BRICK – The Brick Memorial High School freshman boys basketball team enjoyed a memorable season.
The Mustangs captured the Shore Conference Class A South title at 10-0. And they posted an 18-2 overall record.
“We had overall size across the board,” said Dave Shilanskas, the Mustangs’ head coach. “Many of the boys have played basketball together for quite some time so they knew what each other were going to do on the court. They played to their strengths. There were twins on the team in Austin and Shane Braaten. They had different playing styles. When they were on the court together, which was quite often, they were able to play together real well, almost reading each other’s minds on the court.
“Knowing their past successes on the court, I was not surprised that the team did as well as it did,” he added.
The Mustangs won their first 15 games of the season.
“Our success during the streak was due to a lot of talent and chemistry,” Shilanskas said. “Many of the boys have played basketball together for a while at St. Dominic’s, Veterans Memorial Middle School and St. Thomas. They played other sports together as well. As far as talent goes, we could easily go 10 to 12 players deep out of the 16 who were on our team and be very good. Even our last four players were key contributors as well. They were just stuck behind very talented players.”
Brick Memorial often started point guard Jason Lajara, Tyler Garbooshian, Shane Braaten, Sean Collins and center Austin Braaten.
“Jason was also a top level quarterback on our freshman football team,” Shilanskas said. “He was a great leader and almost like an extension of a coach on the court. Tyler is a great athlete and a varsity baseball player who received varsity basketball playing time toward the end of the season. Shane is a great rebounder and defender. Austin can play multiple positions. He is a great finisher and scorer and a real good defender and rebounder.”
Players who either started or came off the bench were Nyzier Matthews, Kristian Glenn and Derek Rivers.
“Nazier is super athletic and can score in a number of ways,” Shilanskas said. “He is a real good football player who excelled at the freshman level. Kristian is a great kid with a big heart. He improved during the whole season and has a lot of length on defense. Derek is a talented young man who is a good rebounder and scorer.”
The Mustangs sped past opponents with a diversified style of play.
“On offense, we were usually in either a four out one set or a five out look versus man-to-man defenses,” Shilanskas said. “On defense, we played both zone and man-to-man and usually used a full court press. Over the course of the season, the team improved on playing team defense. Its on ball defense became better as well as its off ball defense.”
Shilanskas’ assistant coach was former Brick Township High School player Gerry Talty.
“Gerry was with me for five years,” Shilanskas said. “He was a great person to bounce questions and ideas off of. His knowledge and passion for the game are second to none. He built a great relationship with the kids, usually during drill work at practice. We put no pressure on the team to win.”
The Mustangs fell to Toms River North by two points in the Dragon Classic at the end of the season and bested Point Pleasant Beach 82-45 in the consolation game. Not even the loss to the Mariners could lessen Shilanskas’ love for the Mustangs.
“What made the boys fun to coach was their love for each other and their love of the game,” he said. “They were very coachable and never gave us an attitude problem.”
Shilanskas, who completed his 18th season at the helm, said the Mustangs have won nearly 250 games. During one season, his team was 23-2 overall with one loss to Colts Neck in the championship game of the Mustang Classic, an event Brick Memorial hosted for some 20 years until it was lost to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“Most years,” he said, “I have had very talented kids and good records. I would say we have had either 15 or 16 winning seasons. During many seasons, we have only single digits in losses. I feel we have been so successful because of my dedication to coaching and my passion for Brick Memorial basketball. The talent I have had over the years has been amazing. I enjoy watching boys grow and develop during the season and then over their next three years in high school.”
Shilanskas, 47, is a 1994 graduate of Brick Memorial where he played freshman basketball under coach Gene Monahan and competed in four seasons of varsity soccer under legendary coach Woody French.
“I was lucky enough to play for coach French,” Shilanskas said.
Shilanskas played soccer for four varsity seasons at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt. The team advanced to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national championship match in 1997.
