tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19038854117481870602011-12-03T00:28:11.182-05:00Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.comBlogger3761100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-19928885224940121792011-08-14T12:27:00.004-04:002011-08-14T13:06:29.058-04:00

The Rivertowns Patch (www.rivertownspatch.com)informed you about two-sport standout Nihad Musovic last week. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound sharpshooting combo guard has arrived at a decision. Musovic will play for coach Tom Pecora at Fordham University. The recent Fordham Prep graduate and former Hastings St. Matthews's CYO centerpiece chose Fordham due to its proximity to his Yonkers home and his

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-74967608741405810422011-07-29T17:43:00.004-04:002011-07-29T17:56:10.121-04:00

Anthony Berardis had a major decision weighing on him. A wealth of major Division-I programs had been in persistent pursuit of the Mahopac midfielder. Everyone from a diddle-eyed Joe to a damned-if-I know inquired about the promising youngin. The contact from coaches rapidly spiked following Berardis' breakout junior season this past spring.Inundated with a drawer-load of recruiting mail that was

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-4857401715579467852011-06-26T16:17:00.007-04:002011-07-06T19:07:22.208-04:00

Andrew McGowan knows the ensuing couple of months will be an uphill battle. The recent Hastings High graduate, who evolved into one of New York State's leaders in strikeouts, is certainly embracing the major challenge cooking on his front burner. At 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, McGowan is certainly not the most intimidating pitcher. The lefty throws in the early 80-MPH range. He did not emerge into

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-52600187773583010492011-04-30T02:24:00.005-04:002011-04-30T03:00:45.177-04:00

Dobbs Ferry's Thomas Fleming entered the 2010-2011 basketball season without lofty expectations. Fleming wasn't mentioned in season previews alongside key impact players on the Eagles' roster. Prior to the season, Fleming's name did not appear on any reports targeting "who's who" in Class B. A last-minute transfer via Fordham Prep (he played J.V. with the Eagles as a sophomore), Fleming was very

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-24036593935891778102011-03-26T12:54:00.008-04:002011-04-29T22:34:42.433-04:00

Team Frenji's Maurice Harkless took off early and appeared skyward-bound as his 6-foot-9 frame soared somewhere between the hardwood and ceiling of the smurf-sized gym in Our Lady Of Mercy in Port Chester.Harkless, the St. John's-bound senior who has opened up new facets to bolster his all-around game, left jaws littered all over the floor as he crushed home a ferocious one-handed jam. Port

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-13409259247257177042011-03-04T22:38:00.003-05:002011-03-05T03:23:51.718-05:00

Jack Bramswig has a deep basketball bloodline. The high-rising college freshman happens to be the latest in a tight-knit, athletic lineage that's left legacies at Pleasantville High School and beyond. Bramswig's father, Jim Bramswig, played hoops collegiately at St. Thomas Aquinas. His older sister, Maggie Bramswig, authored an illustrious basketball career at Pleasantville High. Maggie, who

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-17799396011854284022011-03-01T23:17:00.012-05:002011-03-02T21:23:48.124-05:00

Haldane coach Joe Virgadamo signaled for a much-needed timeout as five seconds remained on the clock. Lincoln Hall, who split the regular season series with the Blue Devils, was clinging to a one-point lead after Kymkwan Hall buried a shallow jumper with 50 seconds remaining. A blue-clad Haldane cheering section that arrived to the Westchester County Center in droves, was collectively on the

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-23625656111414571802011-02-25T01:03:00.009-05:002011-02-25T20:46:59.082-05:00

InsideStreetball.com St. John's guard Dwight Hardy, a longtime presence on New York City's streetball circuit, was once pegged by local emcee Uncle G Stacks as the "Baddest Man On The Planet."Hardy developed the alias while carving up defenders with showmanship during the annual Hoops In The Sun summer tournament at Orchard Beach, his favorite playground court with nice proximity to his Bronx

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-13356474047139197472011-02-24T11:34:00.004-05:002011-02-24T21:04:30.682-05:00

Seniors Chris Brennan and Parris Purcelle have been the go-to options for Irvington since opening night of the 2010-11 campaign, when the Bulldogs relinquished an 11-point fourth quarter lead to Dobbs Ferry.The two scorers have stuffed the score sheet and have forced teams to apply a triangle-and-two defense in order to negate their vaunted 1-2 punch.Senior off guard Ryan Cooper has shouldered

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-8369796380674114142011-02-23T00:48:00.007-05:002011-02-27T11:23:51.953-05:00

Ryan Wagner's shooting hand hung in the air a bit longer than usual. With 2:53 remaining in the third quarter, the sharpshooting Wagner was again playing possessed. Mahopac's high-horsepower senior two-guard had just drained a deep corner 3-pointer, capping a rapid-fire 8-2 spurt that swelled the spread to 49-26. Then, for the first time in over a decade, an oh-so-familiar chant suddenly

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-51585227788269570462011-02-07T13:47:00.007-05:002011-02-17T22:18:50.241-05:00

Heading into the 2010-2011 season, chances of Walter Panas surging into the league's upper crust seemed nil. Following the mass exodus of ballers (June 2010 graduation helped bottom-out the cabinets of Shawn Sullivan's team), success in 2010-2011 seemed about as likely as Charlie Sheen turning down a bottle of Cristal.The team was struck with another off-season blow when high-flying forward

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-35062090154722371742011-01-31T17:11:00.004-05:002011-02-17T22:20:07.353-05:00

In basketball years, stern taskmaker Ed Wallach is an elder statesmen. While Wallach has roamed sidelines, jawed with officials, and groomed a slew of physical, bar room brawling players well before all of his current players were born, he has not changed his approach or longtime philosophy. The man is a defensive guru, an old-school coach who can live with an offensively inept unit as long as

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-61344411260047241512011-01-30T03:14:00.003-05:002011-01-30T03:39:45.323-05:00

