Hoop Dreams NYC

Tri-State Power 25 Season Preview: Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders

November 4, 2019

2018-19 Season: 14-16 record , CHSAA City Championship runner-up

Key Players to Watch: RJ Davis, Adrian Griffin Jr. Malcolm Chimeze

One of the top teams in the tri-state area and in the nation is from White Plains, NY. The Archbishop Stepinac Crusaders will start the season ranked No.36 in the nation according to Ball is Life and this is all thanks to their success as a city and state federation championship success in 2018 and more importantly the duo of UNC commit PG RJ Davis and Top 10 junior in the nation and Duke Commit 6-7 wing Adrian Griffin Jr.

Last season Injuries to both players affected the team as they finished with 14-16 record, but on the bright side when RJ and Griffin were healthy towards the end of the season they were able to make a huge surprise run in the archdiocesan and city playoffs. eventually the Crusaders run came to a screeching in last years CHSAA “AA” city title game when they lost to Christ The King, but the late run proved that the Crusaders will be even a more dangerous team this season.

In many of the preseason games this fall, the duo of Davis and Griffin Jr. Have proven to be one of the best duos in the nation with their scoring ability and high basketball IQ. The two impressed everyone with their play when they took down Philly Catholic league powerhouse Archbishop Wood at the Northeast Fall Invite. In their second game the Crusaders without RJ almost took down NJ powerhouse Roselle Catholic. It was a sure sign that day that Stepinac could play with anyone in the country.

Senior point guard RJ Davis will come into the season more focused after making his commitment to North Carolina on October 21st . When he addressed media after his announcement he explained why he chose the Tar Heels despite the fact that they have Caleb Love another guard who commited a few weeks prior “ He’s a big guard who can play the 1 and two defends well, so I feel like me and his game can compliment each other well and I got a chance to know him over the summer at the CP3 camp, he’s a good player so I can see myself playing with him”. Says Davis.

6-8 junior forward Malcolm Chimeze will also be a big factor for the Crusaders this season. Chimeze who has picked up offers from a ton offers over the summer and preseason from schools such as StonyBrook, Bryant, Stetson and more. Chimeze adds toughness, rebounding and inside scoring for the Crusaders something that will benefit the team greatly if he can stay healthy. The Crusaders also have a supporting cast of players such as Samuel Gibbs, Luke Fizulich, Justin Morety and others who can contribute to this Stepinac team in a big way.

Schedule Breakdown

The Crusaders have loaded schedule where they will be playing in many national tournaments locally as well as outside the the State of NY. Here are some key games events to look out for on their schedule.

December 13th @ Cardinal Hayes

The last time these two teams met was the CHSAA intersectional semis when the Crusaders took down Hayes. The key matchup in this game in our eyes will be in the front court between Adrian Griffin Jr. and Hayes’s Shemani Fuller.

December 14th vs St. Raymond’s @ the PSA cardinals Prep Showcase.

It’s always a good battle when these two teams go up against each other on December 14th both teams will meet in the 4th annual PSA prep showcase. The key matchup in this game will be between RJ Davis and St. Ray’s Malachi Smith.

City of Palms tournament in Fort Myers, FL

December 18th vs Briarcrest Christian (TN)

The Crusaders will be put to the test as they will go up against Briarcrest Christian which features top junior Kennedy Chandler in the prestigious city of palms tournament.

December 29th vs Paul VI @ the Slam Dunk at the Beach

The Crusaders have a showdown with another nationally ranked team Paul VI out of the DMV area and the WCAC conference. This game will be a statement game for the Crusaders to end 2019.

January 3rd vs Iona Prep @ The Crusader Classic

If you know how crazy it gets at the Crusader classic between these two rivals then you know it would be a goody. Expect the Westchester County Center to be packed for this event to start off 2020

January 12th vs Rutgers Prep (NJ) @ The Empire Invitational

The Crusaders will make their return to the Empire Classic when they will go up against Junior forward Trey Patterson and Rutgers Prep.

January 18th vs East Catholic (CT) @ the Spalding Hoophall Classic

Other Key Games:

January 31st @ Christ The King

February 1st vs Iona Prep @ Iona College

January 11th vs Monsignor Scanlan

Outlook:

Many people are picking the Crusaders to win the CHSAA AA city title early and it will be a safe pick just by knowing who is on that team and their postseason success the past two seasons.

