NYC Basketball culture and history documented. From the Asphalt to The Hardwood
The 2023 PSAL title game may have ranked as one of the top 5 championship games in league history! It was An All-Brooklyn battle as Eagle Academy …
Postseason Defining Moments: EDDIE FOR THE WIN Eagle Academy Brooklyn Claims First PSAL CITY Title (Video Recap)
The 2023 PSAL title game may have ranked as one of the top 5 championship games in league history! It was An All-Brooklyn battle as Eagle Academy Brooklyn led by LIU Commits Eric Acker and Trey Sheppard went up against Division rival Thomas Jefferson led by the deadly backcourt trio of Sophomores Connor Sprattley, Tristan “Man Man” Davis, Tywon Evans, and versatile big man Anthony Evans.
In the first half, Eagle was up 23-15, Jefferson finished the half on a 14-7 run but Eagle went into the half ahead 30-29. After a very tight third quarter with many ties and lead changes, Eagle was still ahead 47-45.
The fourth quarter is what made this game a classic. Jeff went in full steam to take a 56-49 lead. At this point, the momentum shifted heavily in favor of the Orange Wave. Eagle with a large contingent of their fans in attendance at the Barclays never backed down. While Jefferson was up 60-53 Eagle will go on a 10-3 run to tie the game at 63. After a timeout, the Orange Wave answered quickly with a play that had Connor Sprattley hit a floater with one second to give the Orange wave a 65-63 lead.
4.5 seconds left, Eagle needed an answer to close out the game and claim their first title in School’s history. Eagle looked to the 6-2 shooter Eddie Munyak who hit a three from the corner to give them the lead for good! 2.2 seconds left and not enough time for the Orange wave to get a shot off as Eagle wins 66-65 to win their 1st PSAL city title in the school’s history.
MVP Honors went to LIU commit Eric Acker who scored 15 points in the game in front of his future head coach Rod Strickland who was in attendance.
Next Stop for Eagle BK is the State federation semifinals where they will face CHSAA “AA” Champion Archbishop Stepinac.
There are always those defining moments during the postseason that we will remember years from now. On Saturday at the PSAL boro championships, there were tons of them. The PSAL Boro championship ended with a crazy sequence that started with a layup by Jarrett Dingle. Then Jeff’s Nyquan Morris who stepped up in the Absence of Connor Sprattley hit a jumper to bring Jeff within one. After Tywon Evans Split free throws to tie the game at 65, Jarrett Dingle drives to the rim with 10.1 seconds remaining to score the layup but misses leaving it open for the game-winning putback by Senior Forward Jalen O’Brian.
Check out the late 4th quarter action and the postgame interview here
Video Recap of Wings Academy’s 58-54 win over Brooklyn Collegiate at the Gotham Hoops Invitational this past Sunday. Wings Academy was led by the backcourt duo of seniors Messiah Rodriguez( 16 pts/ 7 rebs/ 3 assists)and Bryce Simmons (17 points / 7 boards / 3 assists) Wings led 31-26 at the half and then extended their lead in the second half to as much as 13 points, BC however will make a massive run that would cut the lead to two points late in the fourth quarter. In the end, Wings was able to hold off the Lions and escape with an ugly 58-54 win against one of the best teams out of the rugged Brooklyn AA division.
Team Rundown had a hell of a season at IS8 and it showed in the semifinals and championship game on October 22nd. Led by a stacked squad featuring UCLA Commit Brandon Williams, Rundown took down Team Killa Dawgs in the Semifinals 91-90 thanks to some critical FTs from Monsignor Scanlan guard Nasir Rodriguez. Williams led Rundown with 28 points in that game. In the Championship game against Team Long Island.
Team LI led by Leo Vlognatis came into the championship game confident after beating favorite Beacon Elite in the semis. Early on gave Rundown the fits early in the first quarter but it was Williams’s 21 first-half points that gave Rundown the sizable 40-29 lead at the half. In the second half, Team Long Island made another run to cut the deficit but Rundown was able to control the game the rest of the game-winning 69-59.
