The stage is set for tomorrow when Archbishop Stepinac will face Christ The King for the “AA” city championship. The game will be a rematch of last year’s championship game where Stepinac won the game.
Archbishop Stepinac vs Cardinal Hayes
Adrian Griffin Jr. Went off for 32 points and 11 boards in the 77-65 win over Hayes. RJ Davis scored 25 points dished out five assists and grabbed five rebounds.
Cardinal Hayes which was down double figures throughout the game went on a huge run in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to five late in the fourth quarter. Iowa Commit Joe Toussaint led Hayes with 24 points. Jaylen Murray scored 18 and Julian Soumarou scored 15.
Christ The King vs Bishop Loughlin
Behind a great performance by Sophmore center Moussa Cisse and a strong showing by the reserves. Christ The King outlasted Bishop Loughlin 72-61. Cisse scored 22 points grabbed 19 rebounds and blocked 13 shots. Ryan Myers added 17 points for Christ The King.
This team completed a stretch of winning 5 games in six days and they beat some very good teams along the way. The Lions have beaten defending state champions Abraham Lincoln and Lawrence Woodmere along with nationally ranked Lincoln Academy out of Georgia. I caught up with some of the players after their 65-56 win over St. Anthony’s (LI) at the 2nd annual Empire Invitational. In that game Brooklyn Collegiate held St. Anthony’s to seven points in the fourth quarter while scoring 21.
This winning streak comes at a time where the school is facing challenging times. About two weeks ago the school found out that they were on the list of schools that will be facing closure in June due to poor performance. A final decision is pending from the education panel but students, faculty and parents are currently fighting to keep the school open past June 2018. As for the players they are making sure that they are handling their business in the classroom but they aren’t letting the news about their school affect them. Many of the players including junior guard Charles Brown are learning how to stay focused with everything going on. “When I first heard about it I was really shocked because this is my first year on the team and these are my brothers, but coach told us not to focus on that and focus on the task at hand and that’s taking Brooklyn “AA” basketball.
The winning streak could be the beginning of something big for the Brooklyn Collegiate Lions this season. The players are finally getting used to each other and that could possibly mean trouble for many teams in the city.
Check out the video interview with The players in the video below.
Players (Left-Right)
No. 11 G Majesty Johnson ‘20 No. 32 F Erlyn Ramirez’19 No. 1 G Glen Anderson’19 No. 10 G Charles Brown
Photo Credits: USA Today sports / Seton Hall Athletics
The Seton Hall Pirates are coming into the last two weeks of conference play on the bubble. The pirates suffered back to back tough losses last week to Xavier and conference rival St. John’s last week.
Both losses were tough and it may have made their chances of being a lock for the NCAA Tournament harder but not all is lost. Most bracketologists have the Pirates as one of the last four teams in and with new month comes new opportunities for the Pirates to get more signature wins and boost their tournament resume even more.
It all starts on Saturday when the Pirates travel to play Georgetown in Washington D.C. The Pirates will arrive into D.C. well rested and when the Pirates have a week-long break, they are more than likely to perform at a high level. We have seen this the last time they played Georgetown at the Prudential center on. February 13th. The Pirates dropped 90 points on the Hoyas and had four players score in double figures.
The Pirates then have 10th ranked Marquette coming into the Prudential center in on Wednesday, March 6th and then defending national champions Villanova to close out conference play on Saturday, March 9th. Can’t forget about the upcoming Big East tournament on the 13th-16th plenty of opportunities to get some signature wins.
Standing at 7-8 in the conference with three games remaining, there has to be a sense of urgency among the Pirates, at the same time there’s no denying their non-conference resume which could help them a lot especially if they get some big wins in the next few weeks. Winning the next two out of three conference games should make them a lock for the NCAA tournament and it will make the committee forget about the bad losses to DePaul and Xavier.
At this moment, the Pirates are a team that is looking to steal a bid. Some bracketologists have the Big East sending three teams into the NCAA tournament, but we believe there would be four and the Pirates will be that fourth team.
