Westchester takes Wheelchair title
-
- April
- 25
Tony Taylor might not have locked down Chris Fouch or scored quite as many points. But Taylor definitely held his own and guided Westchester to an unexpected championship.
The Stepinac senior recorded 16 points, 11 assists and six rebounds to lift Westchester to a eye-opening 122-110 victory over Manhattan/Bronx tonight in the Wheelchair Classic championship game at LIU-Brooklyn.
Blessed Sacrament grad Curtis Dennis (New Mexico) scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter as Westchester, which led by as many as 19 late in the third quarter, fought off a furious comeback by Fouch and Rice teammate Kemba Walker to win the title.
Fouch and Walker were incredible throughout. Walker (UConn) finished with 29 points and Fouch (Drexel) added 22, including three 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter as Manhattan climbed back into the game. Dennis and Taylor, though, were the difference down the stretch. Taylor (George Washington) buried a key 3-pointer to seal it in the final minutes.
It was a great all-around effort by Westchester, which got scoring from everywhere. Peekskill’s Mookie Jones scored 17 points, and Kevin Jones of Mount Vernon and Sean Kilpatrick of White Plains each added 15. Kevin Jones also grabbed 12 rebounds. And as an aside, Kevin and Jordan Lessane rushed to the game after playing for Mount Vernon in IS8 earlier in the night. Neither one, shockingly, looked the least bit fatigued.
Eight of Mookie’s points came in the third quarter as Westchester went from down three at the half to up 17 entering the fourth. Most of the damage was done without Walker and Fouch on the floor, although Omari Lawrence played very well for Manhattan, as well.
New Rochelle’s Simeon Marsalis nailed three 3-pointers, all of which seemed to come at important moments throughout the game, and Blessed Sacrament’s Jhared Hall (Loyola) also had nine points.
You could feel the sense of pride the Westchester players had after the victory. They understood it was an all-star charity event, so they weren’t going to storm the court. But beating an all-star team from Queens on Monday and then a Manhattan/Bronx team on Thursday is a huge accomplishment for kids from Westchester, who might not ever get the respect they deserve from the city kids.
“It might be a long time before Westchester ever see this much talent on the court,” Westchester coach Anthony Nicodemo said. “Talent-wise, this might be the best year ever.”
“This proves that Westchester isn’t just a bunch of upstate kids who can’t play basketball,” Taylor said.
“Nobody expects Westchester to beat teams from the city. We wanted to win this game because Westchester is not know for beating the city teams,” Mookie Jones said.
The comments go down the line. Afterwards, we ran into the Manhattan/Bronx coach at Juniors (the great cheesecake restaurant) and he was still miffed about losing. I can presume the fact it was a Westchester team only made it tougher. He was a pretty funny guy and had high praise for the players.
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Westchester should be proud to beat two NYC teams this week. This officially puts Westchester on ther map. There was a rule that made the teams play their players a minimun of minutes, which handcuffed each team. When Kemba Walker and Chris Fouch were in the game, the Bronx, Manhattan team went on a run, the same thing with certain players on the Westchester team.
I went to the Mt Vernon, Lindenhurst HS IS8 game in Queens that started at 7pm last night. Kevin Jones, Jordan Lessane, and Sherrord Wright played in the game. Mt Vernon was leading 81-24 halfway through the 3rd quarter. At that point, Kevin and Jordan went to the locker room, changed, and Jordan's parents rushed them to Brooklyn. Some of the other fans did the same, and we arrived during warmups. Interesting enough, New Rochelle was scheduled to play after the Mt Vernon IS8 game, with Rice and Marsallis playing in Brooklyn. There were some noticably missing Bronx' Mahattan players. I saw Kevin Parrom (St Raymonds) at the IS8 game. His team played New Rochelle, and Truck Bryant, St Raymond's alltime leading scorer was in that stands at the wheelchair classic.
I was at the first half of the game last night and I was very impressed with the whole westchester team. I'm a stepinac grad, so I'm really happy to hear tony taylor won the mvp. I was very impressed with kevin jones, taylor and curtis dennis, particularly. I don't get to many high school games, only a couple involving stepinac every year so I hadn't had the chance to see kevin jones play before, which was a treat.
I was at the wheelchair classic last year and its interesting to see the growth among certain players – taylor stood out as one whose game has grown tremendously. Having seen tony play for stepinac this year being the guy needed to score, it was great to see him playing a pure point guard role and setting up his teammates. He is extremely unselfish and a great passer.
*hadn't had the chance to see Kevin Jones play before this year – I'd seen him last year and was very impressed but his body seems to really have filled out tremendously. I also forgot to say I was impressed with Mookie Jones and Kilpatrick last night.
Hoops Fan,
You are a real Stepinac Fan. Good for you.
