New Tournament June 21st!
LONG ISLAND BASKETBALL.com
will sponsor its first
Summer Basketball Tournament
on Saturday, June 21st!
THE ONE DAY SUMMER SHOOTOUT
will be for boys teams in the
5th grade/11U, 6th/12U, 7th/13U and 8th/ 14U age groups, and will take place at a
beautiful new facility in Sayville.
3 games guaranteed for $250
SUPPORT TOURNAMENTS ON LONG ISLAND!
Represent the USA at Maccabiah
Tryout Dates Set for USA Maccabiah Juniors Boys Basketball Team
Online applications for the Junior Boys Basketball Team, which will represent the United States at the 18th World Maccabiah Games, are now being accepted. Eligible participants must be born in 1993 or 1994. The World Maccabiah Games will take place in Israel from July 13-23, 2009. The USA delegation will leave for Israel for a pre-camp around July 2nd and a training camp will be held in before that..
Dates of the tryouts are the following. (There will one session Saturday night, and 2 sessions on Sunday) September, 6-7, Deerfield, IL (facility is called “Joy of the Game”) September 13-14, West Hills, California (JCC at Milken) October 4-5, Philadelphia, PA (La Salle University)To apply and for more information, go to the Maccabi USA website at www.maccabiusa.com. If any questions, contact Brian Schiff at 215-952-5362 (day), 610-363-2939 (night), 610-836-2572 (cell), e-mail him at bschiff@comcastsportsnet.com or call the Maccabi USA office at 215-561-6900. Long Islanders In NBA Playoffs
You all know former NBA Al-Star Wally Szczerbiak is now playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and that Mike James from Amityville is with the New Orleans Hornets, although he doesn't get much playing time playing behind emerging superstar Chris Paul, but there is another Long Islander playing a prominent role in the playoffs you may not be aware of. Former LuHi point guard Phil Weber is a top assistant coach on the Phoenix Suns, and has been for a number of years! CLICK HERE to read an article from last summer about the up and coming coach. If you know other Long Islanders playing or coaching in the NBA that we're not aware of, LET US KNOW!
Game Of The Year? Already?
St. Dominc Head Coach Rob Pavinelli is busily putting together the final details for next season's Long Island Challenge, and one of the games already on the board is a fantastic match-up between defending Catholic School Champion Chaminade and Suffolk Class AA Semifinalist Brentwood. Both teams were dominated by very talented underclassmen last season, and sure to be at or near the top of next season's Sweet 16 Preseason Poll. Nice job coach! It's only April, and we can't wait for the season to start!
Our Long Island Champions
HIGH SCHOOLSCatholic Schools: Chaminade
Private/Independent Schools: LI Lutheran
Public Class AA Baldwin
Public Class A : East Hampton
Public Class B : Malverne
Public Class C: Friends Academy
Public Class D: Greenport
COLLEGESDivision 1 : Stony Brook
Division 2 : CW Post
Division 3: Farmingdale State
Pearl / Belmont Headed For Hall
Tennessee Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl, who has led the Volunteers to basketball prominence, will be inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, which is located right here on Long Island at 74 Hauppauge Road in Commack. The ceremony will take place on Sunday, June 8th starting at 10:30 a.m. At the same ceremony, Ben Belmont of Great Neck South will be given the Jules D Mazor Outstanding Male Jewish High School Scholar Athlete of the Year Award. Belmont ia a member of the Long Island Basketball. com Honor Roll, and was a starter at Great Neck South since his sophomore year, earning All Conference honors every year. He also starred in football and lacrosse, and will be playing D1 lacrosse at Duke next year. Admission is $10.00 for adults, with children and seniors free of charge. For more information, please call (631) 462-9800, ext. 125.
Mother's Day District Semifinalists
Semifinalists were determined in the AAU Division 2 11U, 12U and 16U age groups. They are:
16U - SI Stingrays/Costello, LI Lightning/Cotumaccio, Rockland Rockets, and NYC Jaguars.
