April 2005

4/30/05 Thanks to Coach  Andre (Dre) Edwards the Team Underrated profile is posted at the top on the team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

Regis senior forward Noel Mangan (Daily News first team Manhattan) poses with his coach, Kevin Cullen, DN's Manhattan coach of the year.	JFK's senior guard and Daily News' all city second teamer, Amaurys Fermin, picked up his trophy.	St Michael's sophomore, Anjale Barrett, and her father, Leon should be making this breakfast two more times.	Staten Island was well represented by 6-4 Doug Elwell (left and headed to Wagner) and 6-6 Steve Rossiter (right and going to Davidson).

4/30/05 News to honor city's hoops elite.

4/30/05 NY Post: Former Cardozo standout Theo Davis will attend Iowa State next year,

4/30/05 Tony Ramos: 'The 9th Annual Africa Park Classic will be having a coaches meeting on Friday May 6th,2005 in the Rochdale Village Comunity Center (169-65-137th ave. Jamaica Ny @ 7pm. We still have a few spots left. This year we have the following divisions: Boys 11u/13u/15u/17u/19u and Girls 11u/13u/15u. For more info contact me @ 718-825-1746 or Tournament Voicemail 718-219-1979. Email @ apc2005@u-zualsuspects.com.  Or visit our website www.eteamz.active.com/africaparkclassic.'

4/29/05 John P Miciotta: Thursday at IS8.

4/29/05 Thanks to Coach Sly Johnson the Manhassett All Stars' team profile is posted at the top on the team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/29/05 Tippy McTernan: Hofstra Gets Robert Hines, JUCO All-American.

4/29/05 Coach Tom Sampogna: 'There is a player flying under the radar in the Tri-State area and is now burning up the recruiting trails as of April. His name is Alejo "Baby Duncan" Rodriguez. He is a 6'7 junior out of Mount St. Michael Academy. He quietly led Mount to the CHSAA "A" title game this year and averaged 16 ppg - 10 rpg - 4 bpg. He was an All- Bronx selection this year. He got the nickname from an assistant coach at Marist College, when he went for 25 pts, 25 rebs and 8vblks in a win against the Oklahoma Elite out in Houston this past weekend. The kid wil be a Big East player if not an A-10 player by the start of the 2005-06 school year. Schools are buzzing already about his size, athleticism and overall court awareness. He is an honor roll student, 90 GPA at Mount, and has been visited or contacted by the likes of LaSalle, Stony Brook, URI, Marist, Iona, Rider, Fairfield, Siena, Longwood U., South Florida, St Bonnies, Albany and Villanova. His list of schools is only going to grow. I predict that he will be an All-City / All-CHSAA 1st Team selection next season. People should take notice of this kid before it's too late. He plays AAU ball for the Flame Unlimited 17U team and averages 17ppg and 12rpg through 3 tourneys.'

4/29/05 Daily News: It's hoops award time.

4/29/05 Breakdown's Top 25 Summer Teams includes # 5 the Gauchos, # 12 Metro Hawks, # 13 Panthers and # 20 Playaz Basketball Club.

4/29/05 Weekend schedule and results are on the Gaucho Roundball Winter Classic page.

4/29/05 Weekend schedule is on the Pro Style 2K 5 Winter League basketball page.

4/28/05 Metro Hoops All Freshmen Team includes Ashton Gibbs, Travon Woodall, Desmond “Solitary” Wade, Andre Birdsong, Dave Johnson, Nyrahn Smith, Eric Kessler, Eugene Teague, Jerrell Lewis and Dejuan Miller.

4/28/05 Coach Gary Charles: 'I want to congratulate the 17u New York Panthers for winning the Championship this past weekend at the Charlie Weber Capitol Classic. Before anyone gets totally confused , there were 4 different championship bracket at Charlie's. Here were the winners: New York Panthers won over Philly Hoops (60 to 50), GC Ballers won over Playaz Black (68 to 57), LI Lightning won over Squires Richmond (78 to 54) and Stamford Express won over Lynchburg Hoops (50 to 41). The Panthers went 5-0 on the way to the championship. We beat Philadelphia Lutheran in one Semifinal by 10 points, while Philly Hoops beat D.C. Assault by 3 points in the other semi. Derrick Caracter was the most outstanding player for the Panthers this past weekend, but he was not the only one that had a great tournament. Mike Davis, Vernon (Barry Buckets) Teel, Marcus Cox also were outstanding.

If you didn't already know, which I'm sure most of you already do, lets make it official - Lance Stephenson is a special player. Lance played in front of the college coaches liked a season vet. Remember now, he is still in the 8th grade. He did everything this weekend, including making 3's , passing, rebounding, and dunking.. Other players who performed well with the 17u were Rueben Gullandeaux, Christian Morris, Devin Ebank and Nathaniel Lester.'

4/28/05 Coach Tom Sampogna: 'The Flame Unlimited 17U team, formerly the CT Flame, is off to a great start this season going into this weekend's Westchester Elite Hardwood Classic at Pace U. They are currently 9-3 with great showings at the Houston Kingwood Classic in Houston this past weekend (4-1) round of 32, the Charlie Weber Capitol Invtl 3-1, robbed by Cecil Kirk and 2-1 start at the Playaz Spring Fling. The 17 roster is composed of Melvin Calhoun, playing while finishing up paperwork with Iona, 6'4 Jeremy Thomas, 6'7 Alejo Rodriguez, 6'9 Jason Walsh, 6'8 Preston Uwoghrien, 6'6 Kirk Williams, 6'4 Kevin Decker, 6'3 combo guard Tyler McFarlane, 6'3 combo guard Jay Hurt, 5'11 2G Sonny Faheyand 5'10 PG Mike Tomassi. The leading scorers are Kirk Williams at 22 ppg, Calhoun at 18 ppg, Decker at 17 ppg and Rodriguez at 17 ppg.'

4/28/05 Thanks to Coach Glen Steinberg, Rick Conover and Derek Page the Warriors' team profile is posted at the top and updates for the Central Jersey Hawks and Long Island Lightning are on the team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/28/05 Coach Paul Suber: 'Team Next 7th grade A.A.U. team won the championship at the Kingwood Classic Basketball Tournament in Houston, Texas this weekend (4/22 -4/24). We went 6-0 over the weekend against some very intense Texas teams (Arlington Swoosh, Houston Shock, Team Unlimited, San Ant. Magic, Kansas City Keys, ans Austin And-1). In the championship game we beat a very disciplined and fundamentally sound Austin And-1 team (62-49), (Top 3 team in Texas), who had just beaten the Unique AllStars (NY) in the semi-finals. It was a mental war back and forth for 3 quarters, until we switched to man to man full court that resulted in 4 or 5 quick steal buckets. In the 4th quarter the team finally got going with Steve Whittingham (21 pts), Davontay Grace (15 pts) and JayVaughan Pinkston (20 pts) leading the charge. DaShaun Wiggins and Aaron Brown averaged double figures throughout the tournament. Cory Edwards was our M.V.P. with some timely baskets and excellent defense in every game we played. Joey Imuzai was solid at the point guard spot. I would like to give a special thanks to Doron Lamb, our top newcomer for coming down to Houston despite all the trouble he and his mom had, missing flights because of traffic. Doron performed like a champ (28 pts, 18 pts, 10 pts and 4 stls) in three games to help us win the tournament.'

4/28/05 Rich Kosik: 'Another great high school season has come to a close with the release of the recent-All City lists from the New York Post, The Daily News and Newsday. Similar list have also been released across the Hudson in NJ and up in Connecticut. Applause to all the honorees, including "Coaches of the Year." Always good stuff to read about and reflect on another season gone by.

It remains disappointing to read that many recruitable student-athletes named who are obvious Div. I or Div. II players, have no schools mentioned that they are considering or are mentioning Prep School as their "possible" next destination. I have heard from coaches from both the CHSAA & the PSAL that they have returning Juniors and Sophomores in danger of becoming ineligible. The main reason why? They are actually playing in more games per week now, after the H. S. season, then at any time during the official season. First, I put the responsibility on the individual players. Tjey are in charge of their success and unless they work at it, their ultimate successes are postponed or lost all together. Secondly, the outside coaches must step up & speak out to their players to  wake up & if they're not listening to you sit their butts down! Leave them home for a trip or tell them not to come to a weeknight game or weekend game unless their academic responsibilities are taken care of.

Yeah, yeah, I know a lot of the two faced guys out there are annoyed that I bring this up a few times a year and it seems like a one note rap. If you feel that way, step up to me and tell me so next time you see me, I can handle it. Then, explain to me why you keep players out till past 11 p. m on school nights and don't get them back home till early Monday mornings of final exams week. Guess that win baby, win, mantra gotcha again. As long as I hear from kids with problems graduating, getting into college and prep schools promised but not delivered, Ole Booksnball will keep talking the talk until more people are walking the walk toward academic success in school and in life. Came across another great resource for players, parents and all coaches which is really a must read. Here's the link where you can get a preview of the book - Undefeated College Athlete - How to Go Undefeated in Your College Career. Lessons in it can be applied to being a success on the high school level. Remember, keep your passes sharp and your pencils even sharper.'

4/27/05 Mandy Murphy: Check the And 1, 2005 high school basketball championship page.

4/27/05 Metrohoops: AAU State Tournament Championship - 15U Division 2 - New Jersey Eagles win.

4/27/05 Jersey Journal: James Snow scores game-high 20.

4/27/05 Coach Jimmy Salmon: 'The $400.00 'Early Bird Special' registration fee for the 2005 Playaz Ball, which will be held this summer @ Seton Hall University on July 14-15, is over after April 30, 2005. The Playaz Ball is a "Live Period" Event for college coaches during the July evaluation period. The fee after this weekend will be $550.00. There is still room for 8 more 16U teams and 6 more 17U teams. For more information contact me @ 973-207-4346 or email me @ JimmySalmon67@aol.com.

The Blow-UP Tournament will be June 3-5, 2005. There has been a site change from FDU to J.F. Kennedy HS and Passaic County College both in Paterson and are only 5 minutes from each other. There are 3 brackets: 12U/6th grade - 13U/7th Grade - 14U/8th Grade.Two (2) teams are still needed in each bracket. The Playaz Basketball Club seeks the best competition in all of our events regardless of sneaker company affiliation. We pride ourselves on running fair, organized and competitive events.

Last but definitely not least, congratulations are in order to the Playaz Basketball Club's 13U team which won their 4 straight tournament. Last weekend the PBC 13U squad captured the NJ State Division 1 Championship. Congratulations to all our players and coaches: Reggie Satchell, Bernard Barrett and John James.'

