CBC Captures First Junior Pros title at Barclays Center

The Funsport Junior Pros title is headed north of New York City for the first time as the Connecticut Basketball Club used a dominating third quarter led by MVP Jermaine Samuels to defeat Lloyd Daniels Rebels 55-44 in the showcase championship game at the new Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn.

It was the first Junior Pros final without a New York-based team since the event started in 2004 and CBC bested a field of 33 teams to capture the nation’s top middle-school program in its first year in the event.

MVP Jermaine Samuels of CBC

After overcoming a slow start to take a 21-18 halftime lead, CBC outscored the Rebels 20-4 in the pivotal third quarter to take an insurmountable 41-22 advantage into the final period. Samuels provided the spark, outscoring the Rebels himself with 12 points on an assortment of drives, putbacks and midrange jumpers. He finished with game-highs of 20 points and 11 boards.

Despite the final score, the Rebels outscored CBC in two of the four quarters. Nate Pierre-Louis (14 points, 6 assists) had seven points in the opening session and the Rebels led by as many as 6 points while taking an 11-10 lead after one. And after that disastrous third quarter, the Rebels came to life in the final period, getting an NBA-range three from Chris Kelly (18 points, 8 rebounds) and doubling their score in the final seven minutes. But that was too little, too late as the chant of “CBC, CBC” replaced the familiar Barclays refrain of “Brooklyn, Brooklyn” in the final minutes.



2012 Junior Pros Champions - Connecticut Basketball Club



For CBC, Samuels got ample support from Jaecee Martin (11 points, 8 assists, 6 steals) and Kewon Smoot (8 points) as the new champions quickly adapted to the large pro-size court and did an excellent job in advancing the ball during the middle periods.

The memorable day started with both teams lining up on the court with the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76’ers for the national anthem before the start of the televised NBA contest and ended with the Connecticut Basketball Club joining the Brooklyn Nets as winners on a historic day for their organization and the Funsport Junior Pros.  

CHIP Notes: CBC advanced to the title game by defeating Millbank 57-41, and the Rebels topped P.Y.O. 44-36, in last weekend’s semifinals at Jefferson HS. . . Team SCAN, the defending Junior Pros champions, was eliminated in the first playoff round by the Canarsie Blue Devils 57-55. . .  Congrats to NY Dragons’ Mark Trinidad, who topped the Junior Pros Academic Honor Roll with a 100 academic average. . . All players participating in the CHIP received new uniforms, bags, shoes and trophies in addition to the memories that will last a lifetime.

Tyreek Jewell Makes Immediate Impact at Jamestown CC

After toiling in the relative obscurity of the PSAL "B" division during his high school career, Tyreek Jewell received national recognition in just his first week as a college player, leading all NJCAA Division II scorers with 32 ppg. while also grabbing 12 rpg. for Jamestown (NY). His amazing opening week earned him honors as NJCAA Region III Co-Athlete of the Week.

Jewell,  a 6-2 wing from the Bronx, started his college career with 38 points (including 7 three-pointers) and 16 rebounds in an 82-77 loss to Tompkins-Cortland (NY), which received 14 points and 14 boards from Jesse Okkeagu. He followed that with 23 points and 9 rebounds in a 93-64 rout of Pitt-Titusville (PA), 29 points and 13 rebounds in a 106-92 loss to Chesapeake (MD) and then hit for another 38 points with 13 boards in a 102-82 setback to Division I Frederick (MD).

Piling up these double-doubles is nothing new for Tyreek, who averaged 27 and 13 as a senior, 15 and 13 as a junior, and 15 and 12 as a soph in his three years at the HS for Leadership and Public Service. He started receiving exposure last spring through his selection to the 2012 NYC Mayors Cup Game and the Funsport "Battle For The City", along with his participation in the Big Apple College Exposure Games and the Bedford Y high school and unlimited teams in the spring and summer.

Mike Balogun Signs D-1 Letter of Intent



Michael Balogun



Michael Balogun, from Staten Island (NY) Curtis HS, currently at West Hill (CA) CC, signed his National Letter of Intent with Southern Illinois of the Missouri Valley Conference during the first day of the NCAA fall signing period.

The 6-1 combo guard averaged 12.7 points as one of the top JC freshmen in Califormia last year, adding 73 assists and 32 steals in 30 games while being named to the Central Valley Conference All-Freshman team. West Hills finished 17-13 during the 2011-12 season.



