UPDATE: OHS boys' basketball team moves forward this season

Photos by Barbara Kokkalis.

Khalid Muhammad, right photo, and Cornelius Wilson, left photo, No. 10, will spark the Tornadoes this season.

By Joe Ragozzino
Sports editor
The Orange High School boys’ varsity basketball team boasts a senior-laden starting lineup with two returning starters.
Unfortunately, the reigning Super Essex Conference-Liberty Division champion Tornadoes won’t have Kassan Messiah this season. The senior 6-foot-4 center who was a big part of last year’s 18-7 team, decided not to play because his mother wants him to focus on picking a college for football and is afraid he might get injured, according to OHS head coach Jacob Martin. Messiah was a standout linebacker for the Tornadoes’ football team that made the playoffs and finished 7-3 last fall.
Losing Messiah is a big blow. Martin believed Messiah was talented enough to receive a basketball scholarship as well.
Without Messiah, the Tornadoes will rely on senior 6-foot-2 guard Khalid Muhammad and senior 6-3 forward Adam Maduro, both returning starters. Muhammad earned first-team All-SEC-Liberty Division last year.
The other starters include senior 6-3 forward Louis Williams, senior 6-1 point guard Cornelius Wilson and senior 6-1 forward Ramon Mustapha. Williams and Wilson both gained experience last year, while Mustapha was a junior varsity player.
The bench is vastly young. Maurice Brand, a 5-9 freshman, will serve as the backup point guard. The rest of the reserves are junior 6-1 guard Jahvanti Archer, sophomore 6-2 forward Raheem Collins, sophomore 6-1 forward Tevon Benett and freshman 5-8 guard Keshawn Alexander.
The division, which is the second highest of the four divisions in the SEC, became stronger with the additions of Columbia and Central. Columbia moved down from the American Division, while Central moved up from the Colonial Division. With the tougher competition, Martin expects big things from Muhammad, as well as from Maduro and Williams.
“We have to have a big year from Khalid,” said Martin, whose team will visit West Orange in the season opener on Friday Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. “He has to step up his scoring and rebounding. We have to rely on playing zone and rebounding. I am looking for a big year for Khalid and I am looking for Adam and Louis to step up. If I can get those three guys to step up and give me double figures, we will be alright.
“But my main concern is rebounding, because we don’t have Kassan. We are going to miss him as far as rebounding and his play in the middle.”
For the Tornadoes to have another successful season, an uptempo system, coupled with an effective zone defense, will prove key.
“We’re going to have to do a lot of running; a lot of zone and play an uptempo game,” Martin said.
OHS schedule
Dec. 16, at West Orange, 7 p.m.
Dec. 20, at Millburn, 4 p.m.
Dec. 22, Newark Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 27, 29-30, Union City Christmas Tournament
Jan. 3, at Newark Vocational, 4 p.m.
Jan. 5, Bloomfield, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 7, at Snyder, 11 a.m.
Jan. 10, Columbia, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 12, at Bloomfield Tech, 4 p.m.
Jan. 14, West Side, 1 p.m.
Jan. 16, OHS MLK Classic, vs. East Orange Campus, 7 p.m.
Jan. 17, at Central, 4 p.m.
Jan. 24, Millburn, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 26, at Newark Tech, 4 p.m.
Jan. 31, at Bloomfield, 4 p.m.
Feb. 3, Cliffside Park, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 9, at Columbia, 4 p.m.
Feb. 14, Bloomfield Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 16, at West Side, 4 p.m.
Feb. 18, Central, 1 p.m.
Feb. 23, West Orange, 4 p.m.
Super Essex Conference-Liberty Division teams: Columbia, Bloomfield Tech, West Orange, Millburn, Bloomfield, Central, Newark Tech, Orange, West Side.