4/27/05 Mike Neely: Congrats to Coach Wendell Stradford and Coach Charlie Girdano and the Staten Island Stingrays14u Blue team on making the D-2 Nationals in Coco Beach, Fl. The u14 Stingrays (Blue) went 5-0 in the Division II regionals. Saturday they beat the LI Lightning (Harkins) 60 -25 (with the younger Harkins scoring 12 of the Lightnings' 25), LI Lightning (Pujol) 60-36 and the St.Matthew Knights 64-41. Sunday they beat the 4th seeded Westchester Hawks 60-36 and the 3rd seeded LI Silver Bullets 60-44. The Stingrays were led in scoring by Mikayal Bradshaw, Chris Giordano, Victor Schettino, Tyler Stradford and Nick Acquino.'

4/27/05 Levet Brown: 'The Laurel Fire basketball team from Laurel Maryland will be in Ramssey NJ on May 12 and 13. We are looking for possible games in that area. Our teams are boys, 10u, 12u, 14u and 16u. I can be reached at levetbrown2@aol.com or (301) 758-4439.'

4/27/05 Thanks to assistant Lawrence McGugins the Ahead of the Game team profile is posted at the top on the team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/26/05 Ben Asher: 'Team Underrated Boys 15U team looking for scrimages over the next 2 weeks. Please call me at 516-817-3006 and leave a message or e-mail me at lihoops@yahoo.com if you are interested. We are preparing for the Southern Invitational at UVA. We are located on Long Island but will travel to anywhere in NYC.'

4/26/05 Galen Smith: 'After a decent debut at the Spring Fling (defeated Cecil Kirk and New Heights NYC, advanced to qarterfinals) Team NJ Elite took four teams to the Charlie Weber Capitol Invitational and represented New Jersey to the fullest. In the 17 and under division both teams made the quarterfinals and were scheduled to play one another. TNJE Blue who defeated the Gauchos advanced to the semifinal, where they loss a hard fought battle to eventual champ Richmond Squires in double overtime. The 17 and under teams got outstanding efforts from Atlantic City stars Frankie Turner and Darryl Johnson while Dasean Butler and Casieem Drummond also had a big weekend for the TNJE Orange squad. In the 16 and under division Team NJ Elite Blue which featured mostly 15’s lost to eventual champ Juice Allstars in the quarterfinal. TNJE Blue received standout performances from freshman Andre Birdsong of Burlington Township and Jarrett Mann of Middletown Delaware.'

4/26/05 Daily News: All-City Boys, High School Basketball All-Stars. All Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island.

4/26/05 Daily News: High School Basketball All-Stars include Levance Fields, Curtis Kelly, Kyle McAlarney, Jamel Jackson and Saiquon Stone.

4/26/05 Daily News: Top performances from Saiquon Stone, Curtis Kelly, Kyle McAlarney and Vernon Teel and top games.

4/26/05 Michael McLeggan, Nickelodeon Sports Foundation, Inc. (ironmanbasketball.com): 'There’s a bright spot on the NY basketball forecast. He’s one of the most talented players to come along in a long time, Nathaniel Lester. This kid is averaging 34 points and 8 rebounds a game. A 6’ 6” shooter from Brooklyn is tearing up the Nickelodeon Spring Men’s Pro-AM, and here’s the best part, he just turned 16. This in not the typical razzal dazzle NY player, he’s got a quick first step that he can finish off with a dunk or mid range jumper and shoots 3’s like lay-ups. Keep you eye on this kid, Nathaniel Lester, a sophomore at Brooklyn’s Canarsie High School.

4/26/05 Metrohoops: NJ AAU Championship -- 15 and Under Division 1, 13 and Under Division 2 and 10 and Under Division.

4/26/05 Greg Johnson: 'I watched the NJ State AAU tournament theses past few weeks and a kid I heard about named Khalid Battle (Summit Rams) played well in the 15-under Divison. He ran the court well and was a tremendus defender. Not sure on what school this kid attends but watch out for him.'

4/26/05 Tom Rennard: 'Team Jordan Tornadoes 13U boys placed second in the NJ AAU Division I State Tournament this past weekend at New Brunswick High School. Everyone associated with the team...parents and fans want to congratulate the boys on a job well done. Team Jordan battled some tough competition on their way to the Championship. On the first weekend of pool play they defeated the Central Jersey Hawks, Jersey Shore Lightning and NJ KBR to win their pool and advance to the semi-finals. This past weekend Team Jordan defeated the Jesey Shore Wildcats but fell to the Tim Thomas Playaz in the finals. It was a hard fought battle and everyone on the team contributed and played hard. Our roster includes: Steve Rennard, Kevin Boyle, Roy Mabrey, Joe Marciano,Wendy Joseph, Joey Kizal, Mike Marciano, Jarred Rogers, Alex Rosenburg, Frank Mitchell, Chris Gibson, Zach Dlabik and our youngest player Brendan Boyle. A special thanks to our Head Coach Kevin Boyle and Assistant Coach Joe Marciano on a job well done.We are in the middle of a successful 23-4 season . Team Jordan Tornadoes have earned a berth in the 2005 Division I Nationals in Memphis, TN. and are looking forward to the challenge.

4/25/05 Weekend results on the Pro Style 2K 5 Winter League basketball page.

4/25/05 “The Twins” Gauchos: 'After losing a disappointing quarter final game to the Metro Hawks at the NIKE Boo Williams National Invitational Tournament 2 weeks ago in Hampton, VA, and going 2-1 last weekend at the Charlie Weber Invitational in Washington, DC, the Gauchos bounced back with only 8 players this past weekend by going 8-0 and winning the championship at the 1st annual Next Level Ballers National Tournament in Dallas, TX.

In route to the championship, on Friday, the Gauchos opened up by beating The Dallas Slam. On Saturday, the Gauchos played 4 games, beating The Queen City Prophets, (Cincinnati) Team Florida, The Tallahassee Wildcats, and All Ohio Red. On Sunday in the quarter final, the Gauchos beat The Illinois Warriors, where we were up by 27 points at the half. The semi final contest was a 9 point victory against Boo Williams, (Hampton, VA) in which Vernon “The Ticket” Macklin, the 6’9” 215 lb. power forward ranked 5th in the country, was held to only 7 points.

The championship game was an all NYC final against the Metro Hawks. The first half was see-saw until Edgar Sosa (Rice) had to leave the game with severe cramps. Darryl Crawford (All Hallows) came into the game and immediately made his presence felt by hitting 11 consecutive points in route to his 22 points. Gauchos had a 9 point lead at the half. In the beginning of the second half, the Gauchos went on a run that was too much for the Hawks to handle. Before you knew it, we were up by 25. When it was all said and done, the final score was 87-53.

Tirrell McKenzie (Paramus Catholic) led the way with 23 points. His quickness, ball handling, and outstanding shooting sparked the Gaucho run. Kashif Pratt (Rice) was the “Glue” in keeping the team together. He always made a big play by getting a rebound, steal, block, bucket, and assist when we needed it. He also locked down some of the premiere players in the country with his defense. (Mike Colburn 6 points). John Gooden (Gunnery) was a solid force on the boards and contributed with his aggressive play holding Jonathan Mitchell to 8 points. Saiquon Stone (Xaverian) was phenomenal in powering his way to the basket from the block. Also, he was able to get to the basket and finish off the dribble at will. He was a problem against every team we played. Elijah Whitehead (Rice) fueled our team with energy and demoralizing dunks. Edgar Sosa (17 points) clearly the tournament MVP, returned to the game after being worked on by a trainer for several minutes, scored on a dunk that showed his will to win. His leadership, ability to score, and solid defense continues to show why he’s one of the top guards in the country.

Next for the Gauchos, the AAU Regional, Island Garden, May 6-8.'

4/25/05 Mike Neely: 'Champions of the Staten Island Stingrays Tournament Classic from this weekend: 11u LI Lightning 38, Brooklyn Patriots 32 (MVP - Patrick O' Grady, Bklyn Patriots); 12u Bklyn Patriots 38, NJ Tornadoes 37 in OT (MVP - Tarik Philip, Bklyn Patriots); 13u Westchester Select 61, St. Matthew LI 44 (MVP - Brian Voelkel, Westchester Select); 15u Jersey Wildcats 57 Bklyn Patriots 56 (MVP - Ryan Clement, Stingrays);  16u JKMBA 64, Stingrays(Eliot) 42 (MVP Lamont Stapleton, Central Jersey Jammers) and 17u Team Hornets 71 Stingrays (Gold) 51. A special thanks to all the teams that participated in our 5th Annual event. The boys played hard and most games went down to the wire.We look forward to seeing these teams and more at out next event.'

4/25/05 Coach Dana Dingle: 'I would like to congratulate the 17u Long Island Lightning-Dingle team for its performance this weekend in the Charlie Weber Capitol Classic for going 5-0 and having an outstanding tournament and bringing the championship back to New York. Beating a tough Richmond Squire team that won the championship the week before against New York Elite. The championship game was won by 20+. This weeks standouts were the entire team Corey Fisher, Justin Burrell, Darius Gabriel, Tyrone Nash, Brian Williams, Marquise Deans, Geddes Robinson, Nick Murphy, Tyrelle Hollaway, Scottie Druhan.'

4/25/05 Coach Antonio Cannon Sr: 'The 17u T.K. team captured the 7th Annual Necelina McDonald Spring Classic championship last night @ IS 275 (Thelma J. Hamilton) located at Rockaway Blvd. and Linden Blvd, Brooklyn. The team went 3-0 in pool: Game 1- we defeated the Rosdale Trailblazers 68-53 Jermine Brown led the way with 17 pts, as Shameir Williams had 11pts for Rosdale. Game 2- Defeated the N.J. Trailblazers 59-47.Justin Davis was high for us with 15 pts & 13 rebounds, while Daquan Phillips 13 pts. for N.J. Blazers. Game 3- Defeated Team Boston YABC 71-61 Antonio Cannon, Jr. chipped in 13pts & 6 assists as. Anthony Thomas led Team Boston with 24pts. Elimination rounds: Game 1 defeated the Brooklyn Rams 50-48 Justin Davis  had 19 pts. Game-2 defeated Metro Hawks 62-50 Kevin Huggins 16pts & 12 rebounds, Deytwan Hill chipped in 16pts. Hakiem Gooding 12 pts for Metro Hawks. In the championship we defeated Midnight Express in overtime 75-70 Perry Opong led the way with 17pts all in the second half and was named the MVP of the game. Tyrike Francis 28pts. for Midnight Express. Great job by Mr. & Mrs Rob McDonald and the entire staff.'

