The 2nd week of the Junior Nets camp for this summer has gotten off to a nice start. We have seen some new faces and some of the same from our previous camp last week. One major difference this week is that we were fortunate to have Chris McCullough join us to help out the Junior Nets.
Our Junior Nets camp at the Summit middle school this week is over. We had a great number of kids who attended the camp and hope to see them back again this summer.
Day 5 was a nice ending to this week. Because of some changes our coaches wanted to implement, we switched up the schedule a bit for this final day.
As always, we started with stations to begin the final camp day. The stations have continued to get tougher, but our Junior Nets were able to handle it!
One of the main changes that we made was to have a sit-down with each of our 5 on 5 teams following lunch to work on communication and to try to bring the team closer together. It really showed up in the games.
Something special we did today was to give awards our for those who won the contests for the day and that showed the greatest hustle throughout camp.
Thank you to all of our Junior Nets for creating a great environment and we hope to see you sign up next week for our camp at the Summit Middle School, where the Brooklyn Nets’ Chris McCullough will join us.
You can sign up for the camp on our home site by clicking here:
The camp is almost coming to a close. Day 4 is done and the 5th and final day is coming tomorrow. As we’ve said, the improvements from each camper has been prevalent. This 4th day was as good as the previous ones.
As we do everyday, we had our campers start out in stations to work on their games. Passing, shooting, defense, post-up, dribbling, and driving drills to start the morning for the campers really gets them into form.
Again today, we had a two-ball challenge and this time, our winner (and Camper of the Day may I add) was Myles! Terrific work today from him.
Something that we are continuing to try to instill into our campers is the notion of passing. The best player is hardly ever the player to score the most. Without players that want to get others involved, a team can’t function.
To end the day, we had the teams compete in the skills challenge once again. You can see the great teamwork and how each player is trying to will their teammates to a win. Here were the winners:
Even with there being a focus on defense, we wanted our campers to continue to improve their shooting. When watching this video, it’s noticeable the leaps they have taken!
Following the two-ball challenge, we went into our 1-on-1 games where we had Myles as the winner for the elementary school division while Kaleb won it for the middle school division!
Following lunch, we got our campers back into their 5 on 5 teams to run some games. It was exciting and competitive the entire time. We continue to challenge our campers to focus on moving the ball to create for others. A great basketball player always knows how to get his or her teammates involved!
After the 5 on 5 games, we finished up the day with the skills challenge again. The Bulls were the winners for the middle school division and had some great chemistry! Love the enthusiasm!
Finally, as we do every day, we announce our camper of the day. Day 3’s camper of the day was Ethan. Ethan showed great enthusiasm, extraordinary handles, and has a smooth jumper! Keep up the great work Ethan!
Day 2 of our Junior Nets camp started off as we had ended Day 1. Each Junior Net showed fantastic enthusiasm for each drill, game, or contest that they were tasked with participating in.
Just like yesterday, following some stretching to get the legs loose, the Junior Nets were placed into groups to go through the same stations that had gone through in Day 1. This time though, the coaches continued to add new facets to the drills to have each kid improve their game.
For example, in the shooting drill today, the coaches helped our Junior Nets incorporate a pump-fake to their game to enable them to have that ability during a game. Anyone can pump-fake, but having a good enough one to keep the defender on his or her toes is extremely important.
Even some of our coaches and Wellington himself decided to step in to try to have the kids get a taste of defending and shooting against a much taller opposition.
Once again today, we had our Junior Nets participate in the two-ball challenge. What was different from yesterday is that we had them continuously switching the two balls between their hands while keeping a continuous dribble.
Luke was our winner today who did a fantastic job and looked like a pro out there with his handles!
Following that contest, we would again get into 1-on-1 games to see who could display their talents. Each Junior Net was able to get multiple chances at going up against one another and we saw incredible improvements by many.
Trey, for the 2nd day in a row, was the 1-on-1 champ in the elementary school division. We’ll see if someone can down the champ tomorrow!
Once lunch came to a close, our campers got into 5 on 5 games. There was much better ball movement from each Junior Net and there was a noticeable cohesiveness between teammates.
Finally, we finished up with our skills challenge once again. Our elementary school kids got a chance to do the skills challenge full-court and they were spectacular.
And as always, we like to crown one of our campers at the end of the day our Camper of the Day because of the hard work they put in, the enthusiasm they showed, and the improvements in their game that we have seen.
Day 1 of our Junior Nets camp is in the books and our unity sports members at Summit Middle School got it started off right today. It was a busy morning for the kids who learned a lot about the game of basketball and how to play it right.
