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.

Team SCAN Wins 2011 Funsport Junior Pros Title

Team SCAN - 2011 Funsport Junior Pros Champs

After falling short as the underdog in last year’s title contest, Team SCAN succeeded as the favorite this time, pulling away at the start of the second half to win its first Funsport Junior Pros championship with a 59-47 victory over King Street Kings at Baruch College.

Team SCAN was in control for most of the first half before the Kings’ Wolfie Novagratz evened it at 26-26 with a three-pointer with just under a minute left in the half. SCAN’s Unique McLean answered with a two-hand slam of a missed shot to give SCAN a 28-26 halftime advantage.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Bryce Aiken and Temple Gibbs early in the third quarter capped a 13-0 run that expanded the SCAN lead to 39-26. Novagratz got the Kings back within single digits with a short jumper and another three, but a pair of inside scores by Team Scan’s Sterling Hewitt regained the momentum and SCAN went up by as many as 17 points in the final period.

McLean received the MVP trophy after recording 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, as SCAN had four scorers in double figures. Aiken led all scorers with 16 points, Gibbs added 13 points and a game-high 5 assists, and Hewitt and Kyle Elliott chipped in with 10 points apiece. For Aiken, it was a very satisfying turnaround from last year’s final when he fouled out with zero points in the 47-43 loss to Team Final at Madison Square Garden.

Unique McLean (Team Scan)

Novagratz and Najee Taylor each netted 15 points to lead King Street , which took its first loss after reaching the finals with upset playoff wins over F.A.C.E.S. and New Rens-A.

The Junior Pros Finals night at Baruch also featured three All-Star contests and the awarding of the Junior Pros All-Academic teams topped by Josh Goldstein (King Street Kings) with a 99 average. . . In the 7^th Grade All-Star game, RJ Cole (F.A.C.E.S.) took MVP honors while recording 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.  Paul Person (Millbank) had 16 points and Tyler Bourne (New Heights) had 14 for the winning team while Aaron Clarke (Team First), Nate Pierre-Louis (Team First) and Andre Williams (New Heights) all scored 11 points for the losing side. . . Jordan Morgan (New Rens-B) hit the game-winner, Mark Martin (New Rens-A) was MVP with 12 points and 6 rebounds, and Tyrone Cohen (New Heights-Artie) doubled with 12 points and 12 rebounds in the first 8^th Grade All-Star game. . . McLean had the game-high of 19 points in the second 8^th Grade All-Star game.

The 2011 Junior Pros program consisted of 36 teams and featured pre-season workouts and scrimmages, academic recognitions, AND the best middle-school basketball talent on the east coast.

Dwayne Brunson Leading Barton Surge in NJCAA Poll

Barton (KS) has worked it way up to #16 in the NJCAA Division I poll with a 12-0 record, thanks in large part to the inside play of 6-7 soph forward Dwayne Brunson (pictured at right).

Brunson tallied 24 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the Cougars to a 92-72 win over Northern Oklahoma-Enid during the final day of the Hesston Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 26. A day earlier, he scored 18 points with 11 rebounds and 5 blocks in a 91-83 victory over the host school.

In other recent outings, the Queens (NY) Cardozo HS graduate had 26 points and 12 boards in a 94-54 romp over McPherson JV, 24 points and 8 rebounds in a 113-57 rout of Southwestern Kansas JV, and 13 second-half points in a 91-83 double overtime decision over Frank Phillips (TX).


As expected, Bronx-Monroe took over the top spot in the NJCAA D-1 rankings of 11/15, after soundly defeating preseason #1 Southern Idaho en route to a 5-0 start. The Mustangs upped that mark to 8-0 after sweeping a pair at the Jim Brown Classic in Hagerstown: 99-78 over host Hagerstown (MD) and 85-61 over Allegany (MD). Davon Marshall led the Monroe scorers in both contests with a game-high 27 points against previously-unbeaten Hagerstown followed by 15 points versus Allegany.

Elsewhere among nationally-ranked D-1 teams, Indian Hills (IA) has moved up to the #4 spot and reached the 8-0 mark with a 73-69 victory over host Mineral Area (MO). Dustin Hogue contributed 12 points for the Warriors. . . South Plains (TX) is now #6 with an 8-0 record, as Tymell Murphy recorded 13 points and 9 rebounds in a 90-67 win over Panola (TX) after earlier tallying 22 points and 11 rebounds in an 86-75 triumph over State Fair (MO). . . Lamar-Port Arthur (TX) is at #15 with a 7-1 record, including an 88-76 defeat of Tomball in which Derrick Dawkins scored 12 points. . . Seward (KS) entered the rankings at #18 with a 6-0 log as Daveon Boardingham netted 16 points in a 112-63 romp over Redlands (OK) and 10 points in a 93-61 rout of Clarendon (TX). . . Southeastern Iowa took its first loss at the hands of #2 Coffeyville (KS) 76-52, getting 13 points from Jordan Aaron, who was coming off a 19-point effort in an 80-76 decision over Iowa Lakes. Aaron helped the Blackhawks (10-2) bounce back with a pair of 25-point games: 75-71 over Iowa Central and 91-75 over Lincoln (IL). . . #7 Vincennes (IN) needed two overtimes to top visiting and previously-unbeaten Olney (IL) 72-70. Trivante Bloodman led Olney with 17 points, then added 14 points in a 127-59 rout of Greenville JV and 24 points in a 77-61 triumph over Southern Institute.


