Al Morales is a Dyckman alumni that has made an impact. He played several years professionally in Puerto Rico. When the Brewster Sports Center opened up in Upstate NY, he got tapped as practice coach for the Westchester Hawks AAU program. Al says, “I teach kids the importance of confidence and believing in one’s self while conditioning with the basketball. I’m just trying to provide the same work ethic and teachings that my father, Al Morales Sr. and Mr. Jim Couch (along with other coaches) instilled in me growing up as a kid.”
Conditioning with the ball is a Dyckman mantra, and the results speak for themselves. The Hawks have snatched 145 1st Place finishes over the past 4 years. Top players include Mookie Jones (Syracuse commit), Tyshawn Taylor (Marquette commit), Kevin Jones (Mount Vernon HS), and Sean Kilpatrick (White Plains HS).
Al with the Rock ready to instruct
The Brewster Sports Center has developed into the hub for grassroots in the Westcheser area. Owners Franco and James Foti hired former Rice HS coach Lou DeMello to run the basketball operations. By hiring Morales the program is growing into a national powerhouse.
For more info check: www.brewstersportscenter.com
While that is all well and good, one of Al’s best career coaching moves was bringing two young Dominican players to the Dyckman Program: Ricardo “The Beast” Greer and Jeff “Hold That” Greer. They, along with Ray Mercedes “Without the Benz” were the start of big things for Dominican ballplayers in the city. In the mid-’90s, their 16-under team beat the Gaucho’s in the Holcombe Rucker Memorial chip, and as they grew older they dominated the Dyckman Basketball Tournament in the early 2000s. More to come soon…
December 7th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
SHOUT OUT TO AL! one of the coolest dudes out there. we were opponents through the early ’90s in the Ray Diaz and Ham-Fish Tournaments when he ran with Cibao, and in 2001 he hooked up a try-out for me in the Liga Puertoriqueno pro winter league. For the last couple of years he and i have shared backcourt duties for the Puerto Rico Pro Legends squad, and believe it’s a joy running with a dude as smart as he is on the floor. Brewster’s lucky to have a stand-up dude like him. word.
December 9th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Bakar says:
“Without the Benz” has got to be one of the funniest nicknames I’ve heard in a while..
December 9th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Sean Couch says:
Ray Mercedes graduated from Cornell and is a lawyer now. So he might be able to afford one now. Al and I played in the back court along with Andre McCoy, and Dre Britton - Basketball Trainer at the Reebok Club.
Another note for Bob-ITO:
Our Center on our old Dyckman college team was Rik Smits - Indiana Pacers. Big Rik wasn’t well respected on the playground. In fact Harlem-mat which at the time was the
Sonics and the Harlem House of Wieners - true name, said he was the most dunked on 7′4″ player they had ever seen!!! Anyway big Rik took the money and ran to the NBA
and I know his playground experience got him ready for the high risers of the league.
December 10th, 2007 at 12:57 am
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
sean-
you have to do a post on the history of the harlem house of wieners . . .
December 10th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
Al Morales, Jr. says:
Sean/Bobito - Thanks a million for the kind words, but keep in mind that your only as good as the fellas around you. The both of you are doing a great deal of good things for the up and coming. Keep it up!
Sean - Remember that we had Big Rick Smits and 7′4 Robert Labird (who past at Temple). Those were the good old day’s playing at Dyckman at 12 noon while it was 98 degrees and your kicks felt as if they were going to melt off of your feet.
Bobito - You got my little guy (AJ) going crazy with spinning the ball off of your shoe lace.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Chris Polanco says:
Let me flashback to 15 years ago…The man taught me the game hands down. I came up to him as an eleven year old (I’m 26 now) and he had just come back from Puerto Rico permantly. We were neighbors and our families were very close. I approached him and told him that our school (St. E’s) needed a coach for the boys basketball team. Being that he had played and grew up in the St. E’s community Al Jr., his dad, Darrin and Chuck decided to coach the team.
I sucked (for lack of better words), but Al and his dad had the patience to teach me the game and be on a team that was ultra competitve. Of course the older kids (Jeff Greer, Claudio and Jeffery “Cholo” Luperon, Russel Polanco, Jimmy Ortega, Anthony “Monkey” Batista, Gustavo) got to play in the games and run the team drills. Al would have me on the sidelines doing various ball handling drills with my left hand, then my right hand, then between the legs, trough the cones (You can see where this is going). The team was pretty talented and we made it to Dunwoody to face a suburban team that beat us.
