Recruiting update: Cousins picks up offer from Va Tech
With a few days before his team travels to Miami on Thursday, Seth Greenberg came to Mount Vernon High School Monday afternoon to watch Isaiah Cousins.
Bob Cimmino reported last night that the Virginia Tech coach offered Cousins a scholarship after the 79-26 win over Scarsdale.
Virginia Tech joins the long list of schools to offer the 6-foot-4 senior guard. The Hokies are the first school from a BCS-level conference to offer Cousins a scholarship. Pitt and Georgia Tech recently joined the recruiting chase as well but have yet to officially offer.
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WHEN THE PLAYOFFS COME,ISAIAH WILL SHINE
I don’t beleive that a Mt Vernon player has ever gone to the ACC – will Cousins be the first?
Just a thought.
I believe all of TZ’s players have gone through thier school districts grammar schools, middle school and high school. They have all lived in the TZ area their whole young lives and many have siblings in these schools as well. What’s my point? It is that George Gain has done a masterful job of coaching the home grown players he was given. Every kid is legit and on the level and always has been since he got there and before. My question is, outside of the catholic schools where parents pay tuition AND local school taxes for their kids to get a Catholic school education, can every puplic school team in Section One make the same claim of their program this year AND in years past?
Cousins could actually be the second Mount Vernon player to play for Seth Greenberg. Rasul Saluhuddin played for Greenberg at Long Beach State. In fact, Clyde Vaugh ( New Rochelle HS, Pitt) was the assistant at Long Beach who recruited Rasul. In fact, I would not be surprised if Rasul was the one that tipped of Greenberg about Cousins.
On a footnote, Rasul just had his jersey retired about a month ago at a ceremony at Long Beach State. It’s good when alumni reach out & utilize their contacts to assist local kids.
Return to 9,
We saw this post on the other thread. If people chose to not answer it then let it go, lol. It’s totally off topic to this fine honor Mr. Cousins has been offered.
Families move for various reasons. Maybe their job transfers them elsewhere or the need a cheaper cost of living. Most teams can say that they have homegrown talent from elementary to high but there will always be exceptions. As long as the transferring is not for purely athletic reasoning then I don’t have a problem, transition is a part of life.
States well said. And in reality that claim can be made by a lot of schools including my alum PR. And on a side note, the kid Donahue was at Albertus and left to go back to TZ, so technically that is a transfer if you want to nit pick
HRs,
Thank you. Give some teams a few good years and they want to talk about homegrown talent, lol…
I have to give TZ props for doing this though. Only about 4k people in Arlington and they have to compete with the Peekskill’s and Poughkeepsie’s who have 25k+ people in their communities. Very impressive the run they’ve been on considering demographics.
4k in Orangeburg sorry.
The props are well deserved. I know the staff. They work extremely hard. George is a coaching “rat” he goes to countless clinics, watches tape after tape etc. He is relentless. And his in game adjustments have improved each year as well. The only knock I have is the schedule. Would have liked to have seen this group tested. You can only compare what others do in the section(i.e POK, Peek ) and out(i.e Harborfields, Dewitt). Those programs have a different mentality.
Now with that being said, he has a special group here. It is going to be difficult to replicate this…In reality, it will most likely not happen again for a long, long time. But they made the most of it thus far. And these TZ boys as well as many seniors graduating have made Rockland basketball the best it has been is probably 20+ years. It will be sad to see them move on.
KINGSTON VS NEWBURGH.
TOMORROW
HRs,
Well said. It’s tough not having the numbers to reload year after year. You can just take a look at Coach Gaine and see that he has that relentless mentality. Rockland is kind of far to travel upstate for games but would have like them try to face some PSAL, CHSFL or Jersey teams. They don’t like playing boys like TZ b/c their egos would be bruised if they took a L (Strong possibility with this team).
TZ has the size, shooters and grit to take it all. A team would have to try to run them to death and get their horses in foul trouble to knock them off. Easier said then done b/c Rockland teams seem to be adept at dictating the pace of the game to their strength.
HRs,
I agree with you that it would’ve been great to see this TZ schedule a couple tough out of area games or AA’s like New Ro, etc. Definitely seems like a special group of kids in Rockland this year.