Balogun played this summer for the college/unlimited team of Bedford Y/Big Apple Sports and got additional exposure at the All-American JUCO Showcase in Las Vegas in July.

The link to the newspaper article on Balogun's commitment that was made after a visit to SIU in late-October: 

http://thesouthern.com/news/local/california-guard-commits-to-siu-men-s-basketball-team/article_a502328e-2151-11e2-88f8-001a4bcf887a.html

BallStars JUCO Jamboree Lineup for 10/21

The East Coast JUCO Jamboree conducted by BallStars will be held on Sunday, 10/21/12 at the Hoop Group Center in Neptune, New Jersey.

Scrimmage games will be run on four courts every hour from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm with the following teams scheduled to participate:

Junior Collges:

Westchester * Lackawanna * Monroe * Bergen * Atlantic Cape * Bunker Hill * Queensborough * Gateway * North Essex * Sussex * Burlington * Raritan Valley * Union * Harford * Gloucester *


Preps / Clubs:

Big Apple Sports * CJETO * TBIA Black * TBIA White * TBIA Yellow * TBIA Blue * Prestige Prep * Manhattan Sports * Philly Ballers *


For more information on this event, contact Rick Ball (850) 791-9454

Big Apple Sports Goes Unbeaten at Island Garden Showcase

Big Apple Sports went 3-0 at the Hoop Mountain Fall Classic held October 14 at the Island Garden in West Hempstead (NY).

The participating players for Big Apple, most of whom also excelled at the PSAL Sullivan Games at City College a day earlier, were as follows:

Shequel Jones, a 6-3 senior wing, from New York (NY) Randolph HS. . . Cantrell Barker, a 5-7 senior point guard, from Queens (NY) Bayside HS. . . Nate Williams,  a 6-5 senior combo guard, from New York (NY) Manhattan HS. . . Rachard Moody, a 5-8 senior point guard, from Brooklyn (NY) Jefferson HS. . . Eudes Pierre, a 6-3 senior wing, from Brooklyn (NY) Prospect Heights HS. . . Romario Fletcher, a 6-4 senior wing, from Queens (NY) Pathways HS. . . Quwi Nicks, a 6-6 senior power forward, from New York (NY) Wadleigh HS. . . Palamina Marong, a 6-7 senior power forward, from Bronx (NY) Kennedy HS. . . Lewahn Lewis, a 6-0 junior combo guard, from Brooklyn (NY) Grand Street Campus HS. . . Nathaniel Wyatte, a 6-2 junior wing, from Brooklyn (NY) Enterprises HS. . . Bard Featherston, a 6-0 soph combo guard, from Brooklyn (NY) Xaverian HS.

For more information on any of these players, contact: bigapplesports@hotmail.com.

Iowa State Commit Hogue Leads Indian Hills at Mullens

Dustin Hogue

Dustin Hogue, a 6-6 wing out of Yonkers (NY) Lincoln HS, gave a verbal commitment to Iowa State the week before leading Indian Hills (IA) at the Mullen-Mitchell JUCO Jamboree in Dallas.

Hogue (pictured at right) averaged 11.1 points and 5.5 rebounds as a freshman in 2011-12 for the Warriors, who finished seventh in the NJCAA National Tournament. He also received offers from Iowa, Washington State and Texas Tech. 

The annual Dallas Jamboree had another large turnout of Division I coaches watching the 58 junior colleges and prep school teams from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Kansas, Iowa, Florida and California.

In addition to Hogue and his IHCC teammate Rawane Ndiaye, a 6-10 soph from New York (NY), more than 40 players from the tri-state were in action during the two days of scrimmages at four sites.

David Samuels

David Joseph, a 6-1 redshirt freshman from Queens (NY), and DaShaun Wiggins, a 6-2 soph from the Bronx (NY), were part of the backcourt rotation for Howard (TX). . . Edson Avila, a 6-10 soph from the Bronx (NY), and Jabari Peters, a 6-4 soph from Brooklyn (NY), played major minutes for Seward (KS). . . Ede Egharevba, a 6-6 redshirt freshman, from Queens (NY), is now at Midland (TX) after transferring from Wichita State. . . Mike Taylor, a 6-3 soph from Brooklyn (NY), and Tafari Whittingham, a 6-8 freshman, from Stratford (CT), are both at Hutchinson (KS). . . Defending NJCAA South Plains (TX) has Malik Nichols, a 6-6 freshman from Queens (NY), and Darrel Lucky, a 5-9 freshman from Brooklyn (NY). . . David Samuels (pictured at left), a 6-7 soph from the Bronx (NY), received considerable interest while playing for host school Collin (TX).

