Already, we knew Mount Vernon would send Isaiah Cousins to Oklahoma. But four other members of the Knights’ 2012 Class AA state champions committed recently as well.
Swingman Randy Stephens has opted for Iowa Western, a successful Division I junior college that has a history of sending players to Division I programs. Here’s a list.
The 6-foot-4 Stephens was an all-state player who was named all-section the last two seasons. He transferred to Mount Vernon from Ossining following his sophomore year.
Three other Mount Vernon seniors have committed as well:
Will Robinson, Nyack
Jamel Knott, Dominican
Givvion Jones, Sullivan CC
The only prominent Mount Vernon senior yet to commit is Jarrel Marshall. The 6-foot-6 forward is closing in on his decision and should make his choice soon.
129 Comments
HRs,
WHERE DO I SEND THE CHECK,LLLOOOLLL,RIGHT ON POINT
HRs,
THE NEXT TIME MOUNT VERNON HITS THE COURT,THEY WILL HAVE 2 PLAYERS IN THE NBA AND 2 KNOCKING ON THE DOOR,
LOL.. Wood you are the man. I saw KJ signed a partial deal with Cavs. Jabari def has a shot do you think Sherrod really has a shot?
HRs,
If cousins grows mentally,he has a shot
For all of you that have nothing but negative comments to make, how about you worry about your own lives and let me worry about my son’s life. Obviously you have nothing better going on in your own private lives so you stay on blogs and make comments. It’s really sad to see people so hateful and negative towards a child.. Regardless of what MY decision was for MY child, I don’t owe any of you an explanation!!! At the end of the day MY SON is going on to college for free!!!
AMEN,BOTTOM LINE
Wood,
KJ’s hurt and done for now which I am sure hurts his chances to make the Cavs team. If he was not dratfted (and I think he should have been) then I think that means Hinds and Sharood have no shot. It appears like the NBA is leaning towards 7 footers who’s last names have no vowels.
You can make a nice living playing overseas…
SPACECADET,
WHEN DID HE GET HURT?
Wood/Cadet,
If you’re undersized, you have to be fleet of foot and be able to jump out of the gym to compensate for it. I guess there is no room for highly skilled 6’8ers in a league of 6/10 stiffs. Maybe if he works on his handle and coordination a bit more he can work on moving to the 3. He’s always had the stroke for that.
HRs,
I’m not with you here. I spurned low academic D1’s in favor of high academic D3’s in a heartbeat… Not a snowballs chance in hell would I have wasted eligibility at a JUCO if I had a good academic school wanting to pay for my education no matter the level.
Again, I wish Stephens the best. I’m a little worried about him, b/c my friend Ty Stroman went to JUCO way out in TX and it kind of hurt him a bit. Don’t want to see him go that route if he can all avoid it. He always showed us that he has a good head on his shoulders, never trash talked or showboated on the court. Smooth player who gets it done on both ends. Time to get back in the books!
Mom,
Thank you for coming on. Negativity fuels me at the end of the day. I hope Randy isn’t hurt by some of the comments, I wouldn’t think so—b/c he’s tougher than that. However, it would be great for him to use some of these treads as fuel when he goes to school. All the doubt, all the nay-saying. I hope it fuels him on the court, but especially in the class room. That’s where it matters the most and I know you have had to been instilling that in his mind since he was a child.
If he goes to the NBA in 4 years or plays overseas, God bless him. But the reality for most of us is getting ready for the working world. If Basketball can be a tool for him to get his education paid for him, go forth and prosper.
I use this analogy to the kids I work with in Poughkeepsie all the time… All the skills we have are like keys to a door. The more keys we have, the more doors we can open. I wish him the best, but with him being all the way in the Mid-West, please press him every day about his school works, it matters more than any kind of athletic skill in the end and it can be gone in a heart beat.
God Bless,
Cliff Gardner
Wood, here is the story passed on to me by Mvfan
http://www.zagsblog.com/2012/07/10/kevin-jones-will-miss-cavs-training-camp/#more-76315
SPACECADET,
GOOD LOOKIN OUT,THANKS
Najee Whitehead was at a point in his young life where moving from Mount Vernon was important for him and that’s why he went to a prep school. He tried to return to MV a couple of years ago but apparently hadn’t matured enough and developed a better attitude. Hopefully, that changes and he’s able to take advantage of his huge talent and gain a college education.
Return to 9,
It’s interesting how you single out Stephens and Mount Vernon HS for his family’s decision to move from Ossining to Mount Vernon and used it as evidence that Cimmino will go to any lengths to win a state chip – however – you make no mention of one of the nation’s best girls hs players whose family moved to Ossining and whose presence makes them one of the elite teams in NYS. Ossining would not enjoy the success that they do without her.
Bottom line is this: Families move all the time and to assert that there is something wrong with it is preposterous. Even if (and I’m not saying that it is the case here) the move is made so the kid can benefit from playing at a better program, there is nothing wrong with it.
BTW, congrats to Bob Cimmino on another class of graduating seniors going to to play/attend college. In a school district with a h.s. graduation rate of about 55%, 95% of his players go on to attend college, even if they do not play on the next level. That is an accomplishment that should be celebrated. Sounds like a good story for The Journal News Josh…
Westrock, Mom, Statesman,HRs,Haywood etc.,
As far as transfering to a school for basketball reasons, i don’t agree with it. Especially when it makes a legit powerhouse even more of a powerhouse. In my mind it disrupts the levelness of the playing field for all schools and it creates an inbalance in competition. Thats how I feel. Sorry.