One thing that we have learned throughout the season with the Pirates are that slow starts are this team’s kryptonite. The Pirates have been able to bounce back from slow starts and win, but fighting back from double digits to win isn’t going to happen all of the time.
The Pirates are aware of their bad starts but one way to overcome that is to play like their down ten from the start. In many of the games, we have covered this season when the Pirates are having a strong start in the first half, they are tough to beat. With March approaching, expect to see a more focused and determined Seton Hall team.
The 2018-19 Archdiocesan playoffs are in the books and Cardinal Hayes and Bishop Loughlin have claimed their respective titles and top seeds In the Intersectional playoffs.
For Loughlin they had to overcome a furious rally by a tough Xaverian to win 61-49 on Friday night. The Lions led by as much as 22 points in the first half but that lead quickly shrunk to nine points in the third quarter then six points going into the fourth due to an 17-11 scoring run by the Clippers. The Lions were able to hold of Xaverian in the last few minutes of the game to seal the victory. Loughlin earned a bye to the quarterfinal round will play the winner of Iona Prep vs St. Francis Prep on Sunday March 3rd. The last time Loughlin won the Diocesan championship was 2016.
Bishop Loughlin survived a huge rally by Xaverian to win the Brooklyn/Queens Archdiocesan title on Friday night
Cardinal Hayes vs Top seeded St. Raymond’s on Saturday was another chapter in the rivalry between both schools. The Cardinals dominated in the second half en route to an 86-65 victory over the Ravens. Iowa Commit Joe Toussaint earned MVP honors with a 25 point/ eight rebound and seven assist performance. The front court duo of Shemani Fuller and Adam Cisse combined for 26 points while Jaylen Murray scored 18. The Cardinals also earned the No. 1 seed in the intersectional playoffs and a bye to the quarterfinals at Fordham University where they will face the winner of Mount St. Michael vs Holy Cross.
This weekend, we may have gotten a look at three teams that could possibly be in the title game on March 10th. Despite losing big at the Archdiocesan championship, St. Raymond’s is still have what it takes to make it to the title game on March 10th. It depends on how the Ravens respond when they face the winner of CTK vs Scanlan in the quarterfinals.
Hayes looks like the strongest team heading into the playoffs and their dominance in the championship game proved that. The Cardinals have the size and depth to compete with any team they also have CHSAA player of the year Joe Toussaint who led Hayes to the title game in 2017.
With a bye into the quarterfinals, Bishop Loughlin is in great shape to return to the city title game since 2016. The front court duo of Julian and Justin Champangie have proven to become a matchup nightmare for most teams this season.
With the city playoffs beginning on Tuesday, we have came up with our final four predictions for the CHSAA playoffs. HDNYC’s final four teams are
Cardinal Hayes
Stepinac
St. Raymond’s
and Bishop Loughlin
Teams that could possibly pull off an upset and sneak into the final four.
The Archdiocesan Semifinal matchup between No.1 seeded St. Raymond’s and No.5 seeded Archbishop Stepinac lived up to its expectations. The Ravens were looking to advance to the Archdiocesan title game for the first time since 2016, while Last year’s champion Stepinac were looking to return as well.
The game started out heavily in the Ravens favor as they took advantage of the Crusaders sloppy Start and raced out to a 14-2 lead. the lead soon grew to 22-8 at the end of the quarter as the Ravens dominated scoring in the paint while the Crusaders struggled to get into a rhythm. In the second quarter, that quickly changed when Stepinac outscored St. Rays 19-13. Stepinac stepped up in the second quarter to make the game more competitive but still faced a 35-27 lead going into half time.
