Monday, February 27, 2012

Monday Morning Thoughts

The RU vs SHU Basketball Game and Rivalry

I guess it is safe to say no one is more pleased than me to see this rivalry develop and bring excitement to the State of NJ and most of the tri-state area. These games between Rutgers and Seton Hall can now be officially called a rivalry and a game that should be televised regardless of win loss records. Almost like the Army Navy game was handled for many years.

Rivalries often either bring out the best in you as a team or a player or they can make younger folks jump back and right into a protective shell. Rivalries bring people out to games and even help fund raising efforts of the schools in question. Recruiting wise kids want to be part of excitement. Because of that many additional nigh level recruits would want to attend Rutgers and SHU if they watched the game on TV because the atmosphere looked electric. I for one continue to be amazed at how both the RAC and Prudential Center look on TV. Big time is a true understatement because if you flipped from a UConn game to the SHU RU game on TV it would look similar. Now Syracuse is a different story but I still question the sincerity of fans there as opposed to fans of local teams but that's another post.

Rutgers won the game but in the eyes of many recruits the game is becoming a draw based on the excitement of the event and the fan turnout. By draw I mean to the game as well as drawing recruits to the participating schools. Though it is not Duke Carolina, it is developing in a way that could really hurt the 3rd area team St. Johns recruitment and atmosphere wise. With no true rival any longer, and a shrinking fan base at games played at MSG, SJU needs to really step it up even though they have had two great wins in a row.

So again RU won the game but Seton Hall will still be a post season team and attractive to recruits just as Rutgers will be.

Mike Rice

OK everyone please understand I have watched Mike Rice since he was at Fordham and I know about his Dad being a college coach in Pittsburgh etc. Mike seems to be doing a great job at RU and when I talk about hating his consistent wild man look on the side line it is just me and my feeling. Others might love it! But he and so many others feel they have to run the side lines coaching every play as opposed to staying calm and understanding most wins are accomplished via great prep work in practice. So again I say sit down sometimes and take in the action and coach your team because you are capable of great things as a coach.

Kevin Willard

I have to start by saying I have also followed Kevin Willard's career from Pitt forward. One of the worst days I experienced was when he DID NOT GET THE University of Delaware Head Coaching job years ago. What a bummer and something most people in Delaware were extremely unhappy about. What a difference he would have made! But Delaware's loss was Iona's gain which is now Seton Halls gain because I just love his coaching style. And like Mike Rice, his future is extremely bright.

RU and SHU Staff's

Not any high profile guys like many others nationally. But these guys are getting it done on the court and on the recruiting trail. Both have hard working and well respected 2nd in charge guys, and others well respected all over the entire east coast.

Facilities of Both Programs

No need to even discuss..........Sorry! But they both do look good on TV.

Players

Kids now want to be recruited by both programs. In fact I am starting to hear how some kids want the challenge of playing against others at schools in the same conference. Both teams have their fair share of local highly rated recruits if not on paper,  by those really in the know like other coaches on the HS and college level.

Now let the rivalry continue!!!!!

HS Stuff

We are into the HS Playoffs in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In PA. it is almost like the CHSAA in NYC. Teams lose and still are in it. Confusing as heck! What is it a seeding round lol. In NJ it is straight win and move on, lose and go home. No exceptions although I still say you never ever get the best 4 teams to the NJ Tournament of Champions. This is easily remedied by saving two at large spots for teams who are upset in the group level playoffs but are clearly better than a group 2 or even group 4 school moving on. An example would be if St. Anthony's is upset by St. Patrick's who will be playing hard based on this being the last go around for the school.  So the true best HS in NJ will be sent home while little Sunshine Valley HS moves forward to the TOC. I want Sunshine Valley to make the TOC but want the field expanded to 8 from 6 to accommodate the two at large teams.

Staying in NJ I see St. Anthony's winning it all with strong challenges from Teaneck, Plainfield, and others. But it is something about playing team ball defensively and offensively that make them special. The potential Teaneck Plainfield game, which would take place next Weds in East Orange, will be the State Playoff Game of The Year and could easily be the Group 3 Championship. I see no team in South Jersey ready to challenge either team. If Gil St. Bernard plays Seton Hall Prep that also will be a great game. Not sure where they would meet up but it would be special.  Sleeper team in group 3 could be Newark Eastside and the team to beat in Group 4 is Patterson Eastside it seems.

Not sure if anyone has followed Woodridge HS from Bergen County. A group 1 or 2 school who really has done well the past two seasons. They have a big guy who got hurt some time ago and caused the PROGRAM to slide a bit.  But this team was destined to be a version of Hoosiers before the injury. I honestly thought they were the 2nd best team in BergenCounty and would play Teaneck in the finals of the Bergen Jamboree. But when you lose your best player things tend to fall apart. Good luck to this developing program.

Has anyone seen Shaakir Lindsey play? If not you need to get to see him because he just might be the greatest attraction in NJ HS basketball now and next season. A 5 ft 7 tough as nails skilled guard with great quickness and passing ability. A one man press breaker who can also hit the open 3. Again I would love to see him go against Aquille Carr in a future game.

Pitt has offered Chris Jones a full scholarship!  It still amazes me that people do not see and understand what more and more high major D1 Head Coaches see in Chris Jones. These Coaches from some very high level programs see the same Chris I see. The Chris who can shoot, run, jump, defend, and finish. This is not a late bloomer talent wise. It is a late bloomer confidence wise only because that was the only ingredient missing.  Funny thing is as I read the Pitt Rivals board and a few fans are questioning Chris based on him not being listed as a top 100 type player.

As I said there and I say here, people doing those rankings always get it wrong after the initial top 25-30 kids.  many of the people ranking never even played or coached the game we love. Yet there they are at games with pens in hand ranking. Funny stuff!  Even the great Tom Konchalski got it wrong when he listed Mike O'Koran as a D3 recruit yet he starred at North Carolina and with the NJ Nets.  How about current players? Ever heard of Jeremy Lamb? You know him! The great player at UConn who was not even a top 150 player coming out of High School according to most services. Well, Chris Jones just might be that next Jeremy which might be the reason UConn is recruiting him. I am sure glad Jamie Dixon makes up his own mind!

St. Patricks Closing

Sad day in Elizabeth NJ when it was announced St. Patricks would close down. Not going too deep on this but I will say Al Harrington owes far too much to St. Patrick's to even say the asinine crap he said to the press when informed the school was closing. Now no one has a right to tell a person how to spend his or her money. But damn!!!!! How soon many forget what was done for them. How soon folks become so into themselves they forget to reach out and help others. Says alot when a person like Kyrie Irving goes back to visit and offers to write a check despite learning to play way b4 arriving at St. Pats as a transfer student. I guess his Parents taught him about life while others fail to do so. Shame on the person with wealth who does not understand that the more you give, the more you will receive and at the same time help so many others. So Mr. Harrington go out and buy a new Mercedes and drive all over NY with the top down as many kids, some just like you were, are hurt by this closing.  I would love to introduce you to Mr. Ray Williams and Mr. Michael Ray Richardson who will tell you how easy it
comes and go's.