12U - Rising Stars - Hughes, Brooklyn Patriots, Team Underrated, and NY Empire.
11U - I Love Our Youth, Westchester Hawks/Pinn, NY Gauchos, and Abyssinian Crusaders.
Knicks Sign Sun's Mike D'Antoni
The Knicks found their new coach, signing Phoenix Suns Coach Mike D'Antoni for a reported $24 million over four years. The deal makes him one of the NBA's highest-paid coaches.
New York Elite Advance At IS8
Another team with Long Island roots moved on to the quarterfinals at IS8. Former St. Mary's guard Scott Machado led a balanced attack with 17 points as the Elite knocked off the Metro Hawks 89-71. OSNA's Gerardo Suero added 15 points and Roslyn's George Beamon chipped in 14.
Garcia Showing What He Can Do
After an injury plagued start to his college career, Brentwood's John Garcia finished the season as Seton Hall's leading rebounder, averaging 7 boards per game.
Akeem Bennett Update
2005-6 All Long Island player Akeem Bennett from West Hempstead had a good first season at D1 Western Oklahoma State Junior College, averaging over 12 points per game. He was named to the First Team in the Western Division of his conference, and Head Coach Rolando De La Barrera says " He has displayed the toughness and defensive intensity of a high level player. Look for him to possibly make all conference next year and move on the the D1 Level"
11, 12 and 16U D2 AAU Districts
The Metro AAU District Championships continue this weekend with action in the D2 11,12, and 16U groups.
Green, Fuertado To Transfer
St. Mary's Rashad Green will be transferring from Manhattan, and Uniondale's Lance Fuertado from Drexel. Fuertado wasn't getting much playing time, so it's not that much of a surprise, but Green looked like he had a promising future with the Jaspers, getting decent playing time and having some big games in his first year. We'll let you know where they end up.
Nelson SUNY New Paltz Coach
South Side HS product Dagan Nelson is a first year head coach at SUNY New Paltz, and looking to build a successful basketball program there. He coached in high school, and as an assistant at NYU, Eastern Kentucky, Stony Brook, and Concordia before making New Paltz his first college head coaching job. Bellmore's Harris Wichard will be playing for him next season, joining Peter Carmel from Stony Brook,
Lee Bertram from Bayport-Blue Point, and Matt Hauser from Chaminade.
Teams From Denmark To Tour LI
Attention Long Island Basketball Coaches and administrators: For the 10th consecutive year, teams from the Hjemly School in Denmark will be coming to Long Island for a series of games and scrimmages beginning on December 3rd and lasting until December 10th. They are arriving with a boys varsity, boys JV and girls varsity teams and we are looking to schedule games and scrimmages for them. It is a fabulous cultural experience for your players as some teams will have the experience of housing the student-athletes from Denmark (who are all fluent in english) overnight. Last year, the teams competed against Friends Academy, Stony Brook School, Carle Place, Great Neck North, East Hampton and Carey. For more information about the 2008 Long Island Tour, please call Ron Alfieri at 631-274-7047 or e-mail him at AllAmerican.Sportswear@yahoo.com.
Now On LongIslandBasketball.com
New and improved NCCA Page, LI Pro Page, Coaches Page, Basketball Camp Listings, Basketball Trainers Page, and coming soon, an Adult Hoops Page! The Seth Greenberg article can now be found on the NCAA PAGE
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Did You Know...........
Marc Iavaroni, who played for and graduated from Plainview JFK, was hired as the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies back in May. Iavaroni was a four year starter at the University of Virginia, and was named first team All-Tournament on Virginia’s 1976 ACC Tournament championship team. In the NBA, he was a starter as a rookie on the 76ers’ 1983 Championship Team along with fellow Long Islander Julius Erving, and went on to a seven year NBA career.
Ask The Ref!