The fourth quarter would go down as one of the best finishes ever. the Ravens were up 54-44 but Stepinac would go on a 9-3 run to cut St. Rays lead to four with 4:34 left. This is where the game got interesting because In the first quarter it looked like St. Raymond’s was going to run away with it but Stepinac refused to back. Stepinac’s Rally reached a point when they briefly had the lead. With 1:20 remaining in the game, Ed Sanchez scored to give Stepinac a 64-63 lead. Sophomore Malachi Smith would quickly respond with a layup of his own to give the Ravens back the lead. The finish in this game would be a great one down 65-64, RJ Davis would hit a floater to give Stepinac a 66-65 lead. but Jalen Reneau answered with a euro-step for the layup with 15 seconds remaining then forced a charge to regain possession and sealed the victory with free throws.
The Ravens were able to run away with the 69-66 victory thanks to their execution in yesterday’s game. Now the Ravens will prepare for the Archdiocesan championship game against crosstown rival Cardinal Hayes. The last time these two teams met in the championship game was 2016 when the Cardinals defeated the Ravens.
What We Learned
Stepinac’s rally in the fourth quarter proved how they have grown since early in the season. The Crusaders have won five straight games going into last night’s contest. RJ Davis scored 15 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter. Davis’s fourth-quarter performance proved that Stepinac is one team no one wants to face in the city playoffs early in the season not many people would think Stepinac would make it this far. With a healthy Adrian Griffin back in the fold. It makes things more interesting as we approach the city playoffs coming soon.
During the Ravens 14 game winning streak, this team has found themselves in many close game situations where they could have lost the game, and last night was no different. Their execution proved that they are battle tested and they are aware of the challenges ahead in the city playoffs. For a team that consists of mostly sophomores and juniors, they do play a higher level of basketball.
Hayes outlasts Iona Prep
In the first semifinal game, Hayes outlasted Iona Prep 64-53. Joe Toussaint scored 20 points for Hayes while Julian Sourmaro added 19. Cardinals are will face St. Raymond’s in the championship game on Saturday at Mount St. Michael game starts at 1pm.
For years, South Bronx Prep coach Paul Campbell has never backed down from challenging his players by having them compete against schools in higher divisions. “Every year I want to challenge my kids to a more significant task I don’t care about any records, I don’t care about any of that, all I want to do is challenge my kids and prepare them for a preseason run”. Says Campbell
So far this season, the Cougars are 2-1 against the A division with wins against Dewitt Clinton and an excellent Grady team out of Brooklyn. The Cougars have proven that they can compete with A division teams, but a signature win over an AA team is something that they felt would make more noise. “Mentally I just told them to understand the magnitude of this game. They needed to know what winning this game would do for our school and our program, it’s a big deal when you have a B division school beat a team in the AA division”.
On Saturday February 2nd, the Cougars went up against James Monroe the No.3 team in the PSAL Bronx AA division as a part of the Garland Alston Memorial tournament. James Monroe was the perfect opponent for the Cougars, the third best team in the Bronx “AA” division with a league record of 9-4 and an overall record of 14-7. Players and coaches from both sides know each other well and Campbell felt right at home the 12-year head coach grew up In Bronx River houses which is a block away from James Monroe Campus.
The game was a highly competitive and low scoring affair where there were tons of ties and lead changes but the last few minutes of the fourth quarter was when the Cougars proved that they were better than most B division teams. Monroe rallied back from being down by six to take a 56-55 lead with 43 seconds remaining in the game. At that moment the Cougars found themselves in a tough situation and made a timeout to regroup. After the timeout, Sophomore guard Steven Turner found Junior Eric Davis for the game-winning three-point shot with 20 seconds left in the game to give them a 58–56 lead. With clutch free throws from senior forward Jordan Agyemang and team defense, the Cougars sealed one of their best wins in the schools’ history.
Agyemang who has experienced losing to Monroe for the past three years was excited to get the win in his last year but remained focus on his biggest goal a city title “We are happy to get this win finally, but at the same time we have bigger plans.”