Also on the roster of teams from the Dallas event: Mohammad Lee, a 6-3 soph from the Bronx (NY), and Uzonna Akazi, a 6-7 freshman from Queens (NY), at San Jacinto (TX). . . Andell Cumberbatch, a 6-4 soph from East Orange (NJ), at Barton (KS). . . Dondre Jackson, 6-0 freshman from Queens (NY), Mika Harris, 6-5 freshman from Camden (NJ), Jaymere Hadden, 6-4 soph from Milville (NJ), Josh Ashley, 6-6 freshman from Brooklyn (NY), Devin Coleman, 5-10 freshman from Bridgeport (CT), all at Carl Albert (OK). . . Audy Tillery, 6-2 soph from Brooklyn (NY) and Romell Bateman, 6-4 soph from Newark (NJ), both at Clarendon (TX). . . Mike White, 6-5 freshman from Brooklyn (NY) at Hill (TX). . . Jamal Goodwin, a 6-4 freshman from Bloomfield (NJ), and Will Meachum, a 6-9 freshman from Shoreham (NY), at Independence (KS). . . Davon Anderson, a 6-7 freshman from the Bronx (NY), at Jacksonville (TX). . . Anthony Allen, a 7-1 redshirt freshman, from Bridgeport (CT), at Lamar-Port Arthur (TX). . . Trashon Burrell, 6-7 freshman from Albany (NY) at Lee (TX). . . Justin Phillipe, 6-7 soph, from Linden (NJ) at Navarro (TX). . . Jeff Neverson, 6-4 freshman from Brooklyn (NY) at New Mexico. . . Dashawn Suber, a 5-11 freshman from Mount Vernon (NY), Najee Whitehead, a 6-3 freshman from Mount Vernon (NY), Tajay Henry, a 6-5 freshman from Queens (NY) and Eric Edwards, a 6-7 freshman from Binghamton (NY), all at New Mexico Military. . . Shondell Stewart, 6-2 soph from Paterson (NJ) at Odessa (TX). . . Ben Merritt, 6-5 soph from Logan Township (NJ) at Panola (TX). . . Markens Charles, a 5-11 soph from Newark (NJ), Jerry Corillion, a 6-5 soph from West Orange (NJ), both at Ranger (TX). . . Jakari McCalop, 6-7 freshman from Hartford (CT) at Trinity Valley (TX). . . Diijon Allen-Jordan, a 6-6 freshman from Plainfield (NJ), Jalen Chapman, a 6-7 freshman from the Bronx (NY), Ronny Paden, a 6-4 freshman from Willingboro (NJ), and Najee Senior, a 6-1 freshman from the Bronx (NY), are all at Western OKlahoma. . . . Among the preps, Trey Dickinson, 6-1, and Lloyd Wheeler, 6-0, from New York (NY) are at God's Academy in Dallas (TX) while Tarik Raynor, 6-4, and Jameik Riviere, 5-8, from  Queens (NY) are at TAAG Academy (FL).

2012-13 JUCO Preseason Tips Off This Weekend

Although the start of "official" practices was just a few days ago, over 60 NJCAA teams will be putting their squads through an early test this weekend at the Mullen-Mitchell Jamboree in Dallas, Texas.

Among the participants with be South Plains (TX), the 2012 NJCAA Division I National Champions. The Texans, coming off an unbeaten 36-0 season, will open the two-day event on Friday at 11 a.m. at Collin County Community College against Indian Hills (IA), who finished seventh in this year's national tournament.


Four other national tournament contenders will see action in Dallas: Seward (KS), the third-place finisher at the nationals, fourth-place Eastern Oklahoma, seventh-place Indian Hills (IA) and Navarro (TX).

One of the key contributors for South Plains during their title run last season was Brooklyn (NY) native Tymell Murphy, who attended Marcy Campus HS and did one year at upstate Mohawk Valley before transferring to SPC. Murphy, who averaged 9.9 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Texans last season, has moved on to play for Florida International.

Brooklyn, however, will still be represented this season in Levelland, however, as 6-6 Malik Nichols (Boys & Girls HS and Bridgton Academy) and 5-9 Darrel Lucky (Robeson HS and NIA Prep) are both on the South Plains roster for the 2012-13 season.

Big Apple Sports will be watching Nichols and Lucky along with at least two dozen other New York-area players who will be in Dallas this weekend.