First, they were split up into stations that helped them work on their passing, dribbling, shooting, and footwork.
After each person had rotated from station to station, we got into our first contest of the day, the two-ball challenge.
Here, each Junior Net had to dribble one ball continuously while dribbling another ball behind his or her legs and to try not to lose the dribble with either hand.
Our Junior Nets looked like pros out there with this challenge! Brianna Turner was our winner who amazingly dribbled it 55 times!
To end the day, the Junior Nets were put into teams to compete in a skills challenge. Each team member had to make a layup, dribble through the cones down to the other end, make another lay-up, and then speed dribble back to a cone near their own basket to make a mid-range pull-up jumper.
It’s the off-season and while your season may not be in session, the most important time is now. The training and clinics that you partake in this summer to improve your skills will help you achieve your goals.
This isn’t an easy time. Those who relax and treat the summer as an unimportant season will not be able to improve their game enough to reach those goals they had set for themselves. On the other hand, those who are putting in the work now will see a result during the following season.
These are the toughest of times. The grind is probably getting to you. If you want to know the best way to get through the pain, it is by keeping in mind the end game.
There will be a time when you want to stop and give up. Maybe it’ll be the suicides, the long days, or just getting up early to get on the basketball grind. You must always keep in mind the result that will come from the work you are putting in.
If you want to be the best you can be, you have to train like the best. Every single professional basketball player who currently is in the NBA, put in the work. They had the late nights and the early mornings that you are currently having. People will tell you that you are nothing like them and that you won’t make it.
NEVER listen to those people.
Only you yourself can decide how far you can make it in this beautiful game. Keep up the training and hold that vision of your completed goal in your mind. Achieve greatness and decide yourself how good you can become.
If you are a fan of the game of basketball or are just looking for a way to better your talents in the game of basketball, then this article is a must read for you.
We have finally reached the finale to this NBA season and will be seeing Game 1 tonight between the Warriors and the Cavaliers. Both teams have numerous players who have a specific incredible talent. Today, I’m going to address a couple of those players’ talents.
As a student of the game, we are required to watch these incredible athletes to increase our intellect. Players like LeBron James are so knowledgeable in the game that watching him play will indeed help you become a better player on the court. Surprisingly, LeBron James is not one of the players we will be talking about today. Without further ado, let’s look into those specific players.
Andre Iguodala’s Defense
One of the best perimeter defenders we have in this league, Andre Iguodala is a player that every fan of the game must watch this series. How he defends the ball is exactly how each basketball player should defend. Let’s take a look at some of the tape from the Finals last year to understand how good he is on the defensive end.
Here’s one defensive stop from Iguodala that defines how he played against LeBron in last year’s Finals. LeBron James, as we know, is a player that punishes you on the offensive end. He can almost be defined as unstoppable. Andre Iguodala did a phenomenal job to contain LBJ last year.
In the play above, you can see how LeBron gets a great first step on Iggy, but Andre does the perfect job to slide his feet to get in front of James. Iggy keeps his hands up and does not reach for the ball until LeBron brings the ball down to his waist. Once he does just that, Iggy swipes down with his hands and cleanly strips the ball. Iggy teaches us 3 things that are very important that we must all remember when playing man to man defense.
Slide your feet
Keep your hands up
Reach with a purpose
Look for Andre Iguodala to continue to utilize these defensive elements once he goes up against LeBron again this series.
Kyrie Irving’s Ball-Handling
Kyrie Irving is a fantastic basketball player. One component of his game that we are all mesmerized by is his ball-handling. From the Uncle Drew Series to the USA Practice, we’ve seen it all from Kyrie in terms of ball-handling.
Irving is one of the best in the game at dribbling the basketball and being able to get by the defender with a slick move. We often get distracted by the beauty that is his ability to handle the ball, but what is so great about his handles is that he uses it to gain separation, not to just look flashy.
Look for Irving throughout these Finals and watch when he attacks the rim. Usually, it starts with a good move to get him that little space he needs on the opposition.
Steph Curry’s Off-Ball Movement
We are so quick to look at Steph’s dribbling and shooting when we watch him play. Yes, while those two components of his game might be his best, the one part of his game that we do not discuss is his off-ball action. This component might be the most important.
What makes the Warriors so great is their off-ball movement. A great shooter can’t be a great shooter if he does not get the space that he needs. Sometimes, Steph Curry is able to get the space he needs by his dribbling moves, but that’s not always the case.
First, let’s look at a play that Steph Curry was involved in that led to a three-pointer for him.
Steph has a couple options on this particular set. His first option is to come off that original down screen from Draymond. He decides to slip that and run across the floor to take an Andre Iguodala pick and gain the space on that right wing.
