Port Chester, N.Y.--Jabarie Hinds electrified the crowd that crawled into the smurf-small gym at Our Lady of Mercy, exploding for a pair of one-handed dunks and showcasing his prodigious vertical leap.
The 5-foot-11 southpaw, a highly-touted recruit, made some crucial plays late in the fourth quarter, propelling Team Frenji to a 98-91 victory over the New York Falcons in the semi-finals of the longtime CYP tournament Friday night.
A boatload of former and current NBA players have competed in this storied event, an annual fundraiser for the church now in its 64th year.
Frenji will face the New Jersey Roadrunners, who scored a 90-85 OT victory on the Gauchos last night.
Duke-bound guard Kyrie Irving, widely regarded as one of the nation's premiere guards, operated the Roadrunners half-court set style. Irving drilled a flurry of long-range jumpers and treys (in Our Lady Of Mercy's smurf-sized gym, perhaps more suitable for a fifth grade CYO team, a half-court shot is a deep jumper on a 94x50 court) and brought that All-America energy into the hoop fraternity environment.
UConn-commit Maurice Harkless, a wiry 6-foot-7 junior at Forest Hills, went to work inside, finishing strong and keeping the Gauchos within striking distance.
For coach Tom Sampogna and Frenji's, tonight's championship game is a matter of taking care of unfinished business.
Team Frenji's title aspirations fell a few points shy in 2008, despite boasting a talent-leaking roster that featured some local 914-area flavor in Syracuse's Mookie Jonies, West Virginia's Kevin Jones, and Cincy's Sean Kilpatrick (who redshirted his freshman season with the Bearcats).
This season, Team Frenji has come in armed to the teeth with high-major Division-I prospects from New York City.
Through the practices leading up to the tourney, the NYC players have developed a rapport Westchester County players such as Hinds, Iona Prep's Vermont-bound forward Brian Voekel, Peekskill's Central Connecticut-bound guard Daequan Brickhouse (who's played sparingly with the star-spangled roster) and Iona Prep guard/forward Jordan Bronner.
Villanova-commit Jayvaughn Pinkston, Louisville-bound Russ Smith, Big East target Kadeem Jack, Oregon State-bound Devon Collier, Big East target Jermaine Sanders, and a slew of others have all been compiled for a Frenji team that oozes of NYC-swagger.
Pinkston, a 6-foot-7 behemoth, bulldozed his way to a game-high 24 points last night.
The Brooklyn-bred baller from Bishop Laughlin triggered a late-game surge in the quarterfinals, barreling to the bucket and putting the game on ice with trips to the free throw line.
The hulking forward, who may not play tonight due to his scheduled departure for the McDonald's All-American game (to be played Wednesday in Ohio), is cognizant of this year's unique talent blend with the NYC/Section I hybrid.
"I've got some great guards in Jabarie and Russ," said Pinkston. "We've just got to show we're the better team. In the end, we're the better team."
Sampogna, who served as an assistant at Port Chester High School during their period of revived basketball prosperity in the mid-2000s, heaped some lavish praise on Hinds last night, calling the lightning-quick lefty a "special" player.
Considering Hinds was one of the few juniors in an event that features the some of the top ballers along the eastern seaboard, that's no small praise.
Sampogna's words certainly resonate in the buffet-line of coaches who've been in pursuit of the Mount Vernon junior, who continues to dissect defenses with stepback jumpers and blink-quick forays to the basket.
To Read More About Hinds' Division-I interest, Kindly Visit the Big East Basketball Report at www.nbebasketball.com.
Hinds' regular season came to a screeching halt when the Knights were defeated by Newburgh Free Academy for the second consecutive season, in the opening round of the New York State tournament.
Newburgh executed an efficient clamp down operation on Hinds, suffocating and molesting the high-scoring guard with double teams. He was held to a season-low five points.
Now Hinds has re-discovered his groove, with the heartbreaking loss to Newburgh drifting away in the rearview mirror.
"It feels good to be playing again after the loss," said Mount Vernon's latest high-major prospect.
Hinds added that CYP is the kick-off of a spring and summer in which AAU ball, workouts, and Mount Vernon's traditional open gym runs will absorb him.
Hinds had a monster summer in 2009, when his name began to measure up on the national scales. Hinds averaged 37 points per game at an AAU tournament in North Carolina and jacked up his Division-I stock.
For the latest on this Division-I stock and which potential D-I suitors are in pursuit of Hinds, kindly visit the Big East Basketball Report at www.nbebasketball.com