Under Armour hosts unique combine in N.Y.

NEW YORK — Ryan Arcidiacono trekked up the New Jersey Turnpike from suburban Philadelphia on Sunday morning, one of more than 50 promising high school basketball prodigies eager to test his talents against all of the skill stations set up on the second floor of New York City's Chelsea Piers.

On a day where Under Armour boldly announced its arrival in the Big Apple with its 2010 Elite Combine, Arcidiacono went through the paces at a unique showcase featuring eighth graders through high school seniors at company-sponsored high schools and AAU programs ranging from as far north as Boston and as far south as Washington D.C.

For the sake of comparison, think the NBA Combine on a more grassroots scale.

"I was thinking of the NBA or NFL combine coming into this," said Arcidiacono, a 6-foot-3 junior point guard who stars at Neshaminy (Langhorne, Pa.) and also for the AAU PA Playaz. "It's a little difference because I've never seen basketball tests like opposite-handed push-ups or vision tests."

Unlike other summer camps and showcases, Under Armour and IMG partnered to produce something vastly more scientific than the playground-style games that seem to accentuate every prospect's strengths. Across two courts stood several stations measuring everything from vertical leaps and vision to overhead squats and Y balance tests.

Upon completion of these drills, Under Armour and IMG compiled a Combine 360 score factoring in performance in each area. From there, each prospect receives feedback and training regimens designed to enhance their skill sets.

"We're in a sport that's being specialized at a younger age," said IMG's Dan Barto. "This is all about development."

To this end, Under Armour provided mentoring not only about skill development, but also nutrition, academics and the collegiate recruiting process. Or as Daryl Jones, Under Armour manager of combine services, enthusiastically explained to an early-morning gathering of players, "Our tests are to athletics what the SAT and the ACT are to academics."

It is a different world many of these prospects are entering with Under Armour, which staged its first combine last weekend in Los Angeles. For the day's two guest coaches, former NBA and NCAA stars Cliff Robinson and Jay Williams, it is especially different from their days of high school stardom.

"When you think of what (skill development) is now, this (combine) gives them the opportunity to take advantage of what they have," said Robinson, a one time all-star who played 18 years in the NBA after a stellar collegiate career at the University of Connecticut.

Every player at the Combine eventually aspires to accomplish what Robinson has stamped on his resume. With collegiate recruiting now beginning in junior high school, there was one one seventh-grader, three eighth-graders and 12 high school freshmen making their biggest and boldest step toward what they hope is future stardom.

"I'm expecting to get better here. I'm just working hard and pushing myself," said 6-5 junior wing Jeffland Neverson of Brooklyn-based powerhouse Boys & Girls. The defending New York Public School Athletic League (PSAL) champions brought five players, all Division I prospects, to lead all schools in terms of representation.

Added Shep Garner, a 6-0 freshman point guard from Philadelphia's Roman Catholic, who counts 2009-10 NBA Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans as a mentor: "College basketball is my main objective. I'm working toward getting to college free. I just want to work hard and do my best."

For more coverage of the Combine, click here to read Jason Hickman's blog.