A DIVISION PLAYER - FINALLY!

By Greg Herenda

My goal growing up in North Bergen , New Jersey was to be a division I scholarship basketball player. Initially I wanted to play for the Knicks, but quickly that dream became just that - a far off fairly tail. I was still fortunate enough to have a chance to reach another goal and that was to get a division I level. 

I was very fortunate to have grown up and played  with and against some really good players in my time. Living in Hudson County there were tough and great players from every neighborhood and town around. In my very own neighborhood I played against older guys that made me better from day one.I would play all day at 82 nd street park and then all  night under the street lights of the 79th Street courts first with my brother Bill and our neighbor friends  and then eventually with Dan Callandrillo who went on to be the all-time  score in the Big East and some straight up ballers.

When I got older I ventured to Jersey City and found out that my game had to translate better to the high paced city game of White Eagle Hall, where the Miracle of St Anthony was born. There we would whoosh young Bobby and Danny Hurley off of the floor as coach Hurley let a St Peters Prep guy workout with the great early Friar teams.

Also in JC, the summer league at Pershing Field was where I teamed up with Hall of Famer Chris Mullins of St Johns/ Golden State Warriors, Mike OKoren  ( North Carolina and NJ Nets) I then went out to the great Five Star basketball Camp and on my team was  the HOFer Dominique Williams of the Atlanta Hawks - the Human High Light  Reel! Then I was fortunate enough to have 3 college  I had three recruited me. All smaller catholic colleges with good solid basketball programs. One was a d1 school in the city, the other was a small d2 school in new england and the third was a d3 school in mountains of Pennsylvania. St Peter’s , Merrimack and Scranton. I chose the division 2 scholarship to experience the beautiful new england campus of the Augustinians and to get out of Jersey City and see that there was grass, trees and another world outside of the Jersey Turnpike snd the Garden State Parkway.