Williams who was named Championship MVP and Player of the Year finished with 27 points. CTK Sophomore guard Markell Alston scored 16 points while Junior PG Taj Bryant (Eagle Academy Brooklyn) added 13. Leo Vlognatis won sportsmanship and led Team Long Island with 13 points
2022 IS8 / Nike Fall Tip-Off All Tournament Teams
All eyes were on Queens last weekend for the Battle in the Apple event at Monsignor McClancy and St. John’s Prep. The top AAU programs in the city went up against the Nike EYBL Strive For Greatness AAU program sponsored by LeBron James. This was part of the multi city tour that SFG has with The Battle.
Two days filled with high-level hoops action with the top players in the city as well as the nation here are a few observations with some stats and insight when we came through yesterday.
Before arriving at the gym Black ops led by Taj Bryant started the day with the win over the NY Lightning while Naas Cunningham and the NY Rens pulled away late to beat the Wiz Kids. In the battle between two of the top five players in the class of 2024, Naas Cunningham exploded for 28 points in the win.
Upon Arrival at St. John’s prep gym, SFG’s 16U squad was going up against the New York Gauchos led by St. Ray’s underclassmen duo of Tai Turnage and Brandon Stores Jr. The Choz were down by a slight margin and SFG’s Pharaoh Compton (22 Points) was getting busy. Tai Turnage’s hot shooting and the Choz defense pulled away in the second half for a 77-69 win. The 28-point performance in three quarters from Turnage was by far the top 3 individual performance of the day. Brandon Stores added 14 points while Halon Rawlins added 15.
Local AAU Bump: Rens 17U vs New Heights
The Rens were looking to close out the Battle with a 3-0 record but they found themselves in a tight battle late in the second half against New Heights. The Rens dominated in the second quarter up 22-5 but New Heights led by RJ Greene and Nasir Muhammed charged back to close the gap. Rens went into halftime up 37-30.
In the third quarter New Heights’s Jaden Kempson went off for 13 points in the third and they made the game a very close one. A lot of back and forth action throughout the second half as new heights had an answer for every punch the Rens threw. One thing that may have set back New Heights in this game was the lack of free throws made. NH had many tries to extend the lead or cut the deficit but the free throws weren’t working. Tied at 67 with three seconds left, Naas Cunningham gets the tip-in at the buzzer to edge new heights for the 69-67.
The buzzer-beater was a follow-up to the 28-point performance against the Wiz Kids for Cunningham who is the No.1 player in 2024. Rens 17U team left The Battle with a 3-0 record. It was a needed tune-up for the squad who were preparing for the rest of the EYBL season. New Heights was led by RJ Greene with 15 points, Jaden Kempson scored 14.
Riverside Hawks vs SFG
Riverside Hawks 17U looked very strong against SFG’s 17U squad in the 71-45 victory Seck Zongo a 6-6 wing showed much growth since his freshman year and led four Hawks in double figures with 16 points.
The Main Event Wiz Kids vs SFG
The matchup between Bronny James and Ian Jackson was one of the most anticipated matchups of the day King James of course was in attendance to watch his Son and SFG go up against the No.3 player in 2022 Ian Jackson. The court conditions due to the hot weather affected the game but It was still a good competitive game as Elijah Moore was going off and Jackson was having a bounce-back game. SFG’s Zack Davidson (13 points) put on a show to introduce himself to the NYC crowd. Court Conditions due to the hot weather affected the players throughout the game which prevented the Wiz Kids from getting a shot during the last few seconds which resulted in SFG getting the comeback win. The Wiz Kids led by as much as 9 points throughout the second half until SFG made a run resulting in the 56-51 win.
Heavy Hitters at The Battle
Tai Turnage
As we mentioned before Tai’s 28-point performance was Top five at last weekends event. My initial thoughts after that game was that playing 16U is too easy for the rising sophomore guard as he is known for being one of the very few underclassmen who always plays above his age group. Tai’s performance proves why the future is bright in NYC.