Where will the players go? seems the St. Benedict's Coach feels sorry for a few of them and has graciously offered to assist by taking them in. lololololol.  Very nice of him! I would love to see them attend St. Joes or Roselle Catholic. What about the local HS where they live? Oops some of the kids are from out of town. My bad! A dark horse for these kids will be the new school recruiting kids, Pope John in Sparta NJ. They did get a kid from Queens to enroll there as a recent transfer. Kid is a bonafide top 100 recruit with many Big East Teams involved. The coach seems very aggressive and I am sure he is all over this recent development.

Friday, February 24, 2012

RU vs SHU, FDU and Tom Green, and The Bergen Jamboree

Friday Feb 24, 2012


Rutgers vs Seton Hall

Round two of the NJ College Championship game takes place Saturday and what a game it should be. It's Sr. night and very emotional for many as the Seton Hall Seniors say so long and thanks for the memories. This game will be another growing pain game for Rutgers but I will bet they come to play and compete. This is not an easy game for Seton Hall at all. But I do feel Seton Hall will win the game but it sure will not be easy.

I expect a number of recruits will be present at the game. It looks great when the rock is rocking so a win by Seton Hall in a sold out (with curtain up) crowd will impress any recruit in attendance.


NEC Honors Tom Green

Interesting that The Northeast Conference honored Tom Green last night at FDU. For some strange reason I thought it was FDU honoring the man who at one time made them a well respected program and not the laughing stock they now are. But I found out from a friend, who wants his name withheld because it could be rough on him if the people at FDU knew we are friends lol, that it was the NEC doing the honoring. Is this not strange? The conference honors you but the school does not have you in their Hall of Fame?

I watched a movie the other day that my Son worked on. The movie is Morning Glory which is about an early morning news show. A nice young lady applies for a job and the person interviewing her says "why should I hire you?"  He than says why he should not and included in his evaluation of her credentials "and you attended FDU in Teaneck, better known as "Fairly Ridiculous."   I guess that sums it all up and  the ridiculous tag is not the wonderful students, but the administration who allow bad treatment of loyal employees, while not recognizing opportunities through sports to attract funding and additional students. Well congratulations Coach Tom Green,  your award and honor is well deserved!

By the way FDU lost the game against LIU in front of 512 people. They did manage to score 81 points though. Must have been like a Rucker Tournament game since you can score 81 and lose by double degits. Unbelievable! I wonder if Tom Green stayed to watch the entire game? I wonder if he gave the team a pep talk before the game? Yea right lololol.

Bergen Jamboree

Spent a wonderful day out with my Son and Grandson prior to heading to Ramapo University to see the Bergen Jamboree Boys Championship game between Don Bosco Prep and Teaneck HS. Both teams are highly rated state wise and both have very good tradition. No matter what the team records are it is always a war when they play. Yesterday was no different!

I arrived at the game at least 2 hours early only to see TV trucks, outside vans advertising when the game would be televised, and hundreds of fans who like me arrived early to take in the atmosphere and guarantee a seat. By the way the game did sell out as did the semi finals a week ago. This is by far the greatest county tournament in New Jersey in regards to fan support and attendance in addition to tough final games. As the starting time of 7 PM approached fans continued pouring into the beautiful Bill Bradley Center with all chair back seats. Maybe FDU needs to go by and see how it should be done? After buying a bag of  slightly over cooked popcorn which was sold by The Ramapo University Men's Basketball Team and Staff, (Div 3 basketball wow!) I headed to my very comfortable seat, which was surrounded by hundreds of Teaneck fans, many in thier 70s who wore the blue colors of Teaneck HS.

On the other side of this beautiful facility sat The Don Bosco fans who wore the Maroon colors of their team. Scattered all in between were outstanding fans who cheered and appreciated a very good game. Interesting that as I watched in comes a number of college coaches, something that is unusual for Bergen Jamboree finals. Even Pitts Jamie Dixon, Fordham's Tom Piccora,  and coaches from a number of other D1 Programs. And I honestly believe none of the coaches were disappointed they had attended the game.

The Game

As my Grandson Logan, who Doctors predict will be at least 6 ft 10, begged to leave and go to "Home Sweet Home" (I could not believe he said that lol) my Son and I got right into the game. The final had Teaneck winning but this to me was not a great performance and Teaneck has to get into the lab (gym) to get the formula right. This might be controversial but I honestly could see some kids competing with others based on recent exposure. I saw Joel Hernandez, who is a nationally rated top Jr.   have a decent offensive game but every time he received the ball he looked to shoot and in the meantime hurt his team more than he helped them. In fact when he received the ball I became nervous because he certainly was not playing team ball for some strange reason.  I than saw Chris Jones, the star player,  decide to let others handle the task at hand. As my Son said to me, when you are Big East or ACC caliber you want the ball and demand it in games such as last nights. Not to confuse him with Kyle Anderson but he should watch Kyle play the game.  Unfortunately watching this one game made me question not the ability of this player, I questioned his desire. Clearly he is a Big East  and ACC talent skills wise. But mentally is he more suited for the MAAC, CAA, or a strong NE Conference school? Just saying and believe me I know one game does not make a season. But to not be the star you are and  allow another player to make this game about him which caused this to be closer than it should have been is totally unacceptable.

Teaneck does have a number of D1 recruitable players on the team including the two mentioned along with Neville Fincher the 6 ft 8 tough inside guy, and little Dynamite,  Shaakir Lindsey who at 5 ft 7 is often worth the price of admission. So 4 D1 level players playing against a team without one, well maybe they have one, and winning like they did is beyond believe except this was Don Bosco.  Playing Don Bosco is never an easy task especially if the game is at Don Bosco. Maybe Don Bosco played well because the game was being held about 3 miles from their home court. But again Don Bosco is no slouch of a team and those kids compete, compete, and compete again and again and again! You have to give them credit because they were not one bit intimidated by Teaneck's size, record, or talent!  The game was on and the final score was far from indicative of the actual games closeness.

