Stony Brook Team Camp Report
The new Stony Brook Team Camp wrapped up with William Floyd capturing the championship in a win over Newfield. It is already clear that a new Long Island institution has been established: Seawolves Coach Steve Pikiell and his staff put together a terrific camp, with lectures, coaches chalk talks, and of course, non-stop basketball action. If you want to kick-start your season and have your players work with D1 coaches and players, make plans to enter your team next year.
College Assistant Coach Opening
Western Suffolk Community College in Brentwood is looking for a first assistant. If interested please contact Head Coach Gregg Barry at greggsanden@yahoo.com
NBA DRAFT SPECIAL
Green To Cavs, Price To Pacers
North Babylon's Danny Green and Amityville's AJ Price both had their dreams come true when they were selected in the 2009 NBA Draft. Green was the 46th pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Price the 52nd pick by the Indiana Pacers. Green seems like a perfect fit on a team that just added Shaquille O'Neal to its roster and will once again be a serious contender for the NBA Title. Price joins a struggling Pacers team that Pacer GM Larry Bird says he wants to rebuild with "winners" like Price and UNC's Tyler Hansbrough, their first round pick. As second round selections, neither Green nor Price will receive guaranteed contracts.
Knicks Draft Jordan Hill
The Knick drafted Arizona 6-foot-10 forward Jordan Hill with the eighth pick. (Stephan Curry went at #7 to Golden State) Hill has been compared by some to Chris Bosch. They later acquired the rights to Florida State guard Toney Douglas from the Lakers, who selected him 29th overall. They gave up a 2011 second round pick and cash. Douglas was 16th in the nation in scoring, averaging 21.5 points per game as the Seminoles' point guard. The third-team AP All-America selection also won honors as the ACC's top defensive player. The Knicks also made a deal with the Grizzlies, swapping Darko Milicic for Quentin Richardson. Figure that one out.
Claxton Traded To Golden State
In a draft day trade, Speedy Claxton was traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Golden State Warriors. Jamal Crawford was part of the deal, going to Atlanta.
NBA Draft Trades
A Day To Remember
For A.J Price and Danny Green, June 25th, 2009, will be a day to remember. When the NBA draft commences tonight at 7PM ET, these two Long Island-born players will be anxiously waiting to hear their names called in front of the hometown crowd at WaMu Theater. For both Green and Price the wait figures to be a long one- not a single reputable mock draft has either player taken in the first round. In fact, if Price should spend too much time perusing NBAdraft.net, he may begin to wonder if his name will be called at all. Price's draft stock has recently taken a hit as the result of rumors regarding his health. The reports, which concerned an aneurysm in Price's brain thought to be the result of the near-fatal Arteriovenous Malformation he suffered in 2004, proved to be erroneous. However, teams are also concerned about Price's recent ACL reconstruction surgery. They wonder if he will have the lateral quickness to keep up with NBA guards on the defensive end. Nonetheless, NBA teams are particularly cautious when it comes to red flags about a player's health, and especially so on draft day. Green, fresh off a national championship run at North Carolina, is in a more comfortable position than Price is as draft day approaches. Despite the fact that he can pretty much rest assured that his name will be called, Green has almost no idea which team will call it. He has worked out for Los Angeles, Cleveland, Charlotte, Chicago, Portland, Memphis and New Jersey, among others. Unless a trade is made, one city both Green and Price can count out as a potential draft day destination is New York. Mock drafts see Green going anywhere from the 34th to the 55th pick, and Price is projected to go at best as the 41st pick, and at worst to go undrafted. As a result of the 2007 draft-day deal for Zach Randolph the Knicks lack a second-round pick, which means that the North Babylon-born Green and the Amityville product Price won't be suiting up for their hometown team anytime soon. No matter which teams select Green and Price, 2009 looks to be the first draft since 2000 in which a Long Island-born player will get drafted. In 2000 Hempstead's own Speedy Claxton was taken with the 20th pick in the first round by Philadelphia. If both Green and Price are selected 2009 will mark the first draft in the modern (two-round) era in which more than one Long Island-born player is drafted. Should Price go undrafted, it will mark yet another setback for a talented player whose career has been beset with numerous injuries and misfortunes. The draft, then, is sure to be a memorable one for Green, Price and Long Island basketball fans, for better or for worse.