Pharaoh Compton
This media platform is based on mostly the NYC tri-state area but we also show love to players from across the nation too and Compton deserves his props. The 6-8 forward who attends Prep powerhouse AZ compass scored 22 against the Gauchos and had a monster double-double of 15 points and 12 boards along with three blocks. Compton introduced himself to NYC the right way.
Taj Bryant
Eagle Academy Brooklyn rising junior Taj Bryant earned an offer to Robert Morris after his performance at Battle in The Apple in which he averaged 25.5 points per game that weekend. There’s definitely more on the way for Bryant and the Black Ops Cadets are on the come up as an independent program.
New York Rens 16U guard Dylan Harper went off during his stint last weekend which caught the attention of LeBron James on opening night with a 32 point performance. The youngest son of NBA veteran Ron Harper Sr., and younger brother of Rutgers star Ron jr, Dylan is one of the top underclassmen in Jersey and should help lead a talented Rens 16U squad to a deep run in Augusta in July.
Elijah Moore
Elijah Moore of the Wiz Kids scored 16 points against SFG and showed off his bounce in addition to his range. Moore along with Ian Jackson along with Dionte Johnson and a few other complementary players have a solid squad on the Adidas 3SSB circuit. The squad has hit a few bumps in the road in their first year on a major shoe circuit at 3-5, but they have the talent and the staff to improve as they will build towards making a run when the circuit continues at the next stop in Rock Hill, South Carolina July 7th – 10th
Unheralded Players shined on the Big Stage
Last but not least let’s talk about how the battle wasn’t a platform only for the top players. In our opinion, there were a few local players this weekend that shined and I saw that during SFG’s 16U game vs the NY Lightning.
Lightning guard Sunny Singh went on his run during the first half which made him go viral. John Harrington a guard from Community Health of the Heights led his team to their first city title appearance in schools history two months ago. Last Saturday, he kept playing hard despite being down by double digits to SFG.
When it comes to many high-level events like the Battle in The Apple players like Sunny and John are barely given a chance to play. Both players took advantage of the opportunity given and it’s something they can build off and get better from. Lessons not losses.
Despite court conditions at the Venue ending the event early, there were many highs about the event. The chance to see top AAU programs was one of them. The numerous appearances from current and former NBA players such as Long Island native Danny Green of the Philadelphia 76ers (one of the founders of the event) Carmelo Anthony, Dahntay Jones, and Lebron James. Celebrities such legendary rapper Jadakiss and Brooklyn’s own Rowdy Rebel and many more were in attendance as well.
Very interesting to see what the people at the Battle have next when they come back to the city in the future. Next stop on the Battle / Strive for Greatness tour is Akron, Ohio.
Seton Hall Bound senior Jaquan Sanders and Saint Rose bound senior Latiek Briscoe Earn MVP Honors at Monday’s Autism Awareness All-Star classic.
In a high scoring affair, Team Awareness downed Team Acceptance 131-122 to close out the third annual Autism Awareness classic. Sanders led several players in double figures with 30 points while Latiek Briscoe score 26 points to lead team Acceptance.
St. Rays senior guard Isaiah Philbert earned Sportsmanship honors with 22 points.
Noah Boateng (Fordham Prep) Ryan Hudson (Cardozo) Tarique Foster (Cardinal Hayes) , David Teele Jr. (Teaneck HS) DJ victory (Cardinal Hayes), Jaden Daughtry (St. Francis Prep / Marist Commit) and Donnell Campbell jr. (Murry Bergtraum) we’re some other notable standouts in the senior game.
The event founded by St. Rays Assistant and Riverside Hawks 15U Head coach Chris Willams made it’s return after two year hiatus due to Covid-19. This years partners for this years event was Dyckman Basketball, Books and Ball The Ballers Journal , and Teamwork Juices.
The senior game concluded a three game event which also had a rising stars game featuring the top 6th and 7th graders in the city and the 8th grade game which featured some of the top incoming HS freshmen in NYC.