Here is a nice article
http://nychoops.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=801341
thanks for the compliment Jayden. I have to say that Fouch was unbelievable. He's definitely one of the best shooters I've seen in New York in awhile – I think he could be right up there with Kyle McAlarney and Quincy Douby. I thought the five best players on the court were Kevin Jones, Kemba Walker, Chris Fouch, Tony Taylor and Curtis Dennis – not necessarily in that order.
There were a couple big men for the Westchester team from prep school who I hadn't heard of. Were those kids from Connecticut or were they from Westchester as well, just playing at prep schools?
Hoops Fan,
I acually had to ask Kevin, (who was sitting behind me), who a player or two were. The players you did not recognize are from Connecticut.
An article on New Rochelle at the IS8 tournament.
http://nychoops.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=801343
Interesting article on Jonathan Mitchell.
http://njmg.typepad.com/zagsblog/2008/04/two-horse-race.html#more
I'm am for one not surprise at all…..Westchester had a BOMB squad that have played with each other one time or another during AAU aswell and people seem to forget that we have 3 players ranked in the top 150 in the country and that the westchester hawks were actually a top 5 AAU team in the country for the past 2 years, 16u AND 17u. Even spending some time Top DOG as the number one AAU team team in the country at some points
For anyone who saw the Wheelchair Classic, including of course Jayden, how would you now rank the top 5 or top 10 players in Westchester? I think my opinions on the subject have changed a bit after seeing all the players on the same court.
Can anyone tell me the stat line of Mookie Jones, obviously other than the 17 points? What are we 'Cuse fans getting in Mookie Jones? any help would be appreciated.
1 Kevin Jones
2 Mookie Jones
3 Sean Kilpatrick
4 Tony Taylor
5 Sherrod Wright
2-3-and 4 are a lot tighter than it was earlier in the year. Tony and Sean have played well, but Mookie has struggled a little this year, at least for Mookie standards. However, if I was starting a team, I would pick it in the above order. That starting 5, and a few decent bench players, and that would be a top 3 team nationally.
Interesting. I agree it would be a great starting 5. I kind of thought you might go in that order. I would go with:
1 – Kevin Jones
2 – Tony Taylor
3 – Sean Kilpatrick
4 – Mookie Jones
5 – Sherrod Wright
Kevin Jones looks like he already has an NBA-type body and just has so many skills. Taylor has an amazing feel for the game – his ability to handle the ball, set up his teammates, make great passes and certainly his ability to shoot the lights out make him incredibly dangerous. Watching him more than hold his own against Kemba Walker was impressive. Tony got a lot of ink for his performance at the County Center – I actually think that wasn't his best basketball. He had so many clutch performances and hit so many big shots against some very talented guards. Kilpatrick seems to have a phenomenal game from 18 feet in – I don't see him as a pure long-range shooter, but he's about as good as you can be moving without the ball and attacking from the wing. I've always liked Mookie's game a lot, but I just feel the other three have improved their respective games ahead of his. Maybe he was just unchallenged too much at Peekskill, particularly once he'd signed with Syracuse, but I don't see as much fire from him that I saw last year. My take on Mookie will probably be unpopular, but its my honest opinion.
p.s. I'm already starting to miss these guys. I realize how fortunate we've all been the last three years with all these great players competing in our area.
1. kevin jones
2. tony taylor
3. mookie jones
4. kilpatrick
5. right
when you are a MV home boy it hurts to admit that one got away…taylor is at the top…..do not see any mention of the pg who was the reason he left mv in 7th grade..do you goys see it?
Is it HS football season yet?
Score,
Tony Taylor left Mt Vernon because of Ketema Brooks. That is pretty well known. Tony's father did not want a competition with Ketema, who was equal in talent at the time. Tony's upside turned out to be better than Ketema's, and Mt Vernon fans wished that Tony had stuck around. Mt Vernon has lost players before, and will lose players in the future. That is the nature of public schools. It is amazing how Ketema Brooks has be a lighting rod for so many people.
PS,
Unlike other cities, Mt Vernon has a youth program (The Jr. Knights) that developes kids, and becomes a feeder system to the High School. That is why Mt Vernon is competitive each year. Tony Taylor was a Jr Knight, and learned how to play, and develope his skills in that program. Politics (promised playing time) drove him out of Mt Vernon, and is the reason why most players leave. Rice has benefited from Mt Vernon transfers, and so has many other schools.
Mt Vernon will almost certainly lose Najee Whitehead, to a private school. He is one of the top players in the country. He went to St Benedicts last year, but came back. There is a 99.9% chance that he is on his way back to a private school. Playing time is not the reason in that case.
Jayden,
I wasn't aware of any kids from Mt Vernon playing at Rice. Whats the whole story with Whitehead? I've heard he's a great player.