Key Isues In Draft
Shaq To Cavs
According to a report on ESPN, the Phoenix Suns have dealt Shaquille O'Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic and the Cavs second-round draft pick tonight.
Ambrose Captain At Albany
Tim Ambrose from Brentwood and OSNA was named a captain of the University of Albany basketball team. He is the first junior captain since 2005-06. He was ninth among the America East scoring leaders at 14.3 points per game and led the squad in steals with 35. Ambrose, who received last year's team most valuable award, scored 20 or more points seven times, including a career-high 29 vs. Vermont during the regular season. He also posted his first career double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds against Boston University. Ambrose was a member of the 2008 America East All-Rookie Team.
NBA Draft: Not Easy Being Green
Knicks Need Slam Dunk In Draft
June 20th Shootout Champions
We had some outstanding teams at the June 20th shootout. Here are the champions:
Varsity/17U - New York Elite
JV/15U - East Coast Elite
8th Grade/13U - LI Knights/Prendergast
7th Grade/12U - Red Dragons
6th Grade/11U- LI Knights/Colarusso
Ralph Willard Leaves Holy Cross
You probably have heard that St. Dominic's Ralph Willard, who has coached Holy Cross for the past 10 years, taking them to four NCAA Tournaments and one NIT, resigned to join the staff of fellow St. Dom's product Rick Pitino. Here are a few articles on the subject from various sources:
And in a related story,
Transfers
Nick Taldi from Belmore JFK transferred from CW Post to SUNY New Paltz......Steve Velazquez from Hauppauge transferred from Castleton State to Dowling. KNOW ANY OTHERS?
Fenton To St. Anthony's
Jim Fenton has been named the Boys Varsity Basketball Coach at St. Anthony's. Coach Fenton comes from Holy Trinity, where he was an assistant coach, and from the Long island Lightning AAU program, where he has been a coach and
skills trainer for 10 years.
High School Rules Changes
The NFHS has released its rules changes for the upcoming season. Most of them are minor, which tells us the rule makers are pretty satisfied with the state of the game. We'll have some specific play situations in a future column. RULES CHANGES
Lightning Invitational Results
The results of the Long Island Lightning Invitational Championship Games were as follows:
9U - LIL - Granville defeated Kips Bay 34-19
10U - Team Underrated over LIL - Bresky 60-25
11U -LIL - Cluess topped LIL - Schneider 60-20
12U - Stamford Peace defeated LIL - Gessner 52-33
13U - LIL - Rose upended Newburgh Zion Lions 54-49
14U - United Sons and Daughters over Rising Stars - Dunphy 78-47
Price and Green Projected Picks
Both Amityville's AJ Price and North Babylon's Danny Green are projected to be picked in the upcoming NBA Draft. Consensus mock drafts have Price going #30 to Portland and Green going #44 to the Pistons.
PROJECTED NBA DRAFT from NBA Draft.net
Stephan Curry to Knicks?
Knicks fans keep your fingers crossed. Davidson's Stephen Curry, who is one of those special players that seems destined for NBA stardom, just might be available when the Knicks draft at the 8th spot. He is not a perfect fit at either point guard or shooting guard, and the debate over whether he can play point in the NBA after only one year of doing it in college might cause teams that draft ahead of the Knicks to pick players that more clearly fit their needs. Wishful thinking? Maybe. Both the T-Wolves and Wizards, who draft ahead of the Knicks, might be looking at point guards. Still, most mock drafts have Curry going to the Knicks. Like we said, keep your fingers crossed.
