In my quest to highlight the best Bergen County NJ high school basketball players that may one day be on Connecticut's recruiting radar: Here's another story on freshman Michelle Sidor as she scores 34 points including six threes in leading Saddle River Day to the Bergen County Championship and picks up the MVP award in the process.
H.S. girls basketball: Saddle River Day earns Bergen crown
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AMY NEWMAN/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Michelle Sidor, center, celebrating victory Sunday with Saddle River Day teammates.
MAHWAH — Eugene Sidor saw his youngest daughter Michelle throwing perfect football spirals in the back yard with her brothers and was like, maybe she should try a new sport.
"She had been playing soccer," said Eugene. "And I said, ‘Why don’t you try basketball? It’s a sport that you can use your hands.’ I knew she was athletic."
Sidor, now a freshman at Saddle River Day, used those hands to score 34 points and lead the Rebels to their first Bergen County basketball title Sunday with a 53-36 win over Immaculate Conception.
It looked like the first big chapter of what could be a historic career. From watching Sidor slice through the lane, finish with both her left and right hands, anticipate passes and make steals, and also deliver a few precise assists, North Jersey hasn’t seen anyone with her skill set in a while.
After Sunday’s performance at Ramapo College, it’s fun to speculate about what she could accomplish: 3,000 points? Four times as an All-County first-teamer? Saddle River Day, one of the smallest schools in Bergen County, may need to build a bigger gym.
"In sixth and seventh grade we knew that she was special," said Rebels coach Danny Brown. "And it was all her. Her passion is so far above anyone that I have ever coached, and her effort too. She has never left practice on time. I leave and she stays in the gym while the boys are practicing."
Sidor, 15, and the youngest of five children, was comfortable with the pressure put on by the Blue Wolves. She scored seven of her team’s first nine points in a game in which the Rebels never trailed. She also handled the postgame media crush with poise, her size 8 1/2 sneakers still tied, her red shirt still damp with sweat.
"It’s great to be a part of this," said Sidor. "To be a part and help a lot is really huge."
Sidor deserves many accolades, but she is far from a one-girl show. Brown has a core of seniors, including Dani McMahon, Kayla Oge, Kelly Hannigan and Carly Christofi, that has accepted Sidor and allowed her to flourish.
"That was one of my major concerns. What do you do when you have six to seven seniors and have three to four freshmen coming in — how will they embrace that?" said Brown. "But our seniors said, ‘We got this.’ They knew what could happen if they did, and what could happen if they didn’t."
Any coach of a girls team will tell you that chemistry is important. Boys teams can sometimes get along on the court even if they don’t off of it; girls not so much.
That type of welcoming environment is what Sidor was looking for at Saddle River Day. Four years ago she was at the Bradley Center when Saddle River Day played Newtown High School after the school shooting in that Connecticut town, and she knew Brown.
"I have always known Danny, and I played Gym Ratz [AAU program] and he was just an amazing coach," said Sidor. "I really like the way he coaches, and when all these freshman came in it changed the whole program around. I knew it was a great place academically."
Sidor plays for the iExcel AAU program out of East Orange in the summer. She said that has allowed her to learn what it’s like to go up against bigger players who are trying to intimidate her.
"She just loves basketball," said her father. "It’s just a passion for her. She just wants to do the best she can, and every time she gets to a certain point, she raises the bar and works that much harder."
And yes, colleges are already aware of Sidor, and she is aware of what is ahead. As long as Sidor is healthy and in uniform, the Rebels have to be taken seriously in Bergen County and in the Non-Public B bracket.
Sidor said she doesn’t keep a list of goals in her room, which is adorned with basketball posters. But what about these expectations? There were people in the crowd Sunday who came to watch her play, as word of her exploits spread; well, we are serious about Saddle River Day needing a bigger gym.
"It would be great to be all that stuff and be first-team whatever, but I just want to help lead my team far in the season," said Sidor. "Yes, I’d be happy with that stuff, but it’s really about my team.
"I’m just so happy we won this game. It means so much."
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