Thanks for anyone and everyone involved with Kevin's Decision to come down here to WVU and be the next NBA player from Mt.Vernon. HuGGS will get him ready in 2-3 years The Kid from UMass has a chance too.
Hoops Fan,
Najee's brother, Elijah transfered from Mt Vernon's school system to Rice, as well as others. As For Najee, sorry I can't really get into his reason for possibly transfering at this time, but all I can say is that Mt Vernon will almost certainly lose him.
jayden…
i think tony's father helped develop him a little bit more then the knights did! the jr. nights have a great feeder (recruiting) and development sytem as does the mount vernon boys/girls club under loews moore!
najee is a solid b-ball player but high, high maintenance.
Lets not forget that Mt. Vernon has lost some of their second-third tier talent to Iona Prep, Mount St. Michael, and St. Raymonds. Iona had two quality players this year that were in their 9 man rotation- They made a good choice as they would have played minimal minutes for the Knights.
Just food for thought for all the private school fans that remind us constantly of their superiority. Just remember where some of their players came from, and the time and effort the cities or towns put into developing the players that eventually play for their teams.
I am not looking for an argument, because I do believe that it is nice that kids have the oportunity to go to the schools of their choice. However, I would love to see private high schools avoid cherry picking the great 7-9th grade talent. How about having private schools sponsor some kids to attend private elemetary schools, and bankroll sports programs that teaches those kids to be great athletes. How about giving some funds to city sports programs. Some of them are struggling to survive. When the athletes that the private schools had a hand in developing eventually make their schools powerhouses, it would be a great accomplishment worth bragging about.
I found this article on Jonathan Mitchell.
Mitchell Sets RU Visit
Jonathan Mitchell has set his visit to Rutgers.
Mitchell will visit Rutgers May 5-7, immediately following his visit to Seton Hall the weekend of May 2.
As first reported Friday, the 6-foot-7 Mitchell is no longer considering St. John's and will decide between Rutgers and Seton Hall. Both schools have offered.
"It's really those two," Herb Mitchell, Jonathan's uncle, said Friday. "We're going into it with our eyes open and we're taking it from there." Mitchell, a former Mr. Basketball in New York State while at Mount Vernon, will have to sit out next season after transferring from Florida.
All catholic HS are struggling to survive. Power Memorial is gone. Tolentine is gone…I don't think having a power house HS basketball program does anything for the bottom line .Tuition and charity run the Catholic HS were the teachers earn half of what the teachers in the public systems make.
LET THE RECORD SHOW THAT TONY TAYLOR WAS BOERN AND RAISED IN TARRYTOWN.
chsaa fan,
The teams that are struggling to survive should not be giving free tuition to athletes just to make their sports teams good. Those slots should be used for tuition paying students that will contribute to the finacial well being of the institution.
Not all Catholic schools are in financial trouble, but schools like Patterson Catholic, NJ, may have to close their doors due to money issues. That is a school that should concentrate on academics instead of trying to have a good basketball team.
My point is that Catholic High Schools that have powerful basketball teams are not reaping any financial benefits. Certainly nothing extra to put back into the community or youth sports. All Catholic HS are just getting by. Haven't you seen the recent teacher strikes. The arch diocese says that it can't afford to pay the 50-some thousand per year that the teachers are asking for….Public teachers are making 80 or 90 per year…The AA Chsaa has chosen to go the heavy recruiting route….And they use the quid pro quo formula..Bring your basketball talent to us and we will give you a more disciplined and safer environment where you will earn your diploma…Something that you may not get at your local Public HS….Of course this enticement to enroll at a Catholic HS will only work in the inner city…Stepinac and Iona can never recruit successfully every year because the suburban public schools are very good…
chsaa,
So what you are saying, is that some Catholic schools are having trouble paying their teachers, yet some can give free tuition to athletes that play on their sports teams, which do not help those schools financially. Seems to me that those schools should try to pay their teachers with paying students. How do some of those teams travel all around the country? Where is that money coming from? If raising money is no problem, then, raise it and pay teachers more money with it. Chances are, the sports teams are sucking much needed resources from the schools.
My initial point is that some cities and towns have sports programs for the youth, which helps to develop them into nice athletes. Some private schools lure these “ now” talented kids with free tuition to come play at their schools. Private schools are building powerhouse sports teams (compared to public schools) , yet they do not have a hand in financially helping the youth programs that benefit them so much. “No Money” Yet money in the form of free tuition is always found when those same youth program kids become great 9th grade football and basketball players.
Every year, private school fan boast about how much better they are then public schools. It just seem to me, that in order to receive that kind of credit, private schools should be responsible for planting and growing their own fruit, instead of picking the best fruit from someone else’s harvest, then bragging about how good their fruit salad is
Jayden,
You are an incredibly well-informed basketball fan in literally every area I've ever heard you discuss, but I don't think you are very well versed in the workings of the catholic school system. Thats no knock on you, how could you be. Yet going on and on about a system that you don't know much about could seem misguided to many.
