Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year as an Season of Transition Unfolds Plus News and Notes

            First and foremost I want to wish whomever happens by my blog good but belated wishes for the Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.  The 2012 portion of the basketball season has been filled with off the court news thanks primarily to football driven conference re-alignment. As we enter 2013 that will continue to sort itself out on a local and national level. It effects local Big East schools such as Seton Hall and St. John's plus schools that have either already been or will be effected by the re-alignment of mid and low major conferences that will inevitably follow the shifting of the big boys.  If, for instance the "Catholic 7" are successful in luring Atlantic 10 powers such as Xavier and Dayton to a new league, that has consequences for A-10 member Fordham MACC and other conferences. Quinnipiac and Monmouth have already moved for example to the MAAC which effects locals Iona and Marist.  All this combined with the maneuverings of our pro teams and the high school season which is now in full swing as we get to January make for a basketball season that will be fun to watch and fun to cover.  I hope you will enjoy it with me as much as I know I will. Without further ado here is the first News and Notes edition of 2013.

Locals Open Big East Play Tonight In this evening's action Rutgers plays Syracuse , Seton Hall plays at DePaul and  St. John's plays at Villanova.  i can't help but think wistfully as the last year of what was a great league and a great happening for eastern hoops winds down.  Although I agree that the "Catholic 7" did the right thing by separating themselves from the remaining football schools, I'd feel a bit better if I heard something beyond rumor and gossip with respect to teams that might be joining the new league. As I have explained in greater detail in previous postings I am hoping for a basketball league that is a bit bigger than the current 7 teams but can go back to an old school approach where they play each other home and home during the regular season and still have enough games to schedule traditional rivals and tournament resume builders.

Knicks and Nets Stumble as New Year Begins The Nets suffered a crushing loss to San Antonio on New Year's Eve while the Knicks lost a close one to Portland at the Garden on New Year's Day. I must say for the Nets I can't help but wonder about the interest in Phil Jackson.  The team is talented but needs more, and one of the things it needs is young legs.  Hiring Jackson would almost certainly mean that player development will be of minimal importance to the Nets in the coming season and what could happen to the Nets is that even as they're capped out financially they could begin throwing good money after bad to get established players whose best days are behind them.  Please be careful, be smart and make sure you build a deep and balanced team Billy King. all of Brooklyn and indeed the Nation of Brooklyn which is spread throughout the country and the world wants to see you succeed. The Knicks and their fans must also be careful not to read too much into a loss to Portland in a game that marked the return of Damon Stoudamire to the lineup. Portland is the kind of team that can give them trouble because of their length, speedy point guard play and depth.  Damian Lillard is a clear front runner for Rookie of the Year honors and so this loss was more about getting beaten by a good club than it was about  any chemistry problems Stoudamire's presence in the lineup might cause.  Time will tell if the possible chemistry problems widely discussed in the media will become reality but more time is needed to know for sure

   

Local Hoops Lost And Found  From time to time when kids whom we've lost track of turn up on tv, on the internet or in box scores we will highlight them.  That happened twice recently; first when Joab Jerome, a former Xaverian player  who finished his career at Wheeler High in Georgia turned up in a Winthrop College box score with 16 points in an upset win over SEC rival Auburn. Jerome has steadily developed at Winthrop and now in this his junior year has become a starter and a steady performer for the   It happened again as I was watching old friend Max Good's Loyola Marymount play against an Ole Miss team that denatured  Derrlck Millinghaus formerly of Schenectady High. Following a year of prep basketball Millinghause is averaging just a shade under 7ppg for the Rebels.

Maine Central Institute Ends Post Grad Basketball I realize I am late reporting this story because it was announced last may but it is worth mentioning that the program my aforementioned friend Max Good built into a post graduate power at Maine Central Institute has ceased operation.  This is sad news for players who may have needed help with test scores or core requirements, and college coaches who wanted recruits to have a year of seasoning oerhaps playing their projected college position at the prep level.  MCI was a school that did things the right way and always maintained a great academic support staff to help the kids even as they changed coaches. Through the years many local kids including Erick Barkley (Christ the King/St, John's) Atim Browne (Cardinal Hayes/Lamar University) Lewellen Cole (Manhattan native and Providence College) Jamie Peterson (LaSalle High and Pittsburgh) and many many others played for the Huskies and most importantly got the help they needed in meeting the academic requirements for an athletic scholarship.  From top to bottom the school did a wonderful job helping many many kids.  The Huskies were an important part of the hoops scene for many years and will be sorely missed.