4/25/05 Coach Dre'  Edwards, Team Underrated: 'On April 23rd was a start of a good day for Team Underrated 15u team which beat Montebello 48-25 to advance to next week semi-finals in the Almighty Force Tournament. We were led by a balanced attack with the Butler twins (Brandon & Billy) combining for 21 pts, 10 rebs, 8 assists, 6 steals and only 2 turnovers. Christian Prisco, Team Underrated's 6'4 8th grader had 4 pts, 6 rebs, and 4 blocks. Christian did a fantastic job on Montebello's best player by holding him under his averages in points and rebounds. Matt Grogan gave us a big boost in his comeback with 8 pts, and 5 rebs. This was the start of a good day, Team Underrated 16-under team played their first game in the Almighty Force Junior Division and won a sloppy game 51-39. We were led by Anthony Parris 15 pts, 4 rebs, and 4 assists, Andrew Ayodeji had 14 pts, 7 rebs, and 3 assists.'

4/25/05 Thanks to assistant coach Hasani Stewart the Juice All Stars' team profile is posted at the top on the team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/25/05 Anthony Nicodemo: 'The Westchester Hawks 16 and under select team did well this weekend, finishing 3-1 at the DC Hoop Fest in Washington, DC. The squad went 3-0 in a tough pool defeating the Richmond Squires (VA), Black Topp Sports (SC) and the Connecticut Select 46-42 to clinch the pool championship. Jahrine Jones (Mt Vernon) led with 13 points while Kwamel Sledge (Spring Valley) and Rashawn Johnson (White Plains) each chipped in 10 points. In the quarter-finals the Hawks suffered a tough setback to the Tim Thomas Playaz. Jones led with 15 while Sledge scored 12. Jamel Crowmartie (White Plains) and Matt Rose (Spring Valley) also had a solid weekend. Next weeked the team will play local, participating in the Westchester Elite Spring Hardwood Classic.'

4/25/05 Roberto Diaz, NYC Finest 'Yesterday at Pro Style, our senior 19u squad took on Abyssinian for our 4th game of the season. Derek Williams led the way with team high 30 pts, while the younster 10th grader Akeem Brightman added 19 pts. Preston Bell chipped in 18 pts and Rodney Lewis contributed 16 pts for the 90-79 win and 3-1 overall record. Chris Noel had team high 31 pts for Abyssinian'

4/24/05 Thanks to Zena Oliver the Philadelphia Patriots' team profile is posted at the top on the team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/24/05 NY Post: All-CHSAA team includes Curtis Kelly, Chris Bethel, Levance Fields. Kyle McAlarney and Saiquon Stone with Jack Alesi as Coach of the Year.

4/24/05 NJ Hoops: Boys Club moves into 15 under AAU finals.

4/23/05 There are no games at IS8 this weekend but the  game summaries for the second week at IS8 (another 14 games) are now on the IS8 Spring Classic page.

4/23/05 Thanks to coach Antonio Cannon Sr. and coach Dana Dingle the TK Allstars' team profile and an update for the Long Island Lightning 17 under squad is now listed at the top on the team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/23/05 Weekend schedule is on the Pro Style 2K 5 Winter League basketball page.

4/23/05 NYHoops: CHSAA All-City Teams includes Player of the Year Curtis Kelly, Kyle McAlarney, Levance Fields, Edgar Sosa and Saiquon Stone.

4/23/05 Journal News: Locals named to all-state boys basketball team - Geoff McDermott of New Rochelle, Randy Wilson of Peekskill, Tyrell Thompson of Kennedy, and Eric Mingo of Martin Luther King, Jr.

4/23/05 NJ Hoops: Central Jersey Hawks advance in quarterfinal action in the state 15 & Under AAU Tournament.

4/23/05 Coach Sal Routolo, Hooptimes: 'Anyone looking for good Queens basketball should go over the St. Matthias in Ridgewood this weekend (58-15 Catalpa Avenue). There is a full slate of 7th grade games scheduled for Sunday starting at 12:30pm. Players Brandon Smith at St. Adelbert, Norm Roberts from St. Matthews, Anthony Jones from St. Gabriels, Anthony Hoffman from St. Pancras, Patrick Berndt from Holy Trinity, Ben Tockashewsky from St. Mel and Trevor Bernie from St. Matthias will all play during the day. Mike Bernie should be commended for his work on the tournament.'

4/23/05 Coach Antonio Cannon Sr: 'The T.K.Allstar 17u team played its first pool game at the 7 Annual Necelina McDonald competition defeating the Rosedale Blazers 68-53. Jermaine Brown led all scorers with 17pts, Justin Davis 12pts, 10 rebounds, Kevin Huggins chipped in 12pts, and 5 rebounds. Shameir Williams lea the Rosedale team with 11pts. The competition is being held at JHS 275 located at Linden Blvd. and Rockaway Ave. Brooklyn, NY. For further information on the week-long competition contact Mr. Rob McDonald @ 917 533-7465.'

4/22/05 Jim Fox: New York Metropolitan District Championship results for April 15-17 are on the New York Metropolitan District page.

4/22/05 JoAnn Arbitello, Director: 'Positive Direction Wildcat Basketball is hosting a tournament June 3rd, 4th , 5th - 3 games guaranteed - $250.00. Boys and girls teams welcomed. Boys 9u, 11u, 12u and girls 10u, 12u, 13u. Trophies for each age group. All games played at St. Clares and MS226 gym. St. Clares is located at 137-25 Brookville Blvd. Rosedale and MS 226 is on Rockaway Boulevard and 121st Street in South Ozone Park. For more information please call me at 347-865-7769 or 718-463-2739 or email at posdirball@aol.com.'

4/22/05 Terence Johnson: '1st Annual Union County vs Essex County All Star game. The Union County vs Essex County All-Star game (New Jersey) will be held at The Chris Gatling Center in Irvington NJ on September 24th, 2005. Incoming 6th,7th and 8th graders are eligible to participate in the event (grade as of Sept 1st, 2005). The games are being brought to you by Terence Johnson from the Save our Children Mentoring program and Vincent Robinson of Basketball Academy. For more information and to nominate a player, send an email to terenceplfd@comcast.net or vincentrobinsonbasketball@yahoo.com. Nominations are being accepted now.'

4/22/05 Mike Melton: 'On May 27-29 Metrohoops will be hosting the Memorial Invitational Tournament at Rutgers University. The age groups are 10U thru 15U. The competition will be legit so bring your horses. For an invite contact me by email at mike_melton@metrohoops.com or by phone at 732-339-1215 (office) or 609-532-5122 (cell). Don’t miss out on this exclusive event.'

4/22/05 Lawrence McGugins, 917-868-5816: 'Ahead of the Game tryouts on 5/7. Time: 12PM-2PM sharp! Who: Boys 10u, 11u, 12u. Where: : I.S. 218, 370 Fountain Avenue, Brooklyn. Directions: *(A/C) train to Euclid Ave. stop, take the 14 Bus to Fountain Ave. *(3) train to New Lots Ave. stop, take the 15 Bus to Fountain Ave. Must bring a completed school medical clearance form authorizing you to participate in sports. Website: leaguelineup.com/aotg.'

4/22/05 Metro Hoops: Charlie Weber Capitol Invitational Notes - class of 2006.

4/22/05 Metro Hoops: Charlie Weber Capitol Invitational Notes - class of 2006.

4/22/05 Big Apple Sports: - JUCO report on  Jerome Richardson.

4/22/05 Jersey Journal: Youth basketball -- School 41 edges Armory Bulls and Michael Rosario, Kumar Davis star in AAU tourney.

4/21/05 Thanks to Rob Engemann the Jersey Shore Warriors' team profile is now listed at the top on the team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/21/05 There are two lists on the class of 2005 page. The first list is for those seniors who have not committed; the second for those with known commitments. Please send email to nycnjhoops@aol.com for updates and we'll move players from one list to the other. 

4/21/05 NYHoops: All-Long Island Teams. And 2005 PSAL All city.

4/21/05 Metro Hoops: Charlie Weber Capitol Invitational Recap -- Team Odom Brings Title Back to Big Apple.  Charlie Weber Capitol Invitational Notes -- Class 2007 and Class 2008.

4/21/05 Coach Rob Moses, Queens Blackhawks: 'Julius Mcfadden has shown a lot of improvement since last year. He is a smart and a very polished player. He has a strong drive to the basket and a good sense for the floor as he is able to find the open man on the floor. Julius has a great jump shot aside from being a good FT shooter.He works hard on both ends of the court. He has also shown to be able to step up his game when his teammates need him the most. He is one of the main reasons the Blackhawks are anywhere near successful. He will be a great basketball player if his game continues to improve. Julius is a very coachable player and also a good student at Newtown High School. Look for him to have an impressive summer with the Queens Blackhawks and a break out year with the Newtown Pioneers. He will be a senior next year and I expect him to be one of the top players in PSAL. Keep up the good work because all your hard work is not being unnoticed! '

4/20/05 Coach Bill McNally: 'Poly Prep Summer Varsity Team Festival: June 20-22. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday- 6:00 p.m.- 10:00 p.m. All teams play two games each evening. Limited space. Call me at (718) 836-9800 X 349 or bmcnally@polyprep. Past participating schools have included: St. Edmunds, Msgr. McClancy, New Utrecht, Xaverian, Xavier, Loyola, Collegiate, St. Mary’s, Horace Mann, Chaminade, Fort Hamilton, Cathedral Prep, Bishop Ford, New York Friends, Trevor Day School, Lindenhurst, Hackley, Berkeley Carroll and Nazareth.'

4/20/05 Jimmy Salmon: 'The Paterson Division of Recreation is sponsoring a HS boys pre-summer league. Games will be on every Tuesday and Thursday beginning June 3, 2005 and played at Don Bosco Tech and will not interfere with the busy month of July. Teams will play 7 regular season games and all teams will advance to the play-offs.The championship winner will receive 20 pairs of adidas at the beginning of their HS season for the 2005-2006 school year. Other awards will be given at the conclusion of the league as well. The season will conclude on Thursday night June 30, 2005. League shirts will be provided and entry fee is $125.00; teams must also bring $30.00 a game for the referee. Play-off officials are free. For more info contact basketball coordinator Jimmy Salmon @ 973-321-1313 ext. 3311 or 973-207-4346 ( cell phone).'

4/20/05 Coach Torrel Harris, Unique All-Stars: 'The New York Metropolitan District Championship qualifying games took place last weekend (4/16-4/17) at Island Garden Sports Facility in Hempstead, L. I. The Unique All-Stars Boys 13 and Under were on the scene and ready for action. Unique went 5-0 playing some very competitive teams (two L. I. Lightning teams - Annessa Sports, Rising Stars and New Heights). All weekend the competition was building but, Unique pulled out a win in very close semi-final game against New Heights. It was Unique's determination to win that left New Heights out of the finals. It was in the second half and Unique was down by 9 points with 3:50 minutes left to go in the game. Tobias Harris (25 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assist ) stepped up to the plate in the last 4 minutes of the game, scoring two crucial 3 pointers. It was his layup and then making 2 out of the 3 free throws that brought the team into range for a win! Then there was the steal by "PJ" Patrick Walter and a nice sweet lay-up by Tobias Harris. Still Unique was down by 1 when "PJ" Patrick Walters (13 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals , 3 assist) stole the ball with only 24 second left in the game and then scored the victory for Unique All-Stars.