Changes In League Assignments
Two big changes will take place in league assignments next high school season. In Nassau, Elmont is moving from Class AA to Class A, where they will be a significant threat to preseason favorite Westbury in Conference ABC1. In Suffolk, Lindenhurst is moving from League 1 to League 2, joining preseason favorites Walt Whitman and Bay Shore. Commack switches from 2 to 1.
Skills Clinic By Knicks Coach
New York Knicks Assistant Coach Phil Weber, who has coached and trained players like Steve Nash and Shaquille O'Neal, will be giving a skills clinic for players 9 to 13 years old on Monday, June 22, from 6:15 PM to 9 PM at Interstate Sports Academy in Sayville. The fee is $99.00. PRE-REGISTRATION IS MANDATORY. REGISTER ONLINE AT: WWW.ISASPORTSACADEMY.COM
UPDATED COLLEGE CHOICES
If you are playing basketball in college next year at any level, or going to prep school, let us know! Here is what we have so far:
Idris Alford, South Side, CCNY.
Andrew Ayodeji, Amityville, Cumberland
George Beamon, Roslyn, Manhattan
Akeem Bennett, West Hempstead, St. Francis NY
Justin Brown, Uniondale, St. Thomas Aquinas
Paul Bilbo, St. Dominic, Hofstra
Michael Canning, Massapequa, Salve Regina
Sean Canning, Massapequa, Salve Regina
C.J. Caputo, Chaminade, Middlebury
Rob Carroll, Connetquot, NYIT
Connor Cullen, East Islip, SUNY Cobleskill
Ryan Creighton, Greenport, Franklin Pierce
Sandeep Dhaliwal, Farmingdale, Columbia
Leo Driscoll, Garden City, Pomfret Prep School
Matt Duffy, Huntington, Wells College
Josh Elbaum, SJB, Northfield Mount Hermon Prep
David Fogel, Hewlett, Wesleyan
Sean Fox, Kings Park, Nazareth
Quincy Hankins, Roosevelt, Nebraska
Kendall Harris, Brentwood, Kutztown State
Harrison Hefele, Friends Academy, SUNY Cortland
Sean Henry, LWA, CCNY
Marcus Hunter, Longwood, Sage College of Albany
Philip Izevbehai, John Glenn, St.Thomas Moore Prep
Jordan Jackson, West Hempstead, CCNY
Devin Karch, Locust Valley, NYU
Mazyar Kashani, Great Neck No. SUNY Old Westbury
Dan Kenny, St. Dominic, St.Thomas More Prep
Azfar Khan, East Meadow, SUNY Buffalo
Derek Klein , LuHi, SUNY Brockport
James Knudsen, Longwood, US Coast Guard Academy
Zach Kriftcher, Port Washington, Bucknell
Billy Kuhlwilm, West Islip, St. Joseph's Patchouge
Chris Mauldin, Baldwin, Bloomfield College
Jeffrey Mark, St. Mary's, New Mexico Military Inst
John Nielsen, Port Jefferson, Loomis Chaffee Prep
Tom O’Connell, Sayville, Elizabethtown
E.J. Parry, LuHi, SUNY Brockport
JT Pate, Babylon, NYIT
Justin Plata, SJB, St. John Fisher
Doug Poetzsch, St. Anthony's, Washington & Lee
Ben Resner, Harborfields, Quinnipiac
Ryan Rowe, Freeport, Wells College
Kyle Shneider, Jericho, Tufts
Keith Smith, Babylon, Sage College of Albany
Malik Stith, Hempstead, St. John's
Ryan Straub, Holy Trinity, Moravian
Peter Sutton, SJB, Saint John Fisher
Bobby Thomas, MacArthur, Elmira
Bryan Van Cott, Oyster Bay, Mercy
PJ Walters, St. Dominic, Wheaton
Hayden Ward, East Hampton, SUNY Oswego
Jesse Winter, South Side, SUNY Cortland
Clinics By Knick's Phil Weber
Here is your chance to learn from the man called “One of Basketball’s Best Offensive Minds” by two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash. Long Island's own Phil Weber, assistant coach of the New York Knicks, will be giving two clinics in June - one for players and one for coaches. On June 15th, Coach Weber will be working with kids on offensive skills, and on June 22nd,
after discussing basketball, Phil will give a LIVE demonstration of the Knicks offense. It is a MUST for all coaches! PRE-REGISTRATION BY JUNE 11th, 2009 IS MANDATORY TO ATTEND CLINICS. REGISTER ONLINE AT: WWW.ISASPORTSACADEMY.COM
Two Long Islanders In Top 50
Rivals.com's rankings of the top 150 players in the class of 2010 nationwide shows two Long Islanders ranked in the top 50. Tobias Harris comes in at #29, and Rod Odom at #44. GO TO RANKINGS
New AAU Division III
The New York Metropolitan AAU is introducing Division lll basketball competition for both boys and girls teams in 2009. The District Championship Tournaments will take place at Island Garden and possibly other nearby facilities from May 22-24. All teams, coaches and players must be registered AAU members. For further information, please call Jim Fox at 516-292-4956. Registration will close on May 13.