The showed the Cougars how to approach different game situations, and they learned how to be resilient when they lost the lead. “I’m just proud that the kids accepted the challenge and stepped up, they didn’t give up. We had the lead then we lost the point but we didn’t quit, and we held it down. Eric made a big shot to seal the win, and Jordan hit big free throws which he has struggled with this season, and it’s amazing.
The South Bronx Prep Cougars are now 22-2 on the season and are currently ranked No.10 in the state and No. 2 in the city according to the NY State Sportswriters Association. With this recent win, the Cougars have made a statement, and that statement is they are willing to compete with anyone
At the half of Saturday’s game, Floyd “Showtime” Coleman a member of James Monroe’s 1990 city championship team was honored for his contributions to the Bronx River Community.
Rasheem Jenkins was one of NYC’s top guards during his four years at Wings Academy in The Bronx. The All-city guard then was able to play Division 1 basketball at Florida A&M and play professionally in Germany and Poland, but since he stopped playing basketball a few years ago he has used the sport he loves to help the youth in his old neighborhood of the Edenwald section of the Bronx.
“If you get mad and take off your shirt you won’t be allowed to play anymore, we are trying to teach good sportsmanship here,” Jenkins says on the microphone as he commentates one of the games at his fifth annual Grenada Blacktop Classic. It’s an event that he started a few years ago after witnessing a lack of activities for the kids in his neighborhood.
“The Idea came about when I see kids doing nothing in the park, there was no morale and the kids had no smiles on their faces so I said I’m gonna start my own tournament and that’s when I started the Blacktop classic. I wanted to give kids a tournament they can play in every weekend as long as they can get along with each other” Jenkins adds. This year’s event included a Basketball clinic in which players are taught new skills from current professional and college players who are from the area. Following the clinic, the kids participated in basketball tournaments that lasted throughout the day.
Having an event like the Blacktop Classic in Edenwald is essential because it’s an area notoriously known for violence but at the same time basketball events such as his contribute to the crime rate going down.
The Edenwald and Baychester areas have produced tons of players who have played division one basketball as well as played professionally. Two notable players from the area have made lots of noise on the college and local high school scene. Dayshon “Scoochie” Smith just came off a successful 4-year run at the University of Dayton where he led Dayton to multiple NCAA tournament appearances including a run to the elite eight in his freshman year. Smith has played professionally overseas in Australia and now plays with the Canton Charge an NBA G-league affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then there is Dashawn “Rams” Davis, a 6-2 guard from Our Savior Lutheran, a Mr. Basketball and McDonald’s All-American nominee who recently committed to Seton Hall. These two players along with many others have benefited from the help of people in their community who have kept them on the right path. Robert “Rock” Jones a coach with the Wiz Kids and Elliot Rosado founder and CEO of Books and Ball along with many others in the Edenwald area have helped kids stay on track with the sport of Basketball. Jenkins along with his childhood friend Vance Callahan are two men who are willing to do the same. Who knows, there could be some future stars in NYC basketball who could come out of the Edenwald area thanks to the Grenada Blacktop Classic.
Rasheem Jenkins announcing the games during the 2017 Grenada Blacktop Classic
On that Sunday evening, the event left a lasting effect on the kids who were there. “When the event was over, one of the kids asked me if we were coming back tomorrow or next week. They wanted to do something like this every day that’s when I know I made an impact”. It was great to see that a lot of the kids enjoyed themselves. Some kids don’t even play basketball who enjoyed it”. With the success that his event has had this year Jenkins along with his partner Vance Callahan and others hope to expand the event by making it a few weeks during the summer. It’s a challenge that they are willing to overcome but they need help from the community. “We need more help from the parents, we would like to get them involved so we can help these kids.” Jenkins is also looking for future sponsors for his event. When the event was over, the kids asked me if we were coming back tomorrow or next week. They wanted to do this every day It was phenomenal, and that’s when I know It made an Impact.
When the event was over , the kids asked me if we were coming back tomorrow or next week. They wanted to do this everyday It was phenomenal, that’s when I know It made an Impact.
