Spring IS8 Exhibition 4/27-Matt
Grasso
Tonight in
one of the most highly anticipated exhibition games ever at IS8 in Jamaica
Queens, Brooklyn Bridge took on last summer's #1 team in the country the
Long Island Panthers. Just like last night, #1 player overall in the
country Lebron James played alongside Sebastian Telfair, Chris Taft, Ramel
Bradley, Karron Clarke and the rest of the Juice Crew. The usual suspects
were in full effect for the Panthers. Their team consisted of Jason
Fraser, Charlie Villanueva, Curtis sumpter, Darryl "Showtime"
Hill, Taquan Dean, Tim Doyle, and new addition Villanova bound Allan Ray.
There was so much talent on this court that there was a little something
for every single fan to personally admire. Mr. James and Mr. Telfair made
a late arrival to this one, but they made sure to make up for it with
their game play. They both came out making great plays and setting up
their teammates for some tremendous finishes. The player that benefitted
the most from their unselfishness was Karron Clarke. This kid really
showed his skills tonight and that he can be a high energy player on the
next level. Syracuse and Georgetown are very high on him and for good
reason. He was picking the Panthers apart with his moves around the hoop
as well as his ability to finish in traffic which included a few
thunderous dunk. One of those dunks was a shot fake pass into an alley-oop
from Lebron. With all of these stars on the court, he was the one that
really stole the show. When you are on the court with players like Lebron
and Sebastian, you really have to keep your eyes on the ball at all times.
Another player who always keeps his eyes on the ball is Chris Taft. He is
always ready for the feed down low no matter what. he really took it to
Villanova bound Jason Fraser. Nova is one of the schools seeking out Taft
and imagine how dominant these two would be on the same team in college.
The Bridge went into halftime leading 52-40. The story was the same in the
third quarter as Lebron showed his uncanny ability to run the point. I
really feel that he put that sub par performance from the previous night
behind him. For a superstar, he is the most unselfish player that I have
ever seen. Lebron is so team oriented that he can be too unselfish. He
needs to realize that some teammates aren't on his level and that he
should finish some plays on his own. He will be a great point forward in
the NBA because he is also very strong on the boards. He can get you close
to a triple double every game. The Bridge built their lead up to as many
as 20 but that did not keep a certain player on the Panthers. Villanova
bound Allan Ray just joined the Panthers to participate in IS8 while
playing against them last summer as a member of the NY Ravens. Allan
proved that he belongs on this all star squad. He showed a vastly improved
ability to run the point which will most likely be his position in
college. He still has the knack for brilliance from behind the three point
arc. Allan is just a flat out winner. He has success wherever. He will
absolutely carry that winning attitude to Jay Wright's Villanova. Expect
them in the Final Four behind Allan and his fellow recruits in a few
years. With Allan at the point, the panthers slowly clawed their way back
into this one and tied it with 4 and a half minutes to go. The panthers
took control of it in the end behind the strong play of Jason Fraser on
the defensive and offensive ends. Charlie Villanueva put the exclamation
point on this one with two eye opening dunks to cap off the Panther's
impressive come from behind win 98-89. Charlie and Jason led the victors
with 22 and 18 points respectively. Karron Clarke put together an
extremely impressive 27 point effort along with 19 from Chris Taft. Lebron
James lived up to the hype nearly putting up a triple double with 13
points, 12 boards, and 8 assists.
Spring IS8 4/26-
Matt Grasso
Last night in front of a packed
house at the IS8 Jumpman league, the consensus #1 high school player in
the country Lebron James made an appearance alongside #1 ranked rising
junior Sebastian Telfair playing with Brooklyn Bridge. Mr. James is in
town doing a feature for Slam Magazine where he and Sebastian will appear
together on the cover. Lebron has had so much hype surrounding him for the
past year. There were talks of him entering this year's NBA Draft after
his junior year of high school. Well, last night was his chance to bring
it to the "8". He flew through warmups alongside Telfair who
showed off his new found hops to the huge crowd of spectators. This game
looked like it would be a blowout due to who their opponent was on this
night. The New York Skyriders were up for the challenge to play against
the two best players in the country. Senior guard Carl Benn of Lawrence
Woodmere Academy really showed that he can play with the best. He took it
at Sebastian the entire ballgame showing no intmidation at all. He has a
great handle as well as a great ability to hit the contested jumpshot for
an undersized guard. Everytime he took it at Sebastian, Bassie would do
him one better. Sebastian showed off that sick handle of his and his
amazing ability to see the court. As for Lebron, he did show he can pass
the rock hitting off the Xaverian's Chris Taft and Lincoln's Karron Clarke
for some dynamic finishes. The jumpshots did not fall for Mr. James, but
he did show he has the range. In my personal opinion, I just think he had
a bad game. He only scored 2 points, but he looked to make his teammates
better. That is what great players. As for the game, the Bridge pulled off
the narrow margin of victory winning by the score of 89-77. Carl Benn led
all scorers with a game high 25 points. Rapidly improving rising senior
Ramel Bradley led the way for the Bridge with 23 points, while Sebastian
contributed 20 points. Lebron will have another chance to prove his mettle
at IS8 as the Brooklyn Bridge will play an exhibition game against the
Long Island Panthers. There are some tremendous matchups in this one.
