St. Paul Catholic High girls basketball standouts Janessa Gonzalez and Jade Udoh are in their final season together.
By KEVIN ROBERTS
That fact sits nicely with Ansonia coach Vince DellaVolpe.
“I joked with them in the pregame meeting with the officials, ‘This is it, right? No 5th year of eligibility, because I’ve had enough of the both of you for a lifetime,’” DellaVolpe said he told the senior captains before a 43-42 loss to the Falcons in Bristol on Jan. 17.
DellaVolpe is probably not the only coach who is ready for Gonzalez and Udoh to graduate. There’s also an admiration, however, for who Gonzalez and Udoh are as players.
“Janessa and Jade are two very special players,” Naugatuck coach Gail Cheney said following St. Paul’s 59-37 win over her Greyhounds in Bristol. “As a coach and as a former player, I’m watching (Janessa) make moves and I secretly want to clap for her because it was like, holy crap, that was a really good move. I know I can’t, but they’re both very special players.”
THE GONZALEZ/UDOH FILE
- Points/G: Gonzalez 18.3; Udoh 11.9
- Most pts.: Gonzalez 26 (vs. Oxford); Udoh 19 (vs. Oxford)
- Most reb.: Udoh 14 (multiple times); Gonzalez 8 (multiple times)
- Most ast.: Gonzalez 8 (vs. Naugatuck); Udoh 6 (vs. Oxford)
- Most steals: Udoh 9 (at Crosby); Gonzalez 6 (multiple times)
The pair have played together since they were freshmen, though Gonzalez missed half of her sophomore season with a severe knee injury.
“I feel like, now that we’re seniors, we’re so much more comfortable with each other. I think we have been for a while,” Gonzalez said. “We always are aware of where we are on the court together, and it’s easier for us to pass the ball and get one another open shots.”
“I think because we use each other well. For example, if someone is box-and-oneing her, I’m just going to screen for her and let her drive or shoot,” Udoh said when asked what makes her and Gonzalez so tough to stop. “For me, she tries to get me the ball inside. When she knows if she can’t get anything, give it to me. We just kind of go off of each other.”
Holy Cross coach Frank Lombardo was happy that his team’s defense held Gonzalez and Udoh to 13 points apiece when they met last month.
“They’re two All-State players,” Lombardo said.
Gonzalez and Udoh can both score. Each player has scored over 1,000 points in her career. Gonzalez reached the milestone during a 24-point effort in a Class S first round victory over Coventry last season. Udoh hit the career mark in a road win over Seymour this season.
What makes Gonzalez and Udoh special is they are much more than just scorers.
JANESSA GONZALEZ
“Though we held them to low point totals, they affected the game in other ways,” DellaVolpe said. “They are both great passers, both have great basketball IQs, and in my opinion the two most unselfish 1,000-point scorers you will find in high school girls basketball.”
For the record, Udoh had six points and Gonzalez four in the Ansonia game. St. Paul coach Joe Mone said the duo played “kind of a stinker” against Ansonia, but both responded in the Holy Cross game.
“That’s a sign of great players to come back and just do what they’re supposed to do,” Mone said after the Holy Cross game.
Udoh is a strong rebounder and can start the fast break herself because of her strong dribbling skills. Udoh can also pull up and hit a midrange shot or a 3-pointer on the break. Gonzalez can burn a defense multiple ways offensively, and she is a presence defensively with her ability to steal the ball. In a win at Sacred Heart, Gonzalez was moved into the post, where she showed her ability to score with her back to the basket.
JADE UDOH
“It’s the danger of it, because obviously she can shoot and drive, and she can post up,” Udoh said about trying to match up with Gonzalez. “I have a decent outside shot and can do the same exact thing, so if I can’t get in, then put her inside and kick me out.”
“I feel like Jade and I are hard to stop because we can both drive to the basket and shoot outside,” Gonzalez said. “Once they collapse on us, we have open shots outside and we have our other teammates who are able to make open shots when they get them.”
Mone, who is in his 25th season as head coach at St. Paul, noted how unique Gonzalez and Udoh are.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of great players over the years, but never two thousand-point scorers,” Mone said. “Their unselfishness makes it easy to coach both of them.”
There’s more to Gonzalez and Udoh than just what they do on a basketball court.
“I love how they both are fun-loving kids who not only share the limelight with each other but also with their teammates,” Mone said. “They’re both so easy to talk to and fun to be around. There’s never a dull moment with them always busting on each other and their fellow teammates. They’re both just quality kids who have a bright future.”
It’s that future for Gonzalez and Udoh that opposing coaches are looking forward to, because it means that they will no longer have to play against them.