This other clip below is a little more interesting given that it doesn’t lead to a basket for Curry, but rather for Draymond Green.
Even though Steph Curry is widely considered the best player in the league and the most talented, it just goes to show you that even the best still need to use some off-ball action to get the other teammates involved.
In these NBA Finals, pay particular attention to these three players as they can help you understand and learn from the game more.
New Jersey high school basketball doesn’t have an offseason. It has free agency.
Division-1 caliber players who stay at the same high school for four years have become a rarity. Even more rare are players who work their way up from freshman or junior varsity teams at one of the state’s basketball powerhouses to earn playing time on varsity as an upperclassmen.
When one player graduates or transfers, and playing time becomes available, it is has become commonplace for another player to transfer in and take the departing player’s spot.
The constant movement of players has caused a seemingly never-ending cycle of one coach adding a star player to his roster, while another coach has the rug pulled out from beneath him and the teenagers involved sacrifice stability in the academic, social and sometimes, family parts of their lives.
“It’s an absolute disgrace,” said longtime area scout Tom Konchalski on an episode of MSG’s Quick Hits. “When someone’s 16 or 17 years old, they need stability in their life.”
Mike Quick, the show’s host, was equally disturbed.
“Transferring is ruining the game of high school basketball,” Quick said.
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Teaneck head coach: “What? My guy is leaving?”
Leondre Washington, a 5’11 point guard, was terrific for Teaneck in his first two seasons, scoring over 1,000 points by the end of his sophomore campaign, in which he earned Third Team All-State honors from NJ.com.
With two years of eligibility remaining for Washington, and three years of another star guard, Ja’Quaye James, the future was bright for Teaneck.
Then, the news hit. Washington was transferring to Roselle Catholic.
Teaneck head coach Jerome Smart, who felt he had developed a close relationship with Washington, was stunned.
“When it happened, it was surreal,” he said on the NorthJerseySports.com Talkin’ Hoops radio show. “It was like, what? My guy is leaving? This is my guy, my son.
I was bummed initially because I felt like this was the place for him. He was an honor roll student at Teaneck High School. He scored two points under 1,100. He had 1,098 here. He was getting some love. I was talking to college coaches. It seemed like things were going to break for him.”
Smart made it clear that he had no ill will toward his former player and would continue to root for him, though he did not feel that Roselle Catholic was the best place for Washington.
“The other night, he scored two points against Union–are you s***ing me?” said Smart. “The kid was an All-State player. I don’t care what’s going on. He scored 1,100 points in two years and you’re telling me he scored two points against Union? Come on, man. My feelings are hurt for the kid, not personally, because that’s my little man. And to watch this go down–if he was down there dropping numbers and he got offered by UCLA, Kentucky or whoever, I’d be waving the flag probably more than his family would be waving the flag. But him down there, scoring two points against Union, come on, man. That’s ridiculous. That’s ridiculous.”
Smart also added that Washington’s transfer to Roselle Catholic is “not working” and that “if (there was) a situation where he comes back, we’ll open our arms for him. He’s family.”
Teaneck is off to a strong start this season, but Washington is one of New Jersey’s best, and replacing him is nearly an impossible task.
And while it was a shock to his former head coach, Washington’s transfer is just another in a long line of talented players switching schools in the Garden State.
***
Players who transfer without a bona fide change of address must sit the first 30 days of the season, though many student-athletes usually take the court on opening day, finding a way around NJSIAA’s transfer rules.
Transfer chart from the NJSIAA website
When members of the NJSIAA voted down a proposal for a more stringent transfer a policy in early December, one of New Jersey’s most respected reporters, Jerry Carino, called it a “historic day for stupidity” in a must-read column.
Take a look at how transfers have shaped the rosters of New Jersey’s best teams:
Head Coach Dave Boff also called transferring in New Jersey basketball “an epidemic,” though few teams have seen as many impact players transfers in as Roselle Catholic. Since 2012, Boff has had the luxury of having two McDonald’s All-Americans leave another school to join his program. Prior to the 2012-13 season, future Syracuse swingman Malachi Richardson left Trenton Catholic for Roselle Catholic. The following season, he decided to head back to Trenton Catholic, and point guard Isaiah Briscoe, now at Kentucky, would leave St. Benedict’s Prep to replace Richardson at Roselle Catholic.
Aakim Saintil, a guard who now plays for LIU Brooklyn, led the Lions to a Tournament of Champions title in 2013, after playing for both St. Patrick’s and St. Anthony earlier in his career, and Chris Silva, an athletic forward now at South Carolina, entered the fold as a sophomore in 2012. He left Gabon, a country in West Africa, to enroll at Roselle Catholic.