Statesman,
I agree it would not be easy for TZ to get a game with top area/regional teams because they are somewhat of an unknown and not too many PSAL or CHSFL teams would want to trek up to Rockland. However, if TZ was willing to go on the road, then it becomes a lot easier to get a game.
HRs, Hoops fan… TZ only had a few games to play with. The spot you’d look at where they could’ve upgraded the schedule was the Briarcliff tournament in December. I think the only other non-league game was the Byram Hills game on Saturday.
States, you are on point about trying to run them to death. You have to pick up the tempo and pressure the ball all game. You also defensivley have to bait them into foul trouble. Meaning force them to drive, do nto allow them to rotate up top and drain threes. You allow that, they will beat you.
Remember though, TZ likes to push it too and will pick their spots to run. So they can go up tempo, but the short bench will hurt here. Every time I see them they are the team on the court with more desire. They refuse to get out hustled and that is a product of their coach.
Josh they also played Columbia Prep(who has a good kid named Brian Lissak..but hes the only good kid on that team.)Was that in the Briarcliff tourney?
I am also talking about scheduling for the past few years(no just this year). Since Peterson and crew were freshman they could have played up a few times a year. I just feel this year it is going to hurt them. Rockland hoops was down as compared to prior years and that is all they have pretty much gotten to play thus far. Look I know its not easy to schedule with the constraints they have, but as a fan I would have liked to see it. I also follow the team they are on a crash course with(If TZ takes section) and Harborfields has prepared themselves to make a run at the reigning champ Dewitt. Then again anything can happen in a one game scenario…so I will never count these kids out.
Columbia Prep was the semifinals of the Briarcliff tourney. ... I agree. Burke Catholic would’ve been a great game for both teams. Burke would’ve gotten a look at the type of Section 1 team it could face in the state tourney. TZ would’ve played a top team with a lot of experience in big games. I’m sure TZ could’ve gotten another game in Section 9 as well – Newburgh, Middletown, Kingston, etc.
Almost 10 posts without a mention of the great “MV”. Mission accomplished.
TZ’s team is what high school sports is meant to be all about.
I find it hard to believe that Moun Vernon can make the same claim to legitamicy as TZ. It is a basketball factory and I have serious doubts that all of their players are true members of the Mount Vernon commmunity. It may say so on paper, but I don’t buy it. That is my opinion and I know people will not agree, but that is my gut feeling.
Josh good point about Section 9. They played Middletown last year(I think). So they could have even re-uped with them.
I haven’t seen Burke at all. How do you compare them to Harborfields?
BTW I apologize for hijacking the thread!. Its actually a good discussion, but again I apologize.
Return to 9
So after saying your mission was to get thru 10 posts without saying MV, and then there you go and make a claim that Mount Vernon’s players are not true members of the community. Why?
I think you spend too much time listening to what your gut says than studying the facts.
Return to 9… I wonder how you would feel if a Mount Vernon fan came on here and questioned TZ’s legitimacy. Geez.
HRs… I have not seen Burke. I’m interested to see how they match up with Stepinac. They lost a few top players from last season, but have a few back, including Zach Rufer, the guard who is going to Lafayette. I wouldn’t think Burke is quite as good as last season.
ok now I am putting two and two together. I saw Burke last year in the Slam Dunk. They also knocked off Albertus in the playoffs. I doubled checked their schedule, they play up for sure. Rufer is a nice player. But very very skinny. Step should be too physical for them. Nice match up for Josh James though.
RETURN 9
EVERYONE ON THIS BLOGG IS NOT WHO THEY SAY THEY ARE!!...EITHER!!..
Return to 9,
Mount Vernon 70k people, 1 High School.
Orangeburg 4k people, 1 High School.
Basketball is a way of life in MV. They do not allow their B-Ball players to play Football like Joe L. does very well for you guys. The feeder programs such as the Junior Knights do a great job with developing their talent and teaching the kids the nuances of the game that early. If you have a big population to work with, you can be dominant like MV if you put the work in.
