Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Happy New Year As Two Local Stars Make their Season Debuts

Two Local Players Make Season Debuts I have grouped these two events together for editorial purposes but specifically one (former Hayes standout Angel Nunez) made his season debut  while the other (Kansas State guard Jevon Thomas) made his collegiate debut. Nunez, who also prepped at Winchedon  (MA) Academy and began his career at Louisville played for his new team, Gonzaga, in their West Coast Conference season opening win against Santa Clara. He had 4 points and 3 boards in 13 minutes of action. Though his time on the court was brief and marked by tentativeness, playing him at power forward gives coach Mark Few a different kind of player at that spot than he's had in the past. It remains to be seen whether Nunez will be able to stretch the floor with his shooting but he will almost certainly be able to drive the ball against power players who have to guard him on the perimeter. On defense he gives the Zags a  potentially terrific option against teams that play "4 out 1 in" offense. Injuries and depth in front of him kept him mostly off the floor in his two years at Louisville but once he gets acquainted with how to compete at the college level he will be a key player for them as the season enters its home stretch in February and March.
As for Jevon Thomas I could not help but smile a little at the irony of him playing his first college game in Brooklyn, for Kansas State which blew out Tulane in game two of the Brooklyn Winter Hoops festival at Barclay's Center. Anyone who has read my writing at other now defunct sites or talked to me at games knows that Jevon's ability to pressure the ball and his pass first approach to the game have made him a favorite of mine. What's ironic about him playing in Brooklyn is that the route he took to college can be described gently as circuitous. It included stops in Queens (Bayside High) Long Island (OSNA) North Carolina (Quality Education) and finally Delafield Wisconsin (St. John's Prep). It also included verbal commitments to St. John's and Dayton before he sat out spring semester last year and fall semester this year at KSU.     Thomas' story could have easily had the typically sad ending that you hear all too often these days when a kid gets pulled in several different directions and loses focus.   But the minute he stepped on the court for the Wildcats, a  subway ride away from his Queens home, it became a story of perseverance and staying the course. In his 19 minutes on the court he scored just two points but gave KSU fans a glimpse of how he can help them with 4 assists and 3 steals in those minutes. The consummate point guard will likely need some time for the game to slow down for him but once it does look out. He will be very good.    That said he's already accomplished something special getting to Manhattan... Kansas that is.  Congratulations and good luck Jevon.



                                                                                                                                       

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Merry Christmas Plus Notes and Observations.

Seton Hall Gets Good News on and off the Court: The good off the court news is that leading scorer and former Seton Hall Prep star Sterling Gibbs' knee injury appears to be considerably less serious than it looked when he hurt it driving for a basket in last Saturday's loss to St. Peter's College. According to informed sources and his twitter account the injury is "only" a hyperextension and he could be ready for the Pirates Big East opener on New Year's Eve. The good news on the court is that freshman Jaren Sina was terrific filling in for as the Pirates beat Eastern Washington. The former Gil St. Bernard star scored 17 points and had 8 assists without a turnover in 35 minutes of action.
Congratulations to D'angelo Harrison: The star guard from Missouri City Texas arrived in the Big Apple with lots of hype and save for a brief suspension at the end of last season he has more than lived up to it. On Saturday his 29 points led the Red Storm to an impressive win over Horizon League foe Youngstown State. His first three pointer of the game broke the school's career record for 3 point makes.
More on Nathan Ekwu: On Saturday I wrote about the 6'8" senior in my game story recapping Cardinal Hayes' victory over Christ the King and now I'd like to add a bit to what was a brief scouting report. Both Ekwu and 6'9" junior center Akintoye Ojo, his countryman from Nigeria and now his teammate in the Bronx, have been described  "raw" and "unpolished" but for those who  watch games at the high school level take a closer look before jumping to that conclusion. Several parts of Ekwu's game are  quite polished including his shooting touch and  his defensive footwork which, despite his height and girth allow him to defend both on the perimeter and under the basket. Combine those things with great timing as both a rebounder and shot blocker, and a willingness to pass the ball and you have a guy who looks like a high major prospect. He may not have a go-to scoring move just yet but everything else is right where it needs to be.