Parham To St. Anthony's
Ken Parham, the Bay Shore Boy's Varsity coach last season, has resigned to take the St. Anthony's Girls' Varsity head coaching job. Parham was an assistant at St. Anthony's the previous season.
Two LI Players Will Play In France
A team of New York players has been selected to play in an international 16U basketball tournament in France, and two of the players chosen are from Long Island. LuHi's Tyler Harris and Westbury's Sheldon Hagigal join players from New York City and Westchester, and the team will compete in the 21st Annual International Tournament of Roche-Sur-Yom.
Holder Selected For Classic
Long Island's Victor Holder was named to the Queens/Long Island Team for the prestigious 2009 Wheelchair Classic. Frist game Monday at 7pm vs Brooklyn at LIU
Top Officials Honored
IAABO Board 127 , which covers western Suffolk County, honored this season's top officials at their annual awards dinner. The Section 11 Varsity Official of the Year was Kevin Harrington. Kevin also received the Varsity Official's Award given by his peers, and represented Section 11 at the New York State Championships in Glens Falls. Ron Evans was the Section 11 JV Official Of The Year, and Lou Cassiere the Junior High Official of the Year. Andy Towey was given the JV Officials Award, and Joe Owens the Junior High Officials award. Our Congratulations!
Ustunel To New Haven
Western Suffolk Community College's Sean Ustunel has signed his letter for a scholarship at Division 2 New Haven. Sean moved to America two years ago from Turkey to live with his aunt in Commack and pursue his dream of playing basketball in America. He is young by sophomore standards having turned 19 in April. This past year Sean averaged 11.5 points and 8 rebounds. This is the 4th year in a row that Western Suffolk has had a player receive a scholarship: 2006:Alvin Vivican(Brentwood)- Adelphi
2007:Chuka Iloegbu(Brentwood)- Coppin St
2008:Steve Mears(Mercy)- C.W. Post
All three played on conference championship teams that went to the NCAA tournament in their first year.
ASK THE REF!
Spring and Summer basketball brings in some interesting questions too! Check out the latest batch! ASK THE REF
JJ Moore Gets Louisville Offer
Brentwood's JJ Moore has received an offer to play for St. Dom's Rick Pitino and his Louisville Cardinals. He is the third Long Island player to receive an offer from Coach Pitino, who would also like Rod Odom and Tobias Harris on his team next season.
The Summer Championships!
LongIslandBasketball.com is holding the first ever SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIPS July 18th and 19th at the Island Garden. Boy's 10U through 17U
Harris 19th, Odom 96th On ESPN
Tobis Harris was ranked 19th and Rod Odom 96th on ESPN's national rankings of the Class of 2010. Harris was the highest ranked player in New York State.
ISA Expands Basketball Program
Interstate Sports Academy, the new facility in Sayville, continues to expand their basketball program, adding an exciting variety of camps, clinics, leagues, and tournaments to their schedule this summer. Highlighting the ambitious program are two clinics's by Long Island native and current New York Knick Assistant Coach Phil Webber. ISA is also bringing a NIKE Basketball Camp to Long Island, summer leagues, and programs for elite players - both boys and girls. CLICK HEAR to see the full schedule. There really is something for everybody!