As for Randy Stephens, I have said all along I hope he does well. Like Statesman, I feel his first concern should be academics and then basketball. Statesman makes some excellent points in his last thread.
As you will probably not be surprised and not that it has anything to do with this, i am not fan of univ. of Kentucky or the Miami Heat. Calipari is a getover on the NCAA rules and Lebron took the easy way to a ring. Love Bobby Knight!!!!
Return, your opinion is legitimate. However, speculating and casting aspersions as to why a family moves to another community when you really don’t have a clue is just wrong.
On a related note, the 9th pick of the 2012 NBA draft was a Mount Vernon native (would have been class of 2011) whose family moved out of the city before he made it to MVHS. We can only imagine how good that 2011 federation championship team would have been if they had stayed in MV.
9,
Good points through and through. Stephens came off the bench with some nice energy that spoiled my boys chances of getting the Gold Ball in 2011. I’m not a Sleezopari fan either. Every program he’s left, he’s left in disarray. Come on man, MJ himself could not win a ring on that horrid Cavs team. Took them to the chip on his back when he was 23! The only Finals team that was worse was AI’s Sixers. The way the game is improving and teams are getting better, there is no way he could have gotten a ring if he had stayed. Not mad at him for exercising his rights as a free-agent. I think he learned a major in humility after reviewing the way he did it though.
West,
I’m glad the young man didn’t make it to MVHS, at least Pok had a chance that game!
GREAT FEED BACK AND OPINIONS EVEN IF WE ALL DON’T AGREE,BRAINS ARE WORKING,THAT’S A GOOD THING
States… I will always value your opinion. Although I am going to disagree about the JUCO route as a whole. I had legitimate offers from schools with excellent academic reputations. I wanted the best of both worlds(better baseball as well as academics) and went the JUCO route to try and meet that. To boot, RCC was a big time baseball program. In the end, I went to the college world series, finished 5th in the nation, the offers were better, I got a two year scholarship, graduated and the rest is history.
People shouldn’t look down on JUCO’s in terms of academics. Nowadays working parents are sending there kids to these schools more than ever. Why? Because you can save on two years of tuition. Average cost is so high now(example Pace is 50K a year, Hofstra 55K) that is logical to do if your child is on board.
I second Haywood about the great feedback and opinions. Its nice to read and learn! States did you wind up playing all 4 years?
Group Hug!!!!!!!!!
If anyone was wondering, Return to 9 is in reference to the old days when Rockland was part of Section 9. There was one league with all of the Rockland schools in it, big and small schools. They would battle it out all year and then have a Rockland County Championship. At the end of the year, eveyone went into their class for the sections against Orange county teams and others. It was a great basketball community. When we joined Section 1, I hated it. Ruined a lot of great rivalries. I caught the first two years of the realignment. I remember going to a game at Westlake on a Friday at 6:00 to an empty gym of around 20 people. It was depressing. Took two hours to get home over the TZ bridge. That was a long time ago and Rockland is doing well now as can be seen by last years 3 gold balls, TZ,AM and PR girls. Getting old man.
HRs,
I got you there. When you put it like that it’s a viable option for some. No, I only played for 2 years. Hurt my knee my second year and saw the coaches true colors during the process. I’ve always been academics first so that’s why my mind is like it is. When I visited Hobart, I liked the campus atmosphere and thought it would be a good place for me to learn, grow and develop. I made the right decision from that standpoint. Still have 2 years of eligibility and a possible 3rd if I retroactively med redshirt. I’d rather work then sit in a class now so we’ll see about that.
I did get all of a 300k Education paid for though
. Having a brain counts for something!
States you went the right route and continue to preach to kids about academics first. That is what matters. As athletes, we all have aspirations of getting to the elite level, but in reality like you say 99% will be working sooner than later.
Personally I was fortunate in that I got hurt early enough to realize the MLB was a stretch so I used my skills to get a free ride. I was unique in that mindset though. Most of the peeps I played with never gave a thought to school and took years after playing days to get their degree(some still don’t have it). It really was and is silly. When I finished school their were actually jobs to be had. Now you finish and there is no work! Double silly now that I think about it.
States your a good dude. Be proud. You came from a tough area and have made a point to rise above. Kudos…
HRs,
Thanks for the kind words, never want to slurp myself so I hope I don’t come off that way to anyone. I hear you on that, still a lot of folks chasing a degree and I hope their efforts aren’t futile. I actually worked 5 jobs through college to have viable experience on my resume so I could hit the ground running after commencement. The market is dire these days and I knew I had to do something to set me apart from the pack b/c there was/is nothing for me to fall back on. No family support at all.
You’re a good man too, I never want kids to give up on their dreams. Anything is possible but we all have to be realistic and have other options in case we don’t pan out or getting injured like you and I did. I have to give all the credit to my dad, if you think Poughkeepsie is rough—Kingston, Jamaica is a trillion times worse, helps me strive forward and keep things in perspective. Still have room to grow and wan’t to make an impact on the world that we all can feel.
GREAT WORDS OF WISDOM
I second haywood. People like yourself and your history are the types of stories that should be highlighted. Your still a young kid who is 10xs more mature than the majority of the so called adults that I know. Sky is the limit! Great to hear more about you. Never once did you ever come across as a know it all blow hard. You deserve the best.
And if you still have that itch to play…PLAY. You already have what it takes to succeed after the two years. Plus its more free education to advance in your field. Never want to regret not playing if your still able to!
will robinson is going to nyack!!
i think nyack is a good look for will robinson