Legal Screens, Air Balls, and Back Court Violations
Passing the NCAA Test
Daily News article on what exactly a high-schooler has to do to stay eligible to play a Division I sport. ARTICLE
LI Hoops Trivia
The record for most wins in a season is held by the 1997-8 Westhampton team, who went 28-0 on their way to winning the Federation Class B State Championship
Ask The Ref
This edition is all about uniforms and the rules that pertain to them. ASK THE REF
Cablevision Turns Back On LI
The schedule for Long Island based Cablevision's 2007-08 Snapple HS Basketball Game of the Week had no Long Island Teams listed. How ironic is that ?
Att: Long Island Event Organizers
If you are planning any tournaments, leagues, team camps, or other events for this spring or summer, nail down your dates and get your announcements to us ASAP! We are already getting announcements from events from all over the country, and all the travel and AAU coaches, program directors, and top players are too. If you want your event to be considered, and you want to have a good turn-out of quality teams and players, you have to start getting the word out now! Long Islanders want to participate in local events, but they can't if they don't find out about them until after they've put their schedules together! ANNOUNCEMENTS
Long Island Hoops Trivia
Julius Erving, also know as Dr. J, is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He was born in Hempstead and moved to Roosevelt when he was 13 and played for Roosevelt High School, where he was an All Long Island selection. He played his college ball at UMass, where he became one of only seven players in the history of NCAA basketball to average over 20 points and 20 rebounds per game. He turned pro after his junior year (rare in those days), and began his career in the ABA. In only his second year of pro ball, he led the ABA in scoring, averaging 31.9 points per game. In his third year he led his new team, the Long Island based New York Nets, to the ABA Championship.
It Helps To Know The Rules !
Understandably, many of the questions we receive for our popular ASK THE REF column are rule related. In this installment, veteran official Skip Yutzler will go over some of the fundamental rules for you to help you increase your understanding and enjoyment of the game. ASK THE REF!
More Myth BustersNot only have the last five Federation Class AA State Champions been public schools, but in Class A, four of the five have been public schools! Want more? The only catholic school State Champion was 2005 Class A Champion St. Anthony's from Long Island! More? Eight of the ten State Champions were from places other than New York City
The Jump Stop
In a new ediition of our popular ASK THE REF column, veteran official Skip Yutzler tackles the always confusing "Jump Stop" and how to sort it out. So lets ASK THE REF!
Ask The Ref
We answer a bunch of questions in this edition!
State Championship Trivia
A lot of people think public schools can't compete with the catholic schools, but four out of the last five large school Federation State Champions have been public schools........Long Island has had at least one State Champion in 9 of the last 10 years and a Federation Champion in 7 of the last 10.........Our last public school State Champion before Malverne won this year was Amityville in 2003.......
Larry Brown and Yaz
The Independent, an East End newspaper, had two articles in their August 29th edition about famous Long Island basketball players. The first was about Long Beach grad, ABA All-star, and Hall of Fame Coach Larry Brown, and the second about Baseball Hall of Famer and former Bridgehampton basketball star Carl Yaztremski. Both were written by Bob Vacca.
Follow these links to read them:
Ask The Ref #41
In the latest edition of our popular column, we answer questions about how many steps you can take after coming down with a rebound, how to become a referee, and rebounding your own air ball.
Long Island Hoops Trivia
The most points ever scored by a Long Island team in a single game is the 155 scored by Bridgehampton in the 1969-70 season...... The most wins by one team in a season is 28 by the 1997-98 Westhampton team..... Three of the top 4 spots on the list of most State Championships are held by Long Island teams. Bridgehampton is first with eight, Amityville third with four and Hempstead tied for 4th with three. Somehow Mount Vernon managed to sneak into 2nd......Jason Frasier of Amityville holds the record for most rebounds in a State Tournament game with 25.......
ASK THE REF
This installment deals with the concept of advantage and disadvantage, one of the guiding principals of basketball rules. ASK THE REF
Technical Foul!