Paul Bilbo (12 points, 15 rebounds 7 blocks) otherwise known as "the Beast" on the team scored a very important basket in the final minute of the game. His rebounds and layups were also key in keeping Unique in the game. Kendall Harris, Tyler Harris, Ti'one Brown, Denzel Sanders, Ashir Nelson and Terry Banks all gave a great effort in this victory.

I was so proud of the team and their determination to win, they never gave up, they played like true champs. We are Unique, and so are each of our players and we have a unique way of grooming and training our young men. We look forward to meeting Team Next on the court May 30, for the NY Metropolitan Championship game. Unique All-Stars will be traveling this weekend to the Houston, Kingwood Classic in Houston, TX April 22-26, 2005.'

4/20/05 Joel Shapiro, Coach New Heights/ MS113: 'This past weekend the M.S.113 boys basketball team won its third consecutive Bronx public school championship. The game was a rematch of last year's amazing title game between M.S. 113 and M.S.301. The game was played at a sold out Columbus high school. M.S. 113 was led by Delton (Big Boy) Johnson and Stephon Patterson. Both players play for New Heights in AAU and are two of the top players in the incoming freshman class. M.S. 301 was led by the amazing Steven Whittingham and Cornelius Johnson. Whittingham is an incredible talent, and he is only in the seventh grade. M.S. 301 came out to an early lead as the Owls of 113 looked a bit too excited early on. Whittingham ended the first quarter with an NBA range three point shot. As the defense started to key in on Stephon (20 pts. 9 asst. 8 reb.) and Delton (23pts. 11reb.) they used their third all star, Darin Evans, to expand the defense. Darin hit three clutch three pointers in the second half to extend the lead to as high as 12 at one point in the fourth quarter. With two minutes to go Stephon went down with a knee injury and 301 cut the lead down to three. However Delton Johnson and his teammates held on for a 60-56 win. M.S. 113 improved their record 51-3 over the last three years and three straight championships in the most competitive and successful middle school league you will find in the city. It was a great final and both schools and communities should be proud.'

4/20/05 Hasani Stewart: 'This past weekend the Juice Allstars 17's and 16's traveled to Washington DC and competed in Charlie Weber Capitol Classic. It was a very productive event for our players and our program overall. Not only did both teams win their respective pools but they also advanced to the championship game. However, the 17's lost in championship against Cecil Kirk while the 16's beat a tough Garner Roads NC team. The standouts this weekend and players that raised their stock were Jamel Jackson, Anthony Brown, Kevin Menner, Nick Leon, Kevin White, Tyrone Cooke, Darren Duncan, Brandon Walters, Phil Jones, Marvin Roberts, James Mills, Wayne Turner, Rich Parker, Brian Crowder, Devon Peterson and Sheldon Brown.'

4/20/05 Coach Dre' 'On April 19, L.I. Buckets 14U won their first game in Team Underrated Spring League against Team Underrated 38-27. Buckets were led by Azfar Khan with 11 pts., and numerous assist, Jahi Fields had 9 pts and Jerome Floyd had 8 pts, that included 2 3-point shots. Team Underrated was led by Wayne Booker with 6 pts., 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. We are still looking for 2 more teams for the girls 11U. You can contact me at 631-664-6751.'

4/20/05 Mike Neely (917-667-8907): 'I have two opening Staten Island Stingrays tourney this weekend! I will discount. The 12under B division game times would be Saturday 3:05 pm and 6:20 pm Sunday 2:05pm with the championship game at 5:10pm. The 13u game times are Saturday 5:15pm, Sunday 4:14pm and 6:20pm with the championship game 7:30pm. All games at Tottenville HS.'

4/20/05 Robert Cates: 'Anybody who was wondering about the poor turnout at the Jordan classic should look into the outrageous ticket prices. Next time Jordan should should think twice about trying to fool New Yorkers. Those ticket prices weren't worth that much if he was playing. If it's a high school game then cater the prices to the high school kids. Not a good look for somene who was born in Brooklyn!'

4/20/05 :Thanks to Terence (t-bone) Johnson the MSU Skyliners' team profile is now listed at the top on the team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/20/05 Anthony Nicodemo: 'The Westchester Elite Spring Hardwood Classic I will take place next weekend, April 29-May 1. The schedule is now available at www.westchesterelite.com 80 teams will participate and due to the high level of talent, the 17 year old bracket will feature a "Gold Division." Some of the best regional teams will battle for the title including; NY Ravens, South Shore Warriors, Manhasset All-Stars, Rochester Area Players, CT Flams, Student Athlete Broncos, Westchester Hawks and Rockland Rockets. The tournament has sold out for the second consecutive year.'

4/20/05 NYHoops: PSAL Player of the Year: Vic Morris -- The Judge Speaks on Past, Present and Future.

4/20/05 Philly.com: Ryan Ayers closes chapter with Donofrio win.

4/19/05 Weekend scores are on the Pro Style 2K 5 Winter League basketball page.

4/19/05 Coach Carlton Screen (FYA): "Big Screen Basketball Classic" will take place at the Flatbush YMCA, from 10am to 4pm, April 25th thru April 29th. We have added Erasmus Hall HS. from 5:30 - 8:30pm to cater to some coaches' schedules needs. Age groups are 11U, 13U, 15U, 17U. Anyone interested feel free to call 718 434 0127 or 718 666 6534. I am sorry, that some people have emailed me, and I didn't respond,because they had a virus on that email and I have a virus blocker on mine. If you get a chance please give me a call. Our Junior team is still undefeated in Prostyle, we won on Saturday by forfeit.'

4/19/05 Coach Jimmy Salmon: 'The Playaz Basketball Club presents the Second Annual Blow-Up tournament; which will be held June 3-5, 2005. There will be 3 brackets: 12U/6th Grade, 13U/7th Grade and 14U/8th Grade. Due to construction at FDU, the event is being moved to John F. Kennedy HS and Passaic County College in Paterson, NJ. Last year's tournament drew teams from Maryland, Washington DC, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Don't be left out. For more information, please contact me @ 973-207-4346 or email @ JimmySalmon67@aol.com. As always with us, teams are selected on a first paid, first served basis.'

4/19/05 Booksnball: 'Congratulations are in order for John F. Kennedy's (PSAL City Champions) Amaury Fermin 6'1" guard, for his being named the winner of the Heisman PSAL-Wingate Award as the top boy's basketball player in New York City. Recently named ALL-City by Newsday & The Post. Amaury led his team to the PSAL Championship, March 13 at MSG over favored Lincoln.'

4/19/05 Coach Antonio Cannon Sr: 'The 17u T.K. Allstar Team opened its Elmcor Spring Madness schedule last night with a 63-54 win over Team Elmcor. Johnnie Barnes led all scorers with 15pts, Shaun Wiloughby chipped in 10pts. Brian Gilbert led Elmcor with 16pts. The Elmcor Gym is located at 108th Street and Northern Blvd. For schedule information contact Coach Will @ 718 651-0096 or 347 731-1770.'

4/19/05 Thanks to Coach Rob Moses the Queens Blackhawks' team profile is now listed at the top on the team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/19/05 Newsday:  'The 35th annual Sports Foundation City Basketball Games will be tomorrow at John Jay College in Manhattan. The game is a showcase for city players seeking college scholarships. The girls game will be at 6 p.m. and the boys game at 8 p.m. Among the participants in the boys game are Emilijano Kinaj and Stephen Malcolm of PSAL champion John F. Kennedy, Elson Pickering of Frederick Douglass Academy, Darian David of Monroe, Preston Bell of Long Island City, and Anthony Clarida of Springfield Gardens.'

4/19/05 Tippy McTernan: 'Big Apple Sports: www.eteamz.com/bigapplesports -- The 9th Annual Big Apple Junior College Exposure Games were conducted on April 16, 2005 at John Jay College in New York City. The event featured 100 top student-athletes playing in front of more than 65 coaches and scouts from schools and scouting services across tthe country. The top 12 players, selected by a vote of coaches attending the event, played in an all-star game held at the conclusion of the daylong event.

The players selected to the all-star game were as follows: Anthony Pimble, a 6-6 small forward. . . Phil Murphy, a 6-5 combo guard. . . Elson Pickering, a 6-7 power forward. . . Jamel Potts, a 6-4 shooting guard. . . Devon Sullivan, a 6-7 small forward. . . Brian Johnson, a 6-3 wing guard. . . Steven Jackson, a 6-4 swingman. . . Akio Charles, a 6-5 small forward. . . Ricky Smith, a 6-2 shooting guard. . . Preston Miley, a 6-0 combo guard. . . Cameron Benison, a 6-6 power forward. . . Gerald Rasberry, a 6-7 combo forward.

This annual event was conducted in conjunction with the EKB Classic held the following day at the Dunn Center in Elizabeth, NJ.

Any coaches wishing additional info on players or to obtain a tape of the event may e-mail tmcternan@hotmail.com.'

4/19/05 Coach Paul Suber: 'New York Metropolitan District Championship qualifying games took place this weekend (4/16-4/17) at the Island Garden Sports Faciity in Hempstead, L.I. The Team Next 7th and 9th grade teams were both in action. The 9th grade team went 4-0 beating some very good freshman teams (L.I. Lightning - Goldman), Trottrts, "Chase the game" and L.I. Panthers in which Team Next won 57-55 advancing to the semi-finals on May 30th. The 7th grade team won their pool (L.I. Lightning -Alas), Metro Haeks, L.I. Lightning- Fisher), Gaucho's and Anessa Sports going 5-0, and advancing to the championship on May 30th against the Unique All Stars in a repeat of last years championship game. In the 7th grade semi-finals it was team Next vs. the Metro Hawks and it was exciting for the 1st quarter efore the Metro team fell apart due to intensed pressure put on full court by Team Next. Team Next won 92-63 and was lead in scoring by JayVaughn Pinkstin (27pts., 12rebs) and Steve Whittingham (24pts., 7rebs.); Isiah Morton led Metro with 14pts. On May 30th (Memorial Day) it will be Championship Day at Island Garden in every age group (12 & Under - 16 & Under) and all 3 (12U, 13U, 15U) Team Next teams will be in action aling with a lot of other great team so come out and support the kids.'

4/19/05 Coach Kenny Coard: 'Congratulations go out to Bronx native Damion Marshall, currently prepping at Berkshire School. Damion has signed a national letter of intent to play next year at the University of New Hampshire. Damion took care of business on the court and in the classroom!'

4/18/05 Ball Firm Inc: 2005 Jordan Classic Recap.

4/18/05 NJ Insider: Qa'rraan Calhoun To Complete H.S. Career At Prep School.

