Six and the City

By Brin Hill

"New York is the center of the world."

It may be a cliché that Guiliani spouts a little too often, but it is a truth in certain cultural circles. In many ways, New York is like no other place in the universe. For instance, it's irrevocably undeniable that you have not experienced hip-hop until you’ve seen cats b-boying in the Bronx, MCs kicking rhymes on a busted-up mic in a rundown club, or seen the burners that line the train lines with pride in every single borough. The city don’t got no R&B rappers with Britney Spears-type headsets who are seen as legit in these streets.

Likewise, you have not lived, breathed and felt hoops until you have seen New York basketball firsthand. There is nothing like seeing the Knicks take the floor at the Garden. There is nothing like watching street superstars dance, clown and dunk to nickname catcalls at the Rucker. There is nothing like watching St. John’s in home whites in the Big East tournament. And, there is nothing like high school basketball in New York.

If you travel this nation, you will find places where high school hoops is the best, and only ticket in town. Maybe in Indiana, chills reach your spine when a home team takes the floor before 10,000 fans screaming like they’re at a Backstreet Boys show; but you will never experience the greatness that the New York high school scene offers. There is no match anywhere for the level of talent, grace and competition that the City puts before our eyes year in and year out. And, it is as tough a ticket to come by as those in rural Indiana.

"When we play Rice, you can’t buy a ticket. It’s been sold out for weeks," says St. Raymond’s coach Gary Decesare. "People mill around outside looking for scalpers, just trying to get in the gym for the rivalry. I’m sure it’s great in other parts of the country, but here, it’s special."

Last year, the City produced some pretty special superstars. Omar Cook, Andre Barrett, Taliek Brown and Kyle Cuffe all wowed the crowds as they led their respective high schools deep into the city playoffs, but they're all gone now, lost to big-time college programs. New York City hoops must be down, right? Wrong. New York City ain’t never down.

With defending champion St. Raymond’s, Archbishop Malloy and Rice all on national pre-season top 25 lists, New York is represented like no other town. But there are three other schools deserving of national attention: All Hallows, Loughlin, and Christ The King. It’s like the 80s all over again and New York City deserves to dominate the rankings like Florida votes dominate the news.

St. Raymond’s is led by NC State-bound Julius Hodge, blue collar hustler and Hofstra-bound Chris McCrae and super-tantalizing point guard Alan Ray. All three are blue-chip recruits coming off a one-loss season, gunning for another city championship and dreaming of the school’s first state title since 1993. This school has produced high scorers like Gary Massey, Terrence Rencher, Kareem Reid, Charlton Clarke and Majestic Mapp. Their jerseys line the baseline of the school’s court as a reminder of the high standard that the past Ravens have established.

"We have to worry about our league first," Coach Decesare says of the upcoming season. "Malloy’s got a legend, coach Curran, teaching little Marlon Smith to run the show."

Archbishop Malloy is coached by the legendary Jack Curran, who has more wins then anybody in the history of the state and has a record of producing top-rated guards. This year is no different, as super-soph Smith is controlling the tempo for them and Wendell Gibson is adding a scoring punch.

Then there's Rice. With 7-2 Shargari Alleyne plugging the middle, the next great uptown point guard Jason Wingate will lead a more controlled offense than last year’s wide open system with Andre Barrett. And with the Kenny Bruhner-esque Deon Merritt, this team, though it has only four returning varsity players, has a great chance of matching their back-to-back Tri-State titles in 1997-1999.

"When talking about the city, don’t forget about All Hallows, Loughlin or Christ The King," Rice coach Maurice Hicks reminds us. Sleeping on All Hallows, which is led by Richard Soliver, Christ the King, which sports studs Kelvin Nelson and Mihail Malik, or Loughlin, which features Curtis Sumpter and Ted Mumford, would be bad for the health.

But, alas, the reality is that one, maybe two, of these New York squads, will crack most post-season top-25 lists.

"Our schools go to places like Beach Ball in the pre-season tournaments and maybe lose one game. Then we get home and beat each other," Decesare says. At home, the winning percentage of New York teams drops like Johnny Knoxville’s pants on Jackass.

Think about how tough it is to play here. There is no ducking the greats. Unlike other states, all these teams play each other at least twice in their league games. Their league games!?! If New York squads don’t play in-league, they often schedule each other in non-league city games. Then, the Malloys, the Rices, the St. Ray’s all play each other another time in the playoffs for their league, and then again in the city playoffs.

"We had to beat Rice four times last year. We were very fortunate we did. You don’t beat a team like that without some luck," Decesare says. St. Raymond’s, Malloy, Rice… this is not the line-up in some national Christmas tournament, this is a league schedule. No other city can boast such competition.

Because these teams go off every year to win the national tournaments, only to return to lose to one other, it is rare that more than one or two end up in the end-of-year national rankings. The City’s like Dangerfield at his own Eastside club, not getting the respect it deserves. Instead, some cupcake king in North Dakota might sneak into the national rankings while teams that would blow them out are ranked fifth in their own city.

What’s even more bananas is that these teams in New York boast guys who play together in the summer on AAU squads. Those teams go out to the summer tournaments and crush national competition, then head home to play one another during the season.

"Players know your tendencies in those games from playing with you in the summer," Julius Hodge says. "You just have to go out and try to take it up a notch."

"Anyone who’s interested in high school basketball should watch the New York scene this year, because it is going to be a great year," Rice's Coach Hicks says.

He’s right. This New York season will be one of the greatest in recent memory because, alas, this is the greatest city in the world.