Back to Teaneck's win. According to many in attendance Shaakir Lindsey, better known as Little Dynamite, has been the Teaneck MVP in the 2012 Bergen Jamboree. Often the forgotten one when college coaches talk about Teanecks big 3, he might just be much better than any of us realized. Right now he is getting better and better and he is skilled, tough , and strong as a bull, with no fear of anything or anyone. Again I would love to see him match up with Aquille Carr who will be headed to Seton Hall in 2013. What a game that would be!  The other often forgotten Teaneck player is Neville Fincher. He actually showed outstanding footwork last night and the ability to score and be a factor. Prediction: Not sure when based on his reclassification etc. but this kid will wind up at a place like Kansas, Mississippi State, Memphis, NC Stae, in the near future. I am stunned at how far he has come. Jerome Smart has done an  OUTSTANDING job with Neville, Shaakir, Joel (he has to play better team ball), and Chris (he has to not be afraid to be the star he is).  Now to get through the states to play Plainfield in East Orange. It should be a great game!

Have a great weekend. I can be reached at LFBall@aol.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Seton Hall Ball & More

Wednesday Feb.  22, 2012

Seton Hall

What an evening of basketball for Seton hall University!  Playing in front of a large crowd of around 9000 fans they seemed to have put on a defensive clinic against a team that for years was known for toughness and a defensive presence.  Georgetown University, a perennial top tier team and currently ranked in the top 10 nationally was soundly defeated by Seton Hall last night at The Prudential Center in Newark NJ.

The score is one thing,  but the benefits of the win is even greater in the larger scheme of basketball existence in the NY Tri-State area.  In addition to winning the game, Seton Hall is winning respect all over the east coast and entire United States of America. If they were not before, they sure are a name HS Basketball Stars all over the country now know.

As I have said in the recent past, Seton Hall is a post season team regardless of what they do from this point on. But winning games such as they did yesterday sure solidifies their chances of an NCAA birth. The next RU vs SHU game should be an outstanding one again! By the way the SHU games on TV look nothing short of awesome.  Looks like 20,000 people watching lol.  I guess Aquille Carr knew what he was doing and now his Baltimore buddies are patting him on the back for making such a great decision.

St. Johns

Big win for St. Johns against UCLA at the Garden in front of 7000 fans. I guess it shows SJU has the potential to be pretty good in the future if EVERYONE RETURNS. From there St. Johns beats a decent DePaul team to make it two in a row. With 3 very winnable games remaining on the schedule St. Johns could go into The Big East Tournament one game under 500 and winning two in the BE might get them a spot in the NIT.  But again is this what St. Johns hired Steve Lavin and his super staff for? Does SJU feel attracting 6-7000 to MSG is a great accomplishment? Is St. Johns losing more money than they are making?  Ummmmmmmmm.  If all stays as it is next season in Jamaica Queens will provide lots of stories and even more rumors I am sure.

Rutgers

Still experiencing growing pains despite playing very competitive basketball. This team is all about the future and the future remains bright. Difference between the Freshmen class at RU and SJU is HS rankings. For the most part,  the RU Freshmen have had better seasons and RU did not have to ,,,,,,ummmmm recruit them the same way as SJU recruited the young guys they have. Also,  the RU freshmen seem to understand they are 4 year players while most of the SJU kids are looking for the first train to the NBA.  Kentucky they are not unfortunately!  Rutgers might not make a post season tournament but has a lot to look forward to next season.

Now my one compolaint about RU and it is not fixing up The RAC because it really still looks awesome on TV. Will Mike Rice sit his butt down a few times a game and not look so crazy in the eyes with this young group of kids?  Kids need to see calmness from the sidelines. Jeez!!!!!! But other than that he does seem like a very good coach.

Coaching

More on this standing all the time when coaching teams. It seems that most of the younger coaches are doing this. From Billy Donavan with his jacket off to the young HS guy coaching in Nebraska. The "I am in control"  syndrome is in full affect. Watch coach K, remember Dean Smith and Joe B. Hall, how about Roy Williams, ever see Mike Brey, how about Bob Hurley?  They and most other successful coaches sit and observe and stand up to make a point not to be seen. Heck some coaches stand all game going crazy like they are coaching in The Rucker tournament in NYC or the Sonny Hill league in Philadelphia.  Ridiculous to say the least!!!

How about the guys who drop to one knee as if they can see the court better lolol. Are you kidding me what is that? I even see assistants on the HS level do this as if to say "I am also coaching this team."   I am sure not against  standing up or doing the knee thing but please do it with purpose!

FDU Watch

I heard from a source that FDU will be the same next season as this season because the school refuses to make the progr..........oops, Team (not a program)  better. So the baseball team again will get the concessions to pay for that big trip south to get ready for the season, and the season ticket holders will remain in the 200's maybe.  Team wise there is talent there but talent often needs to learn how to win and believe in who they are as a team and as players. But I remain very disappointed in what has happened to a team I use to enjoy watching on cold nights while living in Teaneck, NJ. Very sad!!!!

Others

Time for Fordham to put up or shut up. It is but so much the Coaching Staff can do recruitment wise with an old building they are trying to disguise as a NYC equivalent to Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium. The pace is old and no matter what they do it will be the same unless they tear the entire inside out, raise the roof, squeeze 6500 chair backs in the place, and build a practice facility on the side. OK OK I have heard about the Arena that might be built on Fordham Road by the City and private investors. All I will say is the year 2045 sounds right for a ground breaking ceremony. Too bad they are not located in Brooklyn where a dream is turning into a reality.

Hofstra better get it together next season. Nice to have all that talent on the bench, the great coaching staff, and a wonderful facility. Even nice to have that great chicken and rib restaurant called Wings and things right down the street. But losing as they are is not a pretty thing. Will they recover? They should but time will tell! Very good players coming and sitting out!

Manhattan seems to be doing OK and Young Steve, who was such a nice, wonderful, yet cocky in a good way, player when he played for the Gauchos many years ago, is doing great things. This guy understands what needs to be done and get accomplished. Maybe it is from his background as a a kid from a very wealthy area who did not stay home and go to the country club with his friends. He came to the hood and played ball with the best and made alot of friends who will support him in his quest to get Manhattan back where they were and belong. Now with that said Manhattan you also need a new facility  because that tin barn you dress up on game nights, the one with very limited parking, is unacceptable and really not attractive to recruits.

Both Fordham and Manhattan, two very good academic schools, should be smart enough to know putting lipstick on a gorilla will not make him attractive.

Iona made two great hires it seems. Coach Cluess and AD Marshall. The AD was smart enough to get the basketball coach into a long term contract as soon as he was hired. Now there are a few problems i have with staffing at Iona, but I sure cannot say anything about the actual coaching being done. Cluess could be the best actual coach in the entire NY Metro Area hands down. The question is, will there be a Big east Team going after him very soon?

HS Basketball

As we come down the home stretch and county tournaments are coming to an end, the state picture is becoming clearer in NJ.  Over in NY it will be the usual on the PSAL side with Lincoln, Boys and Girls, Jefferson, Cordozo fighting it out for the championship. I guess that Suicide Division in Brooklyn is alive  and well.

