AAU Reports USA Today
10/22
Yesterday at IS8 Riverside met the Gauchos in the biggest rivalry in New York City and Youth Empowerment went against tbe Wolfpack.  The Gauchos started the game off well as they led 9-8 but Riverside would score the next 10 points and would never look back.  Riverside received great play from Wendell Gibson who scored 25-30 points and grabbed 15-17 rebounds.  Ricky Soliva also played well for the Church.  Donnie McGrath scored about 12 despite playing limited minutes.  He barely played in the 2nd and 3rd quarter despite being obviously the best player on the Gaucho team.  Shaun Wynn has greatly improved and should help Xaverian contend for the Brooklyn/Queens championship.  Sundiata Gaines showed he will be a great player.  He showed great heart, never backing down, he only scored 5 points but he should've played more.  It is obivious that Shagari Alleyne has to get stronger.  He was completely dominated by Gibson, and with games this year against Tyson Chandler and a likely matchup with the other 7 foot 300 pounder Desagana Diop of Oak Hill, Rice fans hope he gets stronger quick.
    The second game was a classic.  Youth Empowerment was able to take control early as Lenny Cooke was the only person who could get off early for the Wolfpack, scoring their first 10 points.  Roscoe Biggers dominated 1st half action scoring over 20 in the half.  Youth Empowerment was able to take a double digit lead but could not hold off the Wolfpack and trailed by 1 at the half.  The second half was dominated by Curtis Stinson and Roscoe Biggers on the Youth Empowerment side and Danny Artest on the Wolfpack side.  The Wolfpack were clearly a better team when a kid named Scotty from New Jersey was on the court instead of Brian Raimondi.  Scotty was the only player on the court that could contend with Roscoe Biggers.  Whenever Raimondi was on the court he had to guard either Biggers or Stinson and both ate him up.  Stinson made the same play everytime he touched the ball, going to the basket on the right side and if someone cut him off he spun to the middle of the lane.  In the final seconds Youth Empowerment trailed by 1 and it was Stinson who who scored to give them a 1 point lead.  Danny Artest was fouled and made 1 of 2 to tie the game.  The Wolfpack was able to get the ball back but they turned the ball over which allowed Luis Rodriguez to get an open court dunk to put YE up by 2.  After a weird play were Danny Artest slipped and the ball went out of bounds, and somehow the Wolfpack kept the ball, Lenny Cooke got the ball and layed it in to tie the game up with 1 second left.  Loul Deng took the ball out for YE and threw the ball the length of the court but the pass was too long and went out of bounds.  The Wolfpack had the ball under their basket.  Scotty went backdoor and was wide open for the layup but he slipped and the game went to overtime.  The first play of the overtime Stinson had the ball and was guarded by Raimondi and Stinson went right by him for the 2, prompting Pete Edwards to say not everyone can play at IS8.  From there on Biggers and Stinson put the game away.  Biggers ended the game with 39 points and Stinson scored 30.  Cooke scored 30 for the Wolfpack and Artest added 20.
10/9
Nike Riverside- Today was championship day at Nike Riverside.  The first championship game was Riverside vs. the LI Panthers in the 7th & 8th grade division.  The Panthers dominated the first half behind their pressure defense and great passing.  They led by 10 at the break, and the only reason they didn't lead by more is because of great play from Rory Hicks.  In the second half Riverside started to comeback when they finally started to get the ball to big man Tyrell Biggs.  Biggs dominated in the second half and brought Riverside all the way back.  For most of the 4th quarter neither team led by more than 2 points.  With 5 seconds left in the game the Panthers trailed by 1 point and had the ball, they didn't get a good shot and Riverside won the championship.  Chris Martin played well for the Panthers in the defeat.  Biggs was named the MVP of the game.
    The 9th & 10th grade game was a laugher.  The Gauchos dominated the big manless Abysinnian Church.  the Gauchos only ended up winning by about 15 but the game wasn't as close as that.  Shagari Alleyne dominated the game on the defensive end with 9 blocks, and had 12 points.  Ronald Ramon played well for the Gauchos finishing with 13 points.  Sean Banks had 9 points in limited minutes.  Alleyne was named the MVP.
