Jahiem Tanksley put on a show in several Basketball Spotlight events. The pint size point guard dazzled crowds with his point guard attributes and scoring ability. We had a chance to holler at this Baby Baller and he clued us in;
Improve your game at the JCC of Central New Jersey located in Scotch Plains! The JCC will be holding several BATTLEbasketball Clinics this coming fall. Clinics will be held in the JCC’s full-sized, air-conditioned Eisenberg Gymnasium. Clinics are as follows
Kindergarten Clinic (Course #24547) • Participants must be in Kindergarten • Sundays 2:00 - 3:00 P • 5 weeks: October 2, 16, 23, 30, and November 6, Member: $90, Community Participant: $115
Grades 1 - 4 Clinic (Course #24574-01) • Tuesdays 6:00 - 7:00 P • 5 weeks: September 20, 27, October 4, 11, and 18 • Member: $90, Community Participant: $115 Grades 5 - 6 Clinic (Course #24574-02) • Tuesdays 7:00 - 8:00 P • 5 weeks: September 20, 27, October 4, 11, and 18 • Member: $90, Community Participant: $115
Grades 7 - 8 Clinic (Course #24574-03) • Tuesdays 8:00 - 9:00 P • 5 weeks: September 20, 27, October 4, 11, and 18 • Member: $90, Community Participant: $115
Copy and Paste (link is as follows: http://www.jccnj.org/images/forms/RegistrationForm.pdf) here for registration form. Questions? Contact Gary Schaefer, JCC Director of Sports Leagues, at 908-889-8800 x281 or gschaefer@jccnj.org.
Brian Goss of T Town Ballers took home the Jonelle E. Melton Memorial Award for his hard work and dedication for working with the inner city youth of Trenton, NJ. Goss put together a plan to get his squad on the map and executed it to the fullest. They participated in several Spotlight events while also traveling up and down the East Coast for the best competition. Congrats to Brian Goss and continue your work with the youngsters.
A lot of things are going on around the AAU world right now. So we decided to hit a couple of our sources and bring you another “Word On The Street”. Remember most of this information is from reliable sources including those directly involved.
We Run Heads To Sports U
After winning the NJ State Crown and becoming one of the most popular teams in the country We Run has decided to go under the Team IZOD/Sports U umbrella. This is very interesting because they were rumored to be heading back to Playtime but Team IZOD jumped in and snatched up the vibrant group. They will represent Sports U on the 12U level.
Covington Returns To Team Final
After spending one year with Team Rebels, the top tier point guard Vaughn Covington has decided to return to Team Final. Covington will have a load of talent at his disposal including Tyus Battle, Sa’eed Nelson and Terquin Mott to name a few. This Team Final and Team Rebels player swapping seems to never end.
Coach Wee Leaves Gauchos
After putting in years of work and developing many top players Coach Wee has decided to leave the Gauchos organization. The energetic personality on the sidelines has earned success at the Spotlight events and during the Metropolitan AAU Regionals. Rumors have several clubs reaching out for his services but for now he guiding Wee All Stars.
Stay Tune For Our Next Episode Of “Word On The Street”.
The Original Diary Of A Baller and Basketball Spotlight Alum Kyle Anderson has decided to attend UCLA. Anderson had a remarkable grammar school career while leading his team to two AAU National titles. After finishing #1 in our player rankings Kyle went on to captivate the nation with his unique combination of size and skill level. Last season he was a major part of St. Anthony High School winning the USA Today mythical national championship. We would like to congratulate Kyle and his family on his college choice.
The Basketball Spotlight Tip Off Classic formerly the Grand Finalehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif will take place December 3rd and 4th. This event will be Basketball Spotlight’s first leg to the Grand Finale formerly Summer Slam. This event has already garnered attention from some of the top teams in the country. Don’t miss your chance to start your season against the top competition while gaining the best exposure. Space is limited for this event. Check out action from last year's event.
What’s up basketball world, I’m back to tell you how my week went. On Monday after school my father, Coach Rich Leary and I took an hour and thirty minute drive up to Blair Academy in Blairstown, NJ to check out the school and workout with a few of the kids from the high school team. I have to say the campus is huge. It has dorms; lounges for the students hang out plus study and an enormous game room.
The workout went well but I could have definitely played better, not that I played poorly but I should have taken a few more shots and been more vocal in the games. I’m happy I went though and it is a great place to go to school. Thanks to Coach Joe Montegna for having me down, it was cool!
Tuesday, I had tons of homework to finish and I had a few quizzes to prepare for so I had to buckle down and hit the books. That happens from time to time so I have to work on the game in my head instead of actually going to the court to workout.