While I could have handed out these awards a month ago and in perhaps a more timely fashion, please view the 2010 ZSMART Sports Excellence In Journalism Awards.Coming from a trash-talking motor mouth who has various highly-reputable daily writers pegged as no-talent clowns who couldn't write a crime report in Harlem, please recognize I due give credit where it is due. I do value some of the

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-18374141201720233272010-12-23T13:27:00.006-05:002010-12-23T14:09:05.720-05:00

The 2,611 who made their way into Iona's old-school gym had been bitten by the freezing-cold conditions outside. Inside the cozy confines of the Mulcahy Campus Center in New Rochelle, it didn't get much better. Vermont's slew of snipers created a hailstorm of three-pointers and medium range jumpers en route to a 84-79 victory over the Gaels. Pint-sized point guard Joey Accaoui (23 points, four

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-48386878807506160002010-12-19T15:13:00.001-05:002010-12-19T15:16:08.003-05:00

Jackson Zuvic was thoroughly decimating Croton's defense with his versatile game. The 6-foot-5 guard/forward buried a deep three-pointer to give Haldane a 19-12 bulge with six minutes remaining in the first half. The shot was symbolic of the perils Zuvic's underappreciated scoring prowess presents. Knifing through defenders with forays to the basket, pulling shots from beyond the arc, it all

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-21975258263379460722010-12-07T00:07:00.004-05:002010-12-16T14:52:38.213-05:00

Just stumbled across Notes from the Hawaii jumpoff and figured never too late but here's a Kemba piece I penned a little while ago, before UCONN embarked on their traditional cupcake non-conference schedule.If you left briefly to use the rest room or cop a soda during 37 minutes of UConn's 89-73 victory over Vermont, if you left your seat for more than 35 seconds during the second half 83-79

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-83961759959947899412010-12-06T23:29:00.007-05:002010-12-07T01:13:37.404-05:00

www.rivertownspatch.comFor Irvington sophomore Ryan O'Donnell, the baskets in the Irvington High School gym must have looked as wide as the Hudson River.Wordlife. He splashed treys from the corner, triggering scoring surges and helping wash the repugnant taste of an exruciating overtime loss to Dobbs Ferry--a game in which they surrendered an 11-point lead in the fourth quarte--out of the

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-18479481620378273202010-12-06T23:11:00.003-05:002010-12-06T23:14:45.175-05:00

Whether he was bulldozing his way to the bucket, knocking down a 15-foot jumper, or flying in for a putback, there was no stopping Sleepy Hollow's Jonathon Martin Monday night.Martin, a chiseled 6-foot-2 forward, erupted for a career-high 38 points en route to a 70-44 drubbing of Alexander Hamilton. The Horsemen broke out of an early 0-2 funk to garner their first victory of the young season."

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-16027326308529101602010-10-20T17:02:00.008-04:002010-10-22T11:00:38.321-04:00

Paint Morgantown in 914 signs. West Virginia coach Bob Huggins has scored another highly-decorated recruit from the 914 region's traditional basketball breeding house. Jabarie Hinds, an electrifying lefty point guard hailing from Mount Vernon's rich basketball real estate (which has produced the likes of Ben Gordon and current Mountaineer forward/2011 NBA draft prospect Kevin Jones), has made

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-81334757873177692542010-09-28T15:55:00.011-04:002010-09-28T22:59:53.529-04:00

Luca Cobucci's You Tube highlight clip displays the Hastings signal caller's deep ball accuracy, potent arm, rushing ability, and his sheer nose for the end zone. In his dramatic, five-minute online resume reel, the 6-foot-4 senior is hitting a wealth of receivers in stride. While the highlight package could be pigeonholed as just another under-the-radar recruit at quarterback garnering more

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-51178665156202711862010-09-25T03:27:00.008-04:002010-09-25T10:38:16.054-04:00

In the spring, Tim Soave anxiously approached Dobbs Ferry athletic director Jim Lindsay. A young fullback dripping with talent, the 6-foot-1 widebody peppered Lindsay with a plethora of questions. Soave, a force to reckon with on the modified last year, seemed on the fence about playing varsity as a freshman.A brief conversation ensued. Lindsay drilled some crucial points home. Sold on Lindsay's

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-48544937240248743672010-09-15T21:05:00.005-04:002010-09-16T22:16:58.432-04:00

Historically and currently, Hastings and Dobbs Ferry have been fierce blood rivals on the gridiron. Jam-packed crowds, brash pre-game bravado, and ultra-hostile environments are anticipated every time this immense cross-town rivalry is renewed. There are several other longtime Section 1 rivalries of this ilk, none of which seem to lose a speck of luster throughout the years. There's "The Game,"

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-89759585192676742632010-09-10T11:18:00.002-04:002010-09-10T11:24:44.395-04:00

Look Justin Ciero in the eye and ask him what he would sacrifice for football. You'll find there isn't much that he wouldn't. As a sophomore in his first Varsity starting role last season, Horace Greeley's All-Section quarterback passed for 813 yards and seven touchdowns. He triggered the ground game as he ran the ball for 890 yards and nine touchdown scampers. With a compilation of angles, cuts

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-47028351288673809392010-08-26T21:25:00.003-04:002010-08-26T22:11:34.856-04:00

The fact that it all unfolded during a pre-season game, the fact that Laurence Ekperigin cooked Syracuse to the recipe of a 20-point, 11-board showing in a game witnessed by a local and not national audience, seems to have kept LeMoyne's pulse-pumping upset over Syracuse in the dark. A small Division-II college, LeMoyne is located in Syracuse. For lifetimes, the Dolphins have been the slept-on,

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-63056781170804786292010-07-09T09:49:00.006-04:002010-07-09T10:08:38.805-04:00