4/18/05 Jersey Journal: Youth basketball -- School 41 edges Armory Bulls. And Marlon Suber paves way as Heat tops Suns.

4/18/05 Coach Fisher: 'The Long Island Lightning-Fisher team Is seeking boys whose grade as of September 2004 was: 6th Grade: 12 and under- born on or after-September 01, 1992. Grade Exception: A player who is in the 7th grade and who was born on or after September 1, 1991. 7th Grade: 13 and Under-born on or after-September 01, 1991. Grade Exception: A player who is in the 8th grade and who was born on or after September 01, 1990. Date: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, May 02, 2005 through May 25, 2005. Place: Alden Terrace School, 1835 Central Avenue, Valley Stream, NY 11580. Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm. For information and questions contact me at (516) 285-4505, Coach Agnew (718) 978-1397 or via the web at www.coachfisher1.com.'

4/18/05 Thanks to Coach Roberto Diaz the NYC Finest team profile is now listed at the top on the team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/18/05 Metro Hoops: Hoop Group Top 100 Notes.

4/18/05 Roberto Diaz, NYC Finest - 'Yesterday in Pro Style 2k5, Tyrone Hester & our 16u squad took on the Gauchos and we were able to pull off the win 83-81. Michael Bruce led the way with a team high 28 pts, while Justin Duncan chipped in 16 pts, and Matthew Collazo added12 pts & Nayquann Mitchell contributed 9 pts, 12 rebs & 3 blocks. Cory White went to the free throw line with the game tied at 81 and 1.4 seconds left to sink both free throws for 2 of his 13 pts that iced the win. Dwayne Leach had team high 24 pts for the Gauchos.'

4/18/05 NY Hoops: Suburban Team Steals the Regional Game.

4/18/05 NY Hoops:  Ricky Torres & Herbie Allen, After Injury-Plagued Senior Seasons, Shine At MSG, Look Ahead

4/17/05 The game summaries for the first week at IS8 (14 games) are now on the IS8 Spring Classic page.

4/17/05 Ricky B.W. Davis: 'I saw the all city selections from Newsday on your website today and was confused by 2 things. First, since Levance Fields was picked for the Jordan Classic national game and is playing at Pitt next year, how could he possibly be left out? Second, with all due respect to the guards on the first team, in my opinion Edgar Sosa is clearly the second best guard (after Fields) in the city. Just my opinions.'  Web note:  This is my fault on Levance. Newsday had him in a separate story as NYC player of the year.

4/17/05 Thanks to Coach Tony Ramos and to Coach Joe Stein Jr. the NYC Orangemen team profile and an update for the Central Jersey Hawks is now listed at the top on the revised team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/17/05 Newsday: City, Island stars and honors.

4/17/05 Journal News: All-Star Shootout: Westchester makes name for itself in Chicago; Devon Austin, Tyrell Biggs, Geoff McDermott  and Chris Lowe lead New York to victory.

4/17/05 Chicago Sun-Times: Chicago squad pays for keeps.

4/17/05 Chicago Tribune: New York Team 102, Team Chicago 84.

4/17/05 Journal News: Jordan Classic: Pomona's JR Inman a standout at MSG.

4/17/05 Jordan Classic press release: Grey Jerseys Win the Inaugural Jordan Classic. Game To Air on ESPN2 on April 17th at 4PM Eastern.

4/17/05 Daily News: Jordan Classic helps Saiquon Stone sharpen skills.

4/17/05 NY Post: Long Island City's Preston Bell still chasing his college hoop dream.

4/17/05 NorthJersey: Hashim Bailey, Dion Sumblin could go prep.

4/16/05 ProBound, the HC Knights and and Long Island Lightning won the first three games at IS8 this afternoon versus Team Underrated (69-64), B'ballers (79-53) and Keep Your Dreams Alive (62-53) as the regulaar season is now half way done with 40 of 80 games played. (No games will be played tomorrow). The rosters are on the IS8 Spring Classic page.

4/16/05 Coach Glen Steinberg: The Warriors entered two teams in the Top Gun tournament last weekend. Our older team won the tournament going undefeated the whole way, playing well on that team was Mike Crisci, Tyler Harvey and Peter Drautz. Offensively, Mike Crisci led the way. Our younger team played two years up in competition and finished 4-0 in pool play, but lost in the semi-finals. A good finish playing that far up. Leading the way offensively were Jason Desimone and Joey Wood.'

4/16/05 Frank McCree: Liberty Academy Charter School's 5-5 dynamo Anthony "Cheese" Vega has been impressing the older players with his hustle and skills at The Jersey City Armory League. He will be playing sub-varsity at Saint Anthony High School in Jersey City.'

4/16/05 Thanks to Coach Jim Burke the Jersey Hot Shots' team profile is now listed at the top on the revised team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/16/05 Daily News: NBA can watch & wait on Levance Fields.

4/16/05 Philly.com: Seton Hall takes lead in Paul Gause recruiting contest.

4/15/05 Jim Fox: 'New York Metropolitan district championship results for April 8-10.

12 U Pool winners -- Pool 1 1st Place Next Generation 3-0 and 2nd Place Westchester Hawks -Donovan 2-1. Pool 2 1st Place Team Next 3-0 and 2nd Place Rockland Rockets 2-1. Pool 3 1st Place L.I. Lightning Dingle II 3-0 and 2nd Place Rising Stars 2-1. Pool 4 1st Place Team Odom 2-1 and 2nd Place Rising Stars-White 2-1. Pool 5 1st Place L.I. Lightning Dingle I 3-0 and 2nd Place New Rochelle 2-1. Semifinalists : Team Next defeated L.I. Lightning Dingle II and Next Generation defeated L.I. Lightning Dingle I. The finals for Next Generation and Team Next will be played on Mon, May 30.  

14U Pool winners -- Pool 1 1st Place Gauchos 3-0 and 2nd Place New Heights Blue 2-1. Pool 2 1st Place Team Roc 3-0 and 2nd Place Team Odom 2-1. Pool 3 1st Place Bingo All Stars 3-0 and 2nd Place New Heights Red 2-1. Pool 4 1st Place Rising Stars 3-0 and 2nd Place L.I. Lightning Buckets 3-1. Pool 5 1st Place Westchester Hawks Select 3-0 and 2nd Place S.I. Stingrays 2-1. Pool 6 1st Place Anessa Sports 3-0 and 2nd Place Rockland Rockets 2-1. Quarterfinals: Gauchos defeated L.I. Lightning Buckets, Bingo All Stars defeated Team Odom, Rising Stars defeated S.I. Stingrays and Team Roc defeated Anessa Sports.  The semifinals will be played on Monday, May 30th with Rising Stars vs. Team Roc and Gauchos vs. Bingo All Stars. The finals will also be played that day.  

16U Pool winners -- Pool 1 1st Place L.I. Lightning Buckets 3-0 and 2nd Place Rockland Rockets 2-1. Pool 2 1st Place L.I. Lightning Walsh 3-0 and 2nd Place tie L.I. Lightning McNeill 3-0. Pool 3 1st Place Westchester Hawks Holcomb 2-1 and 2nd Place B.C. Eagles 2-1. Pool 4 1st Place Anessa Sports 3-0 and 2nd Place NYC Jaguars 3-0. Semifinals: Anessa Sports defeated L.I. Lightning Buckets and L.I. Lightning defeated Westchester Hawks Holcomb. The finals: Anessa Sports will play L.I. Lightning Walsh on Mon, May 30.

Summary - 63 teams participated in three District Championship Tournament divisions. Every team that made it to the semifinal round will be qualified to participate in their respective Division I National Championship Tournament.'

4/15/05 Roberto Diaz, NYC Finest: ‘On Sunday 4/3 our senior 19u squad came from a prior season opening lost to Team Roc/Scan in the Pro Style 2k5 and took on Riverside and came up with an OT win of 65-60. Derek Williams led us with a team high 35 pts. Vaugh Mason led the way for Riverside with 12 pts. Last Sunday, we took on the Gladiators also leading to a victory of 68-64. Afam Muojeke led for us in this one with 30 pts as the rest of the team did also step up as needed in crucial situations to bring our current record to 2-1. Michael Davis was high for Gladiators with 25 pts. Our next game will be on Sunday April 24th vs Abyssinian at 8:15pm at Bronx Regional HS. Our 16u squad is being coached by Tyrone Hester and is 2-0. They will play the Gauchos next on Sunday at 3:30pm.’

4/15/05 Ed McEntee: 'I wanted to congratulate the St.Mary's Boys basketball team on a phenomenal season. Coach Tim Cluess deserves a lot of credit for building a program from scratch to a bational power. Being an alumnus of St.Mary's I was extremely proud of the way the players and the students conducted themselves on and off the court.'

4/15/05 Nathan Blue: 'William Harris has called Nebraska and asked to be released out of his letter of intent to the Big 12 school. Harris 18yrs old, will be attending prep school in fall of 2005. A prep school hasn't been chosen yet. Harris' reason for not wanting to go to Nebraska is he feels he was pressured into signing the letter of intent by his prep school coach who didn't allow him to take any other visits. Plus, he doesn't want to play college basketball far away from his mother in NY. Harris also told me that he didn't want to go to Nebraska. That was another reason why he was considering the 2005 NBA Draft. William Harris will be enrolled as a 12th grader and not a post graduate in fall 2005.'

4/15/05 Thanks to Coach Jeff Bishop the GC Ballers team profile is now listed at the top on the revised team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/15/05 Metro Hoops: Final Quarter Featuring Corey Stokes.

4/15/05 Courier News: Arthur Barclay one athlete we all should admire.

4/15/05 Newsday: Jordan Classic set to tip off.

4/15/05 Daily News: Draft-bound Andray Blatche blasts NBA as racist.

4/15/05 NY Post: Jordan Classic draws NBA execs - for now.

4/14/05 “The Twins” Gauchos:'We would like to congratulate Geoff McDermott on his decision to attend Providence College. The Friars are not only getting an outstanding athlete, but more importantly, they’re getting a young man that has all of the qualities to be successful in anything that he does. It was an honor to have coached Geoff this past summer. He’s a very humble, easy going young man that is simply a coach’s player. The Friars got the steal of the year! We also would like to congratulate David Sills on signing his national letter of intent to play at the University of South Florida. The exciting 6’1” combo guard will bring the New York flash and toughness to the Bulls. The Gauchos now have 5 players (4 from the same team this past summer) going to the Big East this season: Levance Fields - Pittsburgh, Jessie Sapp - Georgetown, Weyinmi Efejuku, Geoff McDermott - Providence and David Sills - University of South Florida. The Gauchos continue to provide the opportunities for the youth to excel.'

4/14/05 Recent scores and schedule are on the Pro Style 2K 5 Winter League basketball page.