Two shots and the ball? Not always! ASK THE REF
Ask The Ref !In the latest installment of our popular series, we answer questions about being bumped while dribbling, a coach that talks to players on the other team, and why blocking a dunk attempt isn't goaltending! ASK THE REF!EF!
Long Island Basketball Trivia
In the 1974-75 season, 4 out of the 5 players named 1st Team All State were from Long Island high schools. They were:
Reggie Carter, sr., LI Lutheran
Jim Graziano, jr., Farmingdale
Wayne McKoy, soph., LI Lutheran and
Mike Palma, sr., Rockville Centre St. Agnes
The 5th player was Bernard Toone, sr., Yonkers Gorton
Our most recent 1st Team All-State selection was Danny Green of St. Mary's in the 2004-5 season.
Ask The Ref!
He Kicked it! Was That A Held Ball? Backcourt Violation! Tuck Your Shirts In Please - a variety of topics in this edition of ASK THE REF
Double Dribble??
A player hits his own leg while attempting a cross-over dribble, but maintains possession. What's the call? ASK THE REF!
Promising New Basketball Venture
Two of the most experienced and respected members of our basketball community have started a unique venture that will help produce better basketball players, stronger teams, and more and better organized leagues and tournaments all over Long Island. Jim Fox and Bruce Eiber have created FE Basketball Solutions, a new concept that will enable them to share their many years of experience running the enormously successful Island Garden facility and Lightning AAU program with other facilities and programs from all over the metropolitan area. FE will provide administrative personnel to operate leagues, tournaments and fund raisers; experienced coaches and trainers to teach players, tryout management, uniforms, equipment, insurance, referees, league registration - everything you need to have a successful and efficiently run event or organization. FE will also offer services to individual teams and players. For teams, they will provide an experienced coach, practice facilities, uniforms, insurance, AAU membership - whatever you need to get your team up and running and gunning. For individuals, they will place you on a well coached team that will play in Long Island’s top youth league - the Island Garden Super League. It’s a fantastic concept, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it’s a big hit, because if it is, we’ll all benefit. If you'd like to contact them, FE Basketball Solutions can be reached at 516-351-6642 or email jimfox@islandgarden.com or searington@aol.com
Lets All Help !
By now, you've probably heard that the family home of Walt Whitman basketball player C.J. Humphries burned to the ground this past week. Although thankfully nobody in the family was injured in the fire, the house and most of their belongings were destroyed. Worse still, they were renting the house and do not have insurance to replace what they lost. Even sadder, the family was already suffering from another serious tragedy. CJ's Dad has been hospitalized since October with a life threatening heart aliment. Because of all this, the family now has very few places to turn. Even though relatives and friends have opened their arms, they have had to split up, with CJ's Mom, brother, and sisters staying with relatives, while CJ is staying with a friend. If you would like to make a donation to help CJ and his family, send your checks, made payable to South Huntington Union Free School District, to the attention of Mr. Steve Ramsey, SHUFSD, 301 West Hills Road, Huntington Station, NY 11746.
LongIslandBasketball.com #1 !
In the latest traffic rankings, LongIslandbasketball.com has become the most popular high school basketball website in the New York City metropolitan area! Our sincere thanks to everyone!
So How Did We Do Against NYC?
As you know, we've been tracking the results of head to head matchups between New York City boys varsity teams and Long Island teams all year, and through the end of the regular season, we're proud to announce that Long Island has won the season series! By the way, THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE LONG ISLAND LUTHERAN! If you include Lutheran, its a landslide victory for Long Island! Our lead is insurmountable, but we'll wait until after the post season to give you the final numbers.
Great News For LI Basketball
If you're at all involved in the Long Island basketball scene, it's no secret that we are desperately in need of additional basketball facilities, and of first rate events for our players and teams to participate in without having to travel long distances. The great news is that a large facility has just opened in Sayville that will eventually house an amazing eight basketball courts! Starting this April, when the first three courts will be operational, it will be home to leagues, tournaments, camps, clinics, and AAU programs for all ages and skill levels. They are putting together their schedule and booking events starting now, so if you have a league, tournament, clinic, AAU program,or other basketball related event that you need a new home for, give Mike Generi a call at 631-905-7214, or email him at mikegeneri@aol.com. He will work with you and give you help organizing and administering your event.