In NJ can anyone beat St. Anthony's? Will they win their 2nd state crown and 2nd Tournament of champions trophy? Is Kyle Anderson the true number 1 player in New Jersey? My answers are No, Yes, and Yes. So the question is who is the 2nd best team and player. Is it Plainfield with the no set offense lol? Teaneck with the underrated Chris Jones, Joel Hernandez, Neville Fincher, and company? Will St. Joe's Metuchen with two very good players emerge and be a contender? How about Hudson Catholic getting it together with Reggie Cameron, Mike Young  and company? Maybe St. Pats will surprise a lot of people? Gil St. Bernard is around the corner waiting for the opportunity to win it all.  Yes NJ is getting ready for the 2nd place championship because beating St. Anthony;s seems to be the impossible dream. But you have to be in it to win it.

Teaneck is at the moment the 2nd best team in the state and if they get to play Plainfield it will be an interesting game with the winner having a great chance of winning the state group 3 title and earning a 2 seed in the TOC. That means Plainfield, if they win, would again play St. Anthony's but this time away from home. If Teaneck gets to the TOC as the 2 seed it could be a bit more interesting especially if they are still undefeated. It would be undefeated against undefeated and in a one game situation anything can happen. But most likely it will come down to Plainfield vs Teaneck in a very good game that many have been waiting for.

HS Players

I have been on the NJ.com HS boards talking about why Chris Jones is a high D1 talent regardless of where he chooses to attend. Some of the feedback I get at games and in email messages are unbelievable. One Guy who I respect very much even said to me Chris had to be careful because the kids in 10th grade across the country are very good and could take his spot one day. Are you kidding me? Another asked about the big fella at Plainfield heading to Yale. They went on and on about how he has no game and just runs. I had to tell them that 60 percent of being successful on the court is competing hard, and that is what that kid does. But truth be told when you attend Yale University you are running straight to success in most cases. He might own an NBA team one day. A great choice for a nice player who understands hard work and competing.  Than there was a guy who asked about Kyle Anderson. The person said he was just average. I had to laugh because if he is average, average is the new word for great! All I will say again is Kyle Anderson = SUCCESS for everyone around him from his teammates, to his coaches, to the people selling hot dogs.

Bergen Jamboree

First off why do people continue to put down young folks playing a sport? Why do people who live in the same town and county of the kids they criticize never ever give credit where credit is due? Bergen County is not a place full of non playing HS basketball players. It is far from being Sussex County in western NJ near the Pocono's. Bergen has turned out many D1 players who have gone to the BE, ACC, CAA, Big 10, Big 12, MAAC, MAC, NEC, and Pac 10.  There are way to many names for me to give. But Teaneck alone had at least 8 in a 6 year period 10 years ago. Bergen Catholic, St. Joe's of Montvale, Don Bosco. Englewood, and many others have turned out some pretty good HS players. Even small Leonia had a kid sign with Villanova years back.

The players are very good in Bergen County,  although a tad bit underrated for the most part.  Presently with the number 2 team in the entire state as well as a few others in the top 20. In fact the championship game of the Bergen Jamboree, the best county tournament on the East Coast if not the Country, features number 10 Don Bosco Prep vs Number 2 Teaneck. Weak basketball? I do not think so!

Championship game is 7 PM Thursday at Ramapo College in Mahwah NJ.  Get there early! I know I will!!!!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Just a Little on Recruitment

Friday Feb 17, 2012

Not much to talk about today. Maybe I should discuss Jeremy Lin like everyone else? Nope, but he does make me think about all the HS players nationally who are under recruited. I continue to be amazed at the people division 1 basketball programs listen to regarding potential players. I cannot over emphasize the huge number of services that actually charge for misinformation based on the evaluators they use never ever played the game, coached the game, or until recent years never even watched the game. But there they are sitting court-side taking notes and evaluating players. What a joke!

There are many Jeremy Lin's out there just waiting to be discovered. What ever happened to college coaches actually going to games to find players as opposed to going to games to evaluate players who they read about or get on a list compiled by one of the so called experts?  I again say it is a good thing Dean Smith did not read reports that had Mike O'Koran listed as a D3 player at best by a notable scouting guru who actually is very good if not great at what he does. If this guru can make such a mistake what makes college coaches think they can depend on the ex soccer player looking to be important and make a few bucks?

Speaking with my friends I now understand why certain low and mid D1 teams are not doing well. When was the last time they just went to see Dewitt Clinton in the Bronx? How about just showing up at John F Kennedy in the Bronx where they have Johnny Mathis as the Head Coach and the benefit of Nate "Tiny" Archibald as a teacher in practice based on his long friendship with the coach?   What about all the high schools inn South Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania outside of the Philly and Pittsburg areas? What happened to the time when coaches went on actual 2 week road trips to find and recruit players?

Funny thing how this recruiting thing goes. A kid could go totally under recruited or even not recruited at all. All of a sudden one D1 school expresses an interest and others decide they better go and take a look see. Let that kid get a few schools from out of the area interested and the flood gates might just open. Want an example? I have many but will use only one.

Chris Jones was getting alot  of low D1 looks with the biggest school recruiting him being Rhode Island of the A10. Now those many low and mid D1 schools knew he was a diamond in the rough and would have loved to sign and steal him early. I am not even sure if Rhode Island, which is a very good program,  even offered him a scholarship. But most of the others from the MAAC, and NEC sure did. I even sent a email to Notre Dame telling them to watch him but of course they never did lol.  Fast forward and he starts receiving alot of interest from Colorado and Nebraska and all of a sudden Pittsburgh and UConn became interested.  Than Virginia Tech and calls from other ACC schools start going to Teaneck HS. In fact a very good  and connected friend of mine on the West Coast told me yesterday that both UCLA and UNLY are monitoring him in case certain players do not commit to those schools. I am only telling you what I was told and it sure is not anything I heard from a coach but my person is pretty reliable.  I would not be surprised to see places like NC State and Virginia try to get involved soon.

Now what I did hear from another reliable person who attends games with me is  at last nights Paramus vs Teaneck game at Teaneck coaches from Seton Hall University were in attendance to see what Chris Jones is all about.  Now I will say the recruitment does not surprise me based on this kid getting better every hour of the day. He looks to be a legit 6 ft 6 with true guard skills and great athletic ability which means he can dribble, pass, shoot, run and dunk lol.   But it took 1 or 2 big programs to notice b4 the others realized just what they were missing.