Rasheem Jenkins on the Impact of the Grenada Blacktop Classic
Jenkins has a big vision for his event as well as other things he wants to do for the youth in the future. “I’m looking to start my enrichment program soon, not just for the kids who play basketball, but also for the kids who don’t play basketball as well Some of these kids want to go D1, but they don’t realize that they need to do well in school too. These kids also need to learn how to use basketball to get a free education as well as find other career paths” Jenkins added. The fifth annual Grenada Blacktop classic is over but Jenkins is not done. Later on this fall, he will be hosting a shooting stars camp and he will also continue to work with the youth in sports programs.
As for other people in communities who are looking to do the same Jenkins has some advice “just come out and show your face, also let your voice be heard. Use your strengths to help the youth.
UPDATE: In the summer of 2018, the Grenada Blacktop Classic evolved from a weekend event to a full summer tournament which Included several divisions from Middle School Boys and Girls divisions to Men’s unlimited division. When it comes to providing for his community the tournament is just one way replans to give back. Jenkins has future plans to start his own Community Based Organization organization which revolves around on education and athletics.
2017-18 Season at a glance: 22-11 overall record Brooklyn-Queens Diocesan champions, CHSAA city championship runner up.
Players to Watch: Quaran McPherson, Ryan Myers, Sterling Jones
The 2017-18 season was when a young Christ The King team exceeded expectations and made the city title game. Now this same young Christ The King squad returns with some postseason experience and the goal for them is to not only reach the title game again but win it all.
The Royals May have lost some players due to transfers but they still have the experience talent and coaching to make another run. Two players who will have breakout years are juniors Ryan Myers and Quaran McPherson. Myers came through with some big shooting performances last year and he will have a bigger role this season. McPherson continues to grow as a player and he is due for a big junior year. 6-11 sophomore Moussa Cisse will take on a bigger role next season as he will be the lone big man in the paint for the Royals.
Sophomore guard Sterling Jones is another guard who will step up for the Royals next season. The 6-0 sophomore is a great ball handler who is quick and he can also shoot from outside. Jones was part of an NY tens 15U squad that made a huge run in the EYBL Peach Jam.
Key games to Watch
December 9th Vs South Shore at Battle in the Apple
This young royals team will be on the big stage as they will go up against defending PSAL city champion South Shore. The Royals May be younger than the Vikings but that will not phase them. This is one game that the whole city should be in attendance for.
December 14th vs Stepinac
The Royals will be hosting Stepinac in a rematch of last year’s CHSAA title game. The Royals will have revenge on their minds and the gym will definitely be packed for this game. Early arrival is advised!
December 23rd vs Cardinal Hayes
The Royals will have a big game vs Hayes at home before they head over to South Carolina for the Beach ball classic.
December 26th -31st Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach South Carolina.
The Royals will end 2018 out of town at the prestigious Beach Ball classic in South Carolina. their first opponent hasn’t been announced, but we know for sure the Royals will be prepared.
January 6th CTK’s annual Apparel Challenge
Christ the King will start of 2019 with their annual apparel challenge. The tournament has become one of the best events of the high school season and it will be interesting to see who the Royals will be playing on that day.
January 19th vs Vashon HS (MO) Spalding Hoop Hall Classic.
The Royals will be one of many local squads playing in the prestigious Hoophall classic in Springfield Massachusetts. The Royals will go up against a Vashon High school team that features Missouri Commit Mario McKinney jr.
Outlook
The royals have a strong chance to repeat as Brooklyn-Queens Diocesan champions as well as make another run to the city championship game. Their success will depend on how their juniors perform this season. There will be challenges ahead, but coach Joe Arbitello will have the squad prepared.
St. John’s had a tough time stopping Georgetown on Sunday afternoon Photo Credit: Georgetown Athletics
Big East Press a monthly column about local Big East teams and the players from the NYC tri-state area who play in it.