The whole world is hating on this man. Newly-minted no.6 morphed from the golden child to more of a Knick villian than Reggie Miller in a matter of seconds. The whole world, not even the self-anointed basketball gurus. Even those who couldn't tell you who Bernard King or Kareem or Bill Russel is, has voiced their opinion and lambasted LBJ for supposedly tarnishing his basketball savoir,

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-68382032600440582802010-06-25T12:53:00.005-04:002010-06-28T19:12:33.448-04:00

At the start of his senior year at Hastings, football/lacrosse standout Luke D'Alessandro and Middlebury College seemed like a done deal. D'Alessandro was instantly sold on the D-III program and the Vermont college's scenic campus, which is located near some of the avid snowboarder's favorite ski mountains and snow parks. A top-notch education, the opportunity to prolong his career in both

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-67035270314066189002010-06-06T01:01:00.004-04:002010-06-08T11:45:05.911-04:00

Kadeem Jack arrived two quarters late to the Frenji’s Frankie Williams Charity Classic in the village of Greenburgh, N.Y., but it didn’t take the sinewy 6-foot-9 senior much time to register his presence.As soon as he checked into the run-and-gun, high-scoring affair that went into the 100s at the Theodore D. Young Community Center (it was "who's who" of the city's top-flight ballers), Jack

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-48298664969461693242010-05-28T00:06:00.005-04:002010-06-08T12:04:45.240-04:00

It was a slugfest from the get-go, with Mahopac and Lakeland-Panas both showing up to the Wild Wild West shootout with some significant ammo. A game of this magnitude was supposed to play out this way. Both teams are front-loaded with mudslingers capable of scoring goals by the bundles. When they're toting the hot sticks, each team can reel of a rapid-fire run. In the end, Lakeland's spurt was

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-63300953986787048352010-05-24T13:08:00.005-04:002010-05-24T13:52:30.494-04:00

For MAHOPAC, consistency and sustaining a lead is a critical factor this post-season. The 'Pac is slated for a date with White Plains in the first round of the playoffs. On paper and entertainment value-wise, the game should be bigger than the boot the cops put on Delonte West's car. The Tigers defeated the Indians last year in a signature upset. The win was essentially the high-water mark of

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-14205962812396535362010-05-22T16:16:00.012-04:002010-05-23T00:46:28.434-04:00

A lot of folks tend to hide from cameras. No, really. They do. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, as you know. And so that was the unusual case Friday afternoon, as the sight of the Yorktown boys lacrosse team concluding practice on the softball field became that picture open to revisits and endless interpretation. Yet there were the Huskers, a storied program on Section I/New York

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-88753741245009425832010-05-22T15:03:00.008-04:002010-05-23T00:43:57.792-04:00

The recruiting process was a long and at-times topsy-turvy one for DePaul Catholic (N.J.) guard Wally Sajimi. Now at long last, Sajimi has found a new home in NCAA Planet Hardwood. Sajimi committed to Cleveland State this week, as Gary Waters secured a late addition to his 2010 recruiting class. The NBE Basketball Report (www.nbebasketball.com) first broke the story yesterday. That's right Zaggy

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-87138132604917480622010-05-22T13:38:00.004-04:002010-05-23T01:42:54.785-04:00

Banners which read "We Love Our Seniors" and "Good Luck Seniors" decorated the fence of Yorktown's softball field Wednesday night, as the Huskers' slew of significant seniors gathered for the annual Senior Day festivities. Fitting for the occasion, because every one of the seniors had a hand in the Huskers' 6-1 shellacking of Lakeland. Yorktown swept the home-and-home series, having scored a 9-2

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-84203073508864968872010-05-22T11:32:00.006-04:002010-05-22T12:23:01.298-04:00

His fingers were so frozen by the biting-cold, Johnny van de Veerdonk had trouble gripping his stick at times. In the end it wouldn't matter.With the relentless rain, the drenched field at Putnam Valley High, and the slip-and-slide conditions, van de Veerdonk still managed to register his presence as a freakish freshman. The promising young gun and little brother of Oneonta State freshman

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-8336150508404941142010-05-16T02:00:00.002-04:002010-05-16T02:04:27.808-04:00

Assessing the Class A lacrosse landscape is a daunting task these days, one that's open to more debate than a hipster-laden liberal law house when the conservatives come calling. A selefect few have pole vaulted into the Section's upper-crust in Class A. As of now, however, Yorktown and Lakeland-Panas seem to be atop the mountain with a slew of scorers, depth, deft position players, and

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-8634469354673215312010-03-31T15:03:00.012-04:002010-04-01T00:08:28.575-04:00

With all the whispers of wonder about freshly-acquired St. John's coach Steve Lavin's ability to alter the perception of the ailing program, the primary concern is how Lavin will surface as a local presence. How can the West Coaster stamp his imprint on New York's AAU terrain? How will Lavin, who's unfamiliar with the coaches and important figures of the rich grass-roots soil, grow an upper hand

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-43508518079190890982010-03-29T15:37:00.016-04:002010-04-06T04:00:45.415-04:00

Four years ago, I was getting my local scribe teeth cut at the Rivertowns Enterprise--a quad-village weekly and local presence out of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.-- when I first met Billy Starr. Billy was still a high school kid, working afternoons and evenings at the Tarrytown Bakery. The now-defunct joint served mouth-watering delicious food and sugar-laden treats (if you saw a picture of me lately, you

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-66816043274490190492010-03-27T19:14:00.015-04:002010-03-29T11:55:19.559-04:00

The Exceptional Seniors All Star Game is a grand opportunity to get the competitive juices flowing, with and against some of Section I's elite, for one final game on the high school level. In additon to being a battle between the area's significant seniors, the game is a memorable sendoff. It's a last dance, before the class of 2010's ballers open up the next chapter of their lives. For Lakeland

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-9054078721920565782010-03-27T15:16:00.009-04:002010-03-29T12:09:30.988-04:00

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

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-34576624599392692982010-03-25T14:44:00.006-04:002010-03-26T17:59:58.760-04:00