Recruiting remains hard work. And much of the hard work is who do you put your efforts into recruiting?  Why in heavens name are schools such as FDU, St. Peters, NJIT, and Binghamton out at games trying to get the high profile players? Sorry to say you need ALOT TO OFFER in many cases to even get visits from such players. Now do not let me tell you some stories about recruitment in Chicago, and the deep south lol. If i were those types of programs I would be at all the games that just might have that diamond in the rough. Like the kid that Rider recruited who became a NBA Pro!  On the larger school level all 3 local big time programs need to be much more thorough regarding players from NY, NJ, PA. MD., and DC.  Seriously!!!!!  I think Seton Hall and Rutgers understands this!!!!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Todays Thoughts

Thursday Feb 16, 2012

Well it was an up and down day for hoops in the tri-state area. Lets start with Rutgers loss at Notre Dame. As I watched the game on Tv I continued to feel sooner or later this program will get it right. The young talent is there although no where like what St. Johns has in their freshmen class. But for some strange reason they are more effective based on the way they play. I guess it helps RU to have a few older players on the roster who actually play.

Talking about older RU players what in the world is happening with Dane Miller? Is there some type of curse on the RU program? Go back, go way back,  and you will notice almost every young player arriving on what they call the "Banks" who had a great first year seems to experience the sophomore  or junior jinx. Not going to mention names but from Harve' (sp), to JR, to Farmer and Griffin, to Chandler, and now Dane. Not sure if that is the correct spelling for those young men but something must be wrong with the water. Maybe its those famous grease trucks selling food? By the time many of those very good players get to their Junioir year they rarely resemble the player that many thought they would be after great 1st and 2nd years.

Now it cannot be the coaching because there are 3 head coaches in the equation. So what could it be? Dane Miller should be a stud player right now based on his potential and early play in his first two years. OK I will go out on the limb and say maybe, and it is a small maybe, the players have far too much to do on the RU campus between basketball activities. Maybe they need a team dorm with a no nonsense Dorm Director and even better a curfew daily.  Maybe they need better trainers in the strength and conditioning areas as well as a special practice facility that the players can use 24 hours a day in an effort to continue to improve.

Now I know there are exceptions to what I am saying and what I am saying might sound off the wall. But this team needs something in the future besides great recruits to make it reach its potential because much of what is needed is in place and now it is up to all the RU Powers to bring the plan together. JMHO!

By the way a loss is something you try to avoid. ND is playing great especially at home. With a young team it is often about effort and competitive approach more than the final score. After all they did not go into South Bend and lose by 30!

St. Anthony's beats Thomas Jefferson of Brooklyn NY!  I love what has happened to Thomas Jefferson in Brooklyn. For years they were a very good team. But in the last few years they have actually turned into a basketball program with wonderful coaching and people around the program with teaching ability. It also does not hurt to have coaches who have played Division 1 basketball at a high level. Well, watch out Lincoln and Boys and Girls, two great programs year in and year out, there is a new kid on the block who at one time was a major player in the Brooklyn Suicide Division. The name? Thomas Jefferson!!!

I love the way no one seems to give St. Benedict's credit in the tri-state area.  But why they continue to not compete in NJ championships is mind boggling. The story I heard many years ago was the decision to leave the state HS sports association was based on the soccer program at the school. They at the time had a nationally ranked team and wanted to control scheduling etc.  Based on that we really do not get to see them in Star Ledger rankings, State rankings, or given credit for the way they played St. Anthony's.  I honestly feel St. Benedict's vs St. Anthony's in a repeat game this season could have been a St. Benedict's win. I said could have been! They might be the only team in the state that could accomplish this.

So here are my state rankings again:

St. Anthony's
St. Benedict's
Teaneck
Plainfield
St. Josephs
Hudson Catholic (Yes this high)
Gil St. Bernard
Newark Eastside
Seton Hall Prep
Paterson Eastside

My top 5 Senior Players:

I will never understand how on a certain site they do not even have Chris Jones in the top 10 state wise. The person running the site is pretty good but he sure missed this one. Some of the people on his list are so politically correct it is a shame. So here is my lists based on actual play and not politics or reputation.

Top 5 Seniors

1. Kyle Anderson
2.Chris Jones
2. Melvin Johnson
3. Quentin Decourcey
4. Blaise Mbargorba

Top 15 regardless of Class

Kyle Anderson
Chris Jones
Melvin Johnson
Quentin Decourcey
Davon Reid
Blaise Mbargorba
Tyler Ennis
Jaren Sina
Justin Sears
Reggie Cameron
Karl Towns Jr.
Josh Brown
Jimmy Hall
Dallas Anglin
Isaiah Briscoe
Brandon Taylor

I have to admit I did leave a few players off who should have made my top players regardless of class list. None more glaring than Reggie Cameron of Hudson Catholic! I feel like an idiot about this oversight because he is definitely one of the top players regardless of class as is his teammate Mike Young!  My mistake and they both are now added!

Honorable Mention

Mike Young
Jerome Fink
Dominic Hoffman
Isaiah Watkins
Neville Fincher
Joel Hernandez

This is only my list, not that it means anything lol. can change 3 more times before the season concludes. Stay tuned!





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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

My Opinion and Thoughts!

Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012

What a game last night at the Prudential Center as Seton Hall made the young men from St. Johns look like a JV team playing a scrimmage against the Varsity team from  the same school. I know what many people are thinking. St. Johns is a very young team and one day those young guys will have experience and more depth on the bench and watch out! One day they will have the Head coach back and watch out! Yes one day!!!!!

But in the meantime they have some very talented freshmen who at this point in the season should not be losing by 30! They also have a person who was considered the best assistant coach in America based on his ability with X and Os. Add to that one of the best teachers of how to play and compete, a Hall of Fame type acting as an on the bench adviser, One of the greatest HS basketball coaches ever to come out of NYC, and a guy known as a great recruiter and this is the result?

I am in no way thinking St. Johns is a better team than SHU this season. But I am also not thinking SJU has an excuse for losing by 30 against a team 35 minutes away.  And lets talk future for St. Johns. What happens if 1 or 2 of the current players decide to leave. Oops some left already! OK let me re-phase this. What happens if 1 or 2 of the remaining players decide to leave the ship based on NBA opportunities or at the least frustration from what is happening?  I guess that would just open up the gates for SJU to get more super HS Players in school and hope they are eligible to play in October when practice starts. What happens if the Head Coach is offered a great opportunity on the West Coast? Not saying this will happen but will he return to good ole SJU with all the expectations and a group of the most knowledgable fans in America? A group of fans who understand that Lou Carnesecca did it with a few high profile guys with the rest from local NYC, Long Island, and NJ high schools. I guess a Hall of Fame guy like Lou understood chemistry was not about going out and getting the best player as much as it was about getting the best players to complete the puzzle.

