Paterson……. If things go the way they have been going in The Fall league sponsored by the Paterson Recreation and the Playaz Basketball Club, Teaneck Highschool and new coach Jerome Smart have a lot to look forward to! Teaneck’s team has been impressive in their games so far. Smart will be relying on a number of players, but it looks like the main weapons will be his youthful trio of  juniors Chris Jones(left) and Kris Hargraves(right) and sophomore Joel Hernandez. The 6’3  Jones was a starter for Coach Curtis March’s Teaneck squad last year and will be looked on to put up double digit numbers this coming year! Hargraves came on late last year and will be looked upon to control the tempo as he is proving he can do in the fall league games. Hernandez is showing how strong a player he is on both ends of the floor. He will be getting his real true taste of varsity level play this year and is more than capable! Teaneck will go as far as this trio takes them this season!

Paterson, N.J……. Newark Tech’s Jared Hall(right) led The Playaz in the We Got Next Tournament championship game for 10th graders with 22 points as The Playaz defeated Izod 52-46. The guard hit 5 treys in the contest including a 4 point play with 46 seconds to go! St. Benedict’s Mike Young added 11 while Kavon Stewart and Reggie Cameron, both from Hudson Catholic chipped in 8 points apiece. Izod was led by Life’s Center guard Matt Johnson with 10 points and St. Anthony’s guard Hallice Cooke added 8. Hall was chosen M.V.P. in the game. The Playaz reached the chip by defeating the N.J. Pirates 63-52 as Stewart led them with 14 and Cameron scored 11. That help overcome the good play of fellow Hudson Catholic teammate Raekwon Kelly who led all scorers with 20. Izod made it to the chip with a 72- 64 win over D.C. Assault. Cody Jenkins of St. Anthonys had 15, Cooke had 13 while another St. Anthony’s player Josh Brown(pictured) added 12. Notes: The Playaz team and the Izod team possess some of the best sophomores in the state. Austin Colbert and the Playaz Shacore Edwards are considered the # 1 and 2 players in the state, while Brown, Young, Stewart and Cameron are all in the top ten! Jenkins and Cooke showed well, while Hall, Jordan Arthur and Joel Hernandez of The Playaz proved to be elite level players!

                                          Unique Select- 57                         N.Y. Gauchos- 54

              The Unique Select of Long Island won the 9th grade version of the We Got Next Tournament beating The Gauchos of the Bronx 57-54! Bishop Loughlin’s Elijah Boone went off for 29 with 23 of his points coming in the second half. Nick King led the Gauchos with 11 points in a highly contested game. Boone (pictured)was voted M.V.P. Select reached the finals by defeating the L&L Rebels of Pennsylvania 63-34 behind Boone’s 21 points. The Gauchos reached the chip by beating The Playaz 9th grade team 67-61! Chris Robinson led the Chos with 15, while King added 12. Nassir Barrino led the Playaz with 21!

 Seton Hall…………… The Hoop Group had their fall Jam Fest this weekend at Seton Hall University and about 110 aau and club squads competed the last few days. The tournament was for 15u, 16u and 17u teams. A  lot of local flavor was in the building competing and they more than held their own! The Playaz basketball club had three teams reach the finals in their respective divisions with only the 15u team falling in the Chip! The 17u team captured the title by beating Izod 86-78. The finals game showcased St. Benedicts forward Tyler Harris who lit it up for 28! The team was led throughout the weekend by St. Anthony’s Kyle Anderson. Anderson, the former Paterson Catholic standout was outstanding quarterbacking the team. A few other locals on the team who played well were Teaneck H.S. trio of Chris Jones, Chris Hargreaves and Joel Hernandez. The play of these three show that Teaneck will still be a threat for the upcoming season. The highlight player of the team was Montclair native Dallas Englin! the Seton Hall Prep player has the” Wow” factor in his game. The athletic 5’10 player can leave you shaking your head  as far as his speed and leaping ability! Not to mention his ball playing skills which also is top level. The Playaz 16u team pulled off their “Chip” by beating Team Final 56-54 after Irvington’s Shacore Edwards won the game on a winning tip. Edwards is a special talent with a very high upside! The 16’s got their local flavor from 6’7 Reggie Cameron and Kavon Stewart who both are now at Hudson Catholic by way of Paterson Catholic and DePaul’s Josh Marquez. As in the summer, these top players continue to be part of one of the top a.a.u. teams in the country. Each had times to shine during the weekend. St. Patrick’s Amir Maddred, Newark Tech’s Jordan Arthur and Jared Hall and St. Mary’s Connor Cucinelli also played well for the 16’s. the 15’s took a tough loss losing to Team Final 68-61 after leading by as much as 18. Playaz got strong play during the weekend by Bergen Catholic’s Nadi Beciri, Union’s Isaiah Briscoe and Newark’s Nassir Barrino. Other local players who participated this weekend were Justin Harris, Elijah Davis, Vaughn Dudley and Tommy Rivera, who all play for Paramus Catholic. David Burgos, Nashian Brimley, Nasir Crawford, Najee Seabrooks, Shaquille Crawford,  Jordan Smith and Quattier Jackson who all plan to be on the Paterson Eastside H.S. squad. Gary Simpson(Hackensack), Christopher Homsi(Wayne Valley), Sammy Singletary(Kennedy H.S.), Christopher Moran (Wayne Hills) and Xavier Nieves(Passaic County Tech) who all played for the Wayne Wolfpack a.a.u. team. Also playing and looking good was Old Tappan’s point guard Shane McLaughlin who played with the New York Falcons a.a.u. squad. Burgos of Eastside was especially good and created a lot of buzz!