Residents of New Jersey would be hard pressed to believe the validity of the state’s nickname – The Garden State. However, a drive south on the turnpike or west on Route 78 will reveal acres of farmland which produce New Jersey’s main exports – crops, particularly tomatoes and blueberries. While New Jersey still exports crops throughout the country, in recent years the state’s main export has become basketball talent.
Kyrie Irving, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Karl-Anthony Towns who hail from the state have all been top-two picks in the NBA Draft and numerous other New Jersey stars have been drafted or played high-level college basketball. In 2019, New Jersey has sent its finest talent to Divison1 schools from coast to coast, and at least 10 NCAA tournament teams have a player who played high school basketball in New Jersey.
Those playing in the tournament are not solely on east coast teams – Ole Miss, Oregon, and LSU each have a New Jersey native in its starting lineup. Breein Tyree, a 2016 St. Joe’s Metuchen graduate from Somerset was a high school teammate of Towns, has taken his knack for scoring and ferocious dunks south to Mississippi. Tyree is the leading scorer for the Rebels, averaging 18.6 points-per-game.
Oregon shocked many by winning the Pac-12 tournament and a key contributor for the Ducks is Louis King, a Columbus, N.J., native who made the long trek to play high school ball at Hudson Catholic in Jersey City, N.J. King averages 12.7 points-per-game for the Ducks as a freshman. LSU is led by Nazreon Reid, a freshman from Asbury Park who was the state player of the year in 2018 for Roselle Catholic. Reid averages 13.7 points-per-game, had 26 in his last outing against Florida, and is projected as an NBA first round pick in June.
The Big 12 tournament champion Iowa State Cyclones have been buoyed by the contributions of Marial Shayok, a Canadian who prepped at Blair Academy in Warren County. Shayok, an adopted New Jersey native, has averaged 18.6 points-per-game this season after transferring in from Virginia. MAAC Champ Iona would likely not be dancing if it weren’t for East Orange’s Asante Gist, who dropped 22 in its tournament wins against Siena and Monmouth. Gist played at Roselle Catholic and St. Anthony’s during his high school career.
Perennial tournament sleeper Syracuse is led by Tyus Battle, an Edison native, who averages 17.2 points-per-game and even dropped 32 points in a road win over Duke. Plainfield N.J. native and former Roselle Catholic star Nate Pierre-Louis has also been a key contributor for Temple, averaging 13.3 points-per-game.
Not shockingly, New Jersey players are key contributors for the Seton Hall Pirates and NEC Champion Fairleigh Dickinson. Seton Hall’s undoubted leader, Myles Powell, is a native of Trenton, N.J. and alumnus of Trenton Catholic, and Shavar Reynolds, the hero of the St John’s game, is a 2016 grad of Manchester High School in Ocean County, N.J. Farleigh Dickinson’s frontcourt is all New Jersey – Shalick grad Mike Holloway, and Kaleb Bishop, a Paterson native and St. Anthony’s alumnus.
Matthew Collins can be reached at matthew.collins@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @Matt98533108.