Recruiting wise  did you read what I said way back when Ron Roberts was forced to back out of his SJU commitment?  I said they (SJU) would one day regret this and Roberts would excel! Think they could have used Roberts this season? I and many I know have wondered if SJU would be better right now if Norm Roberts was there?  SJU, SHU, RU, and many other high majors who are not in the super 6-8 category always did it with a few studs and the rest very good developing players. Norm was not even allowed to recruit as SJU does now. The budget was nowhere as large in many ways.  And remember part of any evaluation process is what you put on the floor and did YOU GO OUT AND GET what was necessary to represent the University?   Seven or even eight scholarship players is not an excuse! Especially if you had the tools and supposedly  expertise to make SJU what it was years ago.

Seton Hall has had its ups and downs and as I said yesterday, I expect them in a post season event regardless of what happens from here on. But if they win more than they lose the NCAA's are not out of the question. Not bad for a team who no one was discussing in August based on both RU and SJU having great recruiting classes according to the so called experts, and non experts including me since I am far from being an expert.  But SHU got up off the ground where they had been the past few games and regrouped to win a few games in a row and regain NCAA momentum. A true sign of a TEAM!

I am and always have been a huge St. Johns fan. I went to many games at Alumni Hall as did many people from all over NY and NJ. They were truly our team! Kids wanted to go there and SJU was selective but far from thinking they were above taking the occasional role player or developing big guy.  They sold the Garden out often and were treated like celebrities. I sure hope Lavin comes back and no more players leave and they can add to what they have to get SJU back into the NCAA picture next season.  Maybe I want the area teams all to do well so bad I can taste it.  I sure love great basketball and hate when I go to Charlotte NC to visit friends and everyone is talking ACC and all the games are close to sold out. One day, one day, one day!

I received a post on this blog from a Plainfield HS Fan teasing me about not writing how they beat Gil St. Bernards.  Honestly I am happy as heck because my beloved Teaneck (Yes I am a Homer) now is number 2 in the entire state. And I and many others are thrilled about this.

Now back to Plainfield Gil St. Bernards.  Plainfield winning was certainly not an upset.! Plainfield has the better overall talent even though they continue to play like a HS version of the old UNLV teams from years ago.  Up and down but the results are what counts. Plainfield is a PROGRAM and one that does it with home grown talent. In fact if a few others who lived in the town attended Plainfield they might have won even more.  Just to name two: Jay Williams and Earl Clark.  Wow!!!!  In fact i heard that Jay Williams Mom, who is one of the best basketball fans I have ever see based on her cheering for both teams and being so personable, taught at Plainfield HS. So Plainfield my hat is off to you and I want you to win every game until you play Teaneck. I will be at that game even if I have to fly in from the West Coast. I will be the guy with the dark shades on eating Popeye's Fried Chicken! I will also be the guy with egg on my face if Plainfield wins!  Of course both have to win all state games in the north to get to play each other.

Chris Jones a 6 ft 6 guard playing forward at Teaneck HS will turn out to be a huge steal. I continue to tell anyone who will listen that this wonderful and personable  kid with grades is a big-time talent with a great work ethic. He could be the best player that ever played at Teaneck HS.  The last person I said this about is now an NBA star and his name is David West who played two years at Teaneck HS and many years in the youth league before moving south to North Carolina.  Chris now has interest from Virginia Tech, UConn, Nebraska, Pittsburg, Colorado, and a host of others that recruited him since last summer including Siena, Manhattan, and Hofstra.  I am telling you this kid is the real deal. A guy who plays well, plays tough, plays smart, has length, can shoot, drive, dunk, and a guy who if he could not play a lick you would be happy to see date your Daughter!  How Rutgers, Seton Hall, and St. Johns are not on him amazes me!

FDU Watch!

Just want FDU people to know I also want you to do well. I hope you restore that gym and make the venue attractive for potential recruits.  I get a ton of emails regarding my FDU thoughts and I tell everyone that even Stevie Wonder can see the potential of that program. But Stevie can also see how down it has gone!

That's it for me today folks but if you need to reach me to yell or complain or to just say hello I can be reached at LFBall@aol.com.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

New Thoughts

Tuesday Feb 14, 2012

College Basketball Locally

FDU has fallen and it can't get up! Even a medical alert device will not help FDU until they get the right people in place to make that program what it was and can be in the future. I am not speaking about the coaches, although adding an old head or mature coach with great X and O knowledge to the staff would not hurt. The FDU program needs to be evaluated from top to bottom because this once proud low-mid major program has become a laughing stock and the coaches have very little to sell based on the support they have gotten facility and marketing wise. Curious to see what happens in the off season.......oops the entire season has already been off.  FDU has to know they made some serious errors in alot of areas that needs to be corrected. Too bad the University President still does not know there is a D1 men;s basketball team on campus.

Seton Hall

OK call me the old homer if you wish. I honestly feel Seton Hall will win some more games this season and be in a post season tournament. In fact if they lost the rest of the games this year they could still be invited to the NIT based on the won-loss record.  Tonights game against St. Johns should be very interesting to say the least. Seton Hall should win despite SJU having some very talented freshmen that chose St. Johns for various reasons although they had plenty of other national options.  Stay tuned!

Rutgers

Regardless of the record this is a better team and seems to be headed in the right direction. I do feel the talent is there, and the commitment to the team though not yet 100 percent where it should be facility and marketing wise is much better than past years. Get that arena re-done now!  The Coach Mike Rice does seem a bit out of control but maybe that works for him. Just his eyes look so scary on TV lol.

St. Johns

Going nowhere fast and does not even resemble a real team. Maybe this is what happens when you recruit kids with only eyes for the NBA and not on the NCAA's. They continue to look out of sync and playing with no purpose. Maybe it will all be better when Steve Lavin decides to return..............If he returns?  Conflicting rumors out there regarding the entire staff, which on paper is an outstanding group of coaches.  Interesting developments must be coming during the off season. Who will stay? Who will go?

Others

Binghamton University is such a great academic institution that has always been looked at as a state school equivalent to Ivy Universities. Too bad they are playing like a bottom Ivy school from 1967.  Maybe they just do not have the talent? Maybe it will be better with the new talent coming in? By the way who are the new recruits?  They paid the old winning coach off despite him really doing no wrong. He is now sitting on the bench at Georgetown as one of his ex Assistants leads this program, that still draws a few thousand each game, to a perfect losing record. Are you kidding me? Will he be allowed to return? Maybe they need to go back to a D3 schedule and play schools like Potsdam, Oneonta, and maybe FDU! Why they did not schedule FDU is beyond me. In fact everyone is calling FDU for games next season.

St. Peters is struggling but will be better next season. Fordham is having ups and downs but continues to be competitive. Iona will be in a post season tournament. Monmouth has the tools in place to be good very soon. Too bad the Coaches do not have eligibility left.  Hofstra is losing!!! But have no fear with the best group of Assistants in 3 states they will get it together. The transfers sitting out will also be a tremendous addition to the team next season. I cannot believe a great talent left St. Johns and transferred to Rider. All I will say is wow! Manhattan is on the verge of future greatness and along with Iona will give some Big East teams a run for players and wins in the near future. If the coaches do not leave for bigger jobs.