Pok also has nice feeder programs like the T.R.A.C. Panthers and Pok Royals—not to the level that MV has it, but our feeder Pop Warner Pioneer formerly Cardinal Football program is one of the best around.
I saw a nice contingency of TZ fans at the game on Sat, I sat with them and cheered for TZ. It seems like you have a great deal of youth interested in B-Ball so your feeder system is doing a good job. Not much you can do with such a small community but you make the most of it.
Problems are everywhere but I doubt you have to deal with the socio-economical turmoil that places like MV, Newburgh, New Ro and Pok has to deal with so it balances out. You don’t have to chase kids off the streets and into the classrooms or deal with kids that will rather hold a Desert Eagle as opposed to a book so it’s all relative.
Your TZ girls are also doing a nice job.
Return to 9….......
With all due respect to your juxtaposition of a the “pure homegrown product” such as TZ and your gut feeling that MV has been a magnet for attracting out of district talent to its’ school/community, I ask that you take a deep breath a step back to view the big picture.
Students and student/athletes, for myriad reasons have been moving around school systems throughout section[s] and state[s]. It would be foolish to think otherwise. Relative to your neck of the woods, for example, I distinctly remember reading an article about a Mr. Houston transferring to Pearl River from Cornwall schools b/c the Cornwall coach said he was too small. He then went on to carry his PR team to a section title.
We could go on and on about the ebb and flow of talent across community borders and the rightness/wrongness of it. Section committees do their very best to keep everything on the up and up vis a vis eligibility rules. That said, don’t you believe that if Mount Vernon were siphoning off the best players in Westchester/Bronx/etc., that all the coaches would be up in arms over this transgressions.
So I say….......be happy for TZ’s homegrown products and tip your cap for the incredible community to school developmental basketball program Mount Vernon took years to put into place. It’s a perfect, how-to-do-it template other school/communities are envious of and would be wise to replicate.
MVhs65,
Is juxtaposition your favorite word?
No matter how many kids are in your school district in many of the schools ,basketball is not the main sport which obviously hurts the program espeicially when coaches and alot of parents try to focus on one mayby two sports. In Mahopac I would think basketball is the 4th most popular sport in the school behind football, laccross and baseball. Although the basketball program has had some success these last 4 or five years its not easy to get kids to play summer leagues or afterschool workouts Coach Downs has done a great job with it and has spent alot of hours trying to get these kids together. My point is, if you have 2000 kids and 1800 play hoop its better that having 4000 students with 500 wanting to play.
Good point, Rocco. Development and interest both play a major role.
return to 9,
Why don’t you return to whatever rock you crawled out from! Why come on here and disparage a first class program from MV? Particularly because you obviously know nothing about MV and very little about local basketball in general. This is all based on your ‘hunch’???? Please.
I’m sure if you go back long enough every local program has gotten a ‘transfer’ or a kid moving into the area or a kid moving in with an uncle/grandparent – and in most cases those situations can happen without any hint of a question mark. To act like any local program is pristine and others must be flawed is bizarre and clearly misguided. Have you never heard the proverb, ‘he who is without sin shall cast the first stone’?
Another example is the twenty-five year lacrosse dynasty that Yorktown-Lakeland has enjoyed, but I never hear people accuse them of recruiting. Clearly people in those towns have a passion for that sport and develop kids from a young age.
return to 9 is that same guy iona.
return to 9
say what… Is that a reference to the TZ team member who came from Nyack and the Nyack school district when TZ took the gold ball? What grammar and middle school he go to?
Once again we have been drawn into the web of the stupid spider.. I can’t believe I fell for it again….maybe it was the “My gut tells me” line that got us all going.. could that be a clue?
Our spiders fat gut was groaning and needed to be fed..
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain
statesman…..........
I’m flattered that you would even take note of my affinity for the term, ‘juxtaposition’. I prefer it to ‘in contrast’ but in the future I’ll try to have my thesaurus at hand.
Space,
We band together and exterminate the idocrity from the blog. Never thought I’d see the day a Pok and MV guy would join in arms, lol.
Roc On,
People have selective memories, excellent post. No comeback for that one.
MVHS,
Never met another fellow who could use it in a sentence so flawlessly… Your prose os refreshing to the blog.