Imagine, no more trips to New Jersey!
Nassau Senior Stars Shine
The 2008 Nassau County Exceptional Senior Games were played at Molloy College on April 1st. In the first game the Grey Team defeated the Blue Team by the score of 89-76. The Grey Team was led by Baldwin's Chris Manning with 13 points and 8 rebounds, and Freeport's Julian Preval added 10 points and 5 rebounds. West Hempstead's Kevin Walsh led the Blue Team with 17 points. In the second game the Blue Team defeated the Grey Team 89-78. The Blue Team was led by Malverne's Dashiem Cherry's 15 points ,6 rebounds and 5 assists. Island Tree's Justin Heisig added 25 points. Bellmore JFK's Nick Taldi led the Grey Team with 18 points. All of the Nassau County Coaches wish all the participating players good luck in their future endeavors. Co-Chairmen of the games Eric Rubin and Brian McEvoy would like to thank sponsor Island Garden Basketball, all the volunteer coaches and referees, and especially host Molloy College.
Ask The Ref!
A lot of good questions this week, so lets get to it! ASK THE REF!
Youth Tournament Listings
We've updated our Youth Tournament listings through June. Find an event that's close by for your team!
Basketball Players With Asthma
There is a great educational resource for basketball players and all athletes with asthma, and its also very useful to the athlete's parents and coaches. Its called Breathe Easy. Play Hard, and you can find it at www.breatheeasyplayhard.com. Our thanks to Coach Chris Agostino of Harborfields for telling us about it!
The Editors Mailbox
Brentwood's Tim Ambrose has moved into the starting lineup for U Albany, and so has Chaminade's Andrew Beinert at Holy Cross!.....Suffolk CC defeated Nassau 80-75 led by Rakeem Vanterpool (North Babylon) with 22 points.....Tom Dowling of South Side is averaging 7.2 points a game for Bentley College, the #1 ranked D2 team in the nation....... Two more famous Long island hoops stars: Jim Valvano, who attended and played at Seaford High, was the point guard at Rutgers and coached The North Carolina "Wolfpack" to an NCAA Basketball Championship in 1983, and Butch Van Breda Koff, who coached at Hofstra, played four years with the New York Knicks, also coached at Lafayette, and Princeton, and in the pro ranks, coached ten seasons with The Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, Memphis Tams and New Orleans Jazz. "Butch" even coached in The Women's Professional Basketball League with the New Orleans Pride........Trivia Question: Can anyone name the 1977 All Long island College Team as listed in Newsday? ......... Thanks to Jonathan Tavel of Old Bethpage, we have two more players on our list of NBA and ABA players from Long island. They are Carl Braun from Garden City High School, and Thomas Rowland from Brentwood High School. Thanks Jonathan!......
Long Island Hoops Trivia
Two Long Islanders - Southampton's Foots Walker and Bellport's Randy Smith - both started for the 1979 Cleveland Cavaliers.
Ask The Ref!
Special treat for all you Ask The Ref fans!. A special double edition for the holiday break! The first one is about Lane Spaces, Timing, and Jump Balls and the second is Technical Foul Shots, Substitutions, and Leaving the Court
What If You Don't Make The Team?
In this special Players Page edition of TRAINING TIPS, we let you know what to do if you DON'T make the team.