In his final season of high school basketball, Horace Greeley's Adam Honig went from key contributor to three-point assailant. His emergence as a dead-eye sniper ran parallel with Greeley's ascent to the county's upper-echelons. A 6-foot-1 off guard, the onus was on the sharp-sniping Honig to lead by action on the hardwood and by his vocal presence and motivation off it. That he did. The

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-17199281331571783092010-03-24T14:52:00.012-04:002010-03-25T12:06:55.905-04:00

It's going to be an accurate depiction of "how the other half lives" tomorrow night, when Cornell looks to prolong the best NCAA tournament run by an Ivy League team since Tony Price-led Penn earned a berth in the 1979 Final Four. Their opponent? Kentucky, which has taken the world by wildfire this season under John Calipari. It's Cornell, a slew of bookworms with grand aspirations to make big

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-33267093541532602492010-03-17T19:08:00.012-04:002010-03-18T13:51:30.956-04:00

It's a wild day to be a Seton Hall fan. The media circus is headed towards the New Jersey-based University, where the controversy continues. It started with Herb Pope twice delivering a between-the-legs cheapshot and getting ejected. It quickly followed with the immediate dismissal of Bobby Gonzalez. Now, the latest torrent of terrible publicity comes after Robert Mitchell was arrested on charges

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-79707256449392704422010-03-17T17:26:00.003-04:002010-03-17T20:29:46.603-04:00

With Vanderbilt-bound Center Tori Jarosz fresh off a dominant, 34-point eruption in a squeaker over Albertus Magnus in the Section I/Class A semi-final, all Peekskill eyes were pasted on Lakeland's 6-foot-4 forward on the big Westchester County Center stage in the Section I championship.Apparently, the Red Devils didn't get the scouting report on Vicky Kowalski, a streaky shooter who can blaze up

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-5617982056841465032010-03-17T15:33:00.007-04:002010-03-17T22:10:29.826-04:00

In a wowing move following Seton Hall's humiliating loss to Texas Tech in the opening round of the NIT, Seton Hall has fired men's basketball coach Bobby Gonzalez.With all the attention centered on embattled St.John's coach Norm Roberts and Fred Hill, whose paltry overall record would indicate his days at Rutgers are numbered, who would of thought Gonzalez would get his pink slip first? Seton

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-40556920876312288742010-03-12T15:40:00.006-05:002010-03-13T16:06:35.085-05:00

With Vanderbilt-bound center Tori Jarosz fresh off a 34-point eruption in the semi-final victory, all Peekskill eyes were pasted on the sweet-stroking 6-foot-4 forward from Lakeland.This was before the bright, big-stage lights of the County Center in the much-anticipated Section I championship. Suddenly, Peekskill's operation to lock up Jarosz was to no avail. The Red Devils clearly didn't get

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-3781048701453464952010-03-09T13:16:00.004-05:002010-03-13T16:43:07.686-05:00

Dominique Jones, who finally garnered a First Team All Big East selection this season, is pacing the Bulls with 14 of South Florida's 34 points. DoJo has also contributed five boards as the Bulls lead, 34-22 with 15 minutes remaining. Mike Mercer has already eclipsed his season average with 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting. The DOJO-Mercer tandem accounted for 22 of South Florida's 30 first half

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-63487390770962443402010-03-09T11:37:00.004-05:002010-03-13T16:42:49.123-05:00

Last summer, I wrote a piece for SLAMonline about Dominique Jones, South Florida's prolific scoring guard who faded into obscurity while the Big East became the talk of the town last season. The Story, "Bulls Eye," speaks of Dominique Jones' desire to be a jack-of-all-trades type of player. He didn't want to be classified as a scorer or a go-to-guy and his gaze was shifted towards helping the

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-60828359894193056132010-03-08T14:00:00.003-05:002010-03-08T14:10:39.414-05:00

"Shot doctor" has grown from workaday Westchester basketball terminology to one of the most overused household hoops cliches. Terry Teachout, a Yorktown native who's helped catapult Westchester/Putnam County grassroots basketball to new heights, knows better than anyone. Teachout, the president and founder of Teaches Basketball Camps and the personal trainer of New York Knicks All-Star David

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-83650760239011719232010-03-04T13:36:00.012-05:002010-03-06T13:44:22.946-05:00

Jabarie Hinds has been the centerpiece of this year's Mount Vernon squad, one which underwent oft-noticed "growing pains" and "setbacks." The 914-area's rich basketball real estate, Mount Vernon is where excellence is expected and hanging a banner in the gym is annual tradition. There were no setbacks last night. No growing pains and no learning experiences for this callow Mount Vernon team, one

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-19677906160522725602010-03-01T12:47:00.019-05:002010-03-03T00:21:10.222-05:00

Edgar Sosa and Kemba Walker, a pair of electrifying NYC playground-bred guards, got their baller's teeth cut while playing for the Gauchos on the AAU circuit.Gaucho gym, rich basketball real estate (see Strickland, Rod or Marbury, Stephon for more on the program's OG's), can be pegged as a bandbox joint with one-sided stands in an Ampitheater-type atmosphere. Sosa and Walker put in countless

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-11025213072701092512010-02-26T17:26:00.010-05:002010-02-26T20:19:42.545-05:00

The Westchester County Center is where down-to-the-wire battles are in, and blowouts are out. My bad to all you Jersey Shore folks reading this, I know how much y'all like to see "blowouts" employed in every way manageable. The White Plains Counter Center, known better as "The Barn That Ben Built"--an obvious reference to famed Detroit Piston guard Ben Gordon, the former Mount Vernon boy wonder--

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-57444492740296358582010-02-23T11:15:00.022-05:002010-02-25T22:50:23.859-05:00

On UConn's very first game of the 2009-10 campaign, a shaky win over William & Mary, coach Jim Calhoun called into question Stanley Robinson's confidence and coachability."Stanley has a little problem with my advice," said Calhoun that mid-November night. "I said to him, 'Stanley, stop taking contested shots.' So when he passed on four shots he said 'coach, you don't want me to shoot right now...