The success of this year’s Archbishop Stepinac team will come down to how healthy this team is and their depth. Injuries hurt the Crusaders badly last season and they can’t afford to have it happen once again. As we mentioned before players such as Justin Morety, Sam Gibbs, Luke Fizulich and Malcolm Chimeze would be key to this team. In the loss to Roselle Catholic in the Northeast fall invitational, the Crusaders proved that they can compete and fill the offensive gaps without RJ Davis, they also have been proven to be a great defensive team as they held a deep Roselle team to only 57 points. If the Crusaders can stay healthy throughout the season it will pay off big once the postseason starts.
A Look Back at the IS8/Nike Fall Tip-off Championship

October 22, 2019

Photo Credit: Makiko Kobyashi ( @Soru_503) https://instagram.com/soru503_?igshid=1fh3stxq4oc5w

The finale of the of the 2019 IS8/Nike fall tip off came down to a epic battle between NYC Finest a team that features majority of the John Bowne varsity boys team and the NJ Lions (Roselle Catholic).

It was a tight and competitive battle as NYC Finest took a 32-30 lead into the half. In the third quarter that lead would soon grow to 8 points as NYC finest was on fire from the perimeter. Amadou Diallo and mamadou Dioubate along with others were scoring at will. The Lions will soon come back as they used a late rally late in the third and in the fourth quarter to defeat NYC’s finest 69-60.

Roselle Catholic senior center Cliff Omoruyi led the Lions with 22 points and was named MVP of the championship game. Xavier Commit CJ Wilcher scored 20 points. Amadou Diallo led NYC finest with 34 points.

There are many things we have learned from this game from both teams, let’s start with NYC Finest.

NYC Finest which consists of mostly players from John Bowne High School could have had one of the best upsets in Is8 history but fatigue got to them at the worst time. Running out of gas is all part of the game, but one thing you can say about NYC Finest is that they can play with just about anyone and as for John Bowne this team can only get better going forward after this loss. Amadou Diallo and Tyshawn Trail may be the best backcourt duo that not many are talking about.

Wings such as Mouhamed Diabate, Cherif Diarra and Aguibou Balde showed out as well. The fact that they had the Lions on the brink of being upset says a lot on how well this team will do when the season starts next month.

Now for the champs the NJ Lions.

The Lions are already the favorite to win the TOC in our eyes. The amount of depth size and athleticism on this team makes them a tough team to beat on a nightly basis. In this championship game, the Lions have shown to be very resilient especially late in the fourth quarter. Cliff Omoruyi’s dominance in the paint came in the clutch for the Lions as he and others were able to put work NYC Finest. The dominance of the Lions in this year’s IS8 fall tip-off tournament reminds me of another New Jersey team, Northeast Basketball club. In Fall of 2016, Northeast dominated in the fall tip off and won the championship with a deep roster of 4 and 5 star prospects from the garden State.

On Saturday Is8 announced their all-tournament teams for the 2019 fall tip off.

IS8 All Tournament Teams

Third Team:

Tyler Chapman (Holy Cross HS)- 114 all-stars
Max Ragusa ‘22 (Poly Prep) – Above and Beyond
Gary Grant ‘ 20 (St. Raymond’s HS) GoldMindz
Zion Cruz ‘ 22 (Hudson Catholic HS)-Team Nation
Eisaiah Murphy (White Plains HS)- Brook Basketball Club

Second Team

Malachi Smith ‘21 (St. Raymond’s HS) GoldMindz
Khalil Brantley ‘21 (Boys and Girls HS) GoldMindz
Tyshawn Trail ‘21 (John Bowne HS)
NYC Finest
Tahron Allen (Brooklyn Collegiate HS) – Team Deuce
Zakai Ziegler ‘21 ( Immaculate Conception HS) Shooting Stars

First Team

Cliff Omoruyi’ 20 ( Roselle Catholic) – NJ Lions
Niels Lane ‘20 ( Roselle Catholic) -NJ Lions
( Committed to Florida)
Amadou Diallo ‘21 ( John Bowne HS) NYC Finest
Kavontay Williams ‘20 – PD Nation
Dontae Walker ‘20 (Veritas Prep-California)

IS8 Player of the Year
CJ Wilcher – Roselle Catholic ‘20 ( Committed to Xavier)
Best of Summer 2019: Brooklyn Stompers Keep on Taking It

September 8, 2019

This summer Brooklyn Stompers came for just about everything people said they couldn’t have and they took it.