The facts are that very few catholic schools these days in the New York city area are flush with money, certainly not to the point of frivolously paying tuitions of basketball players. The money that pays the tuitions of kids (both talented athletes and regular students) comes from private sources (i.e. alumni, community groups, charities, etc.). If an alumni of Bishop Loughlin, Rice, St Rays, etc. wants to donate the 5-6k a year for a student who wants to go there, that's their right and choice.
I didn't see anywhere in the thread of posts above that anyone made any mention to private schools being better athletic programs than public schools. If anything, it was mentioned how great MV's program is.
It's clear your preference would be for Catholic schools in NY to only allow kids who play on their basketball teams to be full tuition paying students – I don't think you realize that a huge portion of inner city catholic school students recieve help with tuition, both student athletes and kids who've never seen the inside of the gym. Your ideal is not going to happen anytime soon, so it doesn't help to hope for it – nor is there any reasonable reason to expect thisgs should be that way.
Jayden,
As knowledgable as you are, I find it somewhat hard to believe you're making the argument that private schools are achieving their success poaching talent cultivating in the public school system. Have you ever heard of an organization called CYO? For the past 60 years plus, huge, huge numbers of the great players in New York city basketball grew up playing CYO basketball. I would say up until the 90's, somewhere in the neighborhood of 90+ percent of great NYC players came out of CYO ball. The last 15 years or so, that number has dropped with the surge of privately funded community groups and AAU teams. Keep in mind, most of those community groups and AAU teams have nothing to do with public schools at all. Remember Lenny Wilkens, Billy Cunningham, Bob Cousy, Roger Brown, Dr J, Connie Hawkins, Pearl Washington? All of these guys were public school greats who grew up playing CYO ball in the new york area. Were the catholic high schools making the same complaints you are now? Not that I remember. Who are some of the all-time CHSAA greats? Lew Alcindor, Kenny Anderson, Chris Mullin, Jamal Mashburn, Felipe Lopez, Kenny Smith, Mark Jackson, Dean Meminger, Lamar Odom – all CYO products. Now did some of these future CHSAA greats play some non-CYO ball as kids as well – I'm sure some did. However, I think its completely naive to act like private schools, particularly catholic schools in this area are sitting back poaching talent without having anything to do with helping nurture some of that talent. Now that I think about it, until the Gauchos came out in the early 90's, aside from a few smaller programs, I can barely think of a non-church related youth basketball program that was prominent. Riverside Church, the most prominent AAU program of all, was of course based at a non-denominational church.
Hoops Fan,
Schools are academic institutions, not athletic institutions. I have a Catholic friend who last year removed his kid from Mt St Michaels because he just could not afford the tuition. He is Catholic, and a B+ student. Charity money for tuitions should be based on academic ability, not basketball and football ability. If a school like Patterson Catholic could be forced to close, then athletics should be the first cost cutting method. Public schools cut art, music, and sports, not math and science when they have budget issues. Some, not all Catholic schools have gone bannanas when it comes to winning sporting events. I do not put Stepinac and Iona Prep in that catagory.
My comments are about today's issues, not the 60's 70's and 80's. If you do not think that chsaa fans have bragged about their superiority, then either you read this blog infrequently, or as I believe, you just choose to only fight the chsaa cause. You are always silent when those issues come up, just as you were when the chsaa (Iona Prep) fan constantly called Mt Vernon scared for not playing Peekskill. You only commented on that issue when Stepinac came into play. Call the game down the middle.
As I mentioned before, I lived in Rockland and watched Don Bosco, and St Josephs go into Spring Valley and other areas of Rockland, and cherry pick their best talent year after year. The residents of Rockland fund sports programs which consistently develop great athletes. Don Bosco and St Josephs are New Jersey schools, and do not contribute one dime to Spring Valley, or other Rockland area's youth programs. Don Bosco is a perennial national football powerhouse, and both schools have very good sports teams. I could only immagine how good Spring Valley would be if they were able to keep their athletes in the school system. The past has come and gone, but it is cherry picking season nowadays.
Jayden,
I hear your points. If this discussion is about Jersey/Rockland schools then that is entirely different than schools in our area or new york city. My point stands that you're not intimately involved in the running of catholic schools, so I don't see how you're criticizing how they spend their money. I'll repeat what I said before, the actual schools we're talking about here aren't the ones who are footing the bill for student athletes who go there on sponsorships. Alumni and community groups fund the huge majority, if not all of the financial aid at most of these schools. In fact, most nyc area catholic schools run at or close to a deficit, its only the donations of alumni that allow them to continue. In regards to your friend whose son was at Mt St Michael – Mount has 1000 kids, I'm sure well into the hundreds receive financial aid or sponsorships from community groups and alumni. Of course I feel bad to hear that a student has to leave a school because of money, unfortunately that happens at high schools, colleges, medical schools too. It is not operationally feasible that every student at Mount gets the necessary financial aid – unfortunately there isn't that much money to go around. You've read the posts from MrVolo, the Mount grad who sponsors their PG – he sponsors several kids and the PG just was randomly chosen as one of them. THe other students don't even play sports.