Stony Brook Team Camp 6/26-28
Stony Brook University is hosting a Team Camp the weekend of June 26-28th and there are a limited number of openings left. Camp will start late afternoon Friday and end before lunch Sunday. There will be a Coaches Clinic and Social with Head Coach Steve Pikiell and staff on Saturday night (6/27) at 7 p.m.
The Seawolves won 16 games last season in the D1 America East Conference..Contact Assistant Coach Dan Rickard at 516-315-1359 or Dan.Rickard@stonybrook.edu
St. Mary's Tops At Hofstra
St.Mary's took top honors this week winning the Hofstra weeknight H.S. camp. Junior Chaz Morrish led the way for St Mary's averaging 10pts and 4 assists.
Posey All Tournament
Congratulations to Marquis Posey from St. Dominic for making the Gym Rats All Tourney Team.
THE COACHES CORNER
A terrific article from Dr. Gus Alfieri called "Dreams" GO TO THE COACHES CORNER
McCann All Tournament
Congratulations to Charles McCann (6-3 F), Lightning-Kelly, rising Junior, on making the GymRat Challenge All Tournament Team. McCann attends St. Mary’s, where he is an honor roll student.
Island Garden Summer League
The Lightning Basketball 2009 Summer League offers a 10 game schedule plus playoffs. The league, now in its eleventh season, will begin on June 27 and continue to Labor Day. We plan to have divisions for boys and girls ages 4th grade through high school. (Actual grade is determined by what class the player is in as of September 1, 2009). Games will be played at Island Garden, SUNY Old Westbury, St. Dominic High School and St. Bernard. Registration is open to both teams as well as individuals. REGISTER
Defenders Need 4 And 5
The Defenders Basketball Club needs a 4 and 5 to join their 17U team for the Nationals & College Showcase in Disney 7/22-8/2/09 Call Coach Davis 917-468-9741
High School Summer League
Upper Room and Gameover Sports will be holding a high school summer league this July and August on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Fee will be 275.00 per team plus ref fees. Trophies to the Championship team.
If interested call Coach Anderson @ 631-242-5359 ext 263 or e-mail @ www.coachma34@gmail.com
Top Coaches Clinic Wednesday
The Long Island Lightning will be hosting a coaches clinic at Island Garden this Wednesday 5/20 at 7:30 pm. It will be a round table discussion with an open agenda. The panel will consist of three outstanding college coaches - Tim Cluess of CW Post, Jim Ferry of LIU and Jim Fox of Davidson College. There will be no charge. We encourage all youth coaches to attend and learn from three of the outstanding coaches at their respective levels in the entire country.
Bilbo And Milk On IS8 Champs
The Panthers captured the championship at IS8 this season with two Long Islanders on the team. - Paul Bilbo of St. Dominic and Matt Milk of Upper Room. IS8 is a popular league based in Queens that attracts top players and teams from all over the region.
Harris Ranked 31st By Scout.com
Tobias Harris was ranked 31st nationally in the class of 2010 by Scout.com
May 30th Shootout Results
It was our biggest, most exciting, and most competitive Shootout yet! Excellent teams, talented players, terrific coaching, and 14 straight hours of action packed games. Our Champions were:
17U - Long Island Defenders
16U - Long Islang Knights
15U - Alaska Mountaineers
14U - Co-Champions Minutemen
and Rockaway Riptides
13U - Long Island Knights- Prendergast
Scrimmage League
Team Underrated is conducting a FREE scrimmage league for all CYO, AAU, PAL, and Club teams. The games will be held at Wyandanch High School on Saturdays and Sundays. Game times are 12pm, 1pm, 2pm,3pm, 4pm, and 5pm. You are asked to wear your own uniforms for the league. We ask for a referee fee of $35 per game. The league will start this weekend.
