Paterson….. In a NJHoops Journal exclusive, Paterson Catholic junior Myles Mack(pictured) has decided to continue wearing maroon and gold as a St. Anthony’s Friar. In a one on one with the highly talented point guard Mack said it wasn’t easy,but in the end he bonded better with the  coaching staff and he gets to play for a Hall of Famer in Bob Hurley, St. Anthony’s legendary coach. He also will be reunited with his Paterson Catholic teammate Kyle Anderson, who also is taking his talents to Jersey City. Mack, who has competed against the Friars the last three years also feels he has a legitimate chance at winning the New Jersey T.O.C. with St. Anthony’s and that is definitely still a big goal of his. Mack’s Playaz A.A.U. Director Jimmy Salmon is pleased with the decision. ” I’m very comfortable with this decision and feel it will payoff in the short term and long term for Myles and the people who are in his inner circle are also comfortable with his decision” Salmon said. Mack said he had a great three years at Paterson Catholic, but understands that he has to move on and do what’s best for him. Coach Hurley said ” In my mind Myles Mack is the best guard in the state and I feel bad that he can no longer play for Paterson Catholic. But I am excited for the opportunity to coach him and to continue his development into being a great player in highschool and eventually on the college level”

Paterson……The Playaz 6th Annual Blow Up for 13u and 14u finished with a classic battle between the Gauchos of New York and the Playaz 14u team. the game was nip and tuck the entire way, but in the end, the Playaz overcame a 5 point lead with 21 seconds left in regulation to tie and send it into overtime and eventually win it 71-64! Marques Townes scored all 18 of his points in the second half and Isaiah Briscoe(pictured below), the tournament M.V.P. scored 17 and sent the game into the first overtime on a slick dribble drive layup. The Gauchos, behind the play of Isaiah Ice, Chris Robinson and Steven Bush seemed to have the game in control late when the Playaz relentless defense created turnovers late that proved to be their undoing. The Playaz also got strong contributions from point guard Nassir Barrino( 10pts), post man Nadi Beciri (14pts) and Juwann Carter who played strong defense when called upon in the contest. Robinson and Ice were named to the All Tournament team as well as Townes. The 13u game was won by Rhode Island over New Heights 67-53. Donovan Love(21pts) was named M.V.P. while point gurd Austin Paiui was named All Tournament along with New Heights Willie Barnes and Hakeem”Slue” Brown.

 Los Angeles, California…..  The Playaz 17u team concluded the Nike EYBL 13-1 and will be the #1 seed in the upcoming Peach Jam Tournament to determine the top A.A.U. team in the nation. The Playaz went out to Los Angeles, California to conclude the EYBL regular season by playing 5 more games during the weekend. They finished it up 4-1 taking their only loss in the EYBL season.They beat Friends Of Hoop from Seattle 85-69 behind Myles Davis 29 points and 5 rebounds, Kyle Anderson’s 15 points and 6 assists and Desmond Hubert’s 14 points and 5 boards. The next game was against the Arkansas Wings as the Playaz started the game down 19 -0 before pulling it out 65-59 behind 25 points from Myles Mack and 18 from Davis, all coming on threes, including 4 in the 2nd half. Derrick Randall brought the energy with 11 points and 10 rebounds. They continued the next day blowing out D-1 Sports of North Carolina 104-61 which is led by 6’10 wing Quincy Miller, who’s ranked #5 in the class of 2011. Anderson had 21 and 13 assists, Davis 21 on 5 threes and Mack 17. Vaughn Gray chipped in 16. The lone loss came from Georgia’s Southern Kings team as the Playaz took it on the chin in overtime 66-62. The Playaz rebounded by defeating the N.Y. Gauchos 64-51 as Gray led a balanced attack with 18 points. The result is the regular season champs in a strong EYBL league. The Playaz 17’s will now try to finish it up in North Augusta, South Carolina July 12-15 in The Peach Jam.

                          Meanwhile, The Playaz 15u team( pictured )made their presence felt in L.A. by going out and winning  The Adidas Magic Memorial Festival at U. of California Dominguez Hills College. The Playaz, playing without Shacore Edwards were led throughout the weekend by 6’6 Reggie Cameron, 5’10 Kavon Stewart, 6’2 Josh Marquez and also got strong play from 6′ DeAndre Noble, 6’8 Mike Young, 6’7 Amir Maddred, 6’2 Geno Thorpe and 6’4 Connor Cuccinelli. The Playaz 15’s won the “chip” 64-52 over The Las Vegas Prospect. Stewart led them in scoring with 17, while Cameron added 16. They won their 6 games by a 20 point margin in the tournament with the championship game being their closest contest. The Playaz 16’s also played well this weekend as they played in the Adidas Festival against the 17u group. They reached the semi finals behind the play of Dallas Englin, Tariq Carey, Grant Ellis and Davon Jacobs before losing to The Las Vegas Prospect 17u team in overtime.