Rowan Right in the Thick of the NJAC Men’s Basketball Race

by Marc Narducci | Jan 22, 2019

One of the great men’s basketball races involving a South Jersey team is the New Jersey Athletic Conference, which heading into Wednesday, had a half game the difference among the top four teams and one game among the top five.

And Rowan University is right in the thick of things.

The Profs entered the week tied for first place in the always competitive NJAC thanks to a torrid beginning to 2019.

Rowan opened 2019 by winning its first five games, all against NJAC opponents. The most recent came in an 84-80 win over visiting New Jersey City University.

As the week began, Rowan and New Jersey City were tied for first with 8-3 conference records. Montclair State and The College of New Jersey were 7-3 and Ramapo was 7-4 with William Paterson 6-5.

Any of those six teams could end up winning the NJAC, which is always competitive but not always this balanced.

Rowan has a balanced offense, with two of the catalysts being senior twins Rob and Nick DePersia, who have been four-year starters after enjoying outstanding high school careers at Haddonfield.

Nick DePersia is a major threat from the perimeter and is averaging a team-high 14.4 points heading into Wednesday’s game with the College of New Jersey. He is shooting 39.1 percent from three-point range and he leads the Prof with 54 three-pointers.

Rob DePersia is the point guard, who averages a team-high 4.6 assists in addition to 9.8 points.

Senior guard DeRon Curry, who is from Deptford and played a post-graduate season at the Phelps School in Pennsylvania before joining Rowan, is the Profs second leading scorer (13.4 points per game).

Curry had a dominating performance in the win over New Jersey City with 27 points and seven rebounds He shot 9 of 13 from the field, including 3 of 6 from three-point range.

Ramon Wright, a 6-7 senior from Irvington High in North Jersey, averages 10.8 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds.

Conner Dickerson, a 6-3 freshman from Moorestown High, has only started two games, but he is tied for fourth in scoring, averaging 9.8 points.

The Profs are guided by third-year coach Joe Crispin and anybody who know about his basketball history, realizes that Crispin loves playing an up-tempo game.

He was star at both Pitman and Penn State before briefly playing in the NBA and also enjoying a professional career overseas.

That is why it is no surprise that Rowan is leading the NJAC in scoring offense, averaging 85.2 points per game. Rowan is also second in three-point field goal percentage (.367).

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The Profs play exciting basketball and after a 13-13 season last year appear vastly improved as they are contending in a wide-open NJAC.

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Author: Marc Narducci

Rowan Right in the Thick of the NJAC Men’s Basketball Race

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