8th Grade game MVP’s
Sincere Folk and Luis Carillo Moss
On January 9th, I had the chance to interview two of Duke’s Future Stars Kyle Flipowski and Dereck Lively II. Lively and Flipowski just played in a big game against each other at the Empire Invitational in Brooklyn. Led by Kyle’s 22 points. Wilbrahamson and Monson beat Lively’s Westtown School (PA) 59-54.
In this interview, Kyle and Dereck talk about playing in front of Future Duke head coach Jon Scheyer and the rest of the staff. They also speak on how their games compliment each other and more.
The Dog days of college Basketball are something else. You hit a stretch of bad losses, you are in a slump and fans want the head coaches bags packed the next morning. Tough times happen but like they say life is 90 % of what happens to you and 10 % of how you respond and for the St. John’s Red Storm that 10% means a lot.
The St. John’s Red Storm find themselves in a good position to finish 5th or 6th in the conference after two big wins against Xavier and Butler. The Red Storm’s NET ranking going into the Xavier game was at 90, but after beating the musketeers and Butler they are now at 68. They are slowly creeping back into the tournament discussion with a crucial stretch of games left in the schedule and they have been playing much better basketball as of late.
It’s a great thing to see at this point of the season because the goal of them becoming an NCAA team is still at reach. Most “experts” believe that the Red Storm’s way into the NCAA tournament is to win the Big East tournament Championship which may be true but continuing their winning streak with the hopes that others lose could put them in the situation where they don’t have to play opening night on Wednesday, March 9th.
At this point, it seems like a long shot but here are many reasons for optimism if you are a Red Storm fan.
Julian Champangie’s newest Nickname is roadkill.
After his best performance of the season (31 points, 7 steals, 7 boards) The Big East player of the week is out of his scoring slump and it has come in perfect timing. The Loughlin alum has shown thus far that he’s best on the road. In the past three road games, Champangie averages 25.0 Ppg 2.0 steals, and 90.5 % from the free-throw line. With key road games against Depaul and Marquette down the line, Champangie ‘s ability to dominate on the road, you gotta like their chances of finishing the regular season strong going into the Big East tournament.
Posh is back and no more missed layups
Posh Alexander’s return in the win against Butler paid huge dividends as he scored 13 points and 10 assists in the win. The offense has looked a lot better for the Red Storm, they are finishing at the rim more often and that’s a huge plus because in many of their losses this season, they have missed tons of layups that have kept them from winning some winnable games against Quad 1 opponents.
The resurgence of Aaron Wheeler.
In the two wins, Aaron Wheeler didn’t have big scoring games but what we did see in the losses too. Villanova and UConn are that he’s able to take over the game with his scoring ability and that could be a big boost as we reach the final stretch of the regular season.
At this point we all know what’s at stake for the Red Storm for the season to be a success and right now the Johnnies are trending upward and we hope it stays that way.
Key games to Watch
With the regular season winding down every game matters but here are a few games this week that stand out from the rest.
Today
No.8 Villanova at No.21 UConn 8:00 pm
Wednesday, February 23rd
Creighton at St. John’s 6:30 pm
Saturday, February 26th
Seton Hall vs Xavier 3:30
Creighton at No. 11 Providence
Tuesday, March 1st
No.11 Providence at No.8 Villanova 7 pm
Wednesday, March 2nd
Xavier at St. John’s 6:30 pm
No.21 UConn at Creighton. 8:30 pm
Featured Photo Credit: Hector Martinez / Moving Pictures
Just as if the 2021-22 showcase season wouldn’t get any greater, Stepinac Head Coach Pat Massaroni and the CHSAA and the Archdiocese of New Jersey decided to make things greater by coming up with the NY vs NJ Catholic High school showcase.
Something special about state showcases in high school hoops as playing for bragging rights brings a different type of competitive energy. Five great matchups, a plethora of high level college prospects and tons of college coaches in attendance.
