Teaneck’s James reaches 2,000 points by Greg Mattura of The Record
PATERSON – Ja’Quaye James of Teaneck rang in the New Year by joining North Jersey’s elite 2,000-Point Club.
The speedy senior guard opened 2018 by becoming the 18th boys’ basketball player from Bergen/Passaic counties to reach 2,000 career points.
James scored 22 points in a 59-55 loss to Mater Dei at Monday’s day-long New Year’s Jump-Off at Don Bosco Tech. He has 2,005 points.
“Cracking 2,000 career points, it means a lot,” James said, “but it would have been so much better getting a win. I know once I go home and really think about it, and my family tells me how big of an accomplishment it was, I’ll be pretty excited, but right now I’m still stuck on the loss.”
Make no mistake: James is about winning, not about points, and he has led Teaneck (5-3) to back-to-back state Group 3 titles. But the Highwaymen fell behind Mater Dei, 12-0, and never led. James scored 13 in the fourth quarter to bring his team back in it.
James landed cleanly on 2,000 by hitting a three-pointer in transition from the top of the key with 3:49 remaining in the fourth to pull the Highwaymen within 51-48. After Mater Dei missed a shot and Teaneck gained possession, play was stopped with 3:34 remaining and James was congratulated by teammates and coach Jerome Smart.
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James joins a fraternity that includes 1996 Paterson Catholic graduate Tim Thomas, who played 13 seasons in the NBA, and 1990 Bogota graduate Pat Sullivan, who won a national championship at North Carolina in 1993 and is an assistant coach with the Clippers.
“I just feel like he’s a tremendous player, he’s had a tremendous career, obviously,” Smart said. “I’m glad to have him, and hopefully we can win again so he can go out a winner.”
James, at 5-foot-9 and about 150 pounds, is the smallest on the list to break 2,000 points. He averages 22.3 points per game and projects to finish above 2,400, which would place him in the top six.
“I don’t really look at it in any special type of way because of my size,” James said. “I’ve been this size my whole life and I figured out how to play the game at my size, being a small guard, so I’m good.”
KENNEDY 75, HACKENSACK 69: Jaylen Colon scored 28, Jalen Hargrove 20 and Jamir Lattimore 17, including two free throws with 13 seconds left to give Kennedy (4-3) a 73-69 lead. Senior guard Atiba Taylor Jr. scored 31, including his 1,000th career point, for Hackensack (6-1).
Boys Bergen/Passaic 2,000-Point Scorers
Name, School, Year Graduated, Points
Les Cason, East Rutherford (1971) 2,871
Kent Culuko, Mahwah (1991) 2,780
John Gerdy, Passaic Valley (1975) 2,613
Pat Sullivan, Bogota (1990) 2,546
Corey Raji, Westwood (2007) 2,497
Bill Willoughby, Englewood (1975) 2,371
Ahmad Hassan, Leonia (2007) 2,314
John Blackgrove, Pascack Valley (2001) 2,237
Tim Thomas, Paterson Catholic (1996) 2,232
Mike Gibney, Wood-Ridge (2013) 2,214
Tom Sienkiewicz, Becton (1977) 2,202
Sandy Burgos, Fort Lee (2010) 2,121
Tom Calabrese, Cliffside Park (1974) 2,088
Chris Orozco, Tenafly (2012) 2,062
Alphonso Gee, Kennedy (2016) 2,030
Justin Crosgile, DePaul (2009) 2,010
Ja’Quaye James, Teaneck (2018) 2,005
Charlie Nanick, Pompton Lakes (1993) 2,003