Space,
We band together and exterminate the idocrity from the blog. Never thought I’d see the day a Pok and MV guy would join in arms, lol.
Roc On,
People have selective memories, excellent post. No comeback for that one.
MVHS,
Never met another fellow who could use it in a sentence so flawlessly… Your prose is refreshing to the blog.
Space Cadet
Gotcha!!!!!
Roc On
Good post. I did not know that. Was that the kid with the tatoo on his arm ?
State and Space
Glad I could bring you guys together.
Mvhs65
You are right about Houston. Moved to play with his uncle. His younger sister plays at Cornwall.
You guys are the best. Go MV!!!!!!!
lol, you’re a funny guy 9.
He got busted so now he makes a positive post. Must not be anything positive to say about Iona these days
Did anyone see the article on MSG V with Coach P from Peeky predicting a championship with his players echoing his sentiments. They could very easily go down in Round 1 with this crazy field in Class A. Bravado gets you nowhere, just play ball.
Somers, Brewster and JJCR have been flying under the radar. Every one in the field is tough but those 3 can take down a high seed any given night.
Roc On forgot about Vines.. good call.
MV, I know you were using the Houston transfer as an example, but there is a lot more to the story than the height thing you mentioned. I know the family well, it was beyond basketball. Either way, good conversation…
I ditto HRs comment. There is a heck of a lot more to Luke Houston transfering . It was not because of his height. He was good no matter where he was going to play. Find someone else to point a finger at.
guys,
im not saying MV is completely homegrown talent, but i do not think Cimmino is going out and actively recruiting kids. For example, Randy Stephens transferred to Mount Vernon and look what happened, he has offers. Bu you also must remember that MV is losing kids as well
HR & SNAKEMAN….
I appreciate your explanations that there is more to the Luke Houston transfer than ‘the height issue’. Sounds like you both were far closer to the underlying circumstances than my reading of a Times Herald Record article. That said, I stand by the notion that it is not so so uncommon that student-athletes transfer school districts with sports as the driving force behind the transfer.
It is absolutely unfair the point the finger at Mount Vernon for being part of a phenomenon that is found virtually everywhere. Unfortunately, human nature as it is, there will always be those who will try to tarnish the image of an incredibly successful program that was built over time with thoughtful planning, tireless energy, and dedication from citizens who take pride in their school/community.
And I would like to echo what jimboslice stated…the Mount Vernon loses kids as well. In fact, how many times have we heard..most of the second string could be starters and star players if they’d play in neighboring districts.
Jimbo… right on point.
Mount Vernon is completely homegrown talent! I think it’s unreasonable to look at the 40 plus year of a Mount Vernon basketball dynasty and say that the talent is not homegrown because one kid transferred from Ossining two years ago.
The Mount Vernon basketball tradition I believe is a combination of a high density population, one high school team, dedicated coaches from pee wee teams over the past 40 years, committed high school coaches over the past 40 years with I believe Cimmino being at the top of the list and good scholar-athletes.
Let me put it into its proper perspective. I firmly believe that Mount Vernon could field another team of kids that did not make the current rooster and that team would certainly be in the top 10 of Westchester teams this year…and I mean easily be in the top ten. All you have to do is go to an open gym at the Mount Vernon Boys and Girls Club and you would see what I’m talking about.
Another point to ponder is that Mount Vernon has lost some of the best players in the county to other schools. You can go back as far as Clyde Vaughn who is one of the career scoring leaders at the University of Pittsburgh and who attended New Rochelle HS, but was from Mount Vernon. You can look at several kids in the 90’s such as Willie Glass who was one of the top 100 player in the country in 2000 and played high school ball at John F. Kennedy, but was born and raised in Mount Vernon. You can look at the projected number one draft pick by many scouting services and current UConn freshman Andre Drummond (6’11) who was born and raised in Mount Vernon as a youngster, but moved to Connecticut when his aunt got a job in that area, but he wanted to play for Mount Vernon where all his friends where from and whom he always dreamed of playing for. We could look at current high school senior Javeed Trottman (6’ 4”) who’s parents did not allow him to play for Mount Vernon last year because of his grades, but trust me the kid was projected be a very good player growing up and I believe is still at least a division II player, but he now attends a high school in NYC with no basketball team because his parents are very serious about academics.