In other results around the Thanksgiving holiday:   Anthony Prescott dropped 25 points for Florida State (2-5) in a 68-64 overtime setback to Florida-Jacksonville. He then had a team-high 17 points in another narrow loss, 81-79 to #5 Palm Beach (FL). . . Joel Wright scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds but Blinn (TX) suffered its first loss, 96-82, to visiting Temple (TX). Wright then had 20 points as the Bucs (6-1) rebounded with a 134-52 thrashing of CyFair. Blinn improved to 7-2 with a 123-62 romp over Houston-Southwest, receiving 24 points from Wright, 14 points from Shamel Williams, and 10 points from Rasi Jenkins. . . Karim Rowson netted a game-high 23 points for Western Oklahoma in a 72-64 triumph over Hill (TX) and 14 points in a 78-77 overtime decision over Carl Albert (OK). . . Jo-Jo Swift dropped 19 points as North Platte (NE) downed Hastings JV 89-59. . . Deshaun Wiggins topped 9-1 Eastern Utah with 21 points in a 77-74 win over Central Arizona, 16 points in a 78-74 win over Eastern Arizona, 19 points in an 86-82 win over McCook (NE), and 24 points in a 100-89 win over Western Nebraska. . . Chad Coachman scored a team-high 15 points for Pratt (KS) in an 84-79 setback to Clarendon (TX). . . Jamal Williams had 13 points with 5 assists as Lake Land (IL) lost to Lincoln (IL) and later scored 11 points in a 75-52 loss to #7 Vincennes (IN). . . Giovanni McLean had 14 points for Moberly (MO) in a 71-70 loss to Highland (IL) and 12 points in a 79-60 defeat by #8 Howard (TX). . . Iowa Western is getting contributions from several NY-area players while building a 9-1 record. Delvin Brooks scored 15 points in a 75-70 victory over Ellsworth (IL), Xavier Munford tallied 24 points in a 100-73 beating of South Australia Sports Institute, Brooks had another 15 in a 78-56 romp over Southwestern Iowa, and Kelvin Dixon had a double-double of 21 points and 17 rebounds in an 86-64 triumph over Northeast Nebraska. . . Jarrel Joye scored 11 points as Polk (FL) defeated Santa Fe (FL) 68-61. . . Chris Hooper recorded 10 points and 9 boards as Kaskaskia (IL) edged Three Rivers (MO) 74-71. He also had 10 points in a 116-70 romp over McKendree JV. . . Mike Buffalo had 13 points to help Copiah-Lincoln (MS) defeat Northwest Mississippi 73-61. . . Devin Walker scored 25 points and A.J. Thomas had 14 points with 12 assists as Globe Tech fell to 3-2 by dropping a 104-98 overtime decision to Erie. . . Andre Armstrong netted 16 points to lead Rochester Monroe to a 70-64 victory over Allegany (MD). . . Tevin Calhoun had a game-high 17 points and Dwight Gist added 12 points for Hill (TX) in an 83-59 defeat by Navarro (TX). In a previous 78-64 loss to Angelina (TX), Gist scored 14 points and Calhoun added 12. . . Malcolm Brooks had a busy holiday week for Lamar (CO): game-high 20 points in a 78-72 loss to New Mexico Military, team-high 11 points in an 83-67 loss to New Mexico, 12 points in a 70-61 defeat by Cloud (KS), team-high 11 points in a 76-73 decision over Colorado Northwestern, and game-high 18 points in an 84-68 loss to Casper (WY). . . Steven Liebert scored a team-high 17 points with 8 rebounds as Northeastern Colorado lost 84-68 to Murray (OK). James Stukes then had the game-high of 22 points and Liebert added 14 points as NJC (3-5) bounced back with a 110-57 rout of Tabor JV. . . ASA improved to 4-3, getting 23 points from Sa'Quan Davis, 21 points from Daquan Brickhouse, and 19 points with 10 rebounds from Mike McLeod in a 98-88 defeat of Nia Prep.