Wednesday was a great day. I did great on my quizzes, both A’s and then I helped my dad run a college workout at Saint Joe’s, Metuchen, New Jersey. If you guys did not know, Saint Joe’s is where both Andrew Bynum of the Lakers and Jason Williams, All-American from Duke went to school. I lead the ball handling drills with my dad’s instruction. Not sure if you know but my father is great at basketball training, he knows a ton of drills. As a matter of fact he was a D2 All-American in basketball scoring almost 2,000 points at the University of New Haven. I learned everything about the game from my father. I was born with his same love for the game, but I am just taller with more skill, LOL! After the workout I had team practice with the Demon’s, preparing for our tournament coming up on the September 24th.
Thursday, my step-mom picked me up from school as usual and I hung out at home with my brother Khalif and my sister GiGi. I watched the comedy show Scare Tactics on Chiller and fell asleep for a few hours, which I do just about every day before my dad comes home and wakes me. I wanted to go to the gym and workout for a few hours but my dad was too tired from work. So instead I did ball handling drills in my basement.
Friday, we had our first Team Final 14U workout it was good to get together with some of the new kids on the team… Looks like we could possibly have the talent this year to make another championship run but too early to tell. We have to put the work in.
The J.E.M. All Star Regional Game was amazing with some of the top stars of tomorrow. This game came down to the wire with the North All Stars pulling out the win. Ballin365 was in the building and put together a sick mixtape. Check out the highlights and we can’t wait until next year.
The high flying 2016 prospect Adrian Moore recently participated in the Jr. All American dunk contest and stole the show. This kid has unbelievable leaping ability for his age and should turn into an interesting prospect down the road. Look for him to have a nice spot in our national rankings.
Trevon Alderman was a huge surprise at the Baby Baller Super Showcase. The high scoring guard finished as one of the performers in this event. We had a chance to get to know this youngster and here’s his Baby Baller Profile.
The J.E.M. All Star Classic added the NJ North/South Challenge and it was truly a dandy. The South squad pulled out a 68-67 victory over the North All Stars. Ballin365 was once again in the building and produced another mixtape. They now have the basketball scene on smash in terms of producing highlights.
Reggie Gardner made is Super Showcase debut and showed off some of his skills. He has a chance to be one of the top players in the region. Check out his highlights and don’t miss a chance to be part of the action next summer.
What’s up basketball world? Once again this is Tyus Battle. I started school after a long and fun summer. School is going very well, as I expected it would. My teachers are cool and interesting, and that no doubt will make the next 173 days of school a little easier. All this week we did tons of testing, we focused a lot of time on math and some on other subjects like Religion, English and Social Studies.
I was surprised to see that Idris Joyner (F.A.C.E.S) who recently won Player of the Year, is in my class. I did not really know him well before but he seems really cool. We played one-on-one in gym class, and I have to say he is a pretty skilled. I was especially impressed with his jump shot, which was solid from deep. He will be very good if he keeps up the hard work, which I believe he will. As for the one-on-one between us it was really great, partly because Idris talks a lot of smack and to me that is pretty funny. It should be pretty cool having such a talented kid like Idris in my class this year. I am sure we will be playing plenty of one-on-one!
Friday after school I went to the gym with my dad. We worked on my jumper by getting up shots from short range, mid range, and from the arc, which added up to 500 makes. Then we worked on moves to the basket and moves to a pull up jumper.
On Saturday I had team practice with the NJ Demons at 3:30. We didn’t go over any plays but we did work on a lot of individual moves getting to the rim. I learned a lot of moves that I hadn't done before, which I will definitely use in games. I’m feeling very confident about our upcoming tournament. I think my teammates and I are improving in a lot of areas, especially our skills. Right after practice my dad and I went to the gym to get up 500 makes and worked on my ball handling, and then we did about 30 minutes of weight lifting at The Club At Woodbridge. My dad then dropped my brother and I off at my mom's house to spend the rest of the weekend with her.
On Sunday we went to my friend Darius’ house to see his little brother Brandt, who recently had surgery because he got hit in the head with a pipe while riding his bike. Thank God he is OK. We hung out with him, watched TV and the rest of the time we spent shooting around outside on his basketball hoop.
I have to sign off now, because I have school tomorrow. Before I go I want to mention and acknowledge anyone who lost someone September 11th 2001.
Last summer Kobe Gantz played good at the Super Showcase but you could see he had to get accustomed to the atmosphere this time around he was ready. Gantz used an array of moves to get where he wanted on the floor. Check out his highlights and make sure you are in the building next summer.
Tyus “Kid Mamba” Battle returned to the Super Showcase with something to prove. An injury and other factors limited his play on the 13U circuit. During the Super Showcase he gave the spectators a taste of why he’s one of the top prospects in the country. Check out his highlights from this event and remember where you saw it first.