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May 30th Shootout 17U Champion LI Defendeers
May 30th Shootout 16U Champion LI Knights
May 30th 15U Champion Alaska Mountaineers
May 30th 14U Co-Champion Minutemen
Brentwood Spring Champion
It was a battle for the ages in the 12U championship game of the Brentwood Spring League.The Bunky Reid All-Stars faced off against a very determined Deer Park team. Both teams played their hearts out in a DOUBLE OVERTIME thriller that crowned BUNKY REID the 1st Brentwood Spring League Classic Champion. Game MVP in Front. Our thanks to all that participated. The League was all we hoped for and more.
Jeff Weiss Basketball Clinic
Five time New York State Coaches Association Coach Of The Year Jeff Weiss will be conducting a special Intensive Training Camp for boys and girls 13-16*
Monday, August 17-Wednesday, August 19
$350 Call 516 374-9000 for details.
NCAA Certified League
The extremely popular HOOP DREEMZZZ SUMMER LEAGUE will be returning to Island Garden for the fifth straight year. The league itself is in its tenth season (it originally was held at St. Mary's High School). HOOP DREEMZZZ has an impressive history of attracting NBA and major college players and the top adult players in the New York Area. MORE
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GAME 7 BOOT CAMP
July 27th - 31st DETAILS
12U Champion Bunky Reid All-Stars
Stony Brook Chalk Talk
There will be a Coaches Chalk Talk this Saturday evening at 8:30pm following the Stony Brook Team camp. They will discuss Stony Brook's offensive and defensive system along with any topics you might want to discuss in detail. Following the talk there will be food and beverage for all in attendance. Every coach (men or women) in Nassau/Suffolk County is welcome. We will ask for a $10 donation for coaches not involved in team camp. Contact Assistant Coach Dan Rickard at 516-315-1359 or daniel.rickard@stonybrook.edu for further details
AJ Price’s Stock May Have Slipped
Tobias At NBA Top 100 Camp
Long Island's Tobias Harris attended the NBA Players Association Top 100 High School Camp and continues to impress. He finished as the camp's 6th leading scorer, and was recognized for his excellent inside/outside game by all the scouts, finishing the camp ranked as one of the elite preformers. No other New York based player recieved that ranking. There is no doubt he will be going to one of the top basketball programs in the country next year. The question is, which one?
Suffolk Coaches Academy
The 30th Annual 2009 Fall Suffolk County Coaches Academy will be held Saturday, September 19th at Suffolk CC West Brentwood Campus, with underclasmen reporting at 5:30 pm.and seniors reporting at 7:30 pm, and then Saturday, September 26th at Suffolk CC Selden Campus, with underclasmen reporting at 5:30 pm.and seniors at 7:30 pm. The cost: is $70/player. Public school players only, and you must be invited by your high school coach. The Suffolk County Team that plays in the Long Island All-Star Game is chosen from players that attend the Coaches Academy.
41st ANNUAL ALL-AMERICAN BASKETBALL CAMP
BEST FUNDAMENTAL TEACHING ON LONG ISLAND!
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LWA
One of New York State's top programs introduces their new summer camp, under the direction of five time NY State Coach of the Year Jeff Weiss
Lawrence
Woodmere
Academy
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A CHOICE THAT CAN CHANGE A CHILD'S LIFE
Tom Percora
Boy's Basketball Camp
Krista Kilburn-Steveskey
Girl's Basketball Camp
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Basketball Camps
Sold out 19 straight years!
ST.DOMINIC
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Island Garden
SUMMER LEAGUE
SHOOTERS CAMP
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ALL ISLAND
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LI's Premier Instructional Camp
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Pro Basketball Tryouts On L.I.