The Stompers consists of many of the top players from all over the borough of Brooklyn have taken high school division championships all over the city. From Rucker Park to West 4th, to Lincoln Park in Queens and recently Dyckman, the Stompers have collected hardware all over the city. This team had to go through some of the best high school division teams to win the championship. At Lincoln Park, they defeated Positive direction in the Semis and OTN In the chip both of those teams were very stacked. At Dyckman, the BK Stompers went the whole summer 2019 season undefeated and had to beat the 2018 champs “The Program” in the semis and another undefeated team in Team Tracey to win the chip.

As coach head Coach Ronnie Francis of the BK Stompers puts it he’s very glad his team steps up when it matters most. “

“It feels good that we were able to win these games. With how talented they are they still need to learn some things, we had some close calls but they were able to pull them out.

Highlights of the 2019 Lincoln Park Classic Championship Brooklyn Stompers vs Team OTN

Kadary Richmond winning Lincoln Park Classic Player of The Year honors

The duo of South Shore grads Kadary Richmond and Femi Odukale have played a huge roll in their championship run winning championship after championship just fueled their fire to win even more. “Every day I feel more and more like a winner” states Kadary Richmond. “Whenever I wake up my feel more determined to win”.

Richmond and Odukale have been a part of the Brooklyn Stompers for years and on August 29th it was the second championship game they ever played in at Dyckman. In 2017, they played in the chip game against Skull gang and lost a tough one at the buzzer at the time they had to play behind guys such as Donald Flores and Sekou Sylla.

Many players would have found another team to play for but they waited their turn and it paid off. As Femi Odukale states waiting their turn was worth it in the end. “ When we made the chip the first time, we were younger we didn’t get much playing time so we couldn’t showcase our talent but by the time we got more playing time we already knew what it took to win”. In addition to winning championships, Odukale and Richmond have been racking up MVP and player of the year honors all over the city this summer. Femi has won the championship MVP at Gersh Park and Lincoln Park. Richmond won the MVP at Dyckman, POY honors at Lincoln Park and Nike Player of the Year.

South Shore Grad Femi Odukale took the Lincoln Park championship game MVP after the 63-57 win over Team OTN on August 25th.

For coach Francis, winning their second championship at Dyckman is a major accomplishment in their long history playing in the tournament. I asked him how he would compare winning the championship on August 29th to the one in 2016 against Tenth Ave and he personally feels that the 2016 championship was more special. “ it’s hard to compare this win with the 10th Avenue one because Back then Tenth ave had about five or more top 100 players in the country and we had was Keith Williams and Ray Salnave and a ton of great role players that played hard.” says Francis.

Summer 2019 was a successful one for the Brooklyn Stompers when it comes to the next goal it’s simple, the goal for the Brooklyn Stompers is to keep building. “We are always looking to build and grow the program and continue to be competitive. I don’t promise to win championships but we are always in the conversation”. Ronnie also wants to continue to bring new players on his squad. “I am always looking to break in new players which is something that I take pride in”.

The summer of 2019 may go down as one of the best in Brooklyn Stompers history, and there is no stop in sight for them look for them to continue their rich history of winning tournaments all over the city.
Best of Summer 2019: Sean Bell’s Championship Run

September 2, 2019

Best of Summer 2019: a multi-part series where we look back at some of the top storylines and trends of this summer in NYC summer hoops.

This summer the Sean Bell All-Stars May have made a strong statement with their championship run. Coach Rah Wiggins and his squad won championships in most of the major summer tournaments in NYC.

The Sean Bell All-Stars had Nike Pro City in a stronghold as they finished the season as the top team in the league in the regular season. Sean Bell had a mixture of scorers, defenders and role players that made them one of the strongest unlimited teams in the city. Their core of players such as Mike Poole, Kedar Edwards, former University of Tennessee standout Kevin Punter Jr., and others helped the team reach the championship game as they were able to defeat Team Dyckman / Kemba 100-95 on August 14th. In that game Coach, Rah brought out other pros such as Lance Stephenson and Delroy James to help them take down a deep Dyckman / Kemba team. Kevin Punter Jr. Was the MVP as he went off for 36 points in that game.

Sean Bell takes the Entertainers 155 Championship. Photo Credit J. Bodden

Sean Bell was in the playoffs in every league they played in despite losing in leagues such as Gersh and West 4th, they were able to continue their championship run as they won the Entertainers 155 league championship at Rucker Park and the LES Express championship in Manhattan. Along with Stephenson Sean Bell also added Isaiah Whitehead to the team.