 Merry Christmas Everyone To all who may find their way to this entry I want to extend wishes for a Merry Christmas and a great holiday season.  Remember to cherish family  both immediate and extended. That's  what makes life, and not just the holidays, a wonderful gift.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Familiar Faces and a Newcomer Help Hayes Run Past CK 69-48

              With all the internet chatter these days about the two newly eligible big men on Cardinal Hayes' basketball team it may surprise some observers to learn that a trio of familiar faces lead the way for the Cardinal as they sped past Christ the King 69-48 last night.
              Both Nathan Ekwu, a 6'8" senior, and Akintoye Ojo, a 6'9" junior both showed terrific athleticism and quickness for their size.  And Ekwu  was terrific as he and senior holdover Chris Robinson picked up in the second half where Shavar Newkirk and Mustafa Jones left off in the first two quarters. The two seniors, who are headed to St. Joe's and Central Connecticut respectively, triggered an efficient transition game for Hayes. And while CTK was hurt by the absence of Andre Walker due to a suspension and committed many turnovers, Cardinal Hayes deserves great credit for taking advantage of nearly every mistake. Jones' emphatic transition slam as the second quarter ended gave Hayes a 34-24 halftime advantage and was indicative of how the whole  half had gone for his team.  When Robinson scored two quick baskets to open the second half, the Cardinal were never  challenged.
              Jones will likely turn out to be a terrific player in the Northeast Conference and a great get for Central  Connecticut. After a fine junior season that saw him as a skilled but reed thin forward he is now wiry strong and where he sometimes  had trouble finishing in transition last year everything in this game was a strong take to the rim, including that thunderous dunk.
              Ekwu showed a strong frame terrific hands and good footwork on the defensive end, including the ability to guard guys facing the basket or in the post. CK's center  Adonis Delarosa was held nearly completely in check thanks to Ekwu's good work. He tied Newkirk and Jones for team high scoring honors with 14 points. Rawlie Alkins led CK with 18
              In a game that featured two of the CHSAA's top teams Hayes won the first round decisively but the Royals will change once  Walker and soph  Jarred Rivers return to the lineup. The Cardinal, with their strong  core plus talented additions appear to be the team to beat. for now at least.


Thursday, December 19, 2013

Record Setters Help St. John's bounce back vs USF

              St. John's got two things they surely needed from last night's  81-57 win over San Francisco. First and foremost, as D'angelo Harrison said, "Obviously our key was to bounce back",  referring to a Sunday's tough loss to Syracuse. "We wanted to beat the number 2 team in the country.  After the game we flushed it and took care of business in this game."
              Their efforts to put that game aside began in the locker room, where coach Lavin eschewed his usual pregame speech and called on the players themselves to talk about the keys to the game. "It (the idea to do that) came to me at about  7pm I've done it as a way to encourage leadership and have the players take ownership of their team."
              One of the things the players emphasized and executed was what Lavin called "the key take away from the game". And that was the ability to start quickly which had eluded them this season.
              The Johnnies moved quickly to a double digit lead, took a 43-31 advantage to the intermission and quickly bumped that margin to 20 thanks to a spurt triggered by Rysheed Jordan whose play improves every time St. John's hits the court.  He stuffed the  stat sheet once again with 10 points 4 assists and a steal. JaKarr Sampson, the team's steadiest offensive player had 14 points on 7-11 shooting. But it was a pair of record setters who ruled the day for the Johnnies. Harrison made 2-3 three point baskets to tie former JFK High star Willie Shaw's career record for three point makes. He finished with a game high 18 points.
              Then there's Chris Obekpa, who obliterated Walter Berry's single season record for blocked shot s last year as a freshman. His 4 blocks last night put him just 3 shy of former  Molloy standout Robert Werdan's career mark.
              In a game the Johnnies needed as much for their confidence as they did to improve their record, they put together several key elements; they started quickly, forced 21 turnovers, saw players like Jordan and Orlando Sanchez continue to find their stride, and had two players on the verge of school records continue to play solid basketball as they approached them. With just two games before the conference season begins, they seem to be in a very good place.


