By Danny Wild
MaxPreps.com
NEW YORK - Some of the nation's best high school basketball talent officially returned to the court last week in New York City, with many being showcased at the Big Apple Basketball Challenge.
The annual two-day tournament drew huge crowds, celebrities and 16 of the best teams in New York. The tournament, held at Baruch College, effectively provided official bragging rights between the public league (PSAL) and Catholic league (CHSAA) schools. New York Knicks legend John Starks showed up, along with hip hop producer Irv Gotti. Knicks' radioman Spencer Ross volunteered to call some of the action in the eight-game event.
The showcase kicked off Saturday, Dec. 8, as Cardinal Hayes (CHSAA/Bronx) edged Thomas Edison (PSAL/Queens), 53-49, before South Shore (PSAL/Brooklyn) topped All Hallows (CHSAA/Bronx), 53-47.
Christ the King (CHSAA/Queens) defeated Wadleigh (PSAL/Manhattan), 71-49, thanks to 5-foot-6 Florida-bound guard Erving Walker, who scored 20 points and dished out eight assists in the season-opening victory for the Royals. Ryan Pearson, who has committed to George Mason for next fall, also played well for coach Bob Oliva's squad.
Holy Cross (CHSAA/Queens) sneaked past Boys & Girls (PSAL/Brooklyn) in double overtime, 78-73. Virginia-bound Sylven Landsberg teamed with senior forward Tim Beinert and led all scorers with 29 points and 20 rebounds in the double-OT win.
Rutgers-bound senior Patrick Johnson and the Kangaroos struggled from the free throw line, missing 17 shots in the contest from the stripe. Video highlights of the Holy Cross shocker can be found on the MaxPreps.com PSAL section page
The BAB action continued on Sunday, with Starks in the bleachers and John F. Kennedy (PSAL/Bronx) blowing out Mount St. Michael (CHSAA/Bronx), 73-56. After spending the second quarter on the bench in foul trouble, senior Kadeem Nicholas finished with 14 points and MVP honors.
"I don't even think I deserved it," Nicholas told the New York Daily News. "Other guys - Jeffrey Arzu and Naquan Pierce - they stepped up when I was in foul trouble."
Arzu scored a game-high 15 points while Pierce chipped in 10. Nicholas shook off his foul trouble to help the Knights (6-0) to a 21-point lead midway through the fourth.
"I was hungry to get back in the game," said Nicholas, who scored 12 points in the second half. "I felt like I hadn't played ball in weeks."
Mount St. Michael fell to 1-2 with the loss.
"We're still a work in progress," Mountaineers coach Thomas Fraher said. "Right now our focus is to compete every single possession."
Xaverian (CHSAA/Brooklyn) defeated Wings (PSAL/Bronx), 57-52, while Canarsie (PSAL/Brooklyn) earned Brooklyn bragging rights over Bishop Ford (CHSAA/Brooklyn), 74-62. St. Raymond (CHSAA/Bronx) topped a struggling Keith Spellman and Thomas Jefferson (PSAL/Brooklyn), 87-74, to round out the schedule.
The Knicks, K1X, the NBA and Slam Magazine co-sponsored the tournament while Mount St. Michael's Xavier Alder won the tourney Sportsmanship Award. The CHSAA improved its all-time record to 26-12 over the PSAL with a 5-3 edge in the 2007 tournament.
Future Teammates Collide in Canarsie-Bishop Ford Match
Elon Howard paced Canarsie with 16 rebounds to earn game MVP honors, but the game's real storyline was the match-up of future college teammates. The contest pitted Canarsie's Yves Jules against Bishop Ford's Chaz Williams, both of whom have verbally committed to playing with each other next season at Hofstra.
Both Hofstra coach Tom Pecora and freshman Nathaniel Lester watched the action from the stands, taking a glimpse at what promises to be a big season next winter for the Pride.
"It's going to be a lot of fun with them on the team," said Lester, a Canarsie grad himself. "It was exciting seeing them go at it."
Both Jules and Williams took a few light-hearted shots at each other in the days leading up to the match-up, but have to be excited about wearing the same jersey in 2008-09.
"I knew he can jump, I knew he could shoot, but he was doing other things [Sunday] that shocked me," Williams said of Jules. "Creating shots for himself, coming off screens hard, catching and shooting, he could do a lot. We could be a real good backcourt, I'm looking forward to it."
Jules, a bit winded, agreed.
"I know when I get [to Hofstra], I have to be in tip-top shape because, the way he was running today, I got to keep up with him," Jules said. "It's going to be hard, but I'm going to try."
NYC Climbs in the National Polls
The transition into December also offered some intriguing pre-season rankings from across the nation.
ESPN ranked a pair of New York City schools amongst its High Elite 25 national rankings last week, with Manhattan's Rice coming in at No. 12 and Lincoln sitting at No. 13 in the pre-season poll.
The Raiders, who finished last season at 27-4, crushed All Hallows (Bronx), 71-44, and handed Maryland's Towson Catholic a 70-53 beating to start the season at 2-0. Kemba Walker scored 22 points in the road win, which was part of the Charm City Classic in Baltimore.
Lincoln was ranked No. 9 in the USA Today national poll earlier this week while Rice was ranked at No. 11.