Abraham Lincoln HS Alum Lance Stephenson holding down the trophy. After playing this season with the Los Angeles Lakers, He will be playing with Liaoning basketball in China.

Sean Bell’s impact was big on the unlimited scene so big that many of Sean Bell’s players won championships in other leagues that Sean Bell didn’t play in. On August 27th Mike Poole, Kedar Edwards, Lance Stephenson, and Isaiah Whitehead help lead PTG 365 to the Dyckman College/Pro division Championship. Within that run, PTG took down last year’s champions TMT/Showstoppers.

One of many things we have learned from Sean Bell’s championship run is that they made unlimited streetball even more competitive than past years and they may have raised the bar when it comes to personnel. Aside from the NBA players they had on their team, they had many players who knew how to win and that’s something that can’t be denied.

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Highlights of Sean Bell vs Dyckman/ Kemba in the 2019 Nike Pro City championship
Moussa Makes His Mark

August 21, 2019

Photo Credit: Steven Barron -Bleacher Report

The attention on NYC summer hoops mostly goes to the guards but if there’s ever a conversation of the best big man this summer in NYC, Moussa Cisse the No. 9 in the class of 2021 has to be in that conversation.

At 6-11, Cisse came back into the Christ The King rotation just in time for the postseason and added a much-needed boost that helped them win the CHSAA City title back in March. Since then, Moussa has continued to make himself known on the EYBL circuit while playing with Expressions Elite and he has earned invites to camps such as the Nike Elite 100 and Nike Skills Academy, but this summer he has also dominated in summer tournaments across the city.

Cisse joined the trend of many high school players who have played in the unlimited or college/pro division in some of the top summer leagues in the city.

The 6-11 rising junior has put up the same eye-popping numbers against older and stronger players just like he does against opponents during the high school season. On June 15th, Moussa put up a massive stat line of 21 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocks in a 110-83 win over XsVX Pandas. Playing in the unlimited division was something his uncle Streetball Veteran BJ McFarland encouraged him to do. “ Playing in the unlimited division is a great experience. I wanted to play in the High School division first but my uncle was like Nah you need to learn how to play against grown men. What I like the most about playing unlimited is if I do something wrong, the guys are willing to teach me how to do things better”.

On August 14th, Cisse came up big down the stretch in Sean Bell’s 104-99 win over Team Dyckman / Kemba in the Pro City Championship. From put back dunks, mid-range shots, and grabbing rebounds, he made his presence known and helped them win the chip. Not too bad for a rising junior.

Moussa Cisse’s Back to Back dunks in West 4th’s 83-80 win over Lincoln Park during Week 3 of NY vs NY.

In Nike NYC’s NY vs NY tournament, Cisse who played for Team West 4th was by far the best big man. With his elite shot-blocking ability he led all players in the tournament with eight per game. In the NY vs NY championship vs Dyckman, Cisse blocked 12 shots along with grabbing 16 boards and scoring 10 points. He was dominant throughout the game, but it wasn’t enough as West 4th fell to Dyckman 61-60 in double overtime. That game happened to be his last of the summer and his final game in NYC. Days prior to the NY vs NY championship Cisse announced that he will be leaving New York and attending Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee. Lausanne produced NBA veteran and champion of the Toronto Raptors Marc Gasol.

Portland Trailblazer big man Skal Labissiere did not play at Lausanne but graduated from the school in 2015 before heading to the University of Kentucky.

Despite the fact that Moussa is moving on to a new school, there’s no question that he made a mark this summer with his play. He still feels that he has many things he can improve on as his career progresses “ I’m going to continue working on my offense more like my jump shot and other things because I’m pretty good on defense even though I’m still working on improving that as well. I’m also working more on playing without the ball.”

With his dominance on the defensive end and an offensive game in which he is currently building, the sky is the limit for Cisse who has the tons of potential to be a pro very soon.
CHSAA Chronicles: A look back at the CHSAA Team Camp

July 23, 2019

The new NCAA recruiting calendar helped bring back recruiting to high school basketball, one league that benefited from this was the CHSAA when they hosted their 1st annual team camp at Archbishop Molloy High school on June 28th – through the 30th.