Monday, December 16, 2013

Just Fair Enough Syracuse Holds of St. John's 68-63

              Finding success is sometimes about finding a level of comfort. C.J. Fair, who finished the game with 21 points made the last six doing what he does best, shooting lefty jumpers from the right side, and helped lift Syracuse to a 68-63 win over St. John's at Madison Square Garden yesterday.
              For the first time since 1979 this was sadly not a Big East Conference game. But the sights and sounds of the game were familiar parts of the great rivalry; lots of orange and red in the crowd, the mixture of both cheers and boos whenever someone made a great play, and the attempts by one portion or the other of the crowd to rise up whenever their teams went on a good streak.
              As coach Steve Lavin pointed out yesterday's game had three such streaks.
"Syracuse played well for 24 minutes and we played well for 16", Lavin said.
Ultimately Syracuse won the game because their 24 minutes included the game's last four.
              The Orange built a 39-27 halftime advantage with the first of those streaks behind Fair and point guard Tyler Ennis, the Brampton Ontario native who prepped at St. Benedict's (NJ). He tied Fair and St. John's D'angelo Harrison for game high scoring honors with 21 points and, thanks to his speed, quickness and ability to get angles got to the rim and made things easy for his teammates when he wasn't scoring himself.
              Syracuse's advantage would have been even greater were it not for JaKarr Sampson, who scored the Johnnies first six points and was the first player for them to find scoring success in the area he likes best; in the key, ironically right in the middle of the long and active 'cuse defense. Harrison joined him as the  second half began with a short jumper a tip in basket and the Johnnies only three pointer of the day in 15 tries.
              The Johnnies would also rally from potential trouble when Sampson was forced out of the game thanks to his 4th personal with 12:15 left. But along with Harrison, St. John's own heralded freshman Rysheed Jordan attacked the zone for scoring opportunities. He finished with an early career high of 13 points but may have made his most significant contribution on defense.  As Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim  pointed  out the Johnnies did a much better job keeping Ennis out of the paint and relatively quiet until the game's closing moments.  His assist to Orlando Sanchez with 5:48 left gave St. John's a brief 60-58 lead. But Ennis would save his best work for the last of the game's streaks and it would ultimately proved decisive.  He assisted on Fair's last two baskets and made free throws that provided the game's winning margin. Jordan faltered just a bit perhaps because of stamina and Ennis who "doesn't play like a freshman" according to Boeheim took advantage of a small opening. That combined with St. John's poor execution and free throw shooting helped the cuse earn a great win. But the game may well have taught the Johnnies valuable lessons as they enter Big East play. They had several good moments but must get better at the start and at the finish in order to win in a league that will be difficult despite Syracuse's absence


Saturday, December 14, 2013

St. Francis Prep Grinds out a Tough 56-50 win at Xaverian

            In a game that swung back and forth for three quarters, St. Francis Prep, thanks to a  bit more experience, did a better job of taking care of the basics as they earned a tough win at Xaverian Friday night.
            Xaverian had some good moments, especially when they rallied from an 11 point deficit early in the second quarter to take a 27-25 halftime advantage.  Junior Sayon Charles, who finished with 13 points, provided the offensive spark while sophomore Dyonty Wisseh and freshman Zach Bruno provided the energy and quickness needed on the defensive end. Wisseh also had two terrific transition assists while finishing with 10 points.
            The Clippers held a one point margin as the game entered its final stanza. And that's when the Prep's senior leadership came up big. With the help of terrific execution down  the stretch they got the ball in the hands of their best shooters.  Senior Michael Fields game high 19 points included two clutch triples down the stretch. Fellow senior Shane Herrity provided a second offensive option while 6'5" Brian Haggerty, with his long arms and great motor earned extra possessions for the terries and kept the young Clippers from getting the stops they needed to grind out a win.

            St. Francis may not look as good as some teams on paper but with great coaching and a toughness that comes with seniors they already have two road wins in league play and will be a team none of the league favorites wants to see come playoff time.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Jason Brickman's Milestone and a Blast From hthe Past

Congratulations to LIU's Jason Brickman With an assist to fellow senior Troy with Joseph with 13:39 left in last night's 96-93 Blackbirds' win at N.J.I.T. Jason Brickman set a new Northeast Conference career assists record. In that game the speedy guard who's led the Blackbirds to 3 straight NCAA tournament appearances scored 21 points and hit a career high 5 three point shots. He helped the Blackbirds hold off an improving N.J.I.T. team for a big road win.
            Since former Blackbirds' coach Jim Ferry and current head coach Jack Perri brought the crafty and deceptively quick point guard to Flatbush from San Antonio Texas, he has provided an understated unselfish and underpublicized example of excellence to fans visiting the Wellness Recreation and Athletics Center. Brooklyn hoops fans should take the time to see a game in this his last season because both he and his team play some terrific basketball and are great fun to watch.

A Blast From the Past With Help From Jason It turns out that the guy whose record  Brickman broke is one of my favorite players from back in the day. I suspect not many folks remember that Marist College played in the Northeast Conference before joining the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. And point guard Drafton Davis, a crafty lefthander who played at John F. Kennedy High in the Bronx set the record for the Red Foxes in 1988. Many of those assists went to former Indiana Pacers center Rik Smits who starred at Marist before his long NBA career. Finally, one more piece of what some might call trivia but I call "historical context". When Davis graduated from JFK in 1984 he was one of two terrific but under recruited guards to come from the Bronx PSAL. The other was a 6'3" scorer deluxe from Adlai Stevenson High named Drederick Irving, who would move on to Boston University and a pro career that included a stop in Australia where his son was born. While only hard core New York hoops fanatics remember dad even the most casual basketball fans know his son, former St. Pat's (NJ) High and Duke star and current Cleveland Cavalier Kyrie Irving.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