The New York Wizards, Long Islands only Professional Basketball Team, will be holding open tryouts for rookies and free agents throughout the summer in an effort to secure more talent for their roster as they make a run for the EBA (Eastern Basketball Alliance) Playoffs. "We finished 5-5 last season and for a first year expansion team that was a pretty good season. Yet we know we have the talent to challenge some of the better teams in the EBA. Our tryouts are unique, because we bring players in for 4 seperate sessions, giving them every opportunity to prove themselves" said Steven Geick, General Manager of the Wizards. A small try out fee applies for rookies and free agents. For more information contact the New York Wizards at 631-730-6347 or via E-Mail at: betterball@optonline.net
Randy Smith Dead At 60
Randy Smith, one of the greatest basketball players ever to come out of Long Island, passed away at the age of 60 in Connecticut, apparently from a heart attack while working out. An extraordinary athlete, Smith starred at Bellport High School, then was an All-American in basketball, soccer, and track at Buffalo State. He went on to an outstanding 12 year NBA career, mostly with the Buffalo Braves. He played in 905 consecutive games, at the time an NBA record, and was considered the fastest player in the league at the peak of his career and an excellent defender. The two time NBA All-Star was MVP of the 1978 All-Star Game, scoring 27 points. He averaged 16.7 ppg over his career and 17.5 ppg in the playoffs. He finished as the Braves all-time leading scorer, surpassing Bob McAdoo. He played one season with the Knicks later in his career, averaging 10 points and 3 assists per game. After his playing career ended, he joined the NBA front office as director of player programs, then coached in the Continental Basketball Association. He then joined Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., where he worked as Director of Player Development until his death. The Randy Smith League, an inner-city youth basketball program he sponsored, carried on in Buffalo after he left the city. He is enshrined in the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and the Suffolk County Hall Of Fame. He is survived by his second wife, Angela, two sons, Brandon and Dominique, and a daughter, Terran. READ MORE CAREER STATS
A NEW ASK THE REF!
Another installment of our popular column!
Speedy Is Back
Hempstead's Speedy Claxton, who starred at Hofstra, is back on the court after a two year absence due to injuries. Claxton is working himself back into game shape while serving as Mike Bibby's backup during the Atlanta Hawks playoff series with the Miami Heat. He has played sparingly because he is still not 100%, and because Bibby has been on a roll, but the deeper the Hawks go into the playoffs, the more important Speedy's role might become.
The Best Camp Listings
If you are looking for a basketball camp, the only place you need to go is to our Camp Page. You will find all of Long Island's best basketball and sports camps there.
Trouble For Pitino?
Rick Pitino notified the FBI that he is the target of an extortion attempt, and they are investigating. A statement did not specify what the threats were. MORE
Ask The Ref!
A technical foul called after the game was over? That and other questions in the latest edition of
THANK YOU!
As another high school season draws to a close, we want to take a moment to thank all of our readers. This year, we welcomed our 1 millionth new visitor, and once again set records for daily, weekly, and monthly viewers. We can't thank you enough. We also want to let our many new readers know that the news doesn't stop with the end of the high school season. We will continue to expand our AAU coverage, and bring you news on college commitments and coaching changes, and how our kids do at the top summer camps. We also have great feature articles on famous Long Island hoopsters. There's a lot more too, so stay tuned!
Empire Games In Doubt This Year
New York State cut funding to the Empire Games, forcing the Hudson Valley, which was scheduled to host the Games, to pull out. A new host has yet to be found. It also forced events in the Open, Masters and Senior divisions to be suspended, and Scholastic Division competitors to come up with fees of $285.
Odds are right now they're not going to happen.
