IS8 Playoffs: Opening Night Notebook
NEW YORK - For a local tournament, playoff weekend at IS8 always gives a lot to look forward to and does so on a national level.
In the ring of honor and the unforgiving confines of a packed house with play-by-play from "The Commish" Mr. Pete Edwards, we'll have eight second round games Saturday and the quarterfinals Sunday with what's usually all the best from the metro area hitting the floor.
But it's not just limited to the area or the up and coming high school stars. The spring season of IS8 usually sees all the college bound seniors giving it their last go around at what I like to call my generation's Rucker Park.
Things got started Friday with the Juice All Stars going past the Playaz Sophomores, 77-61, with 2009 star Lance Stephenson's 26 points leading all scorers and dominant as usual. It was back to Brooklyn for the Juice Crew right after the game as they've got a game at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at IS8 and three later in the day down the road at St. John's in the Five Star Invitational.
Stephenson is one of the premier guards nationally regardless of class after proving himself on the summer circuit while playing up in age for the past two years. He's done it on the school front as well having been a key part in two consecutive NYC public school titles and a state title coming this past year. He's not just potential; he's continually proving himself.
Speaking of playing up in age, it's something he's done at IS8 going back two years to when he started on what's considered by some one of the great IS8 championship teams with then rising seniors Danny Green (North Carolina), Derrick Caracter (Louisville), Curtis Kelly and Doug Wiggins (UConn).
A little flashback brings up a game on this very weekend that season two years ago, where that loaded Panthers squad went up against a Juice squad with Levance Fields (Pitt), Antonio Pena (Villanova) and a halftime arrival from Mike Beasley.
It was a game that highlighted everything great about IS8 - how much talent you can see on a floor there at one time, a player making his last go-round, a game where a young guy makes a statement, and one where you get a big time player making the trip in to test his talents at the underground legend.
Stephenson was relentless that game on both ends, fighting for rebounds with the trees and scrapping defensively while the older scorers handled the point production. A signature play was when he did get a clear look at the hoop and took of on the baseline with one dribble for a one-handed dunk on 6-foot-9 Brandon Walters. It shot off the rim and up to the ceiling, but the intestinal fortitude and tenacity was a typical play at a young age for a kid developing into a player with one of the brightest of futures in the area.
That game was like many at IS8 with double-digit D-I talents between the two teams. It had a player like Fields who was done with his senior hoop season at Xaverian H.S. and set to enroll at Pittsburgh for summer classes in a month's time, but couldn't sit at home and think about being injury-free or just settling for individual workouts when he had the opportunity to still play at IS8 one last season. And you had top of the 2007 class 6-foot-9 Beasley take the train up from Washington D.C., show up at halftime and come in with no warm-up and dominate the bigs of Caracter, Kelly and Seton Hall bound Mike Davis to the tune of a double-double in 16 minutes.
Well, we expect more of the same this weekend at IS8.
The older Juice team features next year's Villanova guard crew of Corey Fisher and Malcolm Grant, the top two prep school players this past year in Beasley and Justin Burrell, and the rest of the crew from the JR All Stars team that won the fall - Memphis bound Jeff Robinson and Seton Hall recruits Mike Glover (`07) and Jamie Harris (`08).
The Metro Hawks sport Top 25 2008 studs Samardo Samuels and Sylven Landesberg, as well as 2009 highly-rated big man Greg Echenique and standout sophomore wing Dexter Strickland.
The Playaz Seniors will have Syracuse bound duo Antonio Jardine and Rick Jackson, two making the most of their last season of play at IS8. The Playaz Juniors have the deep backcourt of Travon Woodall (Pitt), Mike Rosario (Rutgers) and Gio Fontan (Fordham).
The Panthers roll out Melquan Bolding (Louisville), Alexis Wangmene (Texas), Pat Hazel (Marquette), Brandon Cooks (Southern Miss) and Rashad Green (Manhattan).
Mount Vernon will bring outgoing captain Mike Coburn (Rutgers) and returning 2007 Top 100 talent Kevin Jones.
Team Odom has three headed for college in the fall in Tyrone Nash (Notre Dame), Malik Boothe (St. John's) and Andrew Gabriel (Manhattan).
And we'll probably have an unannounced special guest or two joining, like Tywon Lawson (North Carolina) did this time last year and proceeded to leave a mark with the bleacher and baseline filled gym.
We'll mix in some more IS8 history from those who have hung in the gym for years as we bring you all the action from tomorrow and Sunday's full days of hoop.
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