In a series of player profiles, Hoop Journal sat down with Paramus Catholic big man Justin Harris who just ended his highschool career in a quarterfinal loss in States! Justin has been a constant for P.C. the last four years and has left an indelible inprint in the annals of the school! He leaves as a 1,000 point scorer and a tough player under the glass! He will be playing Division 1 basketball and will have an opportunity at that level to be a success!

FUN FACTS:          Hgt: 6’8              Wgt:  250

Age: 17                                              D.O.B. : May 28, 1993

Nickname: none

Parents:   Ron Harris and Gloria Vanderwende

Siblings:   Paul Vanderwende

Who Inspires You (non basketball):  My Loved Ones

Favorite Basketball Team:  New York Knicks

Favorite Basketball Player:  Kevin Durant

Favorite Alltime Sneaker:  Adidas Crazy 8’s

Favorite Artist: Lupe Fiasco

Hottest Song On Ipod:  Show Goes On: by  Lupe Fiasco

Highschool Goals: Win A State Championship

Future Goals: To Play Pro Basketball

Something People Would Be Surprised To Know About You: I’m the best chef/ baker in North Jersey

Favorite College Team:  UConn.

Schools Interested In You:  Hofstra, Quinnipiac, New Hampshire, Manhattan College, Illinois State 

Teaneck……….Sophomore Joel Hernandez scored 23 points and Teaneck withstood a game Sparta team in the 1st half before taking the game completely over in their 56-36 win! The move puts Teaneck in the North 1 Group 3 Sectional Finals against Passaic Valley! Sparta was only down four 27-23 at the end of the 1st half, but Teaneck held them to 13 2nd half points as the defense led the way and Hernandez scored 14 of his points in the 3rd! Junior Chris Jones added 11 points and Dequan Russ came off the bench to score 9! Sparta was led by Nicholas DiSomma with 14points and Zachary Frick added 10! 

Little Falls……. Senior Nick DiCristina was unconscious in the biggest game of his career! DiCristina(right) led Passaic Valley to a 69-50 win over Wayne Valley by scoring a career high 27 points, including 6″triples” in the 1st half! Passaic Valley jumped to a 9-0 lead and finished the 1st quarter up 15-5 as Senior Elias Logothetis(bottom right) ran the show and put the pressure on Wayne Valley’s defense! He finished the game with 10 points,9 dimes and 3 steals! P.V. stretched the lead to twenty-one by the end of the 1st half 39-18 and even though W.V. continued to battle the game, was never in question! DiCristina hit all his treys in the 1st half, then got himself fouled in the 2nd half going 8 for 8 in the half and 9 for 9 in the game! P.V.’s other players followed suit as Senior Dave Clough and Junior Olumide Onajide each scored 11 points and Senior Tom Gaccione added 8! Wayne Valley was led by Senior Tom Larranaga with 12 points and Sophomore Andrew Keane finished with 10!

NOTES: Hoops Journal would like to recognize the highschool careers of Senior’s Tom Larranaga and Andrew Herasimtchuk! They have been two hard nosed players for Wayne Valley who always gave 100%! Larranaga(right) was an uncanny long range shooter and Herasimtchuk did his damage primarily on the inside! Here’s hoping the best for each player and maybe seeing them on the next level!