In terms of public schools cancelling sports and the arts thats an entirely different subject about philosophies about a well rounded education that can go back to the Greeks. No one is making the argument that inner city public schools educate kids better than catholic schools, right? Most if not all principals of catholic high schools in New York are priests – they're far more interested in the academic life of their students than their 40 yard dash or jumpshot. Believe me when I tell you that poor catholic schools in New York are not diverting much needed, necessary school funds to support a basketball program.
Again, I can't make the same statements about catholic schools in New Jersey, because I don't know them as well and I wouldn't want to make uninformed statements. If you've ever read Bob Hurley's book you know that St. Anthony's has been on the verge of closing for 30 years. The donations and help of groups and alumni in support of him and the student athletes there has helped that school stay alive all this time. One of the main reasons coach Hurley gives as to why he hasn't left for a college job is that he knows if he leaves the school will likely have to close.
Lastly, I don't think its necessary of me to strenuously object to every misguided opinion in this forum. I try to respond to the opinions of people who obviously seem knowledgable and aren't just some overzealous fan talking junk. Anyone who criticizes coach Cimmino and MV on this forum in basically any area is foolish in my opinion and I've said so before. There are plenty of fans on here from Briarcliff, North Salem, Pleasantville, Iona Prep, Mount, etc., and sadly even Stepinac, who aren't the most informed basketball fans beyond being fans of their respective schools. Those people have just as much a right to post their thoughts on here as you or I – I just try not to get riled up with every comment I think is ridiculous.
Hoops Fan,
I am glad that you understand my Rockland story, because what is happenening there is a shame.
I have a sore spot about the private/public sports issue, and you are a very loyal chsaa fan. I regard you as an extremely knowledgable basketball guy. Any disagreement we have is just based on the different angle we view a topic. You are a Stepinac grad, and I am a Dewitt Clinton (Bronx) grad. Now we are Westchester basketball fans. Not bad.
Jayden,
Agreed. And I'll definitely say that we've both been lucky with such great Westchester basketball this year. Kevin Jones to me looks like a pro – I'm not sure at this point whether it will be in the NBA or overseas, but he definitely looks like a pro. Mookie Jones is someone who I think has a lot of work to do to be a contributor at Syracuse, but he still has a lot of promise and talent. If Kilpatrick ends up in the right system – and I'm not sure St Johns is that place – he could be a great college scorer. My appreciation for Tony Taylor's game is no secret and I think he can be a very good A-10 guard. Sherrod Wright will likely be the next in an extremely long line of major college players from Mount Vernon.
I can't recall another season of such great Westchester players in a long, long time. The only other recent time that I can remember with several big time players in one class would've been around 1992 or 1993 with Danya Abrams, Otis Hill, Chris Watson, Tyrone Foster – all of whom had great college careers. The McCray brothers were both McDonald's All American caliber players, though I don't really remember well who the other top players in Westchester were in the late 70's along with them. The early 70's with the Williams' brothers at Mt Vernon, Earl Tatum and Rudy Hackett and Mike Young produced most likely the best team in Westchester history and certainly the most NBA players. Though again, I don't remember many of the other top players in Westchester in the early 70's who were big time college players outside of the Mt Vernon guys. Roosevelt, Yonkers High and Gorton certainly had some great players and teams back then – though I don't remember many of those guys having big college careers.
That great MV team of the early 70's that had at least 4 future NBA players was beaten by Yonkers HS. Yonkers had Eddy Felix (who I still see reffing section 1 games), Alvin Jessamy, Rich Meltz among others. Wish I could find something about that game on line , but it was so long ago. 1972 I think…...Possibly the best player to hail from Yonkers was Bernhard Toone (1975, Gorton)...Toone won an NCAA championship with Marquette in '77…then won an NBA championship with the 76ers in '79 .Tragic story though. The last few times I saw Toone's name in the paper, it was in the police blotter. He was arrested several times in Yonkers and White Plains for stealing radios out of cars and such….A remember how sad it was to see him down in Getty Square standing with all the other junkies. At 6'9", he stood out, and you could not miss him. Very few knew he won it all on both the collegiate and professional levels.
jayden,
i feel as if you make it as if schools like st. joseph's and bosco force kids from spring valley to go to their school. it is this simple, they express interest
(as they should) and if the feeling is mutual with the family then the student attends. tough luck if those schools can help out financially. maybe spring valley should regroup and get their act together.