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-1383990118217269192010-02-21T14:37:00.003-05:002010-02-21T14:39:43.997-05:00

Brittany Horne abused Our Lady of Lourdes all night, bulldozing her way to a game-high 20 points and 15 rebounds, as the smooth and sinewy forward was virtually uncontainable on the blocks. Yet it was Carmel's Sabrina Diaz and Marie Mullen who ended up having the cool, calm composure for the clutch. Mullen drained a titanic three-pointer from the left corner with 54 seconds remaining,

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-90840694557970996942010-02-19T17:08:00.018-05:002010-02-20T21:28:24.710-05:00

Tavon Sledge has become a sought after item on the recruiting market.Since the high-flying speedster transferred to Half Hollow Hills (word around the blazing Long Island beach fire, the Spring Valley, N.Y. native is allegedly staying at the Dix Hills home of teammates Tobias and Tyler Harris) Sledge's stock has shot up more than A-Rod and a Long Island juicehead. A slew of Big East schools, West

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-90098304698766317932010-02-17T14:02:00.005-05:002010-02-17T14:35:44.412-05:00

When Seton Hall rolls into Carnesecca Arena today, Bobby Gonzalez should have more on his mind than the shoebox-like, congested arena that he detests. In fact, the campus gym Bobby G sees as a huge downgrade from the bright lights of Madison Square Garden could eventually serve in Seton Hall's favor. That is, if Jeremy Hazell develops the hot hand and starts scorching the nets at will, dialing in

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-12666825812169243812010-02-15T13:16:00.012-05:002010-02-16T23:49:06.654-05:00

My ability to chew the fat has always been one of my stronger qualities. Word up. I take pride in having the ability to engage whoever it is in a hoop hearsay-enriched conversation. On the playground scene, I dribble with my mouth. All day during the PrimeTime Shootout at Trenton, N.J., I mentioned the scoring prowess of sharpshooting guard Doron Lamb, a hotly pursued product on the recruiting

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-54087558433711357362010-02-10T19:10:00.016-05:002010-02-15T00:29:02.278-05:00

A cluster of cliches have become the Norm for St. John's coach Norm Roberts. Roberts' claim that he chose the "path" this team is on, and that it was his decision to recruit a rack of freshman two years ago is one big smokescreen for SJU's Big East cellar-dwellar status. It can't always be manana. New York City wants its basketball team back and that can't wait until another year, when SJU will

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-69674691464607066422010-02-08T21:49:00.011-05:002010-02-16T16:58:13.536-05:00

Antoine Mason infected the nooks and crannies of Mount Vernon's offense, stalling their chemistry while helping instigate a tide of untimely turnovers. New Rochelle found themselves in a familiar situation. They came roaring back from a 13-point deficit, reeling off an eye-popping 32-9 power surge in the game's final eight minutes, en route to a 77-67 victory over blood-rival Mount Vernon Monday

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-11263036238241581952010-02-07T11:08:00.007-05:002010-02-07T14:07:17.531-05:00

It couldn't have been more apparent Friday night, as the Lakeland Hornets avenged a loss against league rival Carmel. If Tori Jarosz is Jordan, Kristin Pappalardo has got to be Pippen. That may seem a bit far-fetched to y’all, albeit Jarosz' game-altering second half eruption was akin to Jumpman23. Jorosz smooth second half supremacy provided the mammoth momentum-shift, changing the course of

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-20451852715442393612010-02-04T16:11:00.006-05:002010-02-16T15:29:21.145-05:00

Matt Pihotta is certainly not a loquacious, loud, or outspoken kid. No sir. Not by any stretch of the imagination. The Lakeland two-guard allows his game to handle the talking aspect, particularly when he's splashing the nets from beyond the arc and burying teams under a barrage of three-pointers. He catches fire rapidly and his sharpshooting has rendered him game-changer. Though his demure

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-63608431555438459182010-02-03T14:56:00.005-05:002010-02-05T15:29:12.164-05:00

Just when they snapped a brutal five-game skid Putnam Valley suffered another setback with a 74-53 loss to Class AA Ossining. Still, they program is moving in the right direction. I'm not trying to sound like a spin doctor Public Relations guy (this is not St. John's University, folks!!!!)or a huckster here, but Putnam Valley has come a long way. Despite the recent rough patch they've hit, the

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-27283978643380058082010-02-03T02:05:00.003-05:002010-02-03T02:08:22.687-05:00

Jermaine Sanders is only a junior.Folks tend to forget that…When Sanders was burying medium-range jays, dialing in from downtown, or cutting into the nooks and crannies of defenses to drop teary left-handed floaters during BASKETBULL’s National Invitational at Springfield, Mass. and New Heights’ Summer In The City, his class of 2011 status was an afterthought. This oil-smooth young gun plays with

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-55102992073240585842010-02-02T16:10:00.012-05:002010-02-02T21:47:34.658-05:00

Henry Weltman and the Lakeland Hornets had been anticipating a performance of this ilk from Chris Fazio. It was a time bomb, just a matter of ticks before the high-volume scoring guard/forward's explosion was felt by the Section I masses. Fazio turned in a triple double Monday night, scoring 16 points, pulling down 11 boards, and dishing out 10 dimes. His show-stealing performance helped catapult

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-49737047931522102812010-01-30T19:56:00.014-05:002010-01-31T01:15:01.148-05:00

Matt Townsend's emergence as one of the county's elite forwards on the hardwood has run parallel with his immense success in the classroom. The Greeley junior is averaging 18.1 points on the New York State Section I/Class A circuit and has materialized into a sought after product on the Ivy League recruiting agora. A slew of Ivy League schools--Yale, Harvard, and Penn to name a few--have

