Wednesday, March 20
Brewington featured in www.bluechiphoops.com
Dwight Brewington was recently featured on Dave Telep's Blue Chip Hoops web site as a 2003 Spotlight and the article appeared in www.CNNSI.com. Take a look by clicking on the link.

Dwight, keep up the good work!

Monday, April 8
Jam Fest Results (April 5th-7th)
Here are the results from this past weekend at the Providence Hoop Group Jam fest - Junior's results:

In the opening round, Metro Boston beat CT Vision by a final score of 71-48. According to Coach Mo, "This was an ugly win. Our transition defense was horrible. We didn't run the offense effectively and were trying to create too much one-on-one."

In the second round, Metro Boston beat the Mass Hoop Jaguars by a final score of 71-69 in overtime. According to Coach Courtney Young, "We lost our composure. We were fortunate to win this game. The guys didn't come to play from start to finish. They felt they could turn it off-and-on at any time. If Corey (Cofield) didn't come up big in the end, we'd play in the loser's brackets for our third game."

Courtney goes on to add, "This was a big game for Mike (Vaz) and Ryan (Maloney). Also, for our program. We finally got the monkey off our backs. We beat the Mass Hoops Jaguars for the first time in three tries. Mike and Ryan joined our program this year after playing over the past three years for them."

In the third round, Metro Boston defeated the Tim Thomas Playaz by a final score of 73-70. According to Coach Mo, "The speech prior to the game must have worked. Actually the ripping session. I felt the guys let me down in the previous game and I needed to address a few things. They took it like grown men and went out and played at the level they're capable of playing."

Mo goes on to add, "We beat a top ten program in the nation because we did all the little things we needed to do. We boxed out, all five guys on the floor hit the boards and rotated on defense real well. Ryan (Maloney), Alvin (Lewis), and Matt (Blue) were hitting the open jumpshots and handling their press well. Corey, Dorien (Brown), Mike (Vaz), Tyran (Crosby) and Dwight (Brewington) controlled the boards throughout the game. We played the game, the way I expected us to