4/14/05 Thanks to Les LaFrance the BC Eagles team profile is now listed at the top on the revised team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/14/05 The IS8 regular season is six weeks with two weeks already played. There are 40 teams, five in each of eight divisions. Details are on the IS8 Spring Classic page.

4/14/05 Journal News: Mount Vernon's Chris Lowe to sign with UMass.

4/14/05 Metro Hoops: Featuring Desmond “Solitary” Wade.

4/14/05 George Carlson: 'I'm just writing to talk about one kid who is an unbelievably hard worker. The kid goes by the name of Sean Johnson. He plays with Team Odom. During the Metro Regionals he posted 29 points on Rockland Rockets and had a 21 point performance against Coast to Coast. In the games he played power and small forward as an oversized guard. He has a good dribble and a pretty nice shot. Word is that he will be attending Christ the King next year.'

4/14/05 Abdu Torrence: 'The LI lightning Dingle 11U Team participated in the 12U metro regionals this weekend. The team went 3-0 in pool play beating LI Lightning Acosta by 16, Bulldog Athletic by 21, and the toughest game of the pool Rising Stars by 3. In the playoffs we played a very physical New Rochelle team with one young man who was a manchild on the floor. I didn't get his name but from what I heard this is first year playing basketball. In the semis, the 11U team faced a Team Next team that beating everyone by 50 and 60 points and beat the last team 67 to 17. We were down 13 points at the half and were down 8 with ten minutes to go. We ended up losing by 27 but gave a great effort and this will prepare us for our regional this weekend where I hear tough competition will there. The 11U team has been to the semis or championship in every tournament they have participated in. Metrohoops (Champions), Maryland Super Regional ( Runner-up), Baltimore Stars ( Semi's), and 12U Metro (Semi's). Good Effort to Nkerewum Okoro, Daniel Dingle, Roland Jerome, Jason Boswell, Kimari Murphy, Miles Davis, Kyle Anderson, Severio Ford, Myron Hickman, Rameek Richardson, Jamie Jefferson and Jamel Torrence.'

4/13/05 Rudy King: Right Bounce Basketball Showcase selections.

4/13/05 Metro Hoops: 15U Hoop Group Jam Fest Recap.

4/13/05 Jersey Journal: Youth basketball --  Michael Rosario, AJ Rogers star.

4/13/05 Many adults are impressed with 11 year old Hakeem Bilal Ali.

4/13/05 Shawn  McCray 'Applications are being accepted for the 7th Annual Zoo Crew Summer League held in Newark, NJ from June thru August only on weekends. For more information visit our website at eteamz.com/zoocrewbasketball or call 973-449-7324.'

4/13/05 Robert Cates: 'I would like to thank Hakeem Bilal Ali for his comments concerning out of control parents . It's a shame that it would take an 11 year old to address such an issue. My message to all the parents is: 'Please stop living your N.B.A. dream thru your child. If it's meant to be then it will happen.' If we as parents would put as much energy into the well being of our kids' education then and only then will the atmosphere at these games be a lot better.'

4/13/05 Nick Blatchford: 'Only a few spots remain for the New Heights/BBC Classic, scheduled for the weekend of May 20-22. There will be two boys divisions, 17/U and 16/U, and many of the top teams from throughout the region and country will participate. For more information, or to reserve a spot in the tournament, please call Tournament Director, Craig Alfano at Basketball City at 212.924.4040 x106 or email him at craig@basketballcity.com.

4/13/05 Coach Paul Suber: 'Team Next 6th Graders made their Metropolitan Area debut by pulling away from their opponents early in games and maintaining high levels of performance throughout the weekend going 5-0 in AAU Regional competition to advance to the Regional Championship on May 30th. Tavon Sledge and Shaquille Stokes shouldered the bulk of our scoring load by averaging upwards of 20 points each. Tavon Sledge with his quick hands and blinding speed was too much for opposing guards on both ends of the floor all weekend. Shaquille Stokes is a natural scorer who also proved to be a match up problem with his deceptive quickness and long range shooting. Josh Heyliger had a breakout weekend proving he can provide this guard driven team with an inside scoring presence. Jermaine Sanders showed his versatility by knocking down 3's, slashing for inside scoring opportunities, while most importantly leading us in rebounding. Chad Holley was the consummate point guard getting the ball to open teammates and taking advantage of his scoring opportunities when they came. Kevin Ware and Akil Andrews (5th grader) provided bench scoring and defense respectively. Deshawn Suber missed Saturdays' games for his Mom's wedding, but returned Sunday to provide outstanding long range shooting and interior post passing.'

4/13/05 Lawrence McGugins: 'Ahead of the Game player and graduate Javon Parris from Our Savior New American HS has signed with College of Charlston. Please join us in congratulating him.'

4/13/05 Thanks to coach Jimmy Salmon the Playaz Basketball Club team profile is now listed at the top on the revised team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/13/05 Journal News: Pomona's JR Inman ready for Jordan Classic.

4/13/05 Daily News: Gary Ervin exits Miss. State.

4/13/05 NY Hoops: 14U and 16U Playoff Results from Metropolitan AAU Regionals.

4/13/05 Philly.com: Atlantic City basketball standouts boast major-college potential -- Ed Keyes, Mark Crumble and Darryl Johnson.

4/13/05 Coach Rob Moses: 'The Queens Blackhawks are holding tryouts for our Spring/Summer basketball team. We are looking for dedicated and committed players with a competitive edge. All players must be between the ages of 15-17 and can not turn 18 in 2005. You must bring a copy of your birth certificate in order to try out. Tryouts will be held on Saturday April 16th 10:30 am at Roy Wilkins Park. For more nfo contact me @ QnsBlackhawks@aol.com or visit our web site www.Eteamz.com/QueensBlackhawks.

4/12/05 Hakeem Bilal Ali: 'I am 11 years old and I play AAU basketball on Long Island. The other day in school we had a current events discussion about the parent who shot his son's football coach. I was asked by my teacher do parents abuse coaches in our basketball league. Before yesterday, the answer was no. But today the answer is yes. At my game a parent who was keeping the scoreclock kept yelling at my coach the whole game using words that I'm not allowed to use. My coach tried his best to ignore her and keep his cool. After the game she still kept yelling at him and as he came over to talk to us, she threw a water bottle at him. I was sad that we lost our game but I was sadder that she threw a bottle at my coach, cause he is my dad.  To all the parents who go to games and behave badly, remember kids are watching you, you are supposed to be role models for us. It is our game not yours. You are there to watch not to be a part of the game. May peace be unto you.'

4/12/05 Journal News: New Rochelle's Geoff McDermott picks Providence.

4/12/05 Coach Tim Cluess: 'St. Marys/ Hoop Dreamzzz Summer League is now taking applications for their league. There are 3 brackets:A Division, B Division plus 35 and older Division. The League is sanctioned for Division 1 players. E-Mail me at THOOPS4435@aol.com for further details.

Hope everyone is doing well.'

4/12/05  Big Apple Sports: 'Jerome Richardson: A JUCO All-American.

4/12/05 Metro Hoops: 13U Hoop Group Jam Fest Recap -- 12U Hoop Group Jam Fest Recap.

4/12/05 Vinny Kabus: 'Early last fall Niko Scott made a verbal commitment to attend Columbia University. However Niko is still just short of his academic requirements by Ivy League standards While he is still in the process of achieving his requirements and it remains his goal to attend Columbia, he is now willing to explore other options.'

4/12/05 Coach Bobby Rahn, BC Eagles: 'Check out these two kids it will be well worth it. Jermaine "Greedy" Petersen fronm Anessa Sports, Brooklyn. He plays up for the 16 and Under team. He is only 15, in the 9th grade and is about 6' 6". He has a great body type for a wing. He can hit the three and is amazing around the basket. He has springs for legs and will rise up at any time. He is really fun to watch. Also, Terry Coleman of the O.C. Eagles, a quick guard from Orange County starting to pop up here and there. He is the cousin of nationally recognized track star Elzie Coleman of Mississippi and the younger brother of former Valhalla star, Tydrall Coleman. He is also plays 16 and Under. He has real quick handle, sometimes it looks like he has the ball on a string. He can aslo hit the outside jumper as well as the deep 3. He has some crazy hops, standing 5'10 and having a 40 inch verticle. These two kids are really a joy to watch play the game.'

4/12/05 Coach Jimmy Salmon: 'The Playaz Basketball Club took all 7 of its teams (12U thru open division) to the Reebok Jam Fest in Providence, R.I. this weekend (April 8-10). We are proud to post that all 7 of our squads made it to their respective brackets Final Four's. Our 13U, 16U and 17U teams won the championship in their division. Our 17U team was led by Earl Clark, Luis Guzman and Wayne Ellington each scoring 15 plus in the chip. Our 16U team was led by Corey Raji's 24 points in their chip, including 3 three pointers in the last minute of regulation for the comeback victory and our 13U team was led by Harold McBride Jr.'s 15 pts and Jayon James' 14 pts to seal their championship victory.

This was the second consecutive weekend that each of these 3 teams in our program played for a prestigious tournaments championship with our 13's and 16's bringing home the gold in both The Spring Fling and The Jam Fest.'

4/12/05 Coach Rob Rizzo: 'The Westchester Hawks U15 Select travelled to Providence this past weekend for the Hoop Group's Providence Jam Fest. The Hawks dominated their pool winning each game by 25 + points. That set up a first round playoff match-up against Boston's BABC. BABC opened the game on an 18 - 6 run, but the Hawks clawed back and had cut BABC's lead to 7 by half-time. The Hawks opened the second half on a 12 - 5 run to tie the game. The rest of the game was a war with each side creating turnovers on the defensive end and scoring big baskets on the offensive end. In the end, eventual Jam Fest champs, BABC, held on to win 55 - 53. Ray Mitchell, Kevin Drew, and Ketema Brooks turned in outstanding defensive efforts throughout the tourney, while Kevin Jones, Mookie Jones and Sean Kilpatrick carried the load offensively. Congrats to BABC on their Jam Fest title. Thanks to Rob Kennedy and the Hoop Group for running a great tournament.'

4/12/05 Abdu Torrence: 'The LI Lightning Dingle 12's had a good weekend at the Metro Regionals but lost to last years regional champions Next Generation. The 12's were the #17 seed in the regionals. The team ended up going 3-0 in pool play beating Rising Stars by 20, New Rochelle by 25, and Chase the Game by 28. In the playoffs they beat Team Odom by 10 to advance to the semis. In the semis it was a hard fought battle where the Lightning were down 10 and closed the gap to tie the game with 5 minutes to go in the second half. Eventually Lightning Dingle fell to a very good Next Generation Squad by 3. The 12's have also been involved in the semis or championship of every tournament they have been involved in. Metrohoops(semi's), Maryland Super Regional (runner-up), Baltimore Stars (runner-up), Metro Regionals (semis). Good effort to Ali and Ousman Barry, Derek Moten, Emmanuel Brown, Claudius Alabino, Nick Padgett, Sean Lawton, Kareem McCanty, Byron Washington, and Sterling Gibbs.'