CHSAA teams from all divisions had the chance to play in front of over 100 college coaches from all levels. We had the chance to visit the camp last month and we’re impressed with everything from the competition to the organization by the CHSAA staff.

With the team camp a lot of players liked playing in a different setting with their high school teammates as long as they were being seen by college coaches. “AAU definitely has better players and competition, but this is a good environment too because we get the opportunity to play with our team in front of coaches and we play our team system which is different from AAU” says Christ The King rising senior point guard Ryan Myers.

Myers earned more offers from schools such as Siena, Stetson, Cal Poly and others after the camp. Myers will look to start taking offers after the first live period.

There are many players who left the CHSAA team camp with their first division one offer while others added, even more, offers or interest. One of many players who earned their first offer was Anthony Lopez Jr. A 6-2 high-flying guard from St. Francis Prep earned his first offer from Maryland Eastern-Shore of the MEAC. Hamdel Mohammed a 6-6 Forward from Monsignor Scanlan had a strong showing at camp and recently added an offer from Fairleigh Dickinson to go along with his offer from Manhattan which he earned in the spring.

In one weekend, Cardinal Hayes forward Shemani fuller earned five offers after a dominant showing at the camp and helping Hayes finish their camp run with a 3-0 record. Maryland Eastern Shore, UMass, St. Bonaventure, Canisius, and St. Peter’s offered all offered the 6-8 Forward after his stellar play.

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The team camp setting proved to be beneficial to many players who may not perform well when it comes to AAU. As Grassroots basketball consultant Rob James says “ let’s say a kid struggles in the circuit, but he plays extremely well at the team camp. Events like this work wonders for players like that” says James.

The Richer get Richer

Staten Island’s own Liam Murphy has emerged as the next big star to come out of Staten Island. The 6-7 wing added offers from Binghamton, Columbia, and Manhattan. Murphy will reclass into the class of 2021 and do a postgrad year after graduating from St. Peter’s next year.

In our eyes, we know RJ Davis of Archbishop Stepinac is a five-star guard even before he entered the CHSAA team camp and more high majors have rolled in for him. After an impressive showing at the team camp, Davis earned offers from Kansas and UCLA. Since his strong showing at the Team camp, Davis continued to impress coaches at the EYBL Peach Jam

2021 coming on strong

Two players from the 2021 class that have been talked about a lot after their play at the camp were TJ Morris of Nazareth and Malachi Smith of St. Raymond’s.

Smith earned offers from St. Peter’s, Stony Brook and Iona and tons of interest from high major schools such as Oklahoma State St. John’s, Seton Hall and Illinois. Smith helped St. Raymond’s finish the team camp strong with a 3-0 record.

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TI Morris a 6-4 wing added his third offer which was from Seton Hall over that weekend. Seton Hall has been recruiting Morris since the season. The ultra-athletic wing helped Nazareth finish team camp with a 3-0 record

The End Result

There were 53 scholarship offers and over of 9.4 million dollars in scholarship money offered to players. With an event like this that gives high school coaches more power with recruiting, the team camp proved to be successful. The recruiting calendar could be way better than it is now but one thing that can be said is that Team Camps are here to stay.
ISO Zo’s Summertime Grind

June 17, 2019

The off-season after your rookie season is important because it’s vital to preventing the sophomore slump. This offseason is big for Alonzo Trier due to the fact that the Knicks just picked up his option for the 2019-2020 season on Friday.

A native of Seattle, Washington, Alonzo Trier surprised a lot of people with his great rookie season where he averaged Ten points three rebounds and two assists per game in 64 games. Many felt that his performance this season was deserving of an All-Rookie team selection. Despite falling short of votes to be eligible to make a team, it’s a sure thing that Alonzo Trier has made a niche for himself in the league and he is a big part of the Knicks future.

I recently caught up with Trier last Wednesday at Dyckman Park, Where he spoke to me about how he’s preparing for next season.

“I’m just looking to improve on everything that I learned from last season. Last year I learned everything on the fly so now that I know all of the ropes one time, and know what to expect I can build on it so I expect to be better and well prepared” Trier Says,

The summertime grind for Trier is real. As he explains his daily routine is top notch. “ Every morning I gotta make sure I wake up early, get a good lift in, my strength and conditioning, get some treatment, and then some bodywork focus on my strength, balance, and flexibility”.