The midpoint of conference play is a time where the men have separated themselves from the boys and the high hopes from the early part of the season have dwindled for some while others have improved. Both the St. John’s Red Storm and the Seton Hall Pirates have put themselves in a bad position after both teams suffered terrible losses to Georgetown and Villanova respectively on Sunday. What makes these losses worse is that prior to Sunday both teams had a week off to prepare for these games.
Most Bracketologists have both teams dancing in March, but at the same time they are trending downward. In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology, Seton Hall is the 12th seed in the West region while St. John’s is an 11th seed in the Midwest region. Both teams are in the top 68 in net rankings. St. John’s is ranked at Number 49 while Seton Hall is ranked at No. 64. The net rankings are one of many metrics that are used by the tournament selection committee.
At this point of the season, both teams are 3-5 in conference play, and both enter a pivotal stretch of games where winning is needed to improve their chances of making the field of 68, but many pundits who follow the Big East believe Seton Hall slightly has a better chance of dancing at this point than St. John’s mainly because their non-conference wins vs Kentucky and Maryland stand out more.
For St. John’s they face a very crucial three game road trip starting with Creighton tonight in Omaha, followed by No.2 Duke on Saturday and Marquette on Tuesday.
If you are looking for St. John’s to be a tournament lock winning next 2 out of the three games would be huge for the Red Storm, but for that to happen this team needs to return to their ways during the early part of the season. When we covered the Red Storm in November at the Legends Classic, we have seen a very united and focused team. The past few games have been the opposite. The same bad habits they had gotten away with during non-conference play have come back to haunt them.
With February around the corner and March slowly approaching, these next seven weeks will show who deserves to punch their ticket to the big dance.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
St. John’s guard and Brooklyn Native is top 5 in most statistical categories (points, assists, and steals) and looks like the heavy favorite for Big East and National player of the year.
Harlem Native Alpha Diallo and the rest of the Providence Friars will be in Newark tonight as they will be playing Seton Hall at the Prudential Center. Diallo leads the team in scoring with 17 points per game and leads the league in rebounding with 8.5 rebounds a game.
White Plains Native and Butler wing Jordan Tucker has already made himself at home with the Butler Bulldogs. Butler scored a career-high 24 points off the bench in the win vs. St. John’s on January 19th and is putting up averages of 10 points and five rebounds per game. Butler will be back in the NYC area on February 12th when they will face off against St. John’s at Madison Square Garden.
Dyckman’s High School division games has attracted large crowds during the summer of 2018. Photo Credit: Nia Adams / L0verebel
There was a time when the Unlimited division ruled many summer leagues across the NYC area and the younger players never got as much attention from the fans in the park unless they were playing with grown men. That has changed the past few years at the Dyckman basketball tournament where the CEO and Commissioner Ken Stevens over decided to make a change in the weekly schedule by dedicating one day out of the week in the tournament’s schedule to the top high school talent in the city with “Prom Season Thursdays” a day that features three games that include six 19 and under teams.
The Past Dyckman’s High School division always had the top players in the NYC Tri-state area suit up but in the past, they were rarely seen by the large crowds because they played mostly on Sundays or during the week at 6 pm as an appetizer before the unlimited games. Dyckman basketball Media director Miguel Rodriguez remembers those nights and some of the top players who played fondly. “ One player that came to mind was Hassan Martin (former Rhode Island stand out and current overseas pro) who played for Bedford Y. He had these two dunks where he straight up posterized defenders”. Rodriguez also spoke about Tenth Ave, the home team at Dyckman. “Tenth Ave always had the neighborhood guys like Vincent Franklin, Ras Council, and other people in the community always came out for them”. Tenth Ave always had wars with other teams every Sunday.
