Several New York City playground guards are excelling on the collegiate level this year.
Notable Players:
Corey Fisher, Nova/EBC
Gavin Grant, NC State/EBC
Jessie Sapp, G-town/EBC
Mike Coburn, Rutgers/Dyckman
Gary Forbes, UMass/EBC/Dyckman
Three who don’t get the light they deserve are Russell Robinson, Kansas/Dyckman, Edgar Sosa, Louisville/Dyckman, and Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall/Dyckman/Kingdome.
Photo: Seton Hall Basketball
The surprise of the group is Harlem’s 6-5 Jeremy Hazell, averaging 12.0 per game, 14.3 in the Big East Conference. He was named the Big East Rookie of the Week in January after scoring 22 against Southern Florida and 29 on Louisville. Jeremy has worked out for several years with the Dyckman/Jim Couch Foundation Clinic. (See our clinic on blog page 3). Jeremy is the kind of kid that sometimes slips under the radar, slept on by bigger programs because of not hitting the AAU circuit hard.
He brings 3-pt range, an explosive first step, quick hops, and the ability to get to the rim and lay taller players for hard and-one’s. Jeremy’s performance at Kingdome last summer seasoned the game I attended tremendously, giving it flavor. He showed a smooth outdoor jump shot, and quick chop that had defenders off balance. Look for Seton Hall to improve all year and show strong in the Big East tournament this year.
February 7th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
isn’t coach gonz at seton hall now? bobby made manhattan a legitimate program while there, and will bring the hall back to its prominence of the late ’80s/early ’90s. good dude, we featured him in an early bounce issue back in ‘04-’05. great post, couch!
February 7th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Saku 39 says:
*Edgar Sosa
I’m rooting for Sosa because he has pro potential. His play has regressed due to poor decision-making and shot-selection. He’s still young enough to turn it around.
Russell Robinson is a good, tough defender.
February 7th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Jeremy Ripley says:
Sean-
Didn’t Corey Fisher work a lot with you and “D-Trained”. I bought his DVD last year, and was really impressed with it. I came up with a routine that I did last summer, and noticed some definite gains!
I’m sure y’all remember Luis Flores tearing up the NCAA’s a few years back, too.
And do you guys remember Tim Doyle? I think his pops played at Rucker, cuz I remember Tim’s name being mentioned in the West 4th Book. Anyways, he finished out his college career at Northwestern. He’s a t.v. analyst for the Big Ten Network now…He was an awesome passer.
February 8th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Sean Couch says:
Jeremy Ripley:
I never worked out Corey Fisher, but I have worked with Luis
Flores. Bobby Gonzolez got 2 great Dyckman players in Luis and Jared Johnson who rep the playground. It would be good see Edgar Sosa return and play this up coming summer in Dyckman with the Young Ones and 2 hard 2 guard.