Interesting Article On Decline of NYC Basketball

[Gurleyman]

Thought Kemba deserved a mention for his 2011 run in college. He's not there yet at the next level to be mentioned as a beacon of hope for the city or anything, but it was a moment where a NYC guard totally carried his team to a title on a magical run, and it wasn't that long ago. But I suppose that's a quibble - the point they were making wasn't about college so much.

http://grantland.com/features/nyc-b...on-marbury-kenny-anderson-tom-konchalski-nba/

 

[aceboon]

will give it a read but at this point it seems like overkill with this subject, Vincent Thomas just did a pretty good read on this topic a few months ago that was making the rounds.

 

[champs99and04]

Let's go through the twelve names mentioned:

Joakim Noah - I think he went to high school in New Jersey?

Taj Gibson - Left for California

Maurise Harkless - Left for Connecticut, I think.

Charlie - Didn't go to high school in New York, or at least not for all four years

Artest, Southerland, O'Quinn, Ivey, Tinsley, and Lamb are either washed up or not relevant as NBA players (O'Quinn is probably the only one who has a shot to get there).

So that really leaves Kemba and Lance as the two guys carrying the New York City flag. As far as I can tell, they're the only relevant guys on the list who A) grew up there, and B) played all four years of high school there. The good news is both those guys are young and should be around for a while. The bad news is that the talent pool seems to have been been depleted beyond repair, and of the ones that are prospects, most of them leave (McCollough and Dakari Johnson are two recent examples). The article did mention Isiah Whitehead.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

High school hoop is national now. Kids who can play can basically go board at a school with quasi-college facilities and national exposure. Tough for some of these city schools to compete with that. I knew a guy through work who was on the board at Rice before it closed and it was amazing how hard they had to work just to keep the school open as long as it was.

 

[superjohn]

Let's go through the twelve names mentioned:

Joakim Noah - I think he went to high school in New Jersey?

Taj Gibson - Left for California

Maurise Harkless - Left for Connecticut, I think.

Charlie - Didn't go to high school in New York, or at least not for all four years

Artest, Southerland, O'Quinn, Ivey, Tinsley, and Lamb are either washed up or not relevant as NBA players (O'Quinn is probably the only one who has a shot to get there).

So that really leaves Kemba and Lance as the two guys carrying the New York City flag. As far as I can tell, they're the only relevant guys on the list who A) grew up there, and B) played all four years of high school there. The good news is both those guys are young and should be around for a while. The bad news is that the talent pool seems to have been been depleted beyond repair, and of the ones that are prospects, most of them leave (McCollough and Dakari Johnson are two recent examples). The article did mention Isiah Whitehead.

Things are cyclical but as ace said the game is more national now, every state has multiple really good AAU teams. NYC used to pump out top college kids like crazy so did Connecticut decades ago. Mass and CT. had a dead period for a while but with other AAU programs besides BBC stepping up and the explosion of New England Prep bball we are seeing much more kids showcasing themselves and getting recognized. The point is there are kids in every big city, small city and everything in between. NYC will always have great players but right now is a down time just because and because there is more competition these days.

 

[alfonse]

These New England Prep schools are powerhouses now. Like Cushing, Tilton, Brewster Academy. When I went to watch Kimball Union Academy vs Vermont Academy I imagined KUA playing the local high school team Hartford, VT. The result would be like 80-20..... That talent certainly did not grow up around here.

 

[Husky1964]

Noah went to an exclusive prep school in Manhattan, maybe Horace Mann.

 

[champs99and04]

Things are cyclical but as ace said the game is more national now, every state has multiple really good AAU teams. NYC used to pump out top college kids like crazy so did Connecticut decades ago. Mass and CT. had a dead period for a while but with other AAU programs besides BBC stepping up and the explosion of New England Prep bball we are seeing much more kids showcasing themselves and getting recognized. The point is there are kids in every big city, small city and everything in between. NYC will always have great players but right now is a down time just because and because there is more competition these days.

Yeah, it does seem that way. In fact, the article mentioned that one out of every 37 NBA players is from New York, which is right in line with the national mean. It used to be one in 15 or something, so I guess New York City hoops hasn't declined as much as everybody else has caught up.

 

[HobokenHusky]

Thought Kemba deserved a mention for his 2011 run in college. He's not there yet at the next level to be mentioned as a beacon of hope for the city or anything, but it was a moment where a NYC guard totally carried his team to a title on a magical run, and it wasn't that long ago. But I suppose that's a quibble - the point they were making wasn't about college so much.

http://grantland.com/features/nyc-b...on-marbury-kenny-anderson-tom-konchalski-nba/

Just off the top of my head, Kemba (nick name "EZ-Pass" and Lance Stephenson "born-ready"played at rucker in HS and played there enough to where they were given nicknames. There was a whole documentary on it. Typical omission of facts and hyperbole to prove a point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnin'_for_That_No._1_Spot

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Things are cyclical but as ace said the game is more national now, every state has multiple really good AAU teams. NYC used to pump out top college kids like crazy so did Connecticut decades ago. Mass and CT. had a dead period for a while but with other AAU programs besides BBC stepping up and the explosion of New England Prep bball we are seeing much more kids showcasing themselves and getting recognized. The point is there are kids in every big city, small city and everything in between. NYC will always have great players but right now is a down time just because and because there is more competition these days.

There is a direct correlation between safety and basketball development.
New Haven ,Bridgeport,and Hartford were never crime free
But a kid could go to the courts and play into the night without fear for his life.

The Cocaine wars and gangs changed all that in the 90's.
In the Hill section of NH ,Families slept on the floor to avoid stray bullets. Never mind putting in the time to develop your game.
In one year both New Haven and Bridgeport had over hundred murders. Mostly teenage boys.
In a way UConn,with its rural setting got a lot more appealing.

 

[Drame]

Just off the top of my head, Kemba (nick name "EZ-Pass" and Lance Stephenson "born-ready"played at rucker in HS and played there enough to where they were given nicknames. There was a whole documentary on it. Typical omission of facts and hyperbole to prove a point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnin'_for_That_No._1_Spot

Kemba got that nickname from one game he played there, the Elite 24 all star game. I was there shooting it. In my avatar Im with Kemba a week after he commited to Uconn. He always thought that EZ Pass name was dumb. Lance had his nickname from way earlier. On the whole that article was pretty stupid. Making it to the pro s is only one aspect of hoopin in NYC. Still more blacktop and ballers per square mile than anywhere in the world.

 

[CTBasketball]

A lot of courts in Connecticut shut the lights off at dusk now because of fights, drug deals, etc. Not sure if happening in NYC, but the violence and drugs are a lot more prevalent.