Another
prized pupil of Mike Lanza, and his SHOTMAN Basketball Camps, is Kyle
Rawson of Watchung Hills High School, which finished in second place
in the Delaware
East Division of the Skyland Conference, reached the Quarterfinal
Round of the NJSIAA
North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament after defeating
Bayonne of Hudson County in the first round, and won the Somerset
County Tournament. The team had perhaps the best season in school
history with a record
of 23-4 overall.
In 2007-08,
the Warriors of Watchung Hills took on a vigorous schedule that consisted
of such teams as Plainfield, Bridgewater, Immaculata of Somerville,
Union, Ridge, Bayonne, and Piscataway (eventual North
2 Group IV sectional champions). The four losses suffered by the
Warren, New Jersey based team was by a combined total of 31 points.
Three of those four losses came to teams that reached not only the
Final Four of teir respective sections, but two of them also won sectional
titles since Immaculata won the Non-Public
A North title, and advanced to the semifinals of the Tournament
of Champions.
Rawson,
who plays during the offseason on Lanza's New Jersey Stallions AAU
squad, played a pivotal role in Watchung Hills success. In 2007-08,
Rawson led
the team in scoring with an average of 14.4 points per game. Playing
in all of his team's 27 games during the season, Rawson scored 375
total points by making 162 shots out of 309 attempts for 52 percent
including a 19 of 68 showing from three point range for 28 percent.
At the line, Rawson was only 44 percent as he made just 32 of 72 attempts.
Rawson also led the team in other categories.
Among
these other categories was rebounding. Rawson collected a total of
127 boards including 29 on the offensive end for an average of 4.9
per game. Rawson was also second in assists on the team with a total
of 94 for the year, or approximately 3.6 per contest. The senior guard
also led the way in steals with 60 on the season for an average of
2.3 per game. He was also among the team leaders in blocked shots
and charges. Rawson along with head coach, Gene McAteer, who took
the helm of the program some seven years ago after the school won
only three games the season before, led the school to its first Somerset
County crown since 1973.
Rawson
scored in double figures in 20 of his team's 27 games in 2007-08.
In three of those contests, Rawson scored 22 points or more including
a 23
point effort in a loss to Plainfield of the always tough Watchung
Conference several days before Christmas, and a 27
point performance that helped the Warriors win the SCT over Ridge.
In the victory over Ridge, Rawson connected on 11 of 15 shots for
73 percent including 9 fo 11 from two point range for 82 percent,
and 2 of 4 from three point range for 50 percent. He also made 3 of
5 at the line for 60 percent. Rawson also collected 5 rebounds, 2
assists, 2 steals, and a blocked shot.
The Warriors
had put in a lot of work during the offseason by playing in the Rebounds
Spring League, the Linden
Summer League, and the HawksBasketball
Fall-Ball Classic. In addition, most of the team members played
on Lanza's AAU team, which competed quite well. The team showed tremendous
improvement over last year's (2006-07) campaign, which had the Warriors
finsihing 17-10
overall, and 3-7
in divisional play In 2006-07, Watchung Hills reached the Quarterfinals
of both the Somerset County Touranment, and the North
Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament. While Rawson's three
point shooting and free throw percentages fall below the standards
set by SHOTMAN, his hard work, improvement, ability to score, and
play in the clutch makes him a player that Lanza can be proud of.
