Former Point Beach Standout Mike Rotando Uses JSBL as Tune-Up for Bloomfield College

For many basketball players, the off-season summer training routine may be the difference in the season that they are going to have come the winter.

This summer, former Point Pleasant Beach guard Mike Rotando can be seen nightly running the point for Team Shore in the Jersey Shore Basketball League in Belmar.

For Rotando, who will be starting his college career at Bloomfield College this fall, the JSBL is a tremendous opportunity to play against some terrific competition.

“It’s pretty crazy to think about how good some of the guys in this league are,” said Rotando. “A lot of these guys were Division 1 players and some of these guys are professionals overseas. To get the chance to play against these guys is only going to make me and a lot of our guys better.”

The Jersey Shore Basketball League has been well known to feature terrific talented basketball players, including many Division 1 prospects and household names from the college game.

The likes of former Big East sharpshooters like Notre Dame’s Kyle McLarney, Villanova’s Mike Nardi and a variety of Seton Hall and Rutgers products, can be seen nightly tearing up the gym at St. Rose High School in Belmar.

Rotando, who considers himself a hybrid guard, has been getting the opportunity to compete against some of these sensational players on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball in the JSBL.

“It’s been a challenge for me and the rest of the team going against some of these really good teams,” said Rotando. “For me, I’ve really been working on trying to improve my defense and creating my own shot against bigger and better players.”

Point Beach Head Coach Nick Catania, in a recent interview, reflected on Rotando's progress during high school.

"Mike has really improved his game over the last few years," said Catania. "Since he came to play at Beach, he really worked hard at taking his game to the next level."

He said Rotando was one of the players helping the stellar Jarelle Reischel perform as well as he did.

"As great a player as Jarelle was, he had a lot of other guys who were able to help him out and all year Mike was one of those guys," said Catania. "I have no doubt that he'll have a successful collegiate career."

For Rotando, and the rest of his Team Shore teammates, they have had their growing pains against some of the older and more experienced teams in the JSBL.

“We really have no choice but to get better,” said Rotando. “We’re all really young, a lot of us are just 18. But all of us are going to have to step up if we are going to win some games.

"We know that a lot of people out there aren’t expecting much out of our team, but we’re going out there and trying to prove them wrong.”

Rotando is no stranger to a team surpassing expectations and achieving special goals.

The guard was a key contributor in the Point Beach basketball program’s renaissance.

The team compiled an 18-8 record and its season was highlighted by a trip to the Shore Conference Semifinals after the Gulls knocked off two-time defending SCT Champions Christian Brothers Academy 56-55.

The trip to the Shore Conference semifinals was the programs first since the 1960s.

Rotando averaged 13 points per game for the Gulls last season and was named an All-Class B Central selection. The point guard was second on the team in scoring only behind Rice-bound Reischel.

“My time at Beach taught me that hard work really does pay off,” said Rotando. “We worked hard in the gym, and I think that our senior class created a path for the other guys down the road to follow. Although we were disappointed that we were unable to win a Shore Conference or a State Tournament, we had a real good run.”

When the time came for Rotando to choose a college, he was drawn to the success of Division 2 Bloomfield College’s success on the hardwood.

“Bloomfield was a real good fit for me,” said Rotando. “ I felt comfortable with the program and the school. It’s a school with a winning program, they’ve made the conference finals four out of the last five years and I liked the idea that I would be able to contribute right away.”

The Point Beach product had also received scholarship offers from both Belmont Abbey and Pfeiffer University, and a preferred walk-on spot at Seton Hall.

Rotando, a natural shooting guard, only started playing point guard during his tenure at Point Beach. The experience of being able to play both positions will give the coaching staff at Bloomfield flexibility to use the guard at either position.  

“I only started playing the one in high school, and I got used to playing the point, but I’ve always been real comfortable at the two,” said Rotando. “Whatever the coaches need me to do, I’ll do.”