With Briscoe, Silva and two other transfers, Pierre Sarr (Westtown-PA) and Tahir Pretlow (Elizabeth), having graduated after winning the 2015 Tournament of Champions crown, Roselle Catholic reloaded with another group of transfers.
This season, joining Washington is Andre Rafus (#67 in Rivals class of 2017 rankings), a junior wing from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Md., and Nate Pierre-Louis, a native of Plainfield, who is on his third high school in as many years, beginning his career at St. Peter’s Prep as a freshman in 2013-14 and spending his sophomore season at St. Benedict’s Prep.
Neither in-state transfer, Pierre-Louis or Washington, sat the mandated 30-day period.
Roselle Catholic also picked up Cardinal McCarrick guard Gilberto Cue after the South Amboy school closed its doors in June.
St. Anthony – Ranked #8 nationally by MaxPreps
Bob Hurley’s team suffered one of the biggest offseason losses when starting center and Rivals Top 100 recruit Taurean Thompson departed for Brewster Academy.
Thompson’s departure, along with the graduation of current Wichita State wing Markis McDuffie, opened the door for small forward Daniel Mading (#64 in Rivals class of 2017 rankings), who left The Rock School in Florida, along with power forward Samson George (formerly of The Patrick School) and two Nigerian big men, Savior Ogeneyole and Oscar Okeke.
They also added backcourt depth in Eastern Kentucky-bound Asante Gist, who is now at his third high school, after starting at Roselle Catholic and making a stop at Marist.
After sitting out St. Anthony’s two-game appearance at HoopHall West in Arizona, Mading and Ogeneyole took the court for the Friars, while the others sat during the early part of the season.
Despite the influx of transfers this season, the Hall of Fame coach is relying heavily on players who have been in his program for quite a while, boasting several familiar faces. Star guard Jagan Mosely is a 4-year varsity contributor for the Friars, while Shyquan Gibbs earned his starting spot by cutting his teeth at the subvarsity level. Seniors Idris Joyner and Juvaris Hayes have been mainstays in Hurley’s rotation.
The Patrick School – Ranked #7 nationally by MaxPreps
Chris Chavannes’ team had a relatively quiet offseason, outside of the addition of ex-Rutgers coach Mike Rice, who started the season as The Patrick School’s interim head coach, likely because many of the team’s key players returned.
Many of the team’s top players, like Rhode Island commit Cyril Langevine (Christ the King in Newark), guard Jordan Walker (Long Island Lutheran), former St. Mary’s of Long Island big man Nick Richards (ranked #13 in Rivals class of 2017) and point guard Bryce Aiken (Pope John) all wore different jerseys before joining the Celtics.
St. Benedict’s Prep – Ranked #9 nationally by MaxPreps
The Gray Bees lost two young guards: the aforementioned Pierre-Louis and Trevon Duval, the number-one ranked point guard in the class of 2017 according to ESPN. Duval, likely a future All-American, is attending Advanced Prep International–a pop-up basketball powerhouse in Dallas whose team is led by Ray Forsett, the former coach at Prime Prep which closed “amid allegations of theft and the mishandling of funds to eligibility questions about its students,” according to USA Today.
The aforementioned Pierre-Louis, now playing for Roselle Catholic, departed Mark Taylor’s team after just one season.
Replacing them are transfers James Scott, formerly of St. Peter’s Prep and Pope John, and David Beatty, who left Philadelphia’s Archbishop Carroll.
Other notable transfers
Five-star Syracuse commit Tyus Battle left Gill St. Bernard’s to play for St. Joe’s (Metuchen), despite the school having a policy against taking senior transfers
Highly-regarded wing Louis King went from Roselle Catholic to Pope John
Sophomore guard Jalen Carey, who has gotten off to a hot start at Immaculate Conception, spent his first year at Dwight Englewood
Guard Atiba Taylor left Hackensack to join King at Pope John
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Some, like Carino, feel that transfers should sit during the postseason in their first year at a new school, but the players mentioned above will undoubtedly play a major role in March.
New Jersey may not see career rivalries like Bird and McHale vs. Magic and Worthy, but not everybody jumps ship. Mosely and Roselle Catholic guard Matt Bullock have clashed three consecutive years in the Non-Public B final. Notre Dame commit Temple Gibbs, arguably the best player in the state, has spent his entire career at Seton Hall Prep. Shore Conference sniper Pat Andree, who already has multiple 30+ point performances this year, is in his fourth season at Christian Brothers Academy.
New Jersey high school basketball doesn’t have an offseason. It has free agency.
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