Shabazz basketball is thriving once again with a new lineage of backcourt aces now firmly impacting both the Essex County and statewide hoops scene while helping to bring an NJSIAA trophy back to the history-laden Brick City school.
Shabazz’s March 15th 51-48 win over defending champion Thrive Charter in the Group 1 state final was led by the stellar guard play of junior Elijah Colon and sophomore Anthony Blackmon who combined for 38 points as the ardent fans from ‘Bulldog Nation’ were out in force to cheer on their team in Rutgers’ Jersey Mike’s Arena.
Those two primetime performers spearheaded an all-guard starting 5 which found plenty of success in leading the team to a sparkling 29-1 record under 29-year-old fourth-year head coach Nassir ‘Nas’ Barrino, whose dad Angelo Barrino and cousins Da’Shon Barrino and Antonio and Alray Blackmon were all past hoops standouts in a family lineage that stretches back more than two decades.
The current Bulldogs revived memories of some of the past great South Side backcourt performers such as Ron Kornegay and Lonny Wright who played for terrific teams preceding the school’s name change to Malcom X. Shabazz in 1972.
Kornegay, who stood just 5-foot-7, was one of Essex County’s premier point guards in the mid-1960s before excelling at Monmouth University, while Wright, who would go on to star at Colorado State and then play pro ball for both the ABA’s Denver Nuggets and AFL’s Denver Broncos, was a 6-2 jumping jack with incredible all-around athletic skills.
The tallest player in this season’s Shabazz starting 5 was the 6-2 Colon, a transfer from Hudson Catholic, the same school where Nas Barrino was once a backcourt star for coach Nick Mariniello’s outstanding Hawks hoops squads from 2012-2015.
A student of the game, Barrino has continued to learn from many of his mentors, including New Jersey icons such as Mariniello and Newark Central coach Shawn McCray, and also in watching closely how other great minds in the sport have put together their teams.
“I saw how coach Jay Wright at Villanova ran a 5-guard offense with much success, and I have tried to pattern my team in that way to match the personnel we have,” said the youthful Shabazz head hoops mentor. “Elijah was our tallest starter at 6-2, but it really didn’t matter with the way our guards played, pressuring teams with success and scoring the basketball well enough to win nearly every game.
“We’re still trying to find out if the 29 wins we had are the most in program history, but - most importantly - I am so grateful to have the opportunity to coach this team and see success for my players, for our school, and for the city of Newark, because raising up the rich tradition of Shabazz basketball - and South Side - is wonderful to see happen!”
The 5-11 Anthony Blackmon, who is the son of Barrino’s cousin Antonio, led the Bulldogs with 535 points (17.8 ppg.) while Colon (19.8 ppg) - who became eligible to play after sitting out the first three weeks of the season in accordance with NJSIAA transfer rules - was another offensive force, as were steady senior contributors Zaim Barnes (15.0 ppg.) and Christian Gray (13.7 ppg.).
Barnes and Gray were part of a dedicated senior group that also included ace defender Umar Sannor.
“It’s a good thing looking ahead to next year that we will start out with our two leading scorers returning and rebuilding around them will make things easier,” said Barrino. “Our six seniors stayed the course on and off the court with their hard work throughout our rise back up these past few seasons and we look for them to carry on success beyond this legendary season.
“Our team’s standard was to carry a 3.0 gpa (grade point average) in order to play varsity basketball because I believe that if we’re the face of Shabazz you also have to do it in the classroom as well as on the court, and our players responded to what is required in fulfilling all that.”
Another solid defender was sophomore Nosym Brown, a standout wide receiver and defensive back for Shabazz’s championship football team, who is already receiving college interest from schools such as Wake Forest, Duke and Woffard for his immense skills on the gridiron.