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-83842970656880097142010-01-27T22:30:00.003-05:002010-01-27T23:14:48.004-05:00

The UConn Huskies were playing with house money. So we thought... After thrashing St.John's to the tune of a 16-point runaway win during their first game without Hall of Fame game general Jim Calhoun (who was advised by his doctor to take a medical leave of absence), the Huskies scored their first signature win of the season. The Huskies pulled off a titanic upset of Texas at Gampel Pavilion,

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-85048285811975753332010-01-21T17:40:00.004-05:002010-01-21T17:48:58.472-05:00

Kemba Walker can admit it.The kid they call EZ Pass hasn’t been operating UConn’s offense the way CT folks envisoned the Rucker Regular would the past few weeks, and UConn’s three-headed monster of Walker-Stanley Robinson-Jerome Dyson hadn’t been leading the way they were supposed to during the program’s first three-game slide in three years."(Coach Blaney) told us (Walker, Dyson, Robinson) we're

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-35257127980137991322010-01-20T10:21:00.001-05:002010-01-20T10:23:09.928-05:00

All day word hung around mid-town about the eyeball-to-eyeball matchup featuring Bishop Loughlin’s JayVaughn Pinkston and Half Hollow Hills’ Tobias Harris, two of the nation’s elite. It was a heavily-billed blood-feud, with high expectations, hype and hearsay about the two stallions rapidly becoming the talk of the town.These cats skyrocketed to the national visibility mountaintop following a

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-26641682543350975842010-01-05T09:41:00.003-05:002010-01-05T12:45:41.180-05:00

Is it really 'nothing personal?'Mike D'Antoni claims Nate Robinson's permanent perch in the D'Antoni Doghouse during a 14-game span in December was not personal. The decision to ditch Robinson in the doghouse, to bury him on the bench while players who've done considerably less for the organization ate up all his minutes, was solely based on D'Antoni trying to refine, regulate and unravel a

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-48475290066602365172010-01-02T15:45:00.003-05:002010-01-04T00:36:48.336-05:00

Jabarie Hinds: A Knight To RememberPosted using ShareThisThe latest product of Money Earnin’ Mount Vernon–Westchester County’s rich hoops real estate–is blink-quick 5-11 guard Jabarie Hinds.After cooking cats to the recipe of 37 points per during Bob Gibbons AAU tournament in North Carolina this summer, Hinds has embraced the high-volume scorer within him.After playing Pippen to Sherrod Wright’s

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-14137019536150975782010-01-01T00:06:00.006-05:002010-01-01T01:30:00.454-05:00

Ater Majok's name is littered all over college basketball websites and magazines canvassing who's who in the Big East. UConn's 6-foot-11, 23-year-old freshman center was very much a mystery to the NCAA last year. Majok briefly tested the NBA waters after being ruled ineligible (due to NCAA clearing house issues) for the 2008-09 campaign. After finding that his stock did not register on the NBA

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-32123174666034760752009-12-28T00:12:00.016-05:002009-12-29T13:54:37.845-05:00

As 2009 slowly winds down, I witnessed the jumpoff-turned-dumpoff of the century at the famed Westchester County Center in White Plains, N.Y. tonight. It was a wild washout few could have envisioned. White Plains, a reputable Section I program which traditionally churns out Division I talent, was expected to defend their castle at the annual Slam Dunk Challenge. North Rockland unleashed the

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-77746825507792025872009-12-21T16:06:00.008-05:002009-12-21T17:52:54.578-05:00

Having piloted the Lakeland High (Shrub Oak, N.Y.) program through a period of of lady hoops prosperity, Hornets coach Steve Fallo has groomed a torrent of talent. He references key players from Lakeland's 2007 state championship team, as well as notable guards who altered the perception of the program. So, when asked if Vanderbilt-bound forward Tori Jarosz is the best player he's ever coached,

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-44106361060170273552009-12-18T15:06:00.003-05:002010-01-24T01:19:14.351-05:00

Discussing DaJuan Coleman’s rapid ascension to the upper mantle of the nation’s future stars, Syracuse Select AAU Coach Shawn Pudney abruptly cuts himself off in mid-sentence. “Did you see DaJuan two years ago?” Asks Pudney, stabbing me with a glance as serious as Coleman’s beefed up recruiting package. “He was terrible.” A Lack of grit, coupled with Coleman’s struggles grasping the game’s

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-26786795038144143472009-12-14T11:47:00.013-05:002009-12-17T01:26:14.471-05:00

I've said all along that Lavoy Allen, a budding NBA prospect on Temple, is the real deal Holeyfield. I watched the 6-foot-9 forward outplay Georgetown's Greg Monroe, significantly, at the Verizon Center while I was down in D.C. Allen, who jumps so high he can kiss the clouds, got the better of Monroe, tearing down rebounds over the crafty 6-foot-11 forward while exploding to the tin. He stole the

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-18506400365156444372009-12-11T16:05:00.005-05:002009-12-11T22:47:39.639-05:00

Is a St. John's resurgence amongst us? Well, SJU certainly doesn't have anyone drinking the Cool Aid yet, albeit the Johnies are off to their best record in recent memory. While the 7-1 Red Storm may have played Duke tough, SJU has yet to see another formidable foe. They defeated an SEC cellar-dweller in Georgia (one which exposed them at times) during the JV game before a half-empty Madison

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-40902570642994916892009-12-10T02:15:00.009-05:002009-12-10T03:55:42.473-05:00

All day word hung around midtown about the nation's top collegiate player--who surely would have sidestepped the college experience and bolted to the NBA from high school (if not for David Stern's age rule)--lighting up Madison Square Garden. UConn v.s. Kentucky, John Wall at the Garden. The latter seemed like the perfect match.John Wall. The projected first pick of the 2010 draft. A human

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-1177646883341814492009-12-09T15:47:00.004-05:002009-12-09T16:09:22.755-05:00