Tim Casey Champions
The 5th Annual Tim Casey 3 on 3 Tournament was a great success, attracting teams from all over and crowning champions in 4 divisions. In the marquee Open A Division, Mike Checklick and Ryan Creighton of Greenport, and Robert Alleyne of the Bronx defeated Sean Kennedy, Dave Kennedy, Doug Trani and Dave Trani from Northport. In the Open B Division, it was Rob Conklin and Pat Clare of Mattituck and Tram Whitehurst of Westchester taking the title. In the College /18-21 Division, the winners were Paul Velutis, Joey Alaimo and Alex DeKenipp from William Floyd. Finally, in the High School Division, it was Jason Desimone of Manhasset, Devin Karch of Locust Valley and Joey Wood of Islip - all from the New York Warriors program. Congratulation to all!
L.I. Has 4 McDonalds Nominees
The participants in the 2008 McDonald's All-Star Game have yet to be announced, but four Long Islanders were nominated. They were: Byron Freeman/St. Mary's, Brain Katz/St. Dominic, Gerardo Suero/OSNA, and Robbie Ptacek/ Bayport-Bluepoint.
Ask The Ref!
In this edition of ASK THE REF, we answer questions about slapping the backboard, dribbling before inbounding the ball, and continuation. ASK THE REF
Sweet 16 Facts And Figures
Three different teams have held the top spot in our Sweet 16 Poll this season, and all three are still ranked in the top 4........ 14 of the 16 teams in the original Sweet 16 poll taken 12/2 are still ranked...... 29 different teams have been ranked at one time this season. .....Six of the current Sweet 16 teams have been ranked every week. Find more interesting facts, or dig up some of your own on the SWEET 16 STUDY page.
How Do We Rank The Sweet 16 ?
We get a lot of questions about the process we use for putting together the weekly Sweet 16 Rankings, so we thought we'd go over it again for everyone new to the website. The Sweet 16 is a weekly poll that we compile based on ballots we receive from a carefully selected panel of Long Island basketball experts. They are all involved in Long Island basketball on a day to day basis in one way or another, or are retired now and were in the past. We try very hard to balance the panel Nassau/Suffolk, Public/Private, and Class AA - A - B and this year's panel is our most balanced yet. We hope this answers most of your questions, and that you now understand why we can't always explain why a certain team is ranked where it is, or not ranked at all. We can only speculate. I'm always willing to share my thoughts on the poll results and on my own ballot, but that's the best I can do. - Ted Thomas/Editor
Suffolk Senior All-Stars
Sayville's Vinnie Russo and Bay Shore's Booker Hucks helped lead a balanced attack that put the Blue Team up by 22, and a Gold Team rally led by East Hampton's Marcus Edwards and Copiague's Marcell Lattimore fell short in the Suffolk County All Star Senior's Game.
Last Call For St. Pats League
Last call to enter the 2008 St. Patrick's Summer League, one of the oldest and largest summer leagues on Long Island. Top competition from 5th grade up to Varsity. Call the St. Patrick's Youth Office at 631-360-0185 right away to reserve your spot.
Final State Rankings
The final New York State rankings were released, and here is how Long Island teams finished:
CLASS AA: Baldwin 17th, Hills West 19th, and Whitman 24th
CLASS A: LI Lutheran 2nd, East Hampton 4th, Chaminade 11th, and Jericho 12th.
CLASS B: Malverne 4th, LWA 7th, Center Moriches 14th, Bayport BP 18th,
CLASS C: Friends Academy 4th, Port Jefferson 12th, Stony Brook 18th
CLASS D : Greenport 2nd
Good HS Season Comes to An End
Before the season started, most experts predicted a down year for Long Island teams. It did finish with some disappointments, but only because four of our teams advanced to State Championship Games before their seasons came to an end - a total surpassed only by New York City - and far exceeding anyone's forecasts. There is more good news. Next year's prospects look even better! Three of Long Island's top four scorers return, and two of the teams that played in the state finals have most of their key players back for another run. There is also a large group of very good teams that fell just short of the State Tournaments and were dominated by underclassmen. It could be our best season in quite some time! Can't wait!