4/12/05 Thanks to coaches Rob Rizzo and  Anthony Nicodemo the Westchester Hawks' team profile is now listed at the top on the revised team page with the other teams listed alphabetically. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/12/05 NY Post: Sources: Rices's Curtis Kelly is  a goner -- may transfer to Oak Hill (Va.) in the fall.

4/11/05 Coach Paul Suber: 'This weekend (8th-10th) the Team Next 7th grade team traveled to Los Angeles for the "adidas Super Showcase" hosted by Team California. The team went 4-0, beating some very good teams, (Sacramento Warriors, Seattle SGV, NJ Shore Lightning and T.G. Express from Texas, the #1, 7th grade team in the country, all by double-figures. In the championship game Team Next vs. T.G. Expres (2 time A.A.U. National Champions '03 -'04) it was a match up of the nation's top ranked players on both sides of the ball; T.G. Express had #4 ranked K.C. Ross-Miller and #9 Jackson Jeffcoat; Team Next had #10 Davontay Grace, #14 DeShaun Wiggins and #20 JayVaughn Pinkston. It was truly a dog fight classic with Team Next down 11 pts. midway in the 3rd quarter, before starting a late charge, led by DeSahuan Wiggins 23 points (3-3 pt'ers), Aaron Brown (2-3pt'ers), Cory Edwards and Davontay Grace's defense. JayVaughn Pinkston was saddled with foul trouble but still managed to get 17pt & 9rebs. Joey Imuzai was the glue that held it all together at point guard. We came back and beat the #1 team in the country (67-49). It was a hard and very satisfying win. I would personally like to thank the kids for all the hard work they put, because it's all about them!'

4/11/05 Coach John Sandberg: 'All Gym Ratz final in Garden State Slamfest 12U Division -- the 12u Gym Ratz (Sandberg) defeated Gym Ratz (Ozzy) in the 12U final at Hoop Heaven. Congratulations: Grant Hoffman, Gardiner Smith, Tom Landers, Zach Hodges, Brian Ventura, Matt Tobin, AndrewTolner, Ryan Hamilton, Tyler Ward, Al Hougbo-Gordy, Jonathan Medina and Matt Bunting. Also congratulations to Chris Ward of Gym Ratz (Ozzy) on a great tournament.'

4/11/05 Coach Sean Atkins: 'The Boys' Club of New York will be hosting a major summer basketball tournament on the lower East Side of Manhattan. There will two divisions (15U and 17U) and slots will be filled based on what organizations contact me first. We are looking for quality teams to fill the tournament. Please contact me @ 646-302-8039 or 212 677 1108 ext.152 or you can email me at satkins@admin.bcny.org. I look forward to a great event. All games will be played on Saturday’s beginning June 4th and ending August 6th. We are starting registration immediately.'

4/11/05 Jimmy Salmon: 'The Playaz are looking for post Memorial Weekend events for our elementary school teams. If any one has any info please contact me @ 973-207-4346 or Damon Wright @ 973-851-1676.'

4/11/05 Thanks to assistant coach D.R. Sharpe the New Jersey Roadrunners' team profile is now listed alphabetically on the revised team page. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/11/05 Coach Sly Johnson: 'The Manhasset Allstars won the championship in the 13.U division at the Garden State Slamfest I at Drew University this weekend. Congratulations to coaches Douglas Irby and Lamont Eddins for doing a great job with this group: Adam Epstein, Glen Gertler, Sean Henry, George Beamon, Glen Tompkin, Chris Williams, Mike Zissou, Eric Ptak and Danny Zucker. The 16.U team lost by 4 to the Connecticut Flames in the championship game.'

4/11/05 Anthony Nicodemo: 'The Westchester Hawks 16U select team had a great opening weekend, reaching the semi-finals of the Metro AAU Regionals. The Hawks took first place in their pool and defeated the NYC Jaguars 83-45 to reach the quarter-finals. Kwamel Sledge (Spring Valley) scored 20 points in the win and White Plains Rashawn Johnson chipped in 12 points. Although the Hawks suffered a setback to the LI LIghtning Walsh in the semis, they still were able to secure a spot in the AAU Nationals in New Orleans this July. Mt. Vernon's Jahrine Jones, White Plains' Jamel Cromartie and Rye's Liam McCabe-Moran also had a great tournament this weekend. The Hawks will take next weekend off before heading to Charlie Weber's DC Invitational the following weekend.'

4/10/05 The Post's All PSAL team includes player of the year Jamel Jackson (Lincoln, 6-2 sr. guard), Amaury Fermin (JFK, 6-1, Sr. guard), Vic Morris (Cardozo, 5-11, Sr. guard),  Steve McKoy Jr.(FDA, 6-4, Sr. forward) and Vernon Teel (Flushing, 6-3, Sr. forward) with JFK's Johnny Mathis as coach of the year.

4/10/05 Daily News: What do your kids think? We talked to teens to get answers on steroids & the pressures of H.S. athletics.

4/10/05 Coach Paul Vigoda, MS 216 Queens: 'C.H.A.M.P.S. Middle school basketball league is the first city wide middle school basketball league ever which has 120 boys teams participating. Those interested in attending any games should contact their regional supervisor of physical education for their regions schedule. In Queens (region 3 and 4) in the first game of the season, MS 216 defeated a very game IS 208 52-47. Stephon Hodges continues to impress crowds, he carried MS 216 with 27 points and 10 rebounds.'

4/9/05 Philly.com: Cape-Atlantic all-star games today.

4/9/05 NorthJersey: Gerald Inman picked for All-State first team.

4/9/05 Pete Edwards: 'IS8 - I will send the schedule tomorrow if nothing changes tonight.'

4/8/05 Metro Hoops: Youngsters Splash at Spring Fling.

4/8/05 Chase The Game Boys AAU basketball tournament April 30 - May 1 at Fordham U. and Manhattan College.

4/8/05 John P Miciotta: Wheelchair Classic championship recap.

4/8/05 Newsday: Wheelchair Classic -  Grady's Derick Echols struts his stuff

4/8/05 NJ Hoops: Essex stars hold on 93 - 92 over Hudson.

4/7/05 Metro Hoops: Coach of the year -- Lou Grimsley. All Sophomore Team.  And year end awards.

4/7/05 Jersey Journal: Arthur Elam highlights Hudson-Essex game.

4/7/05 Jeffrey Attard: 'King of the Hill is getting ready to start it's first spring league. League will be held at I.S. 5 located in Elmhurst, Queens. Everyone will play 6-8 games plus playoffs. Age Groups : 10u, 12u, 14u Boys and girls. We will work around your aau schedule to the best of our ability for us to have a fun exciting league. Entry Fee is $15o with shirts included. $100 if you have your own uniforms. Entry fee does not uncluse referee fees. Email Jeff at jef210@aol.com or call 347-865-1026.'

4/7/05 Booksnball: 'Just came across a flyer about the upcoming Jordan Classic, Saturday, April 16 at MSG. Don't know who advised them about these prices, but am I the only one who thinks they are way too high? Tickets are priced at $85, $50, $35, $25, $15 and $10. The original Super Six (January 1996) at MSG had a limited number of VIP seats at $25 and everything else was $10 & under. Are they inviting students at discounted prices? Are there group rates? Right now I can envision the ushers at MSG being very busy when fans buy the $15 or $10 tkts. and take part in the Garden fan "tradition" of "lets move down." Then again, you can always hope to hit Lotto.'

4/7/05 Thanks to Coach Jim Burke the Jersey Hot Shots' team profile is now listed alphabetically on the revised team page. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/6/05 Travis Berry: 'All teams are welcome to participate in the 2005 Riverbank State Park/Young World Basketball Summer Classic. All games to be played at Riverbank State Park. We will have five age groups for boys, 8 & under, 10 & under, 12 & under, 14 & under and 16 & under. The age cutoff date will be January 1st, 2005. For fees, rosters and more information, contact Mo Hicks (914) 557-1787 or at RRaider124@yahoo.com or Wayne Banner (212) 694 -3637 or at Wayne.Banner@oprhp.state.ny.us. Teams will be selected on a first come first served basis.'

4/6/05 NJO.com: Tray Pound throws weight around -- 22-point performance as the Boys Club cruised to a 42-30 rout over Hudson Catholic.

4/6/05 Metro Hoops: All Senior Team.

4/6/05 Metro Hoops: Spring Fling Recap 17U Division and 16U Division.

4/6/05 Rob Moses: 'The Queens Blackhawks are holding tryouts for our Spring/Summer basketball team. We are looking for dedicated and committed players with a competitive edge. All players must be between the ages of 15-17 and can not turn 18 in 2005. You must bring a copy of your birth certificate in order to try out. Tryouts will be held on Friday April 29th 10:30 am at Roy Wilkins Park. For more info contact: Coach Rob Moses QnsBlackhawks@aol.com or visit our web site www.Eteamz.com/QueensBlackhawks.'

4/6/05 John P Miciotta: Wheelchair Classic recap.

4/6/05 Thanks to Vinny Kabus the Student Athlete Broncos' team profile is now listed alphabetically on the revised team page. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/6/05 Journal News: Tyrell Biggs, Geoff McDermott invited to Capital Classic

4/6/05 Recent scores are on the Pro Style 2K 5 Winter League basketball page.

4/5/05 Coach Paul Suber: 'Over the weekend (4/1/05 - 4/3/05) the Team Next Organization 6th, 7th and 9th grade teams traveled to Baltimore, Md. to the "Give me that Baltimore Bump" Basketball Tournament hosted by the Baltimore Stars A.A.U. program. In the 6th grade division Team Next lost in the the semi-finals to the L.I. Lighting - Dingle team 40-38. DaShawn Suber had 18 pts. for Next and Manny Brown 20 pts. for the Lighting. The 9th grade team lost to the A.I. Raiders (2004 8th grade National Champs) in the semi-finals after beating them earlier in the tournament. The game featured the #1 (Tyreke Evans) and the #3 (Erving Walker) top freshmen in the country. Erving Walker won the battle (30 pts. to 16 pts.) but lost the war, as Tyreke's squad won the game, and eventually won the tournament over the Indiana Municiple Gardens A.A.U. team. The 7th grade team won the championship over the Baltimore Stars 54-46 in a very sluggish game. The team had some great moments in the tournament beating Team Texas 65-37 and then beating the Baltimore Stars by 33 pts. (59-26) in this double elimination tournament. Steve Whittingham, "Day Day" Wiggins, JayVaughn Pinkston all averaged double figures and Anthony "Face" Givens, Aaron Brown, "Fatty" McMillan and Cory Edwards gave great efforts throughout the tournament. Davontay Grace was tournament M.V.P. The championship games were played at the fabled Dunbar High School.'