i am going to give a perfect example….MOUNT VERNON… academically the school is terrible…so why can't schools like mount, stepinac, iona, pull those kids from mount vernon like bosco and st. joseph'd do from spring valley…...another simple answer, because cimmino has his program locked down and in complete control. he has a great recruiting tool and feder program (jr. nights) and a great track record in winning and most importantly, sending kids to college. stepinac was fortunate to get tony taylor.
jayden…if you had a really good son who was a good athlete / student and you could get financial help from bosco, would you go there or spring valley? if a kid from yonkers has an opportunity to go to stepinac or iona with financial aide….why in the world would he go to gorton, roosevelt, or lincoln – come on!
some catholic / private schools are fortunate to have alumni that make good money and want to give back and help underprivledged student/athletes out – that's a GREAT THING!!! catholic schools are at a disadvantage because the tuition now a days is very expensive, where as public school is free. and don't tell me it's not free b/c you pay taxes….the point is that parents who want to send their kid/s to private school still have to pay taxes and tuition on top of it. GOD BLESS those people who help out others financially!
chsaa,
I hate to continue this topic, because neither one of us will change the views of the other.
Mt Vernon's honor's program is very good. Although there are issues at Mt Vernon, there are issues everywhere. They are just different issues. The schools you call the best, probably have much more drug and suicide issues than Mt Vernon. That is just the nature of society today, and no areas are without very challenging problems that effect our children.
Hoops Fan,
This has been a very special year for Westchester basketball. We have some great talent this year, yet none of the boys teams won championships. Strange.
JAYDEN,
i never stated what schools are the best…just stating the facts that spring valley should be no different in keeping kids home like mt vernon does – but they don't b/c they can't – so you tell me why? and please don't blame
st. joseph's or don bosco. if my son was a great student athlete and he was offered free tuition from rice / iona / stepinac and i was a mount vernon resident – i would stay at mount vernon b/c of their credible record…anywhere else in westchester i would probably go with a private / catholic school – but that's just me!
I think you guys are getting to it…Mount Vernon is the only under performing HS that can hold the majority of its best basketball players because it is a one HS city with a youth feeder program and a remarkable basketball tradition..Yonkers has 5 or 6 high schools and lousy youth programs…So the best players from Yonkers will either go to a catholic or private school. From what the news papers report, MV HS is a rough place. I remember a shooting, a stabbing and a beating reported in the last few years, and academically it is always at the bottom of the list of all 40 some odd high schools in Westchester with the exception of the Yonkers 5…....I guess if you are good and lucky enough to be in the basketball program, you can stay insulated from the nonsense at MVHS…At other low achieving high schools, if you have basketball talent, the best choice is to get away from that situation and attend a private school, if they are offering a tuition free opportunity.
objective view:
my point exactly and i agree with you 100%. districts like spring valley and yonkers need to figure something out, maybe take a page out of mv's notebook, because if you surround yourself with the right, passionate, experienced, and hungry coaches that are willing to sacrifice their own time to help these kids out….they can do it. i hate to say it, but districts like spring valley lose kids to better programs period.
chssa fan,
districts like spring valley and yonkers just do not give a damn about how successful their basketball, or for that matter, any of their interscholastic teams fare…..The coaches get burned out quick and are more interested in their pay check than the 2,000 stipend they would receive for coaching a team….......Marshal Reif, a former MV coach explained to me why bob cimmino is the perfect guy for the job at MVHS…....he said that bob was a single guy who would follow his players around the streets on saturday night to keep them out of trouble. if there was a problem at home, bob would let the kids sleep on his couch….he is involved 24/7 with his players. not many other coaches are willing or able to do that . certainly no coach in yonkers or spring valley….....Mv is what it is because it is a city of 75,000 with one HS and a city that is mostly african-american, (the baseball coach, mazella is retiring this year, after 30 years. he admits that there is no longer any baseball interest in the city, that once had a great baseball program….....but if cimmino leaves things may change, without all the micromanagement of the basketball talent in MV, from 6th thru 12th grade, the kids will opt for other alternatives if they perceive the experience at MVHS to be potentially , a bad one….
objective observer….i hear you – and you make very good points! maybe spring valley and yonkers should hire more single guys that don't have kids so that way they can spend more time like cimmino does! and i got news for you, there are plenty of successful coaches at every level that are married and have a family…just have to manage your time and work hard!
p.s. mount vernon is mount vernon and will always be good as it has been since the 70s!