No question, John Wall is an NBA player sporting a Kentucky uniform. Yes, he's a freakish athlete and the surefire first pick of the 2010 NBA draft. Yes, Wall will likely put on a show on the big stage at Madison Square Garden tonight. Yes, Wall's averaging 18.1 points and 7.7 dimes (second in the nation) and will surely be the most gifted player on the court in tonight's BIG EAST/SEC

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-4939016205277272602009-12-08T13:37:00.009-05:002009-12-22T00:41:25.825-05:00

It's the blood feud renewed. The Recruiting Railsplitters' Battle Royale. This year, however, the faceoff between the two titanic tigers migh as well be the battle of the cheetahs. The supreme battle between the rule book-bending college basketball bullies. Jim Calhoun and John Calipari, two blood rivals who scour the land for the same top-notch recruits year in and year out, have each

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-76894760073300992842009-12-07T12:34:00.006-05:002009-12-07T12:49:30.700-05:00

ZSmart Sports had a Q&A session with SNY's Adam Zagoria, the operator of www.zagsblog.com. Zags spoke with us about the state of the New York Knicks franchise. Mr. Zagoria is the Knicks beat writer for NBA.Com. His work has been featured in a variety of sources, Sports Illustrated, SLAM, and ESPN The Magazine, to name a few. ZS: What's the best Knicks team you've ever seen?AZ: I grew up with the

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-80494294804227969602009-12-06T14:53:00.010-05:002009-12-06T16:48:52.676-05:00

ZSMART's Fakest G's Of The League:1. Jason "White Chocolate" Williams: The only dude this cat after got after it with was a Chinese fan who told him to get used to having bench splinters instantly inserted in his ass (though not in those words). JWill responded by verbally ambushing the peaceful man, a Golden State Warriors loyalist who was shocked by no.55's racist, profanity-laced tirade. This

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-29535764227315957062009-12-04T14:58:00.010-05:002009-12-06T21:51:58.080-05:00

The young and prosperous Big Sully shot me a vital text message this afternoon, in regard to the relationship between Nate Robinson and Mike D'Antoni. The relationship, never a strong one, has frayed over a number of disputes. Now, Robinson is uncomfortably nestled in D'Antoni's Doghouse. The point Big Sully was trying to illustrate is that D'Antoni seems to have it out for Nate. He's after Nate

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-68419285515410283332009-12-03T17:28:00.005-05:002009-12-03T23:35:25.464-05:00

UConn sophomore point guard Kemba "E-Z Pass" Walker seemed to have a hand in everything last night, hastily helping the Huskies to a 92-64 washout of shorthanded Boston University. The smurf-sized, high-horsepower guard handed out 10 assists, four short of the XL Center record. The XL record of 14 dimes in a game was set by Craig Austrie, against Quinnipiac in late December of 2005. Walker

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-44809761953209508562009-12-03T01:39:00.008-05:002009-12-03T12:26:53.812-05:00

HARTFORD--The sight was alarmingly familiar, and that's what made it all the more frightening for the UConn Huskies. Jerome Dyson, the Huskies' best player--Jim Calhoun's description after the Huskies' 92-64 blowout of Boston University--landed awkwardly during the opening moments of the second half. "I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous," said Gavin Edwards, who scored 12 points and

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-58638123722875043142009-12-01T23:09:00.006-05:002009-12-01T23:59:48.675-05:00

This UC team is no joke. After slipping into the national rankings, the Bearcats bloodlettered lowly Texas Southern in a 94-57 washout. While it was a walloping and the opposite of a barometer game, the blowout win displays UC's oceanic depth. A message to the Big East: Don't Sleep. These guys can flat out hoop. Seven players scored in double digits, and the Bearcats shot a sizzling 57

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-91775690988769712892009-11-30T16:10:00.003-05:002009-11-30T17:02:11.626-05:00

I know I've said this before but... More men have been murked by the charity stripes than by the chainsaws. Look at what happened to UConn's Jerome Dyson against Duke in Friday's marquee and memorable matchup. Slicin' Dyson, who entered the game shooting a scorching 28-33 at the line, shot a dreadful 3-for-9. The then-No.13 Huskies slashed and burned their chances against then-No.7

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-34366312980205693712009-11-30T10:48:00.005-05:002009-11-30T11:07:54.777-05:00

The story of 12th-ranked UConn's 2009-10 campaign starts out nicely. Not in Jim Calhoun's eyes, but the story starts out nicely. Despite boasting a thin frontline without highly-acclaimed 6-foot-10 freshman Ater Majok (eligible in December), the Huskies are 4-0. The Huskies, however, have let lower-tier teams they should be bludgeoning stay in their neighborhood before pulling away.

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-44854382401980412952009-11-22T18:26:00.014-05:002009-11-23T20:48:52.322-05:00

After overlooking Brandon Jennings--who's rapidly become a Rookie of The Year candidate in Milwaukee--the Knicks once again displayed their pure basketball ignorance and idiocy in skipping out on Allen Iverson. Sure, Iverson would dominate the ball and perhaps utilize his me-first mentality to score buckets by the bundles. Would the move, however, actually prove problematic for this floundering

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-6150865822680625042009-11-22T16:18:00.005-05:002009-11-23T20:57:16.725-05:00

Right when I thought the Knicks were going to record their first three-game win streak in recent memory... Just when I thought the Knicks would string together a few significant wins for the first time since John Starks made big centers pay for sleeping him and his pogo stick hops... Actually, the Knicks reeled off a sizzling six-game win streak during mid-January of 2006, the rookie seasons of

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-36466000369889308942009-11-22T13:45:00.012-05:002009-11-22T17:16:37.486-05:00

Will Greg Monroe catapult to surefire stardom this year? Will the versatile 6-foot-11 big man stake his claim as one of the top players in a Big East conference that's lost some of its luster? Will the New Orleans product emerge into a first rounder in the 2010 NBA draft? After testing the NBA waters this summer, Monroe opted to return to campus (much to the delight of Georgetown's traditional

