Commitment necessary for Randolph to improve

By Mark Kitchin

Morriscountyvarsityboysbasketball

Randolph season review

There were stretches when Randolph boys basketball played as if it was going to have a successful winning season. There just weren’t enough of them to make it so. Consistency plagued the senior-laden Rams throughout the year.Randolph finished with a 4-19 season and a 10-game losing streak.

Senior leadership: Coach Bill Kilduff was openly critical of his seniors as a group during the season but he was pleasantly surprised in big forward Pat Tortorello’s play. “He had a great year,’’ Kilduff said. “He was double figures in points and rebounds. He shot 50-60 percent from the field and improved on the foul line. It wasn’t what I expected from him.

Highlights:Randolph had victories against Morristown, Parsippany Hills and Morris Knolls among the local teams and then went 0-for-February.

“We had a lot of close games,’’ Kilduff said. “We nearly beat West Morris at West Morris. We battled Lakewood and gave them a game when they were ranked 10^th in the state. We had a bad game in the county tournament against Jefferson and never came out of it.’’

Hope for the future: If they come out and show the necessary level of commitment, the youthful Rams may surprise people. Brothers Ryan and Aaron Harris have athletic skills. Aaron Harris especially can play both small and power forward. Garrett Gaudioso was expected to beRandolph’s defensive stopper but injuries kept him off the court. Connor McMahon saw limited varsity time but showed promise. 6-foot-4 Pat Archer also played well the few chances he saw on varsity during his freshman season. Guards Michael Talbert and Ryan Mahoney sparkled on the jayvee last year and may get their chance as sophomores if they show improvement in the offseason.

Offseason plans: Over the past two seasons, confusion over coaching status has limited the type of offseason work Randolph has been able to do. This year Kilduff is striving for consistency and commitment among his players. The Rams will attend the Rider University Basketball camp the last week in June. There will be open gyms at Randolph High during the summer but no plans to join any summer leagues.

“I don’t know if summer leagues are conducive to getting better,’’ Kilduff said. “There’s too much emphasis on winning and not as much on improving. We have to get better. We have to get our skill set higher.’’

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