In the past there have been high school players on Rice HS that are from Mount Vernon and I could go on-and-on, but the bottom line is kids from Mount Vernon are homegrown and the coaches don’t recruit.
B-ball IQ…......
Written with passion and eloquence I tip my cap to your knowledge, wisdom and understanding. Your handle of ‘b-ball IQ’ is very, well-deserved.
thank you mvhs65
Does Iona Prep recruit?
Yes. Iona Prep recruits. So does Mount Vernon. But the MV recruits need to get an address in MV and the Iona Prep recruits can live wherever they want…......That is really the only difference in recruiting tactics by the 2 schools
@ Answer – Who has Mount Vernon recruited in the last 40 years?” The only two people that did not grow up in Mount Vernon that made any significant contribution to Mount Vernon BB in the last 40 years is:
Randy Stephens (current senior) – mother moved to Mount Vernon after Randy begged her. Very good player, but Mount Vernon would still be the number one team in Westchester without him
Peter Runge (around 1985)- I believe he was from Pelham, but he attended MVHS because he wanted to play basketball for MVHS. Once again, they had a very good team without Runge, but I admit that Runge made MV that much better.
Thanks mvhs65…I enjoy your post all of the time and I’m just trying to follow in your footsteps.
@ Question – They do recruit, but that is expected because they are a private school. I believe they may have the best overall sports program in Westchester when you factor in all of the sports programs. They have a kid who graduated from Iona Prep named Matt Lyde who is a walk-on junior for the Syracuse basketball team, but take a wild guess where he is from? (Mount Vernon)
I do want to make a ten year prediction concerning Iona Prep and Stepinac to a lesser extent. I believe that if Iona Prep gets moved up to “AA” in the CHSAA that they have the potential to become a powerhouse basketball program. Here is my reasoning behind my statement: I think their close proximity to NYC, sprawling college like campus & alumni with deep pockets will make it an easy sell for area elite players (including NYC) who still want to play against the top NYC players and travel.
I’m not familiar with the coach and whether or not he has the gift of gab, but I just think if I’m a parent and I had a chance to go to Iona Prep and still have my son receive CHSAA “AA” type competition/exposure in a Westchester school setting…that can be a very attractive offering if packaged correctly.
I also believe Stepinac has the same potential, but Iona is that much closer to NYC and it appears that Iona Prep has more athletic-friendly alumni ready to provide financial support if it ever came down to facilities and support as they have done for the football program. I have heard the Iona Prep players and football coaches are treated VERY WELL.
This is just my opinion…would be interested on what some of the other posters think about this
Q & A [likely one in the same poster]......
Mr. Q lobs a softball query..”Does Iona recruit?”
Mr. A responds by throwing a baseless bucket of slop against the wall, that is Mount Vernon recruits too….all the while hoping that something sticks. I guess that skill set places him on a career track for being a political campaign manager.
Either provide us with substance [names] or take your kindergarten-esque, smear tactics somewhere else.
Answer,
Thanks Iona
@ mvhs65 – I thanked you for your kind words in an earlier post, but they are in a holding patter and awaiting approval from the moderator. Now sure why, but thanks again and as I said in that post I’m only following in your footsteps
I think the whole ‘recruiting’ accusations are way overblown. Can anyone comprehend that a lot of kids WANT to go to these schools? And in many cases, there is no ‘recruiting’ necessary. No offense to Ossining, but if Randy Stephens averaged 20ppg there he would not necessarily been a D1 player. At MV, he has D1 offers. Seems like a good move to me.
Runge, which was over 25 years ago, transferred from Pelham where he was playing against much weaker competition. He transferred to MV and ended up getting a scholarship to Manhattan College. He was about 6’8”.