Unbiased,
Those are fair points, but I disagree with you on a couple issues. 1) I think the point that was made about coach Cimmino being particularly effective because he's single and can be incredibly focused on Mt Vernon's program 24/7 is valid. On top of that, I think the point that was made about him being single allowing him extra time to be involved with the kid's lives, has more to do with his impact on their lives off the court than on. There are many great coaches who can run an excellent program and be a good in-game coach. I think coaching at a place like MV to be completely effective as he has been, you have to be able to be involved with the kid's entire lives, not just from when they show up at school. Coach Cimmino seems particularly adept at relating to his kids, keeping them out of trouble and focused on basketball and schoolwork. Everyone who follows MV basketball since the 70's closely can give you several examples of good players who could've been better had it not been for off the court issues. Coach Cimmino seems to negate most of those issues.
2) Mount Vernon has not always been a nationally top-25 caliber team as they have been the last 10 years. If you go back to Coach Cimmino's first couple years, MV was still one of the best teams in Westchester, yet they weren't as dominant as they are now. MV's teams were on this level for a few years in the early 70's with the Williams brothers/Tatum/Hackett/Lowes Moore/etc, the late 70's with the McCray brothers and the 1991 team with Rasul/Collin Johnson/Dean Marshman, etc. With the exception of those handful of teams, MV may have had great teams that were dominant in Westchester, but not teams that could compete on a national level like they have consistently done lately.
I give credit for this unprecedented, consistent success solely to Coach Cimmino and his staff. The program they have in place gets the kids started very early, puts academics in its proper place (as evidenced by their great qualifying rates) and gets the kids to respect the amazing tradition they follow.
hoops fan,
i agree..i am not discounting mount vernon, they have a very good program and i also agree with chsaa fan that districts like yonkers and spring valley should try and mirror what mv does.
some would argue that even though mv weren't nationally ranked back in the 70s / 80s that some of those teams then were better then mv's teams the past few years!
not taking anything away from mv but there was much more talented teams back when which might have made it harder for mv to be nationally ranked in the 70s / 80s i.e. tolentine, power, (no longer open…rice, raymond's, hayes, lasalle, all hollows… were so much better 10-15 years ago then they are now. just some food for thought!
Chris Fouch scored 72 points in an IS8 game the other day. That breaks the IS8 scoring record.
Iona Prep will beat Mt. Vernon next year. Mt. Vernon is not going to be a top 25 team in the country. With Voelkel/Bronner/Pope, Iona will easily beat Mt. Vernon for the next 2 years.
The real Hoops Fan,
I know you did not post that, and we know which Iona Prep Fan did. Now you see why people have a problem with Iona Prep.
Hoops fan
You sound like a complete idiot. Iona is in a JV division. They couldn't even come within 15 points of New Rochelle. The Mount Vernon Girls will beat them. When Iona steps up in weight class then we may take them serious. Right now they are in the diaper league.
unbiased,
very interesting question you raise. were the mv teams of the 70's and 80's actually better teams but not nationally recognized? if that is true, as i believe it might be ,then we should try to figure out the reasons why this is so. first and foremost, i believe, is the advent of the internet. pollsters now have the results of all hs games and team stats at their fingertips = the 70's mv teams just went out and beat whoever was in front of them. that meant any and all westchester teams and others within a short drive – much harder to advance nationally, only playing locally. no hs teams were hopping planes for tournaments back then, except the program teams vying for national recognition = the 70's teams put mv on the
national map…and it took a guy like cimmino to really cultivate the possibilities. the days of the williams brother's teams and the mcray brother's teams are over. those teams had no history to guard, nothing to lose, and took on all comers (and almost always won) – today's teams are tightly choreographed. schedules are massaged to avoid any potential blow to the national image that has been established.
Hoops Fan
You need to get your facts straight because Pope will graduate in one year so unless he has 5 years of eligibilty he will not be in an Iona uniform in two years.
WP
You sound like a complete idiot with the diaper league comments- White Plains sports has been off the radar since the Art Monk years. Maybe if you guys can stay within two touchdowns against Stepinac then you can flap your gums. Pleas do not compare the sports program to White Plains because it is not even an argument.
Jayden
Usually we see eye to eye on most subjects but you need to realize that when someone makes outlandish commments like the post above about Iona destroying Mt. Vernon you need to see the source- Most of these people that make foolish comments probably do not even know half the players on the roster.
Iona Power,
That post was not from Hoops Fan. It is from one of Iona Prep's biggest fan, who has about 20 alias's. He has bashed every team in the name of Iona Prep, but he has a special hatred for Mt Vernon. I was a little annoyed when I responded to that post. You know that I like Iona Prep, but I can see how some people can turn sour on them, when they read the postings from that fan.
objective observer:
i agree…i tend to wonder who ranks teams / players these days. not saying the rankings are far off, but some teams that get nationally ranked, as well as players, sometimes seem a little crazy – i thought some of the mount vernon teams the past couple of years were nationally caliber teams – but this years team was not a top 25 team in the country, i don't care what anyone says. they were good but there were mv teams in the past that weren't nationally ranked that were much better then this years team – it's all relative to the talent pool that's out there.
wp:
iona would beat wp in basketball / football / baseball – period. and i am not sure if any sport would be competitive. i am assuming you are a white plains fan b/c of the wp name – so why are you writing on behalf of mount vernon and new rochelle?
p.s. we know hoops fan did not write that
Jayden-
I can see why you have been annoyed. Its too bad some people do not add any value to this blog.