In Memory Of Bob Grant
We were very saddened to hear of the passing of long time Suffolk County basketball official Bob Grant at the age of 76. Bob was not only an outstanding official, but an outstanding person as well and will be sorely missed. He officiated at the high school level, college, level, at the U.S. Olympic trials, and later became president and treasurer of Board 127 of the IAABO (International Association of Authorized Basketball Officials) and was made a lifetime honorary member. He was one of only a handful of IAABO members nationwide to have served for 50 or more years. In his honer, The Bob Grant Tip-Off Classic Basketball Tournament is held annually in late December. Please send donations in his memory to the American Diabetes Association, 333 Seventh Ave., 17th floor, New York, NY 10001; or to the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, 440 West Neck Rd., Huntington, NY 11743
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The Editors Mailbox
Oceanside's George Greco drilled back-to-back three-pointers to ignite the 22-8 run that carried Stevens Point to victory over York College in the ECAC Division III Metro Championship......Long time contributor Louie Max, who is now the JV Coach at Forest Hills, is proud to say that his team won the PSAL Queens Boro JV Championship and finished undefeated in league play......Interesting story from NYC: Holy Cross Star Sylven Landesberg, who's team will try and break the CHSAA's 5 year losing streak in the State Federation Championships, may have to miss the McDonald's All-Star game due to a scheduling quirk. The State Championships have been pushed back a week this year to March 29-30 so they don't fall on Easter weekend, while the McDonald's All-American Game will be played in Milwaukee on March 26. State rules in New York make a player ineligible after playing in non-sanctioned events like the McDonald's game, but it usually doesn't matter, since the Federation finals are almost always over by the time the game is played. Holy Cross has petitioned the state athletic association for an exception. Stay tuned..
Wheelchair Classic Tryouts
Tryouts for team representing Long Island and Queens at the 35th Annual Wheelchair Classic Basketball Tournament will be held Tuesday March 18th at 6pm at Holy Cross High School (26-20 Francis Lewis Blvd, Flushing). Eligible juniors and seniors may tryout. The games are April 21-24 at LIU in Brooklyn
Showcase For Unsigned Seniors
Tryouts for the Big Apple Scholarship Games begin at 9:30am on Saturday, March 15th at Baruch College. The event is designed to showcase unsigned boys high school seniors in the NYC metro area to college basketball coaches and is approved for Division 1, 2 and 3 coaches. ALL STUDENT-ATHLETES MUST BRING A COPY OF THEIR H.S. TRANSCRIPT & SAT/ACT SCORES TO TRYOUT!! There will be a combination of drills and games to provide an accurate assessment of the players. TRYOUTS BEGIN PROMPTLY!!! DOORS OPEN 30 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE TRYOUT TIME and tryouts are free of charge. INFO AND REGISTRATION
Adidas Phenom Camp
The New York Region's Adidas Phenom Camp will be held Mar 29th & 30th @ Fordham University. All the top 5th-11th grade boys basketball players in the Metro Area will be attending, so if you belong in that group, or want to measure yourself against the best, then go to www.nyphenom.com to sign up!
Ask The Ref Extravaganza!
We get tons of questions this time of year, so we're super sizing the next few editions of our popular column! So it's time to ASK THE REF
Long Island Girls Basketball
Our plans for covering Long Island girls hoops are still on the drawing board, but in the meantime, High School Hoops is good source of information!
How Do They Choose The Refs?
We know how the teams got to the playoffs, but how do they choose the refs ? In Nassau, the playoff officials for the first two rounds (or any game that is NOT a semi-final or beyond) are assigned based on the accumulated ratings from the previous two seasons.