    The final game was the best game, Abysinnian vs. Riverside.  Abysinnian led the whole first half, led by solid point guard play from Kendell Provet and scoring from Curtis Stinson  Abysinnian led by 9 at the break.  Provet didn't start the second half and Kenny Eusey who didn't play that much in the first half started the second half and the combination of the two brought Riverside back.  Eusey and Deshaun Warren both played great in the second half.  Riverside would take a 5 point lead into the 4th quarter.  Riverside would open up a 58-51 lead with about 2 minutes left but Abysinnian would not quit.  They battled back behind the shooting of Provet and inside play from Curtis Stinson.  The score was tied with Abysinnian having the final possession of regulation but Stinson could not get the shot to go.  In the overtime the teams would battle back and forth with neither team able to take control.  Once again Abysinnian had the ball for the final shot with the game tied and once again they could not finish and the game went to a second overtime.  The second half went the same way as the 1st overtime did with Abysinnian again having the ball for the final shot.  Norman Simmons (who earlier hit the game winning shot against the Gauchos to put them in the championship) had the ball for the final shot and he couldn't finish so the game went to a 3rd overtime.  Kendell Provet started the 3rd overtime off with a layup off of the tip.  But Kenny Eusey would answer and score 4 straight points giving Riverside a 80-78 lead.  Marvin McCullough grabbed the rebound off of a miss free throw and put it back and was fouled, he made the free throw to give Abyssinian a 1 point lead.  Tyquawn Goode would come right back to answer with a 3.  Abysinnian could not score on their next posession and they put big man Wendell Gibson on the line.  Gibson showed he's clutch by hittin them both.  Abysinnian again could not score and Gibson was sent to the line again and this time hit 1 of 2 to give Riverside a 6 point lead.  Provet despite playing on a bad foot was able to hit 5 3's includinga 3 to bring Abysinnian within 3.  Riverside took the ball out but could not get the ball past half court as Abysinnian caused the turnover.  The last shot of the 3rd overtime went to McCullough who could not connect on the 3 and Abysinnian fell short.  Kenny Eusey scored all of his 20 points in the second half and the overtime, and Deshaun Warren scored 17 in the win.  Gibson was named the MVP of the game with 16 points.  Curtis Stinson scored 27 for the losers and Kendell Provet added 17 in the game.  The move of the game came from Teddy Munford when he hit Kendell Provet with the Tim Hardaway crossover, he hit McCullough with the same move later in the game.   
10/7
Nike Riverside- The first game I saw, I arrived at late in the second quarter.  The game was between the Future Stars and Bronx Kings.  The Bronx Kings had a suprise player on their team, Sean Dantzler.  He turned out to be a negative factor for the Kings.  He tried to handle the ball against the Future Stars press but he was unsuccesful with countless turnovers.  While I was watching I only saw him score 3 points.  The Future Stars (Riverside B) ended up winnning the game by a score of 65-46.  The next game I saw was between Riverside and the Power Players.   The first half was very close with the Power Players getting contributions from a few different players.  Riverside stayed in the game behind 10 first half points from Timeke Mitchell.  Jason Wingate also played well until he was injured when he hit a  3 and was fouled, he didn't return after that.  Tyquawn Goode arrived to the game late and when he got in he dominated scoring about 15 points in 2 and a half quarters. Riverside would end up winning the game 72-62.  
10/1
Nike Riverside-  The Gauchos met Riverside B in a much anticipated contest especially since Russell Robinson was playing against the Gauchos.  Robinson seemed like he put a lot of pressure on himself to score 30 and usually when that happens you have a bad game and Russell did with just 7 points.  He started off on the right foot scoring the Church's first basket to help Riverside take a 6-2 lead at the end of a very low scoring 1st quarter.  The second quarter was a different story with Sean Banks taking over for the Gauchos as he scored 8 points in the quarter to help the Gauchos take a 21-20 lead at the half.  The second half started with Russell Robinson scoring 4 straight points to give Riverside a 24-21 lead but Ronald Ramon answered right back with a 3 to tie the game.  After that the game was pretty much dominated by Chris Bernard, Shagari Alleyne and Sean Banks who led all scorers with 20 points.  Bernard scored 6 of his 8 in the 3rd quarter and Alleyne scored 6 of his 10 in the second half.  AJ Price was the lone Riverside player in double digits with his 14 points.  The final score of the game was 53-42 Gauchos despite bringing their "D Game" as Coach Reggie Burke said.
