Recruiting Stories

In NYC there are a lot of Basketball players, it is called the Mecca for Where Ball players are made…The Top place for young ladies to go and be tested against some of the best players in the region & beyond is a NYGHoops event.  I was able to attend the NYGHoops Coast to Coast Jr All American Camp in its 4th year, after not being able to attend since the initial event in 2017. Joe Fenelon who is The founder of NYGHoops has created an atmosphere at his events that is 2nd to none, the 125 Kids that attended from 8 different States come in with an attitude of knowing this can jumpstart their college recruiting process… I was able to view the majority of attendees through the skills & drills portion and game play, I have identified a few players that I think stood out throughout the day. 

Brooklyn, NY – Year two of Bria Hartley High School Showcase was a huge success. Year one was hosted in East Flatbush at Nazareth HS. In the 2nd year the event expanded by moving to a The Post, a two-court facility in Williamsburg Brooklyn with over 40 teams participating from NY, NJ, PA, DE and Fl. I was not able to cover the event from start to finish, but I did drop in daily for the majority of games. These are some of the top performers from what I’ve seen over the three days. 

Holmdale, NJ – While visiting many post- holiday events all over the US, in the past 5 years - this year I decided to take a trip 40 miles south to the St Johns Vianney Winter Joust Showcase.  The 2-day showcase consist of 4 teams in a boutique type setting and was quite satisfying to my basketball fix.    This would be my starting five from the event (not in order):   

NIKE Tournament of Champions 2019: La Jolla Country Day School, Elizabeth Seton High School and Hamilton Heights Christian Academy win top three NIKE TOC divisions The Joe Smith (top) Division saw La Jolla Country Day School of La Jolla, California, edge Sierra Canyon School of Chatsworth, California, by a score of 44-43.  The John Anderson (second) Division was won by Elizabeth Seton High School of Bladensburg, Maryland, by a score of 43-40 over Windward School of Los Angeles, California.  Hamilton Heights Christian Academy of Chattanooga, Tennessee, conquered the Clare Droesch (non-NFHS) Division winning all five games in a round robin set-up. Blair Academy of Blairstown, New Jersey, finished second losing only to Hamilton Heights.

Glen Head,NY - Long Island Lutheran opens the season blowing past Staten Island power Curtis HIgh School 78-32.LUHI’s backcourt -sophomore’s Paris Clark & Emma Van Essen caught fire early finishing the first half with a combined 31 points.

Holly Springs High School opened their gym to 13 other Varsity teams, hosting a Jamboree on Saturday November 16, 2019.  I had an opportunity to attend and take in some awesome pre - season action from teams in the Fayetteville, Winston-Salem & Raleigh/Durham areas.  This gave me a chance to identify & give a quick breakdown of the Top 5 teams, along with the impact players from some of the other participating schools in the event. There was no score taken for the games.  I appreciated that because the teams were able to just focus on getting better throughout the day.

Friday November 1st provided another opportunity for NYG Hoops & Carolina Girls Hoops Report to bring together 76 of the Top Middle School players in NC/SC/VA in the same Gym to compete at a high level.   The 2nd Annual Friday Night Lights - Middle School Open Run event held in Charlotte proved to be a showcase for future High School & Collegiate players. I will be highlighting the 2024 Class in this recap & will be following up with an additional recap of the 2025 - 2026 Group that will be the future of this event…

October 13 in the New England area created a great opportunity for John McGraw & his Insiderexposure staff to host the 2nd Annual - New England Exposure Showcase at Massasoit Community College.  I attended the event that hosted 70+ players from MA, RI, NH, CT, NY & PA

Chicago, IL- Another weekend on the road for NYGHoopsReport to the ‘We Got Next’ All-American Camp in Chicago. The two-day event accommodated 50 plus prospects, from Il, OK, WI, MO, and IN.