Former Brick hoops player has to sit out due to illness

Jay Frank of Brick and The College of New Jersey men's basketball team has had his own horror show of bad luck in this Halloween season since practices began last week.

The sharpshooting guard out of Brick Memorial was diagnosed with mononucleosis early last week and he said he is not expected to return until the season opens in late November.

"I just got it and I'll probably be out until the first game," said Frank. "I won't be able to practice for that game. I'll see how he puts me in the rotation."

It's been part of a series of problems for interim coach Matt Hunter, an assistant last year who succeeds John Castaldo, and a snake-bitten team that had high hopes with 14 returnees from last season and only two graduated when it went 12-14 but made the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament with a 5-8 record. Another player on the team also has mononucleosis; one has a broken foot and another an injured knee.

Depth is important on a team that has only one player who is as tall as 6-feet-7. And Frank's deft shooting touch is expected to draw opposing defenses outside.

"It's tough. We're not making a lot of changes and we want to put Jay on the floor," said Hunter. "We expect him to be a big part of what we do.

"This sets us back," said Hunter. "Hopefully, he'll start practicing by the middle of November. That's our goal."

Frank started four games last season as a freshman, averaging just under 18 minutes a game. He averaged 8 points per game, shooting 36.7 percent from the floor, including 25 percent from three-point range and made 49 of 55 free throws.

"I'm definitely more mature, more confident," said Frank. "I think this year I'll be better."

Frank said it was an adjustment playing on the college level after sparking Brick Memorial to back-to-back Shore Conference A South championships.

"It was hectic at times," he said. "I had to get used to it because it's basketball six months a year. There's weightlifting and running."

Frank said his ballhandling "definitely" got better. "I practice all the time and my defense got better," Frank said. But now he faces a new challenge after being healthy throughout his high school career.

Hunter said Frank "looked tremendous. He worked hard in the offseason. He had a great season and was ready to go. He's one of the hardest working guys on the team and he had put on weight and gotten stronger. He's better off the dribble."

But Frank remains optimistic that he'll work his way back into significant playing time and starting in a short time frame.

"I would have been a starter, probably taking the second most shots on the team," said Frank. "But I'll be back. This is going to work out well."

And then he added, "I feel we'll be a contender this year."