(Coaches submit ratings after every game) Once they get into the semi-finals, each coach is asked to submit a list of the top officials they would like to see working their playoff game, along with another list of officials they would prefer NOT to see. Then, the lists of the two coaches of the game to be assigned are paired up. The first two names that appear on both coaches' lists are then assigned to work the game (assuming they are available). Conflicts and ties on the list are worked out based on the highest combination of names. In Suffolk, the officials are selected based ENTIRELY on their ratings for the current season. For each and every game during the "regular season," both coaches submit rating cards for both officials to the Section XI office. At the end of the regular season and just before playoffs begin, the ratings are then tallied up by the Section office to determine a rank order from # 1 (highest rated) on down. If 32 officials are needed to handle Round I of the playoffs, they simply use the top 32 available officials. In the second round, if 16 are needed, the process is repeated with the top 16 available officials. Part of the process involves making accommodation for the fact that two associations service Section XI. In general, 2/3 of the playoff assignments in each round go to the "Western Board" and the remaining 1/3 of the assignments go to the "Eastern Board." Then, at the end, Section XI has three "final" games.....a "Small Schools Final" involving two schools from classes D - C - B and A, followed by a "Large Schools Final" between schools from class AA and then a Section XI County Championship game between the winners of those other two games. For example, last year Wyandanch (small schools winner) upset Copiague (large schools winner) to capture the overall Suffolk County Championship. Since 6 officials are needed for those last three games, they take 4 from the West and 2 from the East no matter which schools are in those games.
16U action from the LI Defenders game against Team Underrated at the AAU District Championships
Updated College Commitments
The college choices are rolling in now, and the following basketball players from Long Island will be playing college basketball next fall:
Drew Acocella, East Islip, Salve Regina U.
Tom Cahill, Wantagh, SUNY Oneonta
Matthew Candemeres, Sachem East, Caldwell
Alan Cardinale, Mattituck, St. John Fisher
Matt Carpenter, LI Lutheran, Shenandoah
Ben Dorman, Great Neck North, NYU
Marcus Edwards, East Hampton, Babson
John Francois, St. Anthony's, Fisher College
Tom Gilmartin, Centereach, St. Joseph's
Andrew Greenblatt, Syosset, Swarthmore
Rich Harkins, LI Lutheran, Adelphi
Sean Hehir, Massapequa, Molloy College
Will Hennep, Hills West, Mt. St. Mary's of NY
Justin Heisig, Island Trees, RIT
Terrell Holloway, Hempstead, Xavier
Booker Hucks, Bay Shore, Long Island Univ.
Chris Johnson, Lindenhurst, Lemoyne
Brian Katz, St. Dominic, Yale
Robert Kjellman, Sachem North, Valley Forge
Kevin Kerr, St. Anthony's, USMMC
MarK Koelbel, Bayport BP, Moravian
Oliver Laurent, St. Anthony's, Fisher College
Mike McSloy, Kings Park, SUNY Oswego
Kevin Milella, Kellinberg, Mt. Saint Mary's
Mike Nattis, Friends Academy, Wittenberg
Robby Ptacek, Bayport-BP, Central Connecticut
Vincent Russo, Sayville, Roger Williams
Chris Ryder, Port Washington, Hartwick
Shahab Sayeed, St. Anthony's, Fisher College
Jonathan Smalls, Deer Park, Daniel Webster
Dan Trant, Northport, Roger Williams
Anthony Valerio, Deer Park, Roger Williams
Steve Velazquez, Hauppauge, Castleton State
Kevin Walsh, West Hempstead, Molloy College
Harris Wichard, Bellmore, SUNY New Paltz
James Wilson, St. Dominic, St. Rose
In a typical year, 10-12 Long Islanders go to D1 schools and another 50-75 to D2, D3 and JC. Know someone that belongs on this list? LET US KNOW
Fish, Niehoff Star For Cortland
Derrick Fish of Locust Valley wrapped up his career at SUNY Cortland starting 27 of 29 games for his 21-8 team and leading the team in assists. Teammate Carson Niehoff from West Islip was second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.1 points per game.
Holloway Switches To Xavier
Hempstead's Terrell Holloway, who spent the last year at a prep school in Ohio, originally committed to Indiana, but rescinded his commitment after the problems at the school and has now decided to attend Xavier. ASK THE REF!
A good batch of questions this week!