per game.

Meanwhile, Warney was leading an improved Roselle Catholic team that went 22-8 and advanced to the Non-Public, North A semis. The Lions’ terrific center became RC’s all-time leading scorer in the opening game of this season. He also will have an opportunity to pull down 1,000 boards like his former middle school classmate from Plainfield.

Warney continues to be a solid every-day performer for coach Dave Boff’s Lions while averaging 20.3 points per game.

Plainfield is riding a 14-game winning streak and has not stumbled since losing to St Benedict's Prep on December 17. The Cardinals have another tough test Thursday night against 14th-ranked St. Patrick (7-6) at Kean University.

Roselle Catholic was ranked in 8th at the start of the season, but a loss to unranked Ridge High School, 48-43, dropped them out of the state rankings for a time, but the Lions are back in the Top 20 this week.

With Sears, Lane, Jordan-Allen, Harris and other promising players such as St. Patrick transfer Taylor Plummer, a 6-3 senior, the Cardinals are almost certainly going to be around for quite a while in the upcoming Group 3 state tournament, and perhaps once again meet a talented Teaneck squad (16-0), which is currently ranked fourth in the state, in the eventual Group 3 state semis.

Also, Plainfield will definitely be the team to beat in the Frank J. Cirarell Union County Tournament which will seed its 2012 field on Wednesday, Feb. 8th.

“There is definitely a target on our backs,” said Sears. “But, we enjoy the challenge and we like the makeup of our team in terms of making another strong run in February and March.”

RC is also beginning to emerge on the radar as far as both the UCT and Non-Public, North A tourneys are concerned.

“Everybody is looking at us now as a good team,” said Warney. “We feel the program has really been on the rise the past couple of seasons.”

There is plenty of great basketball ahead for the two friends from elementary school in Plainfield. And, who knows, perhaps they’ll meet yet again in the UCT?

Coach Dave Boff has done a solid job in building a Roselle Catholic boys basketball program that has been enhanced by the presence of Warney. (Photo by JR Parachini)

It was a special day at Roselle Catholic High School for veteran forward Jameel Warney when he was able to be joined by his mom and sister while signing his letter of intent to attend Stony Brook on a basketball scholarship. (photo courtesy of Roselle Catholic HS)

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