Winter Sports Previews: Madison High School Boys Basketball

Last season the Madison boys basketball team stood at 7-8 on the state tournament cutoff date. The Dodgers needed a win in the Morris County Tournament against Delbarton to qualify for the state tournament.

After a 6-2 start, Madison had dropped six out its previous seven games and head coach Bill Librera watched his already-young squad reduced to a six-man rotation due to injuries and suspensions.

The Dodgers could have rolled over and called it a season. Instead, senior Kyle Goldblatt and sophomore Aaron Fant combined for 33 points and Madison shocked the Green Wave, 63-60, to advance to the quarterfinals of the MCT.

It was a win that saved Madison's postseason hopes. And it was only the beginning of a wild February run that ended with Dodgers earning a runner-up finish in the county tournament – and their coach earning accolades from media outlets.

"That was the first time we'd ever been in a tournament final," said Joe Racanelli, now a senior guard. "We were just enjoying the ride last year. Now we expect more. We expect to make it back. We feel like we've got unfinished business."

In a wide-open county tournament last year, the 10th-seeded Dodgers beat fellow upstarts Montville and Parsippany Hills before running into a juggernaut Mendham team in the final.

But while Madison finished just 12-14, including a first-round state tournament loss to Orange, the Dodgers seem a safe bet to improve on that record. Four starters and four other letter-winners return to give Madison a balanced, deep lineup.

"We like where we are personnel-wise," said head coach Bill Librera, now in his third season. "If we play our game on a given night, we should be tough to beat."

Last year's leading scorer, Fant (10.7 points per game), is back to man the point guard position again. A quick guard with good vision (4.0 assists per game) and good hands (1.5 steals per game), Fant was named third-team All-Morris County by the Daily Record last year.

He'll be joined in the backcourt by 6-foot-3 shooting guard Jake Meister (9.7 ppg last year), who is extremely capable at getting to the rim. Racanelli, Mike Haughey and Matt Gilbert – an all-county soccer goalie – are all expected to see minutes in the guard rotation after solid preseasons, according to Librera.

An intriguing addition to Madison's guard rotation is 6-foot freshman Justin Goodwin, who will be elevated to the varsity lineup immediately and should contribute beginning tonight, when the Dodgers open their season at home against Kittatinny.

The Dodgers' frontcourt is admittedly small – Matt McHale, a 6-3 power forward, is the tallest player – but Librera believes his players make up for it with intelligence and intensity.

"We play tough," said senior Robbie Savacool, the brash, charismatic power forward who logged 6.5 points and 5.5 rebounds last season. "Every 50-50 ball is going to go to us."

Savacool, the leading scorer in last year's MCT quarterfinal win over Montville, figures to anchor the inside along with McHale (5 ppg, 4 rpg).

Librera said he expects that the Dodgers' hard-nosed, athletic play can overcome the height disadvantage, as well as the poor outside shooting from last year's team (27 percent from 3-point range).

The Dodgers will need those athletes to reach the top of the new Independence Division of the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (featuring Chatham, Hanover Park, Parsippany, Pequannock, Morris Catholic and Dover), as well as to finish their unfinished business in the county tournament.

"A county title is attainable," Racanelli said. "We want to win our conference, we want to advance in states. We want to make this program well-respected."