Sporting Stardom Well: Former CBA Basketball Star Testing Himself in JSBL

When a player signs up to participate in a basketball league, the hope isn’t usually that he will be manhandled, pushed around and outsmarted by bigger, stronger and older players.

It turns out, that is exactly what former Christian Brothers Academy star Matt McMullen was hoping would happen this summer. McMullen is playing for the Seaview Jeep squad in the eight-team Jersey Shore Basketball League at St. Rose High School in Belmar.

The league plays two games a night from Monday through Friday, and many of the rosters are filled with current and former college stars and overseas professionals.

One of those veteran teams is Larson Ford, one of the inaugural teams from the JSBL’s beginnings in the 1960s. Larson perennially has one of the league’s top teams and usually features a physical brand of basketball played by players in their mid-twenties to early thirties.

“For me, just coming in here and playing in this league, I was hoping to match up against some of those guys,’’ McMullen said. “Larson Ford beat the crap out of me. They’re just strong, and they just know how to play. But that’s why I signed up to play.’’

McMullen was one of the top players in the Shore Conference during the past two seasons, including his senior season this past winter. A 6-foot, 5-inch tall forward, McMullen finished with more than 1,000 career points, a rare accomplishment at one of the state’s top programs.

As a senior, he averaged 16.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game for a team that won a share of the Shore Conference Class A North title and reached the NJSIAA Non-Public South A semifinals.

He will continue his career at Colgate University, where he will play for newly-hired head coach Matt Langel, a former Temple assistant. Langel replaced Emmett Davis, who was fired after this past season.

McMullen’s hope is that the competition he sees this summer in the JSBL prepares him for life in the Patriot League. Considering he is going up against players like former CBA star Dan Werner, who played at the University of Florida, as well as recruits from Seton Hall and Rutgers, he should be fairly battle-tested when he embarks on his collegiate career.

In a recent victory over Asbury Park Recreation, which features former Asbury Park and Academy Charter players, McMullen had 10 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.

“In the Patriot League, you probably won’t see the type of talent you see in this league with guys like Dan Werner and (former Siena star) Ryan Rossiter,’’ McMullen said. “I come in every game hoping I will have a tough match-up.’’

McMullen also is hoping to be able to go head-to-head with former Monmouth Regional star Joe Willman, a 6-foot-10 forward who is now at Bucknell University, which also plays in the Patriot League.

Willman has not made it to a JSBL game this season, but has been rumored to be possibly making an appearance this summer. Willman is a versatile forward like McMullen, so their games are similar.

“I’ll probably play against him 10 to 12 times in the next couple years, so it would be a great experience,’’ McMullen said.

McMullen, who is a Brick resident, will leave for training camp at Colgate during the first two weeks of August. He then will return home for a week before starting school on Aug. 25.

For now, he is enjoying the JSBL experience while playing as teammates with some of his former rivals. Former St. John Vianney forward Mike Balkovic, a Caldwell College recruit, is also on Seaview Jeep along with former Monsignor Donovan guard Sean Grennan, a Seton Hall recruit. Grennan is one of multiple players on the roster either headed to Seton Hall or already on the Pirates’ roster.

“They’re really talented,’’ he said about the Seton Hall contingent. “You want to play with guys like that on your team and play against them. I won’t see that in the Patriot League unless we got to the NCAA Tournament.’’