There have been other names mentioned over the years but I hate to even mention them since I don’t know how accurate, if at all, the chatter was. The most valuable transfer I can think of to MV was Collin Johnson. If I recall all the details correctly, he grew up at least partly in MV, but spent his first three years playing at All Hallows with Shawnelle Scott. I think All Hallows reached the CHSAA title game Collin’s Jr year. He left All Hallows to play his Sr year at MV, MV goes on to with the Fed title. MV most likely does not win the Fed title without Johnson in my opinion.
Hoops Fan – Everything that you just said is correct, except that Colin Johnson was a Mount Vernon resident that was attending school in the Bronx and decided to go to HS where he lived and grew up. I believe he lived in Mount Vernon, but on the Bronx border near Mount Saint Michaels.
Another kid from that 1991 team was Dean Marshman who ended up being Mr. Basketball that year. Dean was born and raised in Mount Vernon and lived directly on the corner of Columbus Avenue and Lincoln Avenue. The backyard basket that he developed his craft on stands there to this very day, but he attended Iona Prep for his first two or three years in high school…nevertheless Dean was a Mount Vernon kid
Hoops Fan – Since you mentioned his name, Collin Johnson is in my opinion one of the more tragic stories from Mount Vernon’s basketball history. I have debated over the years with MV B-ball fans because I thought Colin was the best player on that 91 team and was just an extremely talented player who was still under the recruiting radar. No knock on then MV Coach Reiff, but at the time there was not a system in place for the MV players to be recruited and they where normally left to fend for themselves in terms of getting noticed.
With very little to no choices Colin was asked by a local support where he was planning on attending college and he had no idea at the time…just a few feelers. He was then taken to Tallahassee Florida (by a local supporter) and offered a Division I scholarship to Florida A&M on the spot which he turned down because he was looking for the bigger and better deal.
Long story short Colin became involved in the street life and subsequently lost out on many opportunities. He ended up moving to North Carolina and continued with the street life mentality and subsequently was shot in the back and he is paralyzed to this day as a result.
Still in my opinion one of the worst MV Basketball stories. This is why I have tremendous support for Coach Cimmino and the respect that he demands of his players and the pipeline of contacts that he had developed around the country that he utilizes to provide life changing experiences for the many young men that he mentors.
Between spacecadet, Hoops fan, and B-Ball IQ their shared TRUTHS becomes the deafening roar that drowns out those petty, snipers firing blanks in the dark.
With little substance, and relying upon their ‘gut feelings’ [aka: bias against MV], posters like Question & Answer and return to 9, carry no currency on this blog relative to this subject.
SO PLEASE… STOP HATING ON A PROGRAM THAT SHOULD BE UNIVERSALLY LAUDED & LET’S PUT THIS INANE SUBJECT OF RECRUITMENT TO REST!!
josh…....your help please….......
What exactly does “Your comment is awaiting moderation” mean?
If a comment is not laced with profanity nor denigrates another poster, why would it be “flagged” right out of the gate?
Please don’t turn me into a conspiracy theorist…........
IQ.. thanks for that story on Colin. very sad. Great point about how much of an impact Coach Cimmino can have on these kids. I am glad you shed some light on Dean Marshman being a resident of MV. His name has been brought up many times as being the best transfer to play at MV, but now the truth is he really ended up playing in the town he grew up in. I never knew that.
65.. your political analogy of Mr. Q and A is hysterical.
I think going forward I am not going to defend the transfer/recruiting propaganda thrown against the wall. Its too exhausting. Once again another MV thread with life and it’s always good to hear from the wise old men.
mvhs65… There are words that caused problems during football season that I put on a list. If you write a word on that list, your comment goes into moderation. When I see them in moderation, I read them over. I pass them through if they are OK.
josh…
thank you for the explanation.
I am all for the use of rational authority in the service of maintaining civility.
Josh
I do not believe I have posted anything over the last couple of years that have gone into moderation, but I could be wrong. Is it possible the language rules, or moderation words be given to us.
@ Josh, Space, mvhs65, Hoopsfan & others, please read my post from 4:46pm. I would like your opinion on Iona Prep if they move up to “AA” as some have suggested they will next year or in the near future
B-Ball IQ… I don’t agree. Stepinac has a much longer history of success at basketball. Even in recent years, when Iona sent Voelkel, Bronner, Carissimo and Lyde to D-I programs, Stepinac had Taylor, Bolding and Baltimore. Josh James will be next. I would agree with you about proximity to the city, but there’s no train access to Iona the way there is to schools like Fordham or Mount. When you’re talking about players from the city, you need train access. Most of those kids don’t have someone to drive them to school in Westchester every morning.