On some other topics- I watched the documentary on Sebastian Telfair last night and it opened my eyes onwhat type of pressure some of these players have. It was clear some people were not looking out for his best interests. That is why coaches like Bob Cimino are so important.
Also how many teams were in the IS8 Tourney and how do they determine who is invited??
Iona Power,
There are 50 teams in the IS8 tournament. Almost all of them are AAU teams. Mt Vernon and New Rochelle are in it this year. There is a fall and Spring Tournament. In the Spring of 2004, Mt Vernon became the only high school team to ever take 1st place. Here is a link to the current participants.
http://www.ballersallstar.com/is8springclassic2008.html
Gentlemen,
thanks for not attributing that poorly intentioned comment by some imposter to me! For the record, I would not pick Iona Prep over Mount Vernon this upcoming year. I think Voelkel would have a hard time with Sherrod Wright, however, I think if everyone comes back for Iona it could be a competitive game without a doubt. Its too early to prognosticate teams two years ahead, but certainly when Iona's sophomore class are seniors, their team should be very, very good.
For the people who constantly like to put down other teams and programs – any reasonable observer would acknowledge that all these teams we discuss have their ups and downs, but at the end of the day we are fortunate to have some great teams, programs and players in this area. Mount Vernon, White Plains, New Rochelle, Iona Prep, Stepinac, Peekskill, and many other local programs have a lot to be proud of when its comes to their basketball programs. I read elsewhere on the blog that the entire NY state all-star football team has 10 D1-A players. Keep in mind there are probably 5-6 times as many D1-A football players as there are basketball players. This year, Westchester alone will probably have 5 or maybe 6 D1 basketball players – incredible when you think about the disparity in numbers there.
Hoops Fan,
Check out this link on Chris Fouch's 72 points. I can also send you a link where he turned down George Mason, and a few other schools. Chris's Mother said that many big East schools came calling late, but they felt that Chris could play at Drexel immediately. A Tony Taylor, Chris Fouch backcourt at George Mason whould have been interesting.
http://hsnewyork.scout.com/2/751216.html
Sherrod Wright left the Westchester Hawks AAU, and is playing with the Playaz out of New Jersey.
jayden,
tony and fouch together would be great…a pure point guard (tony) and a lights out shooter in fouch – wow!
Hoops Fan,
Tony Taylor and Chris Fouch would be great together in the backcourt. Chris got offers from George Mason and George Washington.
Jayden,
You're absolutely right. I'd heard about Fouch's 72 points earlier in the week. Taylor and Fouch would've made a fantastic backcourt together. Does anyone know who will be playing on the Westchester Hawks senior team this year?
The Gauchs with Chris Fouch and Kemba Walker play Mt Vernon in an IS8 game at 3:30 today.
The Gauchos with Chris Fouch and Kemba Walker play Mt Vernon in an IS8 game at 3:30 today.
Jayden,
I'd love to hear your account of how the MV/Gauchos IS8 game goes today. Also, do you have any information why Sherrod Wright left the Westchester Hawks for the Playaz? Sorry to overdue it with questions, but do you know any of the other local players who are playing on the Westchester Hawks 17u team this spring?
Hoops Fan,
Mt Vernon beat the Gauchos by 3 points today. It was a back and forth game since the opening tip. Mt Vernon had the ball, up by 1 point with 11 seconds to go, and threw the ball away trying to inbound. The Gauchos missed the shot, and the rebounded ball was punched out to Sherrord Wright for a dunk at the buzzer. Kevin Jones and Sherrod Wright played great, as did Kemba Walker and Jordan Theodore for the Gauchos.
I did not ask why Sherrod left the Westchester Hawks, but I will inquire, and let you know. As for the Westchester Hawks 17U, I will also find that out. Two weeks ago I saw a posting by the Westchester Hawks looking for players for the 17U Elite team. Interesting.
I saw Mookie Jones at the IS8 game today. He is playing for the defending champions, The Shooting Stars. That team is loaded with Samardo Samuels and Kevin Ebanks.
Jayden,
Sounds like a great MV/Gauchos game. I saw the same posting about the Westchester Hawks looking for bigmen. The Hawks naturally aren't always limited to Westchester players, but its always interesting to see which local guys play for the them. I saw Antoine Mason from New Rochelle seems to be playing for the Gauchos now, I think he was a former Westchester Hawk.