9/23
Hudson Valley Top 100- I spent the day at Fordham University watching mostly D-2 or D-3 caliber players.  There were a few exceptions like Bobby Serafin, Chris Alesi and Kevin Draughorn.  Who are low to mid D-1 players are evaluations for some of the players that attended the clinic.
Chris Alesi 6'0 PG Xaverian- Alesi showed a great touch from behind the arc and got to the basket at will against the depleted competition.  He should have a good season for Xaverian this year along with backcourt mate Shaheen McNair.
Kevin Draughorn 5'7 PG Trevor Day- Played on a team with a couple of guys who thought shot first, second and third and then maybe another shot.  He took very few shots but almost every shot he took he made.
Bobby Serafin 6'4 SF JFK Catholic- He had a much better showing here then he did at Seton Hall last week.  He showed he can run the floor very well but because of his size and against the competition he faced you couldnt tell anything else about his game.
Bryan Browne 5'10 PG Mt. Vernon- Browne played excellent at the Hudson Valley Top 100, he showed a great jumpshot and a nice handle.  He may not start this year at but he will receive quality minutes.
Spencer Longmore 6'3 SF Rice- At Rice he will go unkown for his entire 4 years but he can play.  He may not be a division 1 player but he can definitely be an impact player on the division 2 level.  He has a nice stroke from the outside and is strong downlow.
Rocco Necotina 5'10 PG Lehman- He played good at the Hudson Valley Top 100.  He is quick has a good handle and is a good passer.  He should have a good season at Lehman.
9/16
Houp Group Top 100-  At an event like this the word team isn't really emphasized as much as the individual, unless you are present with your high school.  So on that note I will tell you about the players I focused on while I was at Seton Hall today for the afternoon session.
Chakiris McBrown 9th, LI Lutheran-  He played on team that most of the players could not make layups, but it was still obvious that Chakiris is going to be a great point guard with his pin point passing.  McBrown also showed that he can score in traffic and is a good on the ball defender.
Serge Clement 9th, St. John's Prep- In his first game he showed he is able to take his man off the dribble and finish when he gets to the basket against bigger defenders.  But in his second game he didn't look as good and also missed most of the free throws he took.
Mike Watson 9th, Rice- Watson showed the ability to score whenever he wanted to today.  He is strong enough to get a shot enough with defenders surrounding him and can beat his man off the dribble with his speed.
Aubin Scott 11th, Hempstead-  Scott has a great handle and can get by his defender.  But he is also a bit turnover prone, while I was watching him he had 3 turnovers in 1 quarter.  
Bob Serafin 12th, JFK Somers- In the game I watched him he didn't play well but also didn't get a lot of touches.  He also missed a few layups when he did get the ball.
Five Star Classic:  Riverside Church vs. NJ Roadrunners- This game started off like the Church would have little trouble disposing of the Roadrunners as they pulled out to a early 23-8 lead behind great inside play from Wendell Gibson.  The Roadrunners would not allow it, or more specifically Randy Foye would not allow it with his great outside shooting and his drives to the basket.  Foye ended the game with 26 points.  Riverside led at half 33-27, and would maintain a 6-8 point lead for most of the half.  Keydren Clark hit a couple of big 3-pointers in the second half to finish with 10 points and help Riverside pull out the 68-60 win.  Jason Wingate also played will for Riverside with 10 points.
LI Panters vs. TT Playaz Red- I really looked forward to this game because it was supposed to be the first time I would see Marlon Smith but once again he was not presence for a game that he was supposed to play in.  Early on it looked like the Playaz didn't need him as they were able to hang close with much more experienced Panthers team.  But by the time it was all said and done the Panthers had a blowout 72-55 win.  In the win the Panters got 16 points apiece from Kenny Adelake and Curtis Sumpter.