Alonzo Trier At Dyckman Park on Wednesday, June 12th. Photo Credit: Nicole Sweet

“When I’m on the court I dedicate my time to sharpening all of the tools. I’m working on shooting the ball well, my ball handling, working on making reads, getting more used to the way we play offense, and just sharpen up my overall game” Trier added.

When Trier isn’t in the gym, and he’s around the NY area you can always catch him at one of the local summer leagues on Wednesday he made his 2nd appearance at Dyckman. “I love the game of the basketball so it’s always great to stop by and check out some games”. Trier and Kevin Knox are the only rookies to ever make an appearance at Dyckman but one player who hasn’t come to the tournament yet is Mitchell Robinson. Trier said, “for sure, no doubt we love to get Mitch out here, we’ll all probably stop by here very soon”.

Photo Credit: Nia Adams

The possibility of Trier or any Knicks player suiting up at Dyckman is something I have never thought about, but with the summer tournament being sanctioned by the NBA anything is possible. Just seeing the players from the local teams show support to the tournament is big enough. Aside from that, learning about how Trier is preparing for the season is something many Knick fans should be happy about. The future is bright.
NY vs NY 2018: The Brooklyn Way

June 9, 2019

On Tuesday, Nike’s NY vs NY tournament made its way to Brooklyn, NY as Gersh Park was the host of the tournament, but due to the rain, all games were moved to First Achievement High school in Crown Heights. Despite the games being indoors that didn’t stop all of the players and fans from coming out besides, its Brooklyn and it’s already a given that the whole borough is going to pop out. The stakes were higher on Tuesday night, as there were playoff implications in these games and of course, it was rivalry day.

In Game 1, Team Dyckman vs Watson needed a whole lotta extra time to decide a winner. Watson got off to a good start in the 1st quarter as they led by as much as seven points, but Team Dyckman woke up and went on a huge run to take a 19-14 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.

In the second quarter, it was a different story as Watson outscored Dyckman 17-7 to take a 31-26 lead into the half.

Watson continued their scoring onslaught as they extended their lead to 15 in the 3rd quarter, but if you have been following Team

Dyckman since this tournament started. You will know that they are the comeback kings. Down 43-28 Cardinal Hayes rising senior guard Joe Toussaint was like a man possessed leading a huge 8-2 run to cut the deficit to nine going into the 4th quarter. With Joe Toussaint’s offense combined with the defensive presence of the Drame Twins, team Dyckman outlasted Watson 70-69 in double overtime. Joe Toussaint with an inspiring performance as he scored 29 points to lead Dyckman. Watson definitely had a lot of chances to put Dyckman away but some sloppy play down the stretch made things harder for them. Dashawn Davis led Watson with 21 points and dished out seven assists.

Gersh Park dominates Lincoln 78-60

The nightcap featured the defending champs Gersh Park vs Lincoln Park in a Brooklyn vs Queens matchup. There was a lot of trash talk throughout social media and this game may have put an end to all of that.

Lincoln Park had a strong first quarter behind points from Zack Martin and Alejandro Vasquez and they were able to take advantage of Gersh’s slow start. In the second quarter, Gersh fought back but still found themselves down 40-36 at the half. The third quarter would be where The game would be heavily in their favor as they dominate Lincoln Park holding them to four points while scoring 22. One player that came

Up huge in the third was Bishop Loughlin Forward Julian Champangie who had the crowd in a frenzy with a big poster dunk on a defender with 2:23 remaining in the third quarter. Gersh would continue to dominate the rest of the way as they would win 78-60 and claim sole possession of first place with a 3-0 record.

Outside of the big win, it was a banner night for Gersh Park as they were presented with a banner for winning the inaugural championship last year. With the regular season over we now focus on the playoffs at Dyckman Park on the July 31st. The question going into the playoffs is who will stop Team Gersh or Team Dyckman? Right now the top two teams have the momentum going into the playoffs and both teams will have their full rosters as well as all the other teams.
NYvs NY 2018: Tri State and Lincoln Park

June 9, 2019

In week 2 at Tri-State, Dyckman bounced back from their opening week loss to Gersh by edging Tri-State 50-49. In that game Al-Amir Dawes, a rising senior at The Patrick School in New Jersey led Dyckman with 22 points and 5 steals. Gersh Blew past West 4th 61-53 to remain undefeated at 2-0.