Of all of the games, Cardinal Hayes vs Bergen Catholic was one that that took the cake. Two nationally ranked teams, several division one prospects between both programs.
Hayes coming into the game on Saturday faced a short handed but hungry Bergen Catholic squad who was out to take them down and add to the win column for the Garden state. Christ The King
The game started out heavily in favor of BC as they raced out to an early 7-0 lead. The Crusaders came out hot while Hayes was off to a slow start. The shots weren’t falling early on but senior forward Tobe Awaka provided much needed offense inside for Hayes. For most of the first half it looked like Bergen was a step or two quicker than Hayes. Wagner commit Julian Brown and Fordham Commit Will Richardson were hitting shots and playing with so much tenacity.
Richardson closed the first half by hitting a buzzer beater three pointer from the corner. The crusaders from Oradell felt good taking a 36-33 lead into the half despite being without PG Eliot Cadeau and Big man TJ Copeland.
Hayes responded in the beginning of the third quarter with run to take a 42-38 lead. BC responded outscoring Hayes 8-4 to tie the game at 46. The Crusaders would then finish the third quarter on a 9-4 run to take a 55-50 lead going into the 4th quarter.
The fourth quarter turned out to be big as Hayes went on a 9-2 run to take a 59-57 lead then Choppafam arrived. Elijah Moore sparked a huge scoring run which shifted the momentum for the rest of the game. From there HAYES never looked back, they would outscore BC 16-9 en route to a 75-66 victory.
From Moore’s 11 point outburst to Ian Jackson finding Tobe Awaka for the facial slam which was arguably the play of the day. “Shoutout to Ian for being unselfish on that play he’s a great teammate and he did a good job playing great defense and finding me in transition to finish the play” says Awaka after the game. Awaka finished with 23 points and 16 boards in the game. Jackson scored 21 points in front of UConn, St. John’s , Seton Hall and other schools in attendance. Elijah Moore scored 11 points on 4/7 shooting all in the fourth quarter.
It’s also worth noting that Senior PG DJ victory finished with a near triple double with nine points nine assists and six rebounds. The Harlem native came up huge in the game assisting key baskets throughout the game as well as controlling the tempo and not allowing BC to creep back in the game late.
BC was led by Julian Browns 23 points while Will Richardson scored 21 points grabbed four rebounds and had six Steals. Elijah Flournoy had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Hayes improved to 14-0 on the season and finished their non conference slate of their schedule.
Other Scores
Don Bosco Prep 75, St. Rays 57
Isaiah Edmond earned MVP honors and scored 17 points and grabbed 6 boards. Nicholas Koch also scored 17. Dylan Harper scored 15 points while Isaiah Brown scored 10. Isaiah Philbert led three Ravens in double figures with 12.
St. Peter’s Prep 51, Iona Prep 42
Villanova commit Mark Armstrong led SPP with 20 points and earned MVP honors. Despite the Loss RJ Greene reached a milestone with reaching 1000 career points. He finished with 16.
Christ The King 53, Hudson Catholic 52
Upon my arrival to Iona College, I came just in time to see Junior guard Devin Vanderpool seal the victory over a very good Hudson Catholic team. Vanderpool Warned MVP honors with 18 points and five rebounds. Brandon Williams scored 17 points grabbed boards and dished out five assists. Elijah Getrude led Hudson with 25 points and Tahaad Petiford scored 14.
Patrick School 33, Archbishop Stepinac 32
Isaia Griffin scored some key buckets late for TPS as they edged Archbishop Stepinac 33-32. Griffin earned MVP honors as he scored 12 points, grabbed three rebounds and dished three assists. Boogie Fland in his second game back scored 12 points.
Overall New Jersey won this Showcase going 3-2 on the day and has the bragging rights. There’s some speculation that this event will become an annual thing. If and when it does we all are looking forward to it because there’s some dream matchups many people have in mind. Peace to our colleagues and supporters in the Garden State we’ll bounce back for the win in 2023 !
Hoop Dreams NYC 
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