St. John's Finds Perfection in Festival Romp over Fordham

              If St. John's players and coaches study the video of yesterday's smash hit debt at Madison Square Garden, a 104-58 win over Fordham. a pair of missed shots by their leading scorer D'angelo Harrison may be the source of some good natured teasing from his teammates. The first one came with 13:29 left in the first half and the Red Storm leading 13-11.  The second miss came with 1:05 left in the half with St. John's long having broken the game open with a 50-32 margin.
              In between those two misses Harrison and his teammates played perhaps as  perfect a stretch of basketball as has been played in NCAA annals. Their 22-28 shooting for the half was  reminiscent of the full game numbers put up by Villanova in their "perfect game" upset win over Georgetown for the 1985 national title. All their good work leaves coach Steve Lavin with a potentially tricky decision. Does he let his team see the video of that stretch to show them how good they can be when they "share the sugar" as he often says to the tune of 29 assists. Or does he hide the disc from the kids knowing that college basketball simply isn't supposed to be that easy.
              "We had everybody clicking today," said forward JaKarr Sampson. He along with fellow forward Orlando Sanchez successfully applied another one of the axioms that Coach Lavin quotes from the late John Wooden. Both guys repeatedly found "the nail" or the top of the key area for easy baskets or passing opportunities against  Fordham's leaky zone. Sanchez' big day included 8-10 shooting in route to a team high 19 points in what Sampson called his "coming out party". Sampson himself added 12 with perfect 6-6 marksmanship. Their efforts were augmented beautifully by Jamal Branch contributed 6 assists and along with freshman Rysheed Jordan continued the vital albeit statistically modest play that was vital to Saturday's win against Georgia Tech.
              On the defensive end, St. John's long and active zone proved  to be the perfect antidote for Fordham's 4 guard offense and in particular for Jon Severe. The freshman from Christ  the King helped the Rams briefly regain their footing when he broke a game opening 7-0 spurt by St. John's with a step back 3 pointer. From that point, St. John's defense on Severe was nearly as perfect as their execution on offense. Severe would not score another basket from the floor, finishing 1-21 with just 9 points. He entered the game averaging over 23 per game.
              "I feel for Jon he's a New York kid with a lot of hype and it was his first time at Madison Square Garden and he laid an egg," Fordham coach Tom Pecora said. But then, mindful of what a tough kid Severe is he quickly added, "I trust him. There'll be better days for him."
              St. John's scored 100 points in a game for the first time in 14 seasons as they raised their record to 6-2 heading into next Saturday's return engagement to MSG against Syracuse.




Friday, December 6, 2013

Have the Nets become "Knicks Redux"??

               I can still remember the conversations I had with my nephew and Godson Victor when the Nets' moves and coaching change came to fruition.  I, like most at the time liked them for the short term, and while I am normally skeptical of aging stars and short term fixes I liked this idea in part because I thought that the Nets could not wait to build through the draft since they needed to gain competitive footing quickly in this market. And even though I cringed when the trade for Gerald Wallace eventually cost them a chance to draft 6'10" uber athlete and Mount Vernon native Andre Drummond, it was still mostly if not all good to me. I did however leave the only one of my nephews who shares my love of hoops with one word of warning and I can only hope he'll vouch for me that I indeed sounded it  when he returns from visiting family in Africa. "Vic there's one thing about all these moves", I said.  "They will be quickness challenged teams that downsize and play fast or have quick guards will give them trouble."

              It's easy to see and say in hindsight now, but I was only touching on what's turned out to be a problem that is, for the foreseeable future at least, unsolvable because the draft choices given in trades with the Celtics, Hawks (for Joe Johnson) and the Blazers (for Gerald Wallace) will mean the Nets will not have a chance to draft the kind of young athletic guys needed to succeed at any time in basketball but especially these days when the game is officiated in a way that takes away many  of the tricks used by older players (arm bars, hand and hip checks etc) to guard younger quicker guys.  Most media types have already blamed the choice of Jason Kidd as coach for the problems. But Billy King's choices, and ultimately the choice of ownership to go for the bells and whistles of a quick fix are what will prove to be the team's downfall. Andre Drummond would look really nice as a shot-blocking, rebounding compliment to Brook Lopez under the basket at the Barclay's Center. Damian Lillard, whom Portland drafted with a pick garnered from the Nets would be a speedier less injury prone alternative to Deron Williams at point guard. The lesson to be learned, from ownership on down is simply to build as much as you can through the draft so that when opportunities come to add stars the team is ready to win. I know the hope in Brooklyn is that the worm will turn once players get healthy but for now it appears that they have made the same sort of mistakes the Knicks have made for years and left themselves in salary cap hell for at least two seasons. And oh by the way, that Carlesimo fella who got them into the playoffs last year despite a starting five that featured two non scorers doesn't look so bad either does he.