January 17, 2008
On Sunday afternoon, six of the top teams in the NYC/NJ region convened at Madison Square Garden for the Nike Super Six event. Ray Floriani and Adam Zagoria took in the action from the event as Mount Vernon staged a furious late rally to edge Paterson Catholic, St. Benedict’s edged Rice and St. Patrick got by St. Raymond’s.
Five players headed to the Big East next year played in the Nike Super Six Invitational. The group included Paterson (N.J.) Catholic point guard Jordan Theodore(Seton Hall), Rice (NY) point guard Kemba Walker (UConn), St. Raymond (N.Y.) point guard Darryl “Truck” Bryant (West Virginia), Mount Vernon (N.Y.) forward Kevin Jones (West Virginia) and St. Benedict’s (N.J.) power forward Samardo Samuels (Louisville).
Earlier this week we had a Zag’s Recruiting Round-up from the Nike Super Six as Adam Zagoria took a look at some of the top potential Big East prospects from the action. Today, we take a look at the notes from Ray and Adam on the action and, especially, on the players headed to the Big East next year.
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Mount Vernon 66 Paterson Catholic 60
by Ray Floriani
New York City - For just over three quarters Paterson Catholic did what was needed. The Cougars were running the break, penetrating and taking care of the defensive end. Then, the final six minutes it all came unglued. Mount Vernon rallied down the stretch to post a 66-60 victory.
Mount Vernon coach Bob Cimmino was hesitant to trap or press the quick, athletic Paterson Catholic. Down double digits with just over 5 minutes to play he had no choice. It worked as the young PC squad suddenly came unglued and Mount Vernon rallied for the 66-60 win.
West Virginia will benefit from the services of a major addition in Kevin Jones next season. The Mount Vernon big man earned game MVP honors with a 25 point 19 rebound effort. Thing I liked most about Jones was when PC’s defense collapsed on him and limited the touches , Jones never stopped working. Some marquee players don’t see the ball and they stop working , or worse, sulk. Jones just kept active on both ends and in the fourt quarter he was dominant. One sequence late in the game saw him sprint down court while PC was in transition and eventually block a shot on the wing. Bob Huggins has the real deal headed to Morgantown next year.
“We couldn’t match their (Mount Vernon) intensity the last three or four minutes,”Paterson Catholic coach Damon Wright lamented during post game interviews. “We just couldn’t close it out. We are young and their (Mount Vernon) maturity just paid off especially the last quarter.”
Notes:
• Cimmino used a little ploy to get Sherrod Wright going.” He’s (Wright) a North Carolina native and wants to play for UNC,”Cimmino said. “At the start of the fourth quarter I pointed out to Sherrod who was in the stands.” None other than North Carolina coach Roy Williams who saw the junior swingman score 13 of his 20 points the final quarter and play a huge role in the Mount Vernon comeback.
• Impressed with Lance Brown who led PC with 16 point 8 rebounds. A junior forward, Brown did a nice job getting in the lane and finishing.
• Seton Hall got a really nice lead guard in Jordan Theodore. The PC senior runs the break well and gets in the lane. Whether in transition or breaking down defenses Theodore finds teammates with beautiful fingertip pinpoint passes. He scored 12 points whit 5 assists and 5 steals. Spoke to a PC assistant who feels Theodore will get appreciable minutes at the Hall either spelling Eugene Harvey or teaming up with him in stretches. “The thing about Justin,”the coach added, “is he also plays outstanding defense.”
• There was absolutely no need to motivate players on this date. “At Madison Square Garden, a top notch opponent, the kids are in a ‘ candy store’ ,” said Cimmino.
• There was no shot clock used in the games. New York state employs one while New Jersey doesn’t. Cimmino was asked the effect of having no shot clock to which he replied in jest, “you mean we didn’t have one today.” Simply, none was necessary.
St. Benedict’s 55 Rice 52
by Adam Zagoria
New York - Louisville commit 6′9 Samardo Samuels came off the bench to score 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting and grabbed 13 boards in St. Benedict’s 55-52 victory over Kemba Walker and Rice.
Samuels earned MVP honors despite being benched to start the game by head coach Danny Hurley, who was less than impressed with Samuels’ behavior during and after the team’s loss last week to Academy of the New Church(Pa.).
St. Benedict’s, currently ranked No. 2 in the Prepnation.com national poll, had been No. 1 and undefeated prior to that loss.
“Sometimes you look at these kids, he’s 6-9, he’s 245,” Hurley said of Samuels. “He’s built like a man, and sometimes it’s hard to realize that they’re teenagers and that they make mistakes.
“Some other coaches would maybe have looked at what happened this week and said, ‘No big deal.’ I got from my old man (St. Anthony head coach Bob Hurley) and other coaches, small things are a big deal with me.”
Walker, a UConn commit, scored a game-high 18 points but also made eight turnovers in a losing effort for Rice. The Raiders were coming off a thrilling 81-74 overtime victory over St. Raymond the night before. Walker poured in agame-high 29 in that game and exerted his will down the stretch.
A Few More Notes From Ray Floriani:
Dexter Strickland of St.Pat’s announced after the St.Raymond’s game that he would attend North Carolina. Strickland originally was heavily involved with Michigan State.
Among the college coaches in attendance was UCONN assistant Patrick Sellers. When he took his seat Sellers took friendly condolences from fellow assistant Orlando Antigua of Pitt. Sellers was still replaying the action of a day ago when Georgetown knocked off the Huskies on a Roy Hibbert trey. “That’s a shot myself, coach Calhoun, our whole team would give anytime,” Sellers said, “and he (Hibbert) goes and hits it.”
Thought St.Pat’s was not too fluid and a little rough around the edges. Still, Kevin Boyle’s club earned a 64-56 win over a good St.Raymond’s club. Kansas bound Quintrell Thomas was a force (25 points) inside and a big difference maker.
St.Pat’s and St.Anthony’s are headed on a collision course in the New Jersey Parochial B section of the state tournament. And that’s one many of us can hardly wait for.
Even with 6 outstanding programs, the Super Six drew just about 4,000.
A Few More Notes from Adam Zagoria:
Walker and WVU commit Darryl ‘Truck’ Bryant may have been a little tired after their thriller Saturday night. Bryant scored 17 points on 5 of 19 shooting in a game the Ravens lost to St. Patrick, 64-56. St. Raymond had been undefeated coming into the weekend before losing back-to-back games to Rice and St. Patrick.
Another WVU commit, 6′8 Kevin Jones was a monster on the boards, finishing with 25 points and 19 rebounds to earn MVP honors. He made 11 of 28 shots, but was just 1 of 10 from beyond the arc.
All these teams will jump back into action in showcase games next weekend. St. Benedict’s and Paterson Catholic will face off Saturday in the Dan Finn Classic at the Jersey City Armory. Rice and St. Patrick would meet in the McDonald’s Classic in Erie, Pa., assuming both teams win their first-round games.