B-Ball IQ…
An interesting question you have thrown out for discussion…sorry it got caught in the undertow distraction of the non-issue of MV’s phantom recruitment program.
My undergrad diploma may say SUNY ALBANY but my freshman year was spent at IONA College. I always thought there was a natural connect b/n Iona Prep & Iona College, that is to say, that the reputation and success of one component could enhance the attractiveness of the other. This is not to say that the prep school is strictly a feeder program for the college…
but in a long-winded way I am agreeing with you B-Ball IQ…. an AA status for Iona Prep could over time reap dividends with student athletes looking for alternatives & opportunities in the “burbs” that are also closer to home [Metro/Tri-State Area].
So yes, there is much merit in your premise, albeit, they might have to take their lumps initially in the start-up phase of getting the program established. And yes, there is an infrastructure in place…and yes, having Iona College as a reputable academic program in a fairly decent league, the MAAC, wouldn’t hurt either. But the more talented players in a AA venue/schedule would likely use this stage to be seen by mid-major and/or upper tier programs [eg. Colonial/Patriot Leagues/Big East/Atlantic 10/] .
josh….
I know living up in the hinterlands of New Paltz, I’ve been out of the loop for a long time but…..
doesn’t mass transit extend beyond the scope of subways lines? As a college freshman I commuted by bus to IONA….and I believe that there are commercial vans, school vans, METRO North lines, and of course the time and test car pool. Difficult yes, impossible definitely not.
IQ.. Being close to NYC, having a great facility and deep pockets are pretty good ingredients for a powerful program. It should absolutley put them in a good position to be a great program. Josh makes a great point about public transportation and that may be something to be considered. I can’t imagine private transportation being arranged but if the kid is 6’8 240 and hits from 30 feet I am sure there are a few Iona Alumni who won’t mind car pooling.
cadet…...
good point…there are some alumni that would put on a chauffeurs cap in a hot second to help the cause of their “alma mama” [sic]
No, certainly not impossible. But to have a truly successful program in the AA, you need more than the rare player or two. You need to have a bunch of good players at all three levels. Especially if you’re talking about wooing players from the city. It would definitely be easier to take the subway to Hayes or St. Ray’s then a Metro North and then a bus to Iona.
I praise MV and I get crickets. Thanks guys, never going to bat for you again. You guys had a Pok kid named John Smith back in ‘03-04 but his parents moved there so no harm, no foul.
MVHS,
Break up any questionable word w/ punctuation marks. Usually works for me but Josh is pretty hip to these things. My comments on moderation never make it of though while my reckless comments make it through. Technology is a fickle fortune
@ Josh – Great points as space said.
Early morning shout out up to the ‘Burgh for jmoose and his Goldback’s 64-58 point victory over previously undefeated Kingston. Makes for a more interesting and less certain Section 9 AA playoff script. Good job!!
MVHS,
I noted that nice W on the TZ thread. Big win for NFA but I had to apologize to Moose for saying the Section 9 rep has no shot unless MV has a uncharacteristically bad game. I’ve never seen a program who year in and year out can get up for every game with minimal let-downs. That is why they are nearly impossible to beat from a Section 1/9 vantage point. With Kingston being proved mortal by NFA, it reopens the door for Middletown to shock the world.
Still not as exciting of the 12-15 Teams that can walk away with the A chip pending on how the bracket shapes up in Sect. 1
bball iq,
I think you may have a point that if Iona plays up in the AA it could help them improve their program. However, Josh is also correct that Stepinac has over the years definitely had the better basketball program. Iona had that one incredible class of kids – before and after that they’ve been normal. In terms of coaches, Iona’s bball coach is also the football coach. He’s an excellent bball x’s and o’s coach, but if I had to guess he seems more focused on football than basketball. An example of that would be Iona playing AA football for a decade and this year in their first opportunity to potentially play AA basketball, they apparently were happy staying in A.
