Hillsborough Hoops Have High Expectations

Despite losing some of its top players from a year ago to graduation, the Hillsborough Raiders boys basketball team is looking ahead to big things in the 2011-12 season.

OVERVIEW
Hillsborough will be coached once again by Ian Progin, who . The Raiders will feature a talented starting five, projected to be comprised of three seniors, one junior and one sophomore.

LAST SEASON'S RESULTS
Hillsborough finished with a record of 17-8, finishing second in the conference to Gill St. Bernards, who also ousted the Raiders in the semifinals of the Somerset County Tournament. The Raiders can take pride in the fact that they were the only public school team to make it into the semifinals of that tournament.

KEEP YOUR EYE ON

• Jason Jolliffe, Small Forward (Sr.)—Jolliffe is coming off of surgery to repair a torn ACL, but was averaging 5.7 points per game for the Raiders last year before the injury.
• Greg Faenza, Forward (Sr.)—Faenza also saw significant varsity action last season, averaging 4.6 points per game.
• Matt Hornich, Center (So.)—As a freshman, Hornich saw action in 13 games last season. He looks to contribute more this year.

THEY’LL MISS

• Steve Hydzik, Point Guard—Hydzik, who now starts for Drew University, was a valuable point man for the Raiders.
• Kenny Gan, Center/Forward—Gan is currently seeing minutes in a similar role at Stevens Institute of Technology
• Mike Morelli, Shooting Guard—Morelli averaged double figures in points last year for Hillsborough, and the Raiders will miss his shooting ability from beyond the three-point line.

COACH’S TAKE
“My expectations are to get the very most we can out of ourselves. It’s difficult to sit here and try to predict wins and losses.” –Progin

THEY SAID IT
“We’ve been trying to mesh as a team with the freshmen and build more team chemistry,” –Jolliffe