Ty Murphy Records Double-Double in Battle of Unbeaten Ranked Teams

Tymell Murphy (pictured left) recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds as South Plains (TX), ranked #18 in the preseason NJCAA poll, handed #13 Lamar-Port Arthur (TX) its first defeat, 81-68, at the Midland Classic on 11/12.

Murphy, a 6-5 soph transfer from upstate Mohawk Valley, made 8-of-15 field-goal attempts with 5 offensive rebounds and a team-high 3 assists.

Lamar-Port Arthur (4-1), the defending Region XIV champions, received 10 points from Derrick Dawkins in the loss.

#2 Bronx-Monroe swept its three games at the State College of Florida Classic to reach 5-0, although the finale was a 90-87 struggle over Indian River (FL). Davon Marshall poured in 26 points, including 6-of-6 free throws, to ensure that the Mustangs returned to New York unbeaten with a shot at the #1 spot in the national rankings. . . In Monroe's first game, Marshall had 22 points and Orlando Sanchez added 21 points with 11 boards in an 84-57 rout of host Florida State, which got 10 points from Anthony Prescott. The Mustangs then defeated Daytona (FL) 75-63, receiving 14 points apiece from Drimir Ferguson and Anthony Banks, who also recorded 10 rebounds.

ASA was also at the Florida event, returning home with a 3-3 record after dropping a 69-66 decision to the host school despite a game-high 22-point effort from Mike McLeod. Sa'Quan Davis had the high of 18 points in an earlier 74-64 win over Southwest Academy and Justin Laboy scored 16 points in an opening day 79-68 loss to Broward (FL), marking the 200th career victory for Broward coach Bob Starkman. . . ASA headed south following an 82-79 decision over Bronx, overcoming a 32-point performance by the Broncos' Claude Blue with 16 points from Davis, and 15 points with 8 assists from Daquan Brickhouse.

In other highlights: Prescott had 17 points in Florida State's win over ASA after previously scoring a team-high 22 in his team's season opening 82-78 win over Central Florida. . . Dustin Hogue had 15 points and 8 rebounds as #9 Indian Hills (IA) rolled over Mid-Michigan 109-56. He then added 10 points and 8 rebounds as the Warriors improved to 5-0 with a 94-71 triumph over John Wood (IL). . . Blinn (TX) is also off to a 5-0 start with Joel Wright scoring 19 points in a 79-62 victory over Temple (TX) and another 23 points in a 96-70 win over Houston Blaze. . . Another 5-0 team, Southeastern Iowa, received a game-high 22 points from Jordan Aaron, including 10-of-10 from the line, while coasting over Malcolm X (IL) 101-72. . . Xavier Munford netted 21 points, and Devin Brooks recorded 14 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, to spark Iowa Western to a 99-78 win over Northeast Nebraska. Munford then had another team-high of 23 points in a 76-56 victory over Johnson (KS). IWCC improved to 5-1 as Munford tallied 12 points and Brooks added 11 points in a 71-65 win over unbeaten Missouri-West Plains. . . Olney (IL) reached 4-0, getting 10 points from Trivante Bloodman in an 84-46 romp over Summit Christian Academy. . . Daveon Boardingham scored 20 points with 8 rebounds for 5-0 Seward (KS) in a 98-61 romp over Highland (KS). . . Jo-Jo Swift had 10 points and 7 assists for North Platte (NE) in a 78-61 defeat by Seward. . . Dwayne Brunson scored 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds as Barton (KS) improved to 3-0 with an 121-67 victory over Tabor JV. . . Dwight Gist scored a game-high 22 points for Hill (TX) in an 83-75 setback to Navarro (TX) and recorded 12 points and 7 assists in an 85-79 loss to Jacksonville (TX). Hill (4-2) broke its losing streak with 12 points from Tevin Calhoun in a 76-71 win over Cedar Valley (TX). . . Karim Rowson had back-to-back games with 14 points as Western Oklahoma evened its record at 2-2 with wins over Oklahoma Wesleyan JV (87-67) and Mid-America Christian JV (108-48). Rowson then poured in 29 points in a 98-62 rout of Tinker AFB. . . A.J. Thomas scored 30 points to lead Globe (3-1) to a 90-82 win over Lackawanna. In his previous game Thomas recorded 17 points and 16 assists as Globe downed Bronx 87-77. . . Malcolm Brooks scored 18 points (8-of-11 from the floor) for Lamar (CO) in a 106-58 defeat of Little Big Horn and 14 points in a 121-62 rout of Oglala Lakota. . . Jamal Williams scored 13 of his 14 points in the second half as Lake Land (IL) took its first loss, 91-80 to unbeaten 6-0 Vincennes(IN). . . Steven Liebert scored 12 points for Northeastern Colorado in a 79-72 loss to Northwest Wyoming.