Heard a rumor that a certain super star coach's son will be the new head coach at Western Kentucky. Great to have a famous Dad!

HS Basketball

So good to see both Teaneck and Plainfield doing great in NJ. Teaneck is the number 2 team in the entire state. I will say it til I am blue in the face. Chris Jones of Teaneck is a big-time talent and worthy of an ACC or BE scholarship. Pittsburg  went to watch him along with Colorado and Virginia Tech. watching him play and watching him off the court makes you realize this is the type of kid you want in your program. In fact he is a Duke/Notre Dame type who could be a super player by his Junior year. 6 ft 6 shooting guard with skills, grades, personality, strong work ethic, and intelligence are hard to find.

I look forward to a potential Plainfield vs Teaneck match-up. What a game that would be. Too bad only one would advance, There needs to be a wildcat team in the tournament of champions. In fact two so that everyone would get a first round game with no byes.

Thats it for now!  Looking forward to the game tonight!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Great day of Basketball and a few Rumors

Thursday Feb. 9, 2012

Wednesday was one of the best days in years to watch college basketball on television.  The line-up was so good it made me stay home as opposed to accept a few comp tickets to both the Nets game and a local Big East Game. Also could have gotten the $5.00 a head FDU was paying people to watch them play. Plus they were providing free hoagies and sodas after the game.  I am so glad I stayed home to be able to change channels during the commercial in order to catch every game.

My evening started with the preparation of a great meal and some other snacks as I sat in front of the TV in anticipation. Great games and action as I ate my salmon and drank some nice diet ice tea.  I started off with the Georgetown vs Syracuse game. The place was filled and rocking as those two BE powers went toe to toe. Talk about atmosphere? How does a kid turn down Syracuse when they can get a great education and play in front of 28,000 people? Ditto Georgetown and all they have to offer.

Great to see the ex Binghamton Head Coach back on the Georgetown bench where he started. What's Binghamton's current record? O and something the last time I looked. But at least they are doing things right lololololol!  Interesting that people are still attending games up there in NY State. Maybe they are doing special promotions such as if Binghamton loses again by under 15 points, it's  free Papa Johns pizza for everyone.

Watched St. Johns play against Cincinnati and it was sad. Why are they even playing Cincinnati at Madison Square Garden? They had a reported attendance of around 7000, but we all know that was most likely exaggerated since many stayed home to watch all the other great games on TV. I am telling you there is drama going on at SJU and I can feel it coming.  Hints later! Again I hate that grunge look  of the coaches who are dressed like they are in the Saudi Arabian Pro Am. Than it came to me. They are dressing as they have in solidarity to the illness of Head Coach Steve Lavin.  And thats a real admirable thing to do. Just wish the team would play hard and smart for him as well! Just saying!

Caught Kansas and Baylor. Great game with many very good players from all over the country on both teams. Honestly when you recruit against schools like Baylor, you have to bring your A game, just as you had to do years ago against UNLV.  You know I mean they are strong recruiters lol.  Well the game was all Baylor until Kansas just took over. Kansas just might be my pick to sneak up on teams and win it all in March/April.

How about the Duke vs North Carolina game? What a game! What a finish! What players! What a Freshmen Duke has in Austin Rivers!  Ummmm I wonder if they gave his Parents jobs in Durham? Oh thats right his Dad has a job! No need for a recap of the final score since ESPN has shown that final play 20 times an hour since midnight.

A game that really peaked my interest was the Seton Hall vs Rutgers game at The Rac.  Looked like great atmosphere and the continuation of a wonderful natural rivalry. The Governor should have presented a special trophy to the winning team and media coverage should have been off the charts. I honestly love the way The RAC looks on TV. Bright with a wonderful floor with a great logo.
We all know that SHU won the game but I repeated just in case someone needs to know.

Recruiting These Days

Saw on a board where someone asks my feelings on recruiting now,  compared to years ago. Well,  let me give it to you straight with no chaser. Cheating was done in some sort of way or fashion across the board many years ago. Kids were signing and the next day the entire family moved into new homes. Kids were signing and getting summer jobs paying them more than people at the same place with Masters degrees were earning as regular employees. Kids were signing and the next week driving new cars to the prom that never had to be turned in. Cheating was rampant to say the least and almost everyone did it in one way or another. Just some schools acted as if they were above the law. Interesting thing is most people reading my blog know who those schools were. Even mid majors and low majors did things like fly Parents in for the visit, send sneakers to AAU programs of recruited kids, and even provided no show jobs or like one team did,  gave them Janitor type jobs in the gym building that paid more than many of their Dads earned  Grades were altered and kids took Mickey Mouse courses, and often received both financial aid and basketball scholarships. The perks from boosters were unreal before, during and sometimes after they graduated. Enforcement?  PLEASE!  Right in front of their eyes and everyone saw it.

How does this compare to today with the one and done studs on rosters? A lot of the same stuff but less automobiles nationwide but as much of the other perks. Rumor has it that one prominent school paid every new recruit between $75,000 and $150,000 to attend school. In fact I am sure most schools still are not 100 percent above board with the exception of a few with strong state affiliation. But recruitment remains challenging for most people. But as many say: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Anyone else hear the USC Job will be attractive to quite a few people if it happens to open up?  Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Stay tuned for that one. Southern California? LA? Who would be interested in such a job and such a nice area to reside? Stay tuned!

Could you believe FDU scheduled a TV game against Monmouth on a day with outstanding Varsity teams playing.  Oops I forgot FDU is D1 and not D3. Or are they? Well I had to watch at least a bit and  was pretty impressed despite them only having about 500 watching. OK I know they reported over 1000. Stll horrible to get 1000 to a D1 college basketball game. Heck I could go out and give away 1000 tickets (smile).  Talent wise FDU really is not that bad.  Based on the record I thought the starting line-up were a few guys from Union County and the rest from Passaic Community College.

Thats it but be on the lookout for what could be some major happenings before the season is concluded.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

St. Anthony's Vs Plainfield, Paterson Eastside vs Teaneck, and Seton Hall vs Rutgers

Wednesday Feb 8, 2012

It has been a few days since my last blog post because honestly there was not much to talk about. Seton Hall is not playing as well and everyone knows that. Rutgers is not doing much better and everyone knows that as well. Even the lower conference schools have been the same even though I have not looked at an FDU box score in a while. But I would imagine they have not won since they beat powerful Bryant College or is it University? I do know Bryant is a very good academic school that until a few years ago was a proud New England Division 2 program. Now they are a FDU rival!

