By Christian Mordi / @thedribbledrop
Team: Linden
Ranking: 8
Record Last season: 26-5, 6-1 in conference play
Key players: Tavon Jones, Senior
Mikey Watkins, senior
Potential emerging stars: Amir Williams, sophomore
Myles Ruth, sophomore
Team analysis: Public Schools Matter.
Linden may not be a private school that has an active pool of players from all over the state, but they do a great job developing talent in their backyard. The Tigers do a great job of developing homegrown talent to win games on the high school level and excel on the collegiate level. Leading the pack this year is senior guard Tavon Jones. The sensational senior leads by example every game. Jones is the quarterback of Linden’s smothering defense. They are all over their opponents from the second the game starts.
While Linden has lost lost a nice bit of size due to graduation, this team still has strong guard play and plenty of heart. Senior Mikey Watkins will be Tavon’s “partner in crime” this year. Watkins is battle tested and will perform well with an increased offensive role this year. St. Anthony’s transfer Myles Ruth has tremendous upside and will learn alongside Jones during his sophomore year. Amir Williams has nice size and athleticism. At 6’4, he will be asked to defend frontcourt players on a nightly basis.
Linden is the cream of the crop in Group 4. It will be hard for anyone in that group, or the state for that matter, to knock them off. With the clipboard in the hands of coach Phil Colicchio and Tavon Jones running the show on the floor, Linden is primed for another deep TOC run
Never forget: Public Schools Matter
Stat to know: Sensational Senior Tavon Jones made 1st Team All-State in 2017.