By Bryant Romero
A 2006 inductee into the New Jersey City University Athletics Hall of Fame after a standout career with the Gothic Knights, Abdul Madison, who is considered one of top all-around guards in school history, has finally decided to return to his alma mater as an assistant men’s basketball coach for the 2013-14 season.
Madison graduated from NJCU in 1999 and while he feels that his return to the University was long overdue, just why did take it take Coach Madison so long to come back?
“I always had the fire to return,” said Abdul Madison, 39, from Scotch Plains N.J. “But the main reason why I didn’t was because of my son, he was diagnosed with autism. He’s 9 years old now and his health has improved so now I feel like it’s the perfect time to come back.”
Head Coach Marc Brown is entering his seventh season with the team and under his leadership the Gothic Knights have become one of the top defensive programs in the conference. Now with the addition of Madison, the team’s defense only looks to get better.
“He’s a huge addition to the team,” said Coach Marc Brown, 41, Union, NJ. “He’s one of the best to play here at the University; If not the greatest he’s a top 3 perimeter defender; he’s coming in to help on defense and he will also be recruiting because he’s from the area.”
Madison’s role as assistant coach will mainly be with working with the guards, where he looks emphasize that tough defense and rebounding that can lead to easy buckets.
The Gothic Knights are coming off a 15-13 season where they opened with a 2-7 record but finished strong by winning 10 of their last 12 games and clinched a playoff berth. While they struggled on offense, they led their conference on almost every defensive category. Coming into this season they lost 2 senior captains and their replacement is a veteran player coming back from an injury last season.
“Walik Albright will be the team captain this season,” Coach Brown said. “He’s a redshirt senior; he didn’t play last season because of an injury, but he’s a three year starter.”
“I had a broken jaw from the beginning of last season and had to sit,” said Walik Albright, 23, Psychology major from Jersey City, N.J. “But right now I’m a 100% and I’m ready to go, I feel good about being the team captain because I been around for years; I know the system and I know the players.”
Despite not playing much last season, small forward Albright stayed close with the team and got to know their strengths and weaknesses.
“We didn’t have a lot of veterans last year. Now we have more basketball experience; we got kids coming in from junior college, fraternities, and good freshman coming in and with the addition of Coach Madison he’s a great mentor.” said Albright
Coming off a sensational freshman season where guard/forward Khalid Muhammad, 19, Business Administration major from Orange, N.J., averaged 15 points per game with 4.9 rebounds and shot 42% from the field and multiple accolades, Muhammad looks to improve on the success of last season and feels this year’s team is coming into its own.
“The defense of the team has picked up and we’ll play more together this year,” said Muhammad. “We have good chemistry and with the extra ear and extra eye Coach Madison brings, I think we’ll do well.”
Not only do these kids on the team have guys to look out for them on the court, but they also have coaches that can help them out with issues that happen off the court.
“Basically a lot of what these kids are going through both me and Coach Brown have been there,” Coach Madison stated. “We have the experience and we can help them out with any situation these student athletes go through.”
With the new season fast approaching, with some returning players, a new team captain, and the addition of a NJCU Hall of Famer to the coaching staff; just what can the campus community expect from these group of guys?
“On paper they pass the eyeball test, I think we’ll compete and be competitive; I don’t see it as a rebuilding year,” said Coach Madison.
Head Coach Marc Brown likes to first focus on the immediate goals for the team.
“Every year we have the same goals and the first goal is a winning season, having an over .500 record,” Coach Brown explained. “Second is to make a post-season appearance and after that win it all, we have a lot of new guys so it’s going to be tough.”
The Gothic Knights see their first bit of action in an exhibition game against the Saints at Siena College on Nov. 2.