Courtesy of Matt McLagan, Caldwell SID

CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College men’s basketball team is adding six student-athletes for the upcoming 2010-2011 academic year, head coach Mark A. Corino announced. The recruiting class includes four players from New Jersey, one from New York and one from Pennsylvania. The Cougars return 10 players from last year’s squad that went 4-23.

"We feel that this group will contribute and enhance our team chemistry while complementing the nucleus of our returning players,” Corino said. “We’ve added some solid perimeter players who will add stability at the guard positions. I think this class addressed some of our needs, and hopefully the group will help us be more successful.”
 
A pair of transfers will help bolster the Cougars’ backcourt. Derrick Ross played two seasons at Bergen County College, helping the Bulldogs win back-to-back Region 19 championships and finish third at the NJCAA Division III National Tournament both years. Last season Ross averaged 11.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. A 6-3 guard, Ross attended Newark Westside High School, earning all-State third team accolades as Westside advanced to the Group 3 finals his senior year.

The other transfer is 5-11 guard Anthony Gill of New Rochelle, N.Y. Gill averaged 14.9 points and 4.3 assists per contest in his final season at Nassau County Community College in Garden City, N.Y. At New Rochelle High School, Gill was named an All-Star by the Journal News after scoring 13.2 points per game.

Patrick O’Connell comes to Caldwell after an outstanding career at Middletown (N.J.) South High School, where he earned all-Class A North Division second team honors as a senior. A 6-1 point guard, O’Connell averaged 5.3 assists per game and helped to lead Middletown to the finals of the Shore Conference Tournament. In a semifinal win over Monsignor Donovan, O’Connell scored 17 points.

Brett Podhyski, a 6-2 guard from Moscow, Pa., was selected to the Class AA all-State third team as a senior at Holy Cross High School. A 6-2 guard, Podhyski averaged 12.8 points per game in leading the Crusaders to their third consecutive District 2 title and to the quarterfinals of the state tournament.

The third high school guard in this class is Matt Rista, who played for legendary coach Bob Hurley at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, N.J. A 6-2 guard from Point Pleasant, N.J., Rista is a good shooter who was a member of the varsity squad at St. Anthony’s for two years.

The lone incoming frontcourt player is Wayne Newsom, a 6-7 forward from Piscataway, N.J. Newsom was named to the all-Middlesex County third team by the Star-Ledger after averaging 18.0 points per game during his senior season. He helped Piscataway High School win the Greater Middlesex County Tournament title in 2009.