Werner flashes his old CBA moves in JSBL
Florida star thriving against better competition
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

JEFF GRANIT staff Shore Conference basketball fans are used to seeing Dan Werner dominate play from his days at CBA, and they have the chance to see it once again as he lights up the JSBL in Belmar this summer.

The high-arcing three-pointer. The fade away baseline jumper. The crisp pass that finds its way through traffic to an open shooter.

The authoritative rebound in traffic - all were familiar sights to Shore area basketball followers. Dan Werner was back in the house.

The house this time wasn't the Christian Brothers Academy's gymnasium, but the McCann Athletic Center on the campus of St. Rose High School, host to the Jersey Shore Basketball League. Werner was donning his familiar No. 23 playing for UBS Financial. And just like his days at CBA, the University of Florida forward was leading his squad (21 points) to a win this time over the defending league champions, USA Financial, 106-90.

"It's good competition, there are guys who have played in college and Europe," he said of his reason for playing in the JSBL. "Every chance I get to play in the summer I'll take."

There is one other reason as well.

"My family gets a chance to watch me play," he pointed out.

Like so many college players in the JSBL, Werner is using this popular, and competitive league which is in its 37th year, to hone his skills and become a better player. Werner, high school player of the year at CBA in 2006, is no exception.

"I need to get my shot off quicker and work on my all-around game," he said. "Coming out here and playing is all about conditioning."

Seeing Werner on a team with older college and professionally experienced players is a better indication of how good he is than anything he did at CBA. He is no longer a man among boys, as he was in high school, but there was no question who the best player on the floor was either.

For Werner, who was last seen by Shore fans carrying CBA on his back, it has been a whirlwind of a year. He comes to the JSBL with a national championship ring. He was a member of the Florida Gator team that became the first college team in 15 years to win back-to-back NCAA tournament championships.

"A year ago I was sitting at a desk at coach's (Ed Wicelinski) watching them cut the nets," he said. "Next year, I'm on a ladder cutting down the nets.

"At the end of the game (NCAA final) I was pinching myself, is this really happening?" he added. "It was great to be a part of it all."

Werner went to a team that had its starting five intact. It didn't lead to a lot of playing time for him, but practicing every day against players headed to the NBA was a daily clinic in and of itself. They taught him what it takes on and off the court to play Division I-A basketball.

"People don't know the half the things you go through, the 6 a.m. practices in the fall, working late on your shot after practice.

"The level of competition is unbelievable," he added.

Werner, who will be a sophomore this season in Gainesville, knows that his playing time will increase with the graduation of Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer and the other Gators. In a sense, he's sorry to see them go because of what it meant to practice with them every day, but in another sense, he knows it opens the door for him.

"I'm a basketball player, I want to play basketball," he remarked.

With UBS Financial, Werner is playing with a eclectic mix of teammates. There's Jason Westrol, who starred at Manasquan and had a solid freshman season playing for Bentley College in Boston, Mass. There's another ex-CBA star, Brian Lynch, who played at Villanova, and there is Billy Gilligan, a elder statesmen of the league, who starred at Red Bank Regional, Brookdale and Stockton before playing professionally in Europe.

UBS's win left them with the same 2-1 record as USA Financial.

USA Financial was led by ex-Colts Neck star Mike DeCorso, who recently graduated from New York University, where he helped lead NYU to the ECAC title this year, and former UPenn big man Adam Chubb.

Tim Begley, yet another ex-CBA standout, is currently playing in Germany, where his team is vying for the championship. The 6-5 guard, who was the Ivy League Most Valuable Player at Penn his senior year, is expected to join USA later this week.

The JSBL plays double-headers at 7:15 and 8:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The regular season ends on July 25 with the playoffs starting on July 30.