June 20th Shootout 17U Champions New York Elite
June 20th Shootout 15U Champions East Coast Elite
June 20th Shootout 13U Champs Knights/Prendergast
June 20th Shootout 7th Gr Champion Red Dragons
June 20th Shootout 6th Gr Champs Knights/Colarusso
Tim Casey 3 On 3 Tournament
The 7th annual Tim Casey Memorial 3 on 3 tournament will be held on Saturday, July 11, starting at 11 am. at the Laurel courts near Mattituck. There will be divisions for men and women from ages 14 and up. Registration fee is $45 for teams of 3-4 players and may be done at the tourney. Previous winners in the open A division include Kenny Atkinson, now an assistant with the Knicks, Rob Hodgson, former Rutgers all-Big East player and Iceland player-coach, Sean Kennedy, former Marist and European pro, and Ryan Creighton of Greenport, recently crowned Long Island's all-time high school scoring champ. There will be an auction of memorabilia, including signed
pictures of NCAA champ North Carolina, and excellent Knicks tickets. For information ,please call 631-298-5043 or e-mail tjcfund@gmail.com
Hofstra Non-Conference Schedule
Hofstra will open their 2009-10 regular season with an away game against possible preseason No. 1 Kansas, as it faces one of its most challenging non-conference schedules in its history. The Pride will also participate in the NIT Season Tip-Off, the Aeropostale Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden, and ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday. They will also host Fairfield 11/30, Manhattan 12/9, and New Hampshire 12/12, while visting Florida Atlantic 12/29.
Iloegbu Selected For Euro Tour
USA Select Basketball is pleased to announce that Brentwood's Chuka Iloegbu from Coppin State University has been invited to participate in the 2009 European Exposure Tour. After a series of nationwide tryouts, the 6’3” point guard was offered one of the few spots on the nearly month long tour of exhibition basketball games in Western Europe. Prior to Coppin State, Iloegbu played at Western Suffolk Community College from 05-07, where he started on the Regional Championship Team in 06, and also started for Brentwood's Long Island Championship Team in 05.
Long Island's 5-Star All-Stars
Long Islanders were selected as All-Stars at every level of the 5-Star Camp held at Fordham University. Tavon Sledge, a junior who will be attending LUHI this fall, was named an NBA Division All-Star, and Steven Pandales, a sophmore from St.Anthony's, Marc and Neil Nembhard, juniors at Commack, and Kevin Liddy, a sophomre from Kellenberg, were all named All-Stars in the In the NCAA Division. In the NIT Division, it was Kevin Coyle, a sophomore from Holy Trinity, and Adam Priest, a sophomre from New Hyde Park.
Summer
Championships!
There is still time to sign up for LongIslandBasketball.com's first ever SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIPS
July 18th and 19th at the Island Garden.
Teams from all over the region will gather on Long Island for great competition in the boy's 9U, 10U, 11U, 12U, 13U, 14U, 15U, 16U, 17U, and 18U age groups. Three games guaranteed, stop time, top referees, great facility, and all your games in one day. No back and forth drives or hotels needed! REGISTER HERE
Action from Stony Brook Team Camp
Player Updates
Hills West's Tobias Harris attended the Amare Stoudemire Nike Skills Academy, a camp that consisted of only top big men, with no guards or wings of any kind, and was recognized for having the best face-up offense in camp....Brentwood's JJ Moore will be attending the Reebok All-American Camp...... Lindenhurst's Kamil Parzych will be missing many of the summer's top events and camps with an injury. Hopefully he will be back in time for his senior season.
Knicks News
Island Garden Spring Champions
5th Grade - Blue Bombers
6th Grade - Hersh
7th Grade - LI Lightning - Law
8th Grade - HHH - Kolbjornsen
Junior Varsity - Hersh
Varsity - Hersh
Jr NBA Summer Tournament
JR NBA will host a summer basketball tournament beginning in mid-July until August for all teams ages 8-under, 10-under and 12-under. The cost is $200 per team and the games will be played on weekends in Roosevelt, Long Island. Any teams interested should contact Bobby (Bingo) Smith at 646.753.2781.
Warriors Win Pa. Shootout
The New York Warriors, based out of Long Island, but with players from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, competed in the Shootout Tournament in Pennsylvania. They played in two divisions, beating Hoop City in the championship game and going undefeated throughout. Playing up in the other division, they made it to the semis. New Yorkers playing for the Warriors were Devin Karch, who was All-State this year , played in the Empire games and will be playing at NYU next year, Ismael Pierre, who was all-conference as a 10th grader this year in the top conference, Jason Desimone, who is a National Adidas Phenom 150 attendee, and Tydell Pierre.
YOUR BASKETBALL HOME!