Lebron James versus Curtis Sumpter, Jason Fraser versus Chris Taft and
Darryl "Showtime" Hill against Sebastian Telfair. This game
starts at 7pm so don't be late to IS8.
CYP
Tournament @ Our Lady Of Mercy 3/25-Matt Grasso
Tonight at Our
Lady of Mercy School in Portchester, NY, The Riverside Church Hawks took on
the New Jersey Roadrunners for the CYP Tournament Championship. Riverside
brought a squad to this tournament as they do every year. They were
playing for their sixth straight championship in this event. Their cast of
players included Robeson's Gary Ervin, Grady's Quincy Douby, and All
Hallows's Ricky Soliver. Riverside was opposed by the Roadrunners who were
led by Villanova bound Randy Foye of Newark-Eastside. Riverside jumped out
to an early lead in this one due to their great athleticism and ability to
finish in the paint. Gary Ervin made a statement early on that this was
his game. He successfully slashed to the basket finishing with ease and
setting
up his teammates as well on occasion. Willie Irick a junior from
Teaneck did a great job for Riverside as well banging underneath and
finishing strong around the hoop. He got the Roadrunners' big man John
Kelly in foul trouble early in the ballgame. On the flipside, Randy Foye
had another tremendous game for the Roadrunners. They were down 13 at the
end of the first quarter,
but this didn't get him down. He came out fired up in the second
quarter and got their deficit down to single digits. He ran through the
Riverside defense and hit some difficult angle shots. He once again showed
me his ability to distribute the rock as he unselfishly passed up some of
his own shots in favor of his teammates The closest that they would get in
this ballgame would be 5 points because Riverside just answered every run
that the Roadrunners
would go on. Randy had a nice supporting cast that helped him out
tonight as well. Dave McSwane impressed me tonight. This was the first
time I had ever seen him play and he played very strong and knocked down
some big shots for his team. Pierre Mitchell also of Newark Eastside was
an assassin from outside as well. However, Riverside showed why they had
won this event for the past five years. They had a very talented team as
they do every year. The
most talented player out there was Ervin especially. He scored a game high
22 points on his way to MVP honors. Consequently though, the play of the
night went to his teammate Quincy Douby. Quincy had one of the illest
dunks I've ever seen. Gary lobbed him the ball and in one motion he threw
it on two defenders with one hand. The whole crowd went nuts when they saw
that play. Randy Foye played stellar in defeat with a team high 18 points.
Villanova is getting a dynamite player next year in Randy. Willie Irick
added 19 points and 10 boards for the Church while Peedy Nelson added 12
points. The score of this game was a lot closer than it looks as the
church scored some easy baskets in the end, while the Roadrunners
struggled to hit three pointers and get their own rebounds late in the
ballgame. The game was capped off with
another one handed slam dunk by Quincy at the buzzer. The Church won their
unprecedented 6th straight championship in the tournament's historical
56th year. The Sportsmanship award was given to Max Schaeffer of the
runner-up Roadrunners. All-tournament team honors were given to Gary
Ervin,Randy
Foye,Kelvin"Peedy" Nelson, Anthony Drejaj, and Quincy Douby.