On the HS scene the games seem to have been very competitive especially in NYC in what was once the Suicide Division in Brooklyn. All those teams are good in Brooklyn and tough as well. Lincoln, Boys and Girls, Jefferson, Roberson will be good and competitive, South Shore is pretty good, Grady will bounce back, and many others are good as well. We know that Campus Magnet (Andrew Jackson) will be tough down the stretch as will Benjamin Cardozo, who is one on NY's top programs along with many of the others I have mentioned. Lets not forget Johnny Mathis Kennedy HS team in the boogie down Bronx or should I say upscale Riverdale section of NYC? Yes,  NY teams, especially PSAL teams,  are and always will be very competitive despite the huge amount of kids opting to attend private and parochial schools in NY and NJ.

Of course the CHSAA teams in NY are always competitive with St. Raymond's, Christ The King, and others. Oddly the CHSAA programs have been hurt more than anyone else by the number of players who would normally be at those schools attending HS in The Garden State. It took a while before people realized the commute to Jersey City or Elizabeth is not a hard one on public transportation. NYC kids are now making a huge difference at some of the traditional NJ power HS Programs.

This brings me to the St. Anthony;s vs Plainfield game I attended yesterday in Plainfield, New Jersey. What atmosphere for a HS game! I have been to many HS games over the years and thought the atmosphere at some were decent or very good. Plainfield was the best atmosphere I have ever experienced in my 35 years of attending HS games. From the great Security telling you where to park, to the pleasant people selling and taking tickets with smiles and thanking you, this was a first class operation. The gym was an older building that seemed to be re-done with great seating on 4 sides and filled to capacity during the Freshmen game. Thats right 3 and a half hours before the varsity game the seating was 85 percent sold out.  They even handed out actual game programs with player names and numbers.  I asked if this was a regular thing and was told yes.

What really amazed me were all the adults in the seating who actually knew the freshmen kids and cheered and encouraged those kids like they were the varsity team. I have never been to a HS game where 6o percent of the fans were actually adults who attend the games on a regular basis. Even the Town Mayor was at the game waving and cheering like she know the drill lol.   Plainfield has two super duper supporters, one an ex school board member, who are true fans with one actually doing the powder thing prior top tipoff. And in the stands there was no player bashing just clean cheering for the home team and respect for the visitors from St. Anthony's.

2000 plus people saw a game that had the number 1 team in NJ go against the number 5 team which is Plainfield. Here is where the accolades stop! Sorry Plainfield because I do want to be welcome in your gym again one day. And though I am a true blue Teaneck Fan, I know it would be a tough game for Teaneck if they faced you. But honestly I have never seen a team ranked so high be so unprepared to play a huge game. I have never seen a highly ranked team not even attempt to run an offensive set the entire game. I mean the ENTIRE GAME NOT ONE OFFENSIVE SET WAS ATTEMPTED!  People and fans can say that was because of the St. Anthony defense. I say bull because NO OFFENSIVE SET WAS ATTEMPTED and I kept track. Horrible up and down street ball  basketball was played by Plainfield. It was the closest I have ever seen to the big game between Hickory High playing controlled basketball against the big run and gun team from the big city in Hoosiers.  Horrible team basketball as I have ever seen! Coach might have had an off day but if there was a shot clock they might have scored 25 points based on no sets run to free up players for shots. In the first half 30 and 40 seconds went by as Plainfield searched for shots often shooting "hope" shots or air balls.

Now this is not an attack on the players. But it certainly is a post wondering about who the coach is because Plainfield has talent and tough inside guys. I did not expect Plainfield to beat powerful St. Anthony's. But neither did I expect to see a Harlem Rucker League Team coached by Slim from the block play last night. Remember the stage was set and than I realized I was way off Broadway in regards to actual performance. Like having a Mercedes body over a Yugo automobile.  Plainfield had everything going up until game time sadly.  They next play Gil St. Bernard in a game I really wanted to attend. Unfortunately I now feel Gil might make them look even worst despite the fact Plainfield will not be  intimidated like they seemed to be last night. Who knows, they just might run a play or two!

St. Anthony's is a well oiled machine. Kyle Anderson is a complete TEAM player who you love cheering for based on him being a better person than player and as a player he is NBA bound in the near future. The other players around him benefit from his presence and mental toughness. In a nutshell St. Anthony's from the very talented players to the outstanding coaching staff of 15 guys (lol) expect to win and play that way. My only negative about St. Anthony's would be the clunky Reebok sneakers all 3 teams wore. They looked like they weighed 10 pounds lol. But they must be light because this is a true HS team and a wonderful HS program. Honestly I am stunned St. Anthony's does not ask for money to play games such as yesterday, games that sell out and generate capital.

Plainfield's biggest group 3 challenge at the time is powerful Teaneck HS from Bergen County who are rated 3rd in NJ by the Newark Star Ledger. The big match-up could occur in the state playoffs at East Orange Campus HS in the North Group 3 finals. Teaneck is playing great and the coaching staff is really one of the best in the entire state if not the entire east coast.

With at least 4 potential D 1 players on the roster and playing very well together this team has the ingredients to do well and possibly make a run at the overall group 3 state championship and do well in the Tournament of Champions.  Last night they beat Paterson Eastside, a top 10 team in Nj and the number 1 Group 4 team in the state.  But that Bergen Jamboree can be tough and often political if you know what i mean. So getting through the country tournament might just be more challenging than people realize.

Seton Hall vs Rutgers

The RAC was jumping! People purchased tickets outside from scalpers for as much as $2000 a ticket. The Governor attended as did many of the other state politicians. Thousands were turned away from attending this sold out game at the newly refurbished Rutgers Athletic Center,  and what a building it is. Video score boards, expanded soft chair back seating, wonderful refreshments and two actual restaurants in the building for pre game meals in a comfortable atmosphere over looking the court. With every top NYC, NJ, and Pa. kid looking on from the special recruitment lounge, this game was full of great plays. RU and SHU with a combined 9 HS All Americans on the rosters, made us say ACC who? An interesting development last night was the sudden transfer requests from 2 players who just could not break into the line-ups at SHU or RU because of the overflow of talent. I have heard they will attempt to transfer to Duke or  Kentucky where they will have a better opportunity to play!

I guess you know by now I was dreaming of what it could and might be in the near future.  Unfortunately we are not there YET! However I still feel this game should be a sell out at Rutgers. To not be able to attract 8000 plus people is downright disgusting and whoever is in charge of PR and marketing at Rutgers needs to really be held accountable. Maybe the person worked at FDU in the past and really has no understanding of the right way to attract fans to games.

I think the game will be nip and tuck as well as  exciting to watch. I personally will be watching from the comforts of home. Who will win? Does anyone care? Is it on the Governors schedule? Stay tuned for alot to say after the game concludes.