It’s a Tenth Ave Thing
You can’t talk about Dyckman’s High School division without mentioning the home team Tenth Ave. This team has been a huge part of Dyckman’s history, and the Head coach Of the team Coach Deuce has seen the growth of the high school division throughout the years. “I’m not going to lie when I first started the high school division was kind of dead until the big names started coming out” My assistant coach “Coach Heckler” brought out this kid named Boobie (older brother of OKC thunder rookie Hamidou Diallo) then after him a ton of other players came out. Tenth Ave was arguably one of the teams that featured a plethora of elite talent from across the Tri-state area and beyond, From featuring Isaiah Washington and a majority of the members of Jellyfam on their team to having several High major Division One basketball prospects play in the 2016 championship game Tenth Ave always brought the stars out. The 2016 championship game between Tenth Ave and Brooklyn Stompers was one of many turning points that proved that the high school division was Dyckman’s next-best thing. Several of the top players in the city from both teams played in that game. Dutch has some regrets about the 2016 final four and championship game but knows his team will be back to being contenders soon. ” I’m not going to front, we choked in that game and our legs gave out but I give major props to Brooklyn Stompers they played a hell of a game”.
Prom Season Thursday’s and the resurgence of Cha-Ching.
Dyckman announcer David “Chaching” Teele made his debut at Dyckman by announcing the high school games in 2013, and from there took over announcing the unlimited games as well. As Teele explained in a recent interview Prom season Thursdays are one thing that helped his career as well as elevate the high school division. “Prom season Thursdays was another opportunity to expand my brand “Chaching” as well as elevate the High school division at Dyckman. Moving the games to Thursdays was big and coming up with the concept helped, and now everyone in the city likes it”. If you have been to Dyckman regularly you can see that when the younger players play Teele is on another level with his announcing, and with him and Rodriguez knowing the best high school players it’s a sure thing that Commissioner Ken Stevens made the right choice by making the high school division a priority within the tournament.
Dyckman’s Miguel Rodriguez and Dave “Cha-Ching” Teele are the architechs of Prom Season Thursdays Photo Credit:Dyckman Basketball
The Present and the future
Since Dyckman’s high school division has become the tournament’s main attraction Prom season Thursdays has introduced a ton of new stars as of late. Two of the best players that have made some late this summer are Zack Freemantle a 6-8 PF from Bergen Catholic HS in New Jersey and Dashawn Davis a 6-3 guard from Our Savior Lutheran High School in the Bronx. Both players play for defending champion Skull Gang which is coached by Jermaine “Twin” James and also features some of the top players from Jersey such as Al-Amir Dawes, Khalif Battle, and Ja’Quaye James as well as others. Dyckman’s partnership with Slam Magazine this year has led to many of the top players from across the nation making their first appearance on the red carpet of street ball with the Slam summer classic. Playing at Dyckman has become a goal for many players in the country. On numerous nights the high school division games caught more attention than the unlimited games, and as Prom Season Thursdays gained more attention, more people filled up the seats.
Along with some rising seniors that have been dominating at Dyckman, some underclassmen have made a name for themselves Jaylen “Juju” Murray, (Cardinal Hayes 21’) Majesty Johnson (Brooklyn Collegiate HS 20’), and Anthony “Rome” Marshall (Metro-BDA HS 20’) are just a few of many players who have been killing in the High school division this summer, and there will be more to come. With the rise of the High school division becoming the main attraction in streetball during the past 3 years, it’s worth noting that Dyckman’s prom Season Thursdays came at the right time. “I just hope that the momentum doesn’t fade away”. says coach Tenth Ave Head coach Deuce.
With the Dyckman’s 2018 season coming to a close tonight, it’s a sure thing that the high school players that once were the opening act have become the headliners and it could be that way for a while. Despite that, Some feel that there is always room for improvement, and Cha-Ching is one of them. “At this moment I can’t think about anything right now but over the winter I always want to come up with something new because we always want to get better and that’s the key to getting better no matter what it is”. Improving is one thing that is always on the mind when it comes to Dyckman Basketball but one thing for sure is that Prom Season Thursdays is here to stay.
Hoop Dreams NYC 
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