Queens' Christ the King (25-6 last season) was ranked No. 17 on the ESPN poll, while Brooklyn power Boys & Girls, which finished 32-3 last season and fell one game short of the PSAL Class AA title under Coach Ruth Lovelace, was ranked No. 24.
Stephenson Sits Out For Lincoln
Lincoln entered 2007-08 as the defending New York State Class AA champions, but the powerful Brooklyn squad is currently without 6-foot-6 junior Lance Stephenson, who has missed the Railsplitters' last three games due to an injured ankle. Stephenson helped Lincoln to the No. 1 ranking in the final 2006-07 MaxPreps.com PSAL poll.
Lincoln (3-0) breezed through its first three games, defeating Brooklyn rival South Shore on Thursday, 86-60, and Thomas Jefferson, 79-72. The Railsplitters also topped St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.), 56-35, in the 2K Sports All-American Shootout in Kentucky.
Stephenson did not play over the weekend and is listed as day-to-day after he re-aggravated his left ankle against South Shore, Lincoln coach Dwayne Morton told the Daily News.
"If I had my way, I would sit him `till Christmas," Morton said. "It doesn't matter what [Lance] wants to do. It's what his body allows him to do."
According to the News, Morton scheduled the trip to Louisville primarily so that Stephenson could get a look at the University of Louisville, whose team is coached by Rick Pitino.
"After Sebastian [Telfair] couldn't make it here [Louisville], the next player that I had who had a chance [was Stephenson]," Morton told the Louisville Courier Journal. "I wanted him to come in and see it because of Rick Pitino."
Stephenson sprained the ankle two weeks ago during a scrimmage against Bishop Loughlin, but was able to play in Lincoln's regular season opener on Tuesday against Jefferson, when he scored a game-high 20 points in the five-point win.
"I can't even get up high ... nothing," said Stephenson. "I can't do my moves. You know how I go to hole. Stopping short, shooting jump shots, that's not my game. I don't miss lay-ups. The ankle got to me."
Unbeaten in The Bronx
The Bronx's St. Raymond jumped out to a 4-0 record as coach Oliver Antigua picked up his 100th victory in a 103-60 win over Monsignor Farrell (Staten Island). St. Raymond's offense averaged 91 points-per-game, thanks in large part to its three-top threats: West Virginia-bound Darryl Bryant, junior guard Omari Lawrence and third-year forward Kevin Parrom.
The Bronx school beat Archbishop Carroll in Washington, D.C., on Saturday and followed that up with a win on Sunday over Thomas Jefferson in the PSAL-CHSAA Challenge.
Brooklyn's Bishop Loughlin (1-0) opened the season with a blowout victory over St. Edmund's.
News and Notes
* The Daily News reports Edison senior Allan Thomas has already hit five three-pointers this season after making just one in 13 PSAL games last winter. "I feel like I'm more confident in my jump shot now," Thomas told the paper. "Last year, I didn't really like shooting, so I went to the basket more. This year, I can do both."
* Newton's Isiah Lee and Dave Joseph have combined to average 33.3 points-per-game thus far, helping remove the sting of losing five graduating seniors after last season. The Pioneers have jumped out to a 4-0 start. "They've played very well," coach Pat Torney said. "And we've needed it." Newton opened the season with a 46-43 win over Cleveland on Nov. 28 before defeating Bowne two days later, 64-58.
* Jane Addams sophomore Kevin White led all PSAL scorers through five games with 174 points. Henry Street's Tyrell Davis is second with 157 points, while Norman Thomas' Alex Garcia and Leon Goldstein's Barry Mobley are tied for third with 142 points. Samuel J. Tilden's Willis Hayslett leads the PSAL with 57 assists through five games and Andrew Jospeh of High School of Art & Design leads all players with 96 total rebounds, including 61 offensive boards as of Dec. 11.
* Staten Island Academy coach Mike Mazella used 11 of his 13 players in the first half of Monday's 64-41 win over St. Ann's. "This year we have depth," Mazella told the Staten Island Advance. "I'm comfortable with going 10-11 deep. They all can contribute. We're still trying to find the right combinations, but it's good to have options."
* The Boys and Girls Club of New York announced it will hold its annual Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament Dec. 14-15 at Fordham University's Rose Hill campus.
* Former New York Knicks forward and NBA champion Tony Campbell has been hired as the Athletic Director for Brooklyn's Bay Ridge Prep. Campbell spent 14 years in the NBA with the Knicks, Lakers, Pistons, Mavericks, Timberwolves and Cavs before retiring in 1995. Campbell, who went to Ohio State, was selected 20th overall in the 1984 NBA Draft and won an NBA title with the Lakers in 1987-88.
* The PSAL has reportedly not yet made a decision about where its 2008 championship game will be held. At this point, the league and its possible venues will take as long as possible to find a suitable - and safe - location. Gunshots were fired outside Madison Square Garden following last year's title game between Lincoln and Boys & Girls after fights broke out in the seats. Police arrested 12 people, four inside the Garden, before a near-riot broke out between the rival Brooklyn schools.
Danny Wild is a MaxPreps.com writer and photographer. He can be reached at danny@danny-wild.com or (845) 623-5139