NyRhique “La Smoove” Smith was awarded Playmaker Of The Year but before that he did damage at the Super Showcase. He has an all around game and had it on full display. He dished the rock, shot the jumper and finished at the tin. Check out his highlights and remember we are #1 in terms of exposure. Stay tune because we are just getting started.
The 14U Division of Basketball Spotlight was thick and had some electrifying moments. Basketball Spotlight will like to say farewell to these youngsters and wish them the best during high school. We would like to honor some of the top coaches and players for their successful seasons.
2011 Basketball Spotlight 14U Award Winners
Team Of The Year: Expressions
I put a challenge out to “The X” up in Massachusetts and they answered the bell. After finishing runner up at the AC Showcase and MDC they brought everything together when they won Summer Slam. They took the Grand Champion trophy back to Bean Town.
Player Of The Year: Isaiah Briscoe (Playaz, Team Scan) Briscoe was the talk of the circuit this year. “Boogie” started the season on fire with Team Scan and never let up. Briscoe also led the Playaz to several titles including the Nike Easter Classic. Like I said before he had one of the most dominant seasons in Basketball Spotlight short history. The Player Of The Year gift bag was presented by Next Blue Chip Basketball.
Coach Of The Year: Ozwald Cross (Team Scan) For the second straight season a TS coach took home this honor. Cross led his boys to a MIT crown; MDC Gold Ball and Top 10 finish nationally. They came within seconds of winning Summer Slam. His team first attitude poured out into his players and contributed to much of their success.
Most Outstanding Player: Chris Baldwin (Expressions) Baldwin’s led Expressions to several championships especially in the New England area. During the Spotlight events he used versatility to cause a lot of problems for opponents. He made the All Tournament Team at the AC Showcase, MDC and led them to the Summer Slam Grand Championship.
Best Playmaker: “Marvelous” Marcus Floyd (Philly Aztecs) Floyd made it his business to get busy every time he entered a Spotlight event. Defenders had a hard time slowing him down and he loved every moment of it. He made the All Tournament Team at the Grand Finale and Clash For The Cup while representing Delaware to the fullest.
Most Dominant Force: Tyler Dorsey (Cali Styles) Dorsey dominated the competition at the Clash For The Cup. He came in with a national rep and showed the East Coast ballers that West Coast players have toughness. He hammered the glass, showed some athleticism and scored at will. He really showed he was worth his ranking.
Best Prospect: Karl Towns (NJ ABC) Towns proved that he was on a different level at the J.E.M. All Star Classic. He dominates the game in so many different ways. He shoots the ball from anywhere, sees the floor like a point guard and plays big in the post. Right now he stands 6’9 and seems to have few more inches to grow.
Best Rebounder: Austrian Robinson (Team Scan) Robinson was responsible for getting Scan’s running game going. He ripped down rebounds and kicked the rock out quickly. On many occasions he was matched up against bigger opponents but still found a way to snatch caroms.
Most Improved: Sam Foreman (Team Final) Foreman’s game exploded this season. He play picked up as he got comfortable with his new squad. By the end of the season he became one of Team Finals top performers. He put the finishing touch on his season with a great performance at the J.E.M. All Star Classic.
Newcomer of the Year: Traci Carter (Philly Aztecs) I heard a lot of talk about Carter during the preseason and he definitely brought some flair to the Aztecs. The scoring guard plays with a burst of energy and supreme athleticism. He looks his best when playing in a fast paced offense or in transition.
Best Shooter: Malachi Richardson (Team Final) He’s nicknamed the “Shoota” for a reason. Richardson stroked his way to several All Tournament Teams and other honors. He played big on the 15U level and has one of the best ratchet’s we’ve seen in a long time.
Best Defender: Chris Atkinson (Team Scan) No pocket is safe with Atkinson around. He pressed ball handlers for 94 feet and played the passing lanes like Deion Sanders. Coach Cross believes in defense first and Chris was his anchor.
Best Passer: Marcus Lovett (Cali Styles) Marcus used the Clash For The Cup to feed his fellow studs with nice dimes. He made things look easy in transition or in the half court set. The behind the back pass seems to be is forte.
Best Kept Secret: Vaughn Jenkins (Team Rebels) Jenkins has the prototype two-guard frame and finishes above the rim frequently. If he develops his ball handling and in between game he could become a budding high school prospect.
Jaecee “Mayweather” Martin finished his season off in spectacular fashion by dominating the Super Showcase. His ball handling, passing, quickness and defensive prowess stood out in Burlington, NJ. Check out his highlights and don’t forget the Super Showcase produces maximum exposure. Stay tuned because we have more to come.
Nate “The Great” Pierre Louis went on a scoring spree at the Super Showcase. During the day he had it clicking from the perimeter and with strong drives. Check out his highlights from this big time event. Basketball Spotlight Super Showcase, why go anywhere else. Stay tune because we have more fire coming from the Super Showcase.