4/5/05 Coach Carlton Screen (FYA): The midget team defeated Team Roc in the Pro Style Basketball tournament on Saturday by the score of 52 - 49. Trevon Hamlet 6'6 told me, that he wanted to win this ballgame, so he didn't just talk about it. He scored the game tying and the go ahead baskets. The game was tied at 49 - 49, and then he scored on a and one to seal the game. We made a great come from behind victory, we were down by 7pts with 2 minutes to go. Trevon Hamlet led all scorers with 22 pts, 12 rbs, and 5 blocks. The next game of the day was our 13 years old team at Mulanhy Center, they defeated the L.I.Manhssett team by the score of 31 - 21. Kevin Rameau played an outstanding game, scored 12 pts, 10 rbs. Our next basketball tournament will be at the Flatbush YMCA on Monday, April 25th to April 29th, from 10am - 4pm. Age groups 11U, 13U, !5U, !7U - 2 game loss elimination format. Comp is good. If you have a team and you want to enter it call me at 718 434 0127 or 718 666 6534.'

4/5/05 Mike Rodriguez: 'We are hosting our annual fund raiser, Top Gun11, a 3 vs 3 tournament for all ages 8 to 60 plus. $150 for (4) 15 minute games plus playoffs. April 9&10, 2005, Glen Head LI. About 95% of all proceeds with the exception of expenses we incur will go to help fight childhood Cancer. Your $$$ will go to support the Jays World Childhood Cancer Scholarship and the Cancer Center for Kids at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola LI. Please help us visit www.jaysworld.org or call 516 671-7410 for information and an application.'

4/5/05 NJ Hoops 1st Team All State -- JR Inman, Paul Gause, Derrick Caracter, Brian Zoubek and Brandon Costner.

4/5/05 Metro Hoops: Spring Fling recap 14 years old and the 12 year old bracket.

4/5/05 NY Hoops: Playaz Spring Fling Playoff Results.

4/4/05 Rudy King: 'I would like to thank everyone who has participated in the nomination process for the 2005 RBS Showcase @Long Island University featuring 72 of the region's top 8th, 9th and 10th grade young men. This year 357 student athletes were nominated and 9027 votes overall were tallied. The selection committee will meet April (4-7) with the public announcement of the selected participants made on or before April 11. This year's vote leaders (with next year's class) were 8th grade - 5' 7" - Davante Grace (Brooklyn) and 5' 7" Steve Whittingham (Bronx), 9th grade - 6' 4" - Lance Stephenson (Brooklyn) and 6' 4" - Tevin Baskin - (Connecticut), 10th Grade - 6' 9" - Samardo Samuels (Far Rockaway) and 6' 4" - Tyreke Evans (New Jersey). We look forward to seeing you on Sunday June 5, 2005 @Long Island University - Brooklyn Campus. For more information visit www.rightbounce.com or call the RBS Hotline @718-907-3493.

4/4/05 Coach Kevin Brown: 'Congratulations to KJ Brown, Omari Grier, Leonard Hayes III and Landrus Lewis for being chosen to participate in the 28th Annual South Jersey Al Carino All Star game (recently renamed Tim Lenihan Memorial Basketball game). Each of these players was part of the Living Faith Christian Academy team that won the National Association of Christian Athletes Junior High National Championship in Dayton, TN. They played in the game, which included some other solid young players such as Tim Breaker of Glassboro, Quron Pratt of Palmyra, and Marcus Davis of Woodbury. The game went down to the wire with the Black team winning by 2 in double overtime. Leonard Hayes III won the MVP after leading his team and making the game winning shot. Omari Grier, who also played on the Black team won the 3-point contest. Brown and Lewis took turns running the point for the gray team along with Quron Pratt.

The High School game was played immediately after and included Teron Murray of Camden, Anthony Farmer of St. Augustine, Mark Crumble of Atlantic City, Semaj Inge of Woodrow Wilson, Brian Connely of Camden Catholic, and Vinnie Ciecka of Haddonfield among other notables.'

4/4/05 Booksnball: 'Can someone please explain to the fans of New York City hoops why the organizers of the Chicago vs. New York game continue to disrespect the players of the PSAL by not having more of them invited to be part of the New York team that will play in Chicago April 16th? I understand having players from all over the state of New York on the team, it's New York, but why are players from New Jersey on the team before players from the NYC PSAL? Last year Eugene Lawrence was the only PSAL player on the team, while there were two New Jersey players and one from a New England Prep school. There have been years when there have been no PSAL players invited. I understand NYC PSAL players are playing in the preliminary game in the Jordan Classic 4/16-but there are certainly more PSAL players worthy of being invited to Chicago.'

4/4/05 Mike Neely: 'Stingrays Tournament 2005 -- dates April 23rd, 24th and 25th, 2005. Registration deadline April 2, 2005  Boys: 11, 12,13 -3 games plus championship game, $340.00 per team. 14 minute halves (clock stops on all whistles). Boys: 15 16,17, -3 games guaranteed plus championship game$350.00 per team. 16 minute halves (clock stops on all whistles). All games played at Tottenville High School, 100 Luten Avenue (10312). Located off Amboy Road (just blocks off the Hugenot Avenue exit of the Richmond Pkway, Staten Island, NY). And Staten Island Academy 715 Todt Hill Road (10304). Any further questions feel free to contact Mike Neely, tournament director @ or home 718-948-7952 or email mneely@si.rr.com, or mmmpj@mailcity.com. Cell Phone # 1-917-667-8907. Check us out at www.eteamz.com/sistingrays.'

4/4/05 Coach Rob Rizzo: 'The Westchester Hawks U15 Select made it two for two in 2005 going 4-0 to win the Connecticut Hoop Stars "Hoop House Spring Classic" in Wallingford, Connecticut. The Jones Boys, Mookie Jones (Peekskill) and Kevin Jones (Mount Vernon) dominated inside at both ends of the floor. Special thanks to Steve Gulotta for his accurate scorekeeping and to Marty Russo and his Connecticut Hoop Stars for hosting an outstanding tournament.'

4/4/05 Tony Ramos: The 9th Annual Africa Park Classic has begun its registration for this summers highly anticipated summer classic. This year we will only be taking 8 teams for each age category. Our tournament gurantees each team 3 games, great competiton, excellent outdoor playground facility with fiberglass systems. Trophies are awarded to1st and 2nd place in each age group. This year we have the following age groups: boys 11u/13u/15u/17u/19u and girls 11u/13u/15u. All of these divisions are $225.00 to enter before May 1st. If spots are still available after May 1st entry fee is $250.00. Ref fee is not included! Tournament start date is June 25th (tenative) and tournament end date is August 6th (tenative). The age cut-off date for all divisions is Sept.1st No exceptions! For more information contact Tournament Voicemail (718)219-1979 or Tony Ramos, tournament director @ (718)825-1746. Email trunapc@aol.com. Check out the tournament website for further contacts www.eteamz.com/africaparkclassic.'

4/4/05 Thanks to coach Kevin Brown the Cory Erving All Stars' team profile is now listed alphabetically on the revised team page. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/4/05 Coach Jimmy Salmon: I'd like to personally thank the 88 teams that participated in the 2005 Playaz Basketball Club/Paterson Recreation Spring Fling Event. The weekend continued to offer Travel Team Programs on the East coast a great start to the 2005 season. Congratulations to all the champions: 12U - NY Gauchos; 13U - Playaz Basketball Club; 14U - NY Gauchos; 15U - NY Panthers; 16U - Playaz Basketball Club and 17U - DC Assault ( who defeated the Playaz Gold team in the chip in one of the best AAU games I've ever been involved in - in overtime).

Also I'd like to publicly apologize to the Metro Hawks 12U team and Albany City Rocks 15U team for administrative mistakes made by our program. The mistakes were definitely ours and not yours and I appreciate your tolerance and cooperation under stressful circumstances. We respect your programs and we will correct these problems on our end! Good luck to all the teams in our area this season and God willing, we will be back to run an even better Spring Fling next year.'

4/4/05 Antonio Cannon Sr: 'The T.K. Allstar 16u team improved their record to 3-0 @ Prostyle2k5 by defeating the Rockland Raiders 77-74 in a come from behind victory Sunday morning. Deytwan Hill led T.K. with 21pts., Jermaine Brown contributed 20pts. in the win. Michael McNair had the hot had for the Rockland Raiders finishing with 24pts. in defeat.'

4/3/05 Newsday: After Fresno State coach quits, James Tchana wants college switch

4/3/05 Courier Post: Christian Taylor is a role model for game's young stars

4/3/05  Rich Kosik aka Booksnball: 'I just came across this web site while watching NBA. Com and decided to check it out. After searching the entire web site and studying it's contents and especially the testimonials, I think it's something Youth Program Directors and High School Athletic Directors should review and consider purchasing for use by their coaches. It could prove especially helpful to new/inexperienced coaches or those who desire to upgrade their expertise. Here's the link... Basketball Videos - Basketball Training and Basketball Coaching at Better Basketball.

4/2/05 Daily News: He triumphs over tragedy. Juan Diego Tello Palacios key to Cards' run.

4/2/05 NY Post: Eyes will focus on Juan Diego Tello Palacios.

4/2/05 NY Hoops: Dunk Fest at I.S.8.

4/2/05 Coach John McGuckin: 'The Central Jersey Hawks 13s went down to VCU for some southern cooking and came away with the Team Richmond March Madness Tournament Championship. The Hawks, led by Brandyn Curry's 19 points, beat the host team (50-45) in the final. Clutch shooting by Chris Jetter and Matt Rista and stellar defensive play by Blake Bascom, Jay Lester and Pat O'Boyle propelled the Hawks through the weekend. The semi-final game witnessed Tom Baumlin's 15 rebounds, Mike Kelly's floor leadership and Chris McGuckin's 4 straight treys in a 79-44 affair.'

4/1/05 NJO: Season in review for Union, Hudson, Somerset, Passaic, Essex, Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex and Morris counties plus the Preps and West Jersey.

4/1/05 Thanks to coach Mike Neely the Staten Island Stingrays' team profile is now on the revised team page. I'll be adding a new AAU team profile most days for the next month. Please send your team data - administrators' and coaches' names, rosters, schedules, tournaments and contact info - to nycnjhoops@aol.com. Make sure you include it with any email concerning team tryouts or tournaments.

4/1/05 NJ.com: Player of the year. Brandon Costner -- Mister Big Shot. Team of the year. No mountain too high for Seton Hall Prep. Coach of the year. Ken Slappy-led Passaic reached potential.

4/1/05 Journal News: Tyrell Biggs added to roster for New York vs. Chicago all-star game.

4/1/05 Newsday: PSAL puts brake on transfers.