Bottom line I got better and this is how Al develops talent and pays attention to those that he feels have a significant amount of potential. Now I never went on to play college ball or professional ball, but I did learn the game that I’m absolutely passionate about from this man…Loving the Pub Al…Congrats…
Chris
December 11th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
chris-
whatever happened to ‘monkey’?
December 11th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Chris Polanco says:
Bobbito -
You sure we talking about the same Monkey? The one I know lives on 184th and Amsterdam.
December 11th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
John Chinea says:
I grew up with Nate (Tiny Achibald, NBA Hall a Fame)and I have seen plenty of HOOPS,but Mr.Morales Jr. has put togther a great program. His attitude is all about Winning
and his Players have his confident.
December 11th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Sean Couch says:
Chris:
That’s good love mentioning Al’s work throughout the years. He has put many a person through the bizness. One his best players was Eric “The President” Opio who was a MAJOR D-1 talent and who plays primo ball out in the Dyckman tournament.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Chris Caputi says:
I met Coach Al in the summer of 8th grade when I was 13. He came to speak at the Chase The Game sleep away basketball camp. As I have gotten older, I come to realize that everything he touched upon is true, not only in basketball but in life as well. When I started high school at JFK, Coach Al was hired for the JV job, and to this day he is the best basketball coach in terms of skills, philosophy, and play making that I have ever had. Coach Al is always tough as nails out there on the court, but if it wasnt for all his hard work and confidence in me I wouldnt be half the player/person/coach that I am today. Coach Al is a great influence in the game of basketball, and I thank him for everything he has given to me.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
i remember when eric opio first moved from puerto rico. we were at the ‘goat’ park. he was like 12 years old rocking a menudo tail, was all left but nobody in his age group could do anything with him. it’s funny, cuz as one of the very few boricua players out there myself, he used to look up to me at first. of course, within 4 years his game far surpassed any potential i ever had, but mad respect cuz he never stopped showing me love, even to this day. that’s my man.
December 12th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Weas says:
Al,
Great to see the passion you continue to display for your love of hoops. Your insight and knowledge of the game is a gift for the kids you coach. Keep up the good work!
Weas
December 12th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Sean Couch says:
Al:
Gotta give Evander Ford some love too. Ford was our summer league coach up at Dyckman. Ken Stevens who runs the Dyckman tournament was also coached by him. Ford coached HS with Stan Dinner at Manhattan Center, formerly Benjamin Franklin
H.S. Great players like Richie Adams, Gary Springer, Kenny
Hutchinson, and one of the most talented players I’ve seen in Karlton Hines.
December 12th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Al Morales, Jr. says:
Sean - You’re 100% correct about Evander Ford. He was one of the best when it came to showing a kid how to believe in himself. I still remember a game at Dyckman when big Rick Smits wasn’t rebounding and Evender yelled out in front of a packed park…”SON! I bet if I placed a cheeseburger and a soda from Holland on top of the backboard you would get that”. Sure enough, he got upset and did his job. After the game he would complain about it in the back seat of my dad’s 2 door Cutlas Supreme as we drove him back to the Metro-North station. How we got him in the car to begin with still amazes me.
NOTE: At Dyckman - Sure we had great player’s. However, we got DOWN AND PLAYED “DEFENSE” from the tip-off up to the elevator of the 1 train.
December 12th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Sean Couch says:
Al,
What’s happening up at Westchester for the Holiday Break?
December 12th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Al Morales, Jr. says:
You have the Boys and Girls “SLAM DUNK” Tornament at the Westchester County Center run by ex-Rice Coach Lou DeMello.
Boys
12/27 @ 11:15 Lakeland vs Tuckahoe
2:45 Briarcliff HS vs Jamesville-DeWitt
4:30 Peekskill vs Cardinal Hayes
6:15 Port Chester vs Stepinac
8:00 White Plains vs St. Peter’s
Girls
12/28 @ 1:00 Our Lady of Lourdes vs Briarcliff
2:45 North Rockland vs Jamestown
4:30 Jamesville-DeWitt vs Mt. Vernon
You and Bobbito should come and see some Westchester BBall.
December 16th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Sophia A. says:
Thanks Al for having faith that a 6′4 forward should be able to handle the ball with the same easy as the point.
May 18th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Da Come Up says:
Whatever happened to Evander Ford who use to coach at Manhattan Center… Is he still coaching? He coached me years ago and I never got to thank him for teaching me the fundamentals of the game and the importance of defense and intensity