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-5287145231421212222009-11-14T15:30:00.013-05:002009-11-22T15:17:05.843-05:00

William & Mary entered Gampel Pavilion with a slew of three-point snipers and quickly shed any fear of the No.14 Huskies. The Tribe, which lived and died beyond the arc all night, hit six three-pointers before the Huskies could hit one. The Tribe was also active on the glass, capitalizing on putbacks and even third chances. Both teams finished with 34 boards, though the Huskies were

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-38632138520363786102009-11-12T15:29:00.010-05:002009-11-12T16:39:26.941-05:00

Following a new grounds-breaking exhibition loss to Division-II LeMoyne, Syracuse has clicked on all cylinders while eating up the first two creampuffs of their 2009-10 campaign. The loss to LeMoyne, which is also in Syracuse, is now swept underneath the rug. Jim Boeheim, the Hall of Fame coach who attained the 800-win milestone in Game 1, can now focus on stringing together a slew of

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-2013987204136710232009-11-05T22:41:00.003-05:002009-11-06T12:36:51.992-05:00

Jermaine Sanders’ stock as a major Divison-I prospect has been growing, growing, growing, Jack and The Beanstalk Style, this fall. Coaches have hounded him down and kept tabs on his all-around game. Sky is the limit for the young gun. According to Sanders, his recruitment is an afterthought right now. Talk to him at the end of his heavily-anticipated junior campaign at Rice HS—a traditional

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-71177222558834288632009-11-05T19:17:00.006-05:002009-11-05T19:34:39.670-05:00

Heading into the 2009-10 season, Larry Hughes saw the writing on the wall. The chances of the wiry veteran logging meaningful minutes were nothing short of nil. Word of Hughes getting relegated to the pine was littered all over articles, columns, and throughout the growing New York basketball blogosphere. Rewind the clock to mid-October, and Hughes certainly didn’t augment his chances with

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-74689249825257539032009-11-05T18:22:00.004-05:002009-11-05T18:48:23.662-05:00

The storm is over. Paint the town in pinstripes. I wasn't able to see the game in its entirety( was off covering New York's dungeon-dwelling, faltering franchise known mainly as the New York Knickerbockers), but the newly-minted World Champions deserve every ounce of this. All season the Yanks have been a collective nucleus, a frat-house like brotherhood (see Burnett, A.J. and Pies To The Face,

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-12145719526588722742009-11-03T15:54:00.001-05:002009-11-03T15:56:02.290-05:00

GAME NOTES-The 76ers strike first as Peekskill’s finest, Elton Brand (914 baby, Lou Panzanaro, Red Devils don’t sleep) connects on a turnaround J. -Wedged in between another E. Brand jumper is a three-pointer from The Rooster, a portent of things to come tonight (Gallo ended up dropping a career-high 30, nailing 8-of-16 from the great beyond). -Lou Williams carves up the teeth of the Knicks

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-66697855293335222412009-11-02T14:16:00.002-05:002009-11-02T14:18:01.049-05:00

I’d like to preface this post by saying that strange things happen on All Hallow’s eve. A guy who looked like he couldn’t shoot a lick and was mired in a pre-season slump (Danilo Gallinari) starts scorching the nets. Ghastly goblins and ghouls terrorize a team (the76ers), injecting them with a dizzying, intoxicating potion, causing them to fritter away a 23-point lead to a team that played

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-85822252258072150352009-10-29T14:16:00.004-04:002009-11-06T12:41:58.306-05:00

Lance "Born Ready" Stephenson bags buckets like the rest of us wake up in the morning. For those of us who aren't hooked on Xanax or Tylenol PM pills, that's early, often, and consistently. Will Stephenson, a Brooklyn-bred baller who's got all the tools to put together a one-and-done at Cincinnati this year, live up to the hype? A question of perhaps more importance: Will the kid they call

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-72487402311949622702009-10-29T11:23:00.004-04:002009-10-29T12:17:13.185-04:00

It's hard for me to be in good, Halloween spirits this morning. Last night, the Yankees were ghastly at the plate, with their ice-cold bats surrendering to Officer Lee. Officer Lee certainly shined last night, handcuffing baseball's most potent, high-powered lineup and creating a highlight reel play or two while he was at it. He is a defensive stopgap who looked more like a cyborg last night. I

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-56728128326372924352009-10-28T11:54:00.004-04:002009-10-28T16:03:33.252-04:00

Here's a small piece of recruiting info for the collection of recruitment gurus/college sports geeks (myself not excluded from this group so don't get up in your feelings anyone, please) to check out, shall it meet your fancy. Here's some updated "insider" info from some Philly-bred ballers, as Halloween nears... Juanya Green, a ghastly 6-foot-3 combo guard at Archbishop Carroll (PA) HS, is

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-18390917455426539452009-10-26T15:17:00.003-04:002009-10-28T16:08:37.632-04:00

Jabarie Hinds has come into his own. One season after serving as Pippen to Sherrod Wright’s (who now balls for George Mason) Jordan, Hinds has emerged as a scoring and playmaking guard. He ballooned over the summer, eliciting more drool than Pavlov’s puppy from college coaches. The small, waterbug 5-foot-11 guard’s stock has been growing, growing, growing, Jack And The Beanstalk style, ever

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1903885411748187060.post-87868763178923544932009-10-25T15:50:00.005-04:002009-10-28T16:26:09.928-04:00

Team Primed For Resurgence: Cincinnati BearcatsWe all know the NCAA jumped into investigator mode this summer, dissecting every aspect of fabulous freshman Lance Stephenson’s amateur status. The biggest concern is that Stephenson's online reality TV show, www.bornready.tv violated the longer than the Larchmont Lake NCAA handbook. But signs point to the kid they call Born Ready being ready come

Zach Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757374439840604573noreply@blogger.com0