Photo credit: Nicole Sweet Sports

Week three was a big day for NY vs NY as the tournament made its way to Queens. Tri-State and West 4th were looking to get their first wins of the tournament while Watson and Lincoln Park were willing to remain undefeated. All teams were missing key players due to the 1st NCAA live period, but both teams made big adjustments on their roster and it worked out well. In Game 1 Tri-State edged Watson 64-62 behind 15 points from Matthew Cotton and 14 points from Tyler Bourne. Watson was led by Jacob Toppin who scored 16 points and grabbed 12 boards.

In the nightcap, It was Team Lincoln Park vs Team West 4th. With the home crowd behind them, Team Lincoln Park was confident they could take care of home court while West 4th came into queens determined to spoil the party and they did. Team Lincoln threw the first punches early, but Team West 4th fought back and used a second-half surge to bear Team Lincoln 70-63. Nariq Chisholm a late addition to Team West 4th came up big with 20 points and 10 boards, but another player who stole the show was Brooklyn Collegiate rising junior Majesty Johnson. Johnson scored 18 points and hit some big shots down the stretch to help West 4th get the win.

Despite the loss, it was a big day for Lincoln Park as they have proved to be one of the best summer leagues in NYC. NBA Rookie is the Year Ben Simmons came through to watch the games as well as fellow Queens native and Social media comedian The Shiggy Show.
NY vs NY 2018 Week 1: NYC’s Top Ballers Invade Watty

June 9, 2019

New York vs New York Year Two kicked off this past weekend at Watson Park in The Bronx and it did not disappoint. There were some big changes that came this year. Familiar faces switched teams. New faces shined on the big stage and NY vs NY’s newest addition Lincoln Park out of Queens.

In the first game, the home team Watson Classic defeated Team West 4th 72-58. It was a great Debut for Mount St. Michael rising senior Michael Green III who exploded for 26 points in the victory. Green who plays AAU for the NY Gauchos and holds an offer from Manhattan College is one of many local products who has been having a great summer. Another emerging prospect Dashawn Davis scored 18 points while Albany Commit Malachi Desouza scored 15.

Game 2 was the debut of Team Lincoln Park out of Queens which featured a slew of newcomers along with some familiar faces. One of the familiar faces was Anthony “Rome” Marshall (Metro-BDA HS ‘20) who led Gersh Park to the NY vs NY championship last year.

Tri-State had a new squad of their own with the new coaching staff. Tri-State brought out Butler Commit Khalif Battle along with a couple of talented players from New Jersey were featured on the team along with new heights duo Precious Achiuwa and Idan Tretout. Tri-State took advantage of Lincoln’s slow start throughout the first quarter but Lincoln fought right back in the second quarter to take a 34-33 lead into half time. In the third quarter, Lincoln Park took over and gained a big lead in the third quarter. Tri-State fought back but in the end, Lincoln Park went on to win 70-59. Precious Achiuwa led Tri-State with 17 points. Nate Tabor led Lincoln with 19 points. Big men Aidan Igiehon and Moussa Cisse held it down in the paint as they combined for 21 points and 11 boards.

The last game between Team Dyckman and Gersh Park was the perfect game to end Week 1 of NY vs NY. The last time these two teams met Gersh defeated Dyckman in the championship game. Dyckman came for revenge while Gersh wanted to pick up from where they left off.

Gersh has a very strong first half and we’re hitting on all cylinders. It was a great debut for guards John Wilson, Jaquan Carlos and Kareem Welch who controlled the pace of the game and were hitting their shots. Gersh would go into the half up 37-29.

Team Dyckman may have been down going into the second half, but if you haven’t seen how hard they play and how resilient this team was last year in the chip game, then you are playing yourself. Down double figures, for most of the second half, Dyckman made a huge run to cut the lead to 1 with only a couple of seconds remaining. With a chance to give themselves the lead, Gersh forced a Team Dyckman turnover and hit key free throws to seal the 65-62 victory.

Jaquan Carlos a 6-0 freshman out of Thomas Jefferson HS in Brooklyn led Gersh Park with 17 points. Zack Freemantle a 6-8 Forward out of Bergen Catholic HS led Dyckman with 15 points. There’s no question that both of these teams could possibly meet again in the playoffs.

It’s safe to say NY vs NY week one exceeded its expectations in Week 1. A ton of people came out to the park to check out the top high school players in the city and the country. Teams found out where they are after week one and will probably make adjustments if needed going forward. It’s too early to say who will be carrying the hardware on August 4th, but one thing for sure it’s going to be a hot summer and the competitiveness is going to be crazy

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