CYP Tournament @ Our Lady Of Mercy 3/22-Matt
Grasso
Tonight at Our Lady of
Mercy School in Portchester,NY, the 2002 CYP Tournament tipped off. This annual
tournament is in its 56th year and is usually the start of the Spring AAU
circuit. It is also one of the last events that graduating high school seniors
are eligible for. it is a very small gymnasium with tough playing conditions in
terms of the floor. The out of bounds line and the three point line are the same
on the corners. Most of the best AAU teams from NYC and NJ are a part of this
tournament every year. In the first quarterfinal matchup of the evening, the
Bronx Gauchos took on Rodney Abrams of Westchester County. The Rodney Abrams
team featured such players as junior Jamaal Webb from Tuckahoe High School and
Chris Fleisher from Horace Greeley High School. The Gauchos came out in control
of this one in the early going behind the strong play of their stellar backcourt
consisting of junior Marlon Smith and his high school teammate on Archbishop
Molloy super sophomore Sundiata Gaines. These two players were both very
explosive and they really controlled the pace of the game. Marlon showed his
superior quickness in getting to the rack and setting up his opponents. Sundiata
benefited from the penetration as he was on fire from the perimeter. He knocked
down an unbelievable " 8" three pointers in this ballgame. It just
seemed like he couldn't miss. He was pulling up from beyond NBA range and
hitting nothing but net. This was a very big change for Yata as he was forced to
play down low for Archbishop Molloy. He's only 6'1'' and he belongs on the
perimeter. This games was definitely evidence of that. Rodney had no match for
the Gaucho's backcourt, but they did get within 8 points in the start of the 4th
quarter. Chris Fleisher seemed to get more comfortable on the court as the game
progressed. He wasn't used to the aggressiveness of city basketball, but he
started to adjust throughout the game. Johns Hopkins gets a solid player in
Fleisher at the Division 3 level. My #1 ranked junior Jamaal Webb had a bit of a
hard time getting used to the speed of the city game. He had a lot of
opportunities but he wasn't able to convert a lot of easy baskets. His medium
range jumper wasn't dropping like it usually does. Jamaal is playing with
Connecticut Flame traveling team this summer, and he will get another
opportunity to play against that kind of competition. The Gauchos held on for a
convincing 80-59 victory Sundiata Gaines led the way for the Gauchos with an eye
opening 31 points while Marlon Smith added 15. Chris Fleisher and Jamaal Webb
paced Rodney Abrams with 17 and 14 points respectively.
In the second quarterfinal matchup of the evening, the
New Jersey Roadrunners led by Villanova bound guard Randy Foye took on Don Pedro
which consisted of some of the best Westchester has to offer. Players such as
division one prospect Rashard Turner from Peekskill High School, Holy Cross
bound Kevin Highland of Stepinac High School and Dino Dwyer and Shonte Sasser
both from White Plains High School. The roadrunners came out opening an early
6-0 lead behind a three pointer a piece from Foye and Fairfield bound Dewitt
Maxwell. Don Pedro evened up after a couple of baskets by Dino Dwyer. Don Pedro
kept this one close throughout the first half but the Roadrunners were just too
strong. Fairfield is getting a very highly skilled player in Maxwell. He is a
very good slasher and he is able to hit an in between shot as well. Randy Foye
was silent in the first quarter but he made a big impact in the second period as
the Roadrunners opened up a sizeable lead. Coming into this game, I doubted
whether Foye would be impressive in distributing as well as scoring. It turns
out that I was very wrong. He did a nice job rotating the ball to his teammates,
and he also managed to do a great job of putting the ball in the hoop as well.
Anthony Drejaj from Seton Hall Prep was a player who popped out in my mind in
this ballgame. He has a very a good jumpshot and is also very solid handling the
rock. The Roadrunners were up 46-20 at halftime. Dino Dwyer was one of the lone
bright spots for Don pedro as he showed off his perimeter shooting skills. He
put up a team high 19 points in this game. There was a big battle waged on the
boards btween John Kelly of the Roadrunners and Kevin Highland. Kelly got the
best of Highland and he showed has the potential to play big time divsion one
basketball. It will be interesting to see how he develops. Randy was Randy in
the second half of this matchup as he shot lights out. He knocked down 7 three
balls in this one ad put up a game high 34 points in this ballgame. He helped
the Roadrunners reach the century mark in a 106-75 victory. Dewitt Maxwell put
up 24 points for the Roadrunners, while Anthony Drejaj added 18. The Roadrunners
will return to CYP to play the Gauchos on Sunday night at 7:15 PM.
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