Stepinac’s bball coach on the other hand seems more than happy playing in the AA and puts together a brutal schedule every year to challenge his team. Coach Philp also seems to do a good job developing his kids and getting them into colleges – we know Baltimore is at Lehigh, but I just ‘googled’ the other two seniors from last year’s team Wright and Chillemi and both are playing DII basketball.
Nice win by my boys! Wish i could have been there. I was stuck on an airplane. I had a feeling NFA would win at home. We have a saying in sect 9 that you start down by 11 in Kingston. NFA lead for part of that game and lost by 7 or 8 i believe. Kingston is probably one of the hardest courts to shoot in with the lighting and backdrop what it is. Not to mention the refs always seem to have there hands in the outcome up there as well.
I wouldnt be surprised if the Middies pinned an L on Kingston either. We will see. Should be an interesting secional tournament. Probably the closest the teams at the top have been in years.
I was not aware that the Iona’s football team and basketball team was coached by the same guy. Being that’s the case, he might have to choose. I do not know any coach (and there are a few) who are more passionate about basketball than football. You want to have a great program, it’s a 10 month commitment. You also need the kids to focus on basketball and not multiple sports. There is the AAU circuit, clinics and open gyms. So many of the MV haters have very little clue on how much these kids play together over the year. Sure you have the super athletes like a Ray Rice and McDermott who come along and play both but that’s not often.
65… some day work a day trip to Queens for the Semi-finals of the IS8… You want off the hook basketball, thats where you go. I’ll let you know.
Uconn checking out Isaiah Friday against New Ro
Hrs…..TZ should have went Joe’s for a game. 2 of the 3 coaches are from blauvelt and they love coming to rock land for a game, partially bc they think they will win and it helps bring more kids to nj but this TZ team could beat them and given them the test vs a bigger team they need.
cadet…
thanks for the tip.
In some respects I’ve lived a very sheltered life the past few decades…..my radius of driving comfort has included lower Westchester, the Bronx and Manhattan. Whenever someone suggests a drive into Queens or Brooklyn I break into a profuse sweat and my stomach gets queasy.
As I inch closer to Medicare my itinerary for hoops has been locked into basketball venues like SUNY New Paltz, Crystal Arena at USMA, Pace U, and of course Glens Falls Civic Ctr. and Times Union Arena in Albany.
It is along trip. Too bad.. The best AAU basketball in the NYC area gets played in front of a few hundred people in a middle school gym. Bodies flying all over the place, and the ref’s let em play. Its the Big East Tornmament of HS basketball and not many know about it. It is where boys turn into men.
MV enters it’s team as a pure HS club and sometimes makes it to the Quarter Finals, but most of the teams are all star teams Gauchos, Play-az out of NJ, Shooting Stars from Brooklyn and about 50 other teams from as far away as Maryland, Conn. Last year St.Anthonys Kyle Anderson’s team flew in Tony Parker from Georgia for the weekend finals. Hate to give you these details, but almost every starter in the Semi’s is D1..
I’ll see you upstate if MV gets there and I’ll bring the canoli’s frm Artusos
cadet,
Bet!!, so long as I’m not being detained by Fidel. My wife and I leave for Cuba on 3.10.
... 2 canoli’s per Cuban Cigar..if you get detained, ship the cigars..lol
spacecadet,
Iona’s coach had been the head basketball coach for over 10 years and head football coach for about 8-9 years I think – I don’t think he has to choose, I think he’s been doing both for long enough and had a lot of success in both sports. He obviously does a great job in both sports. You could certainly make a good argument that the Iona football staff is the best in Westchester. As far as basketball, he does a great job with teams like they have this year and last year – not incredibly talented, but the kids play very hard and very disciplined basketball.
As far as the AAU stuff, the CHSAA has more stringent rules about that stuff than the NYPHSAA apparently. I don’t think CHSAA coaches are allowed to coach their players in AAU tournaments. The PSAL and NYPHSAA allow it. With all the nonsense that goes on in the PSAL with transfers, I’m not sure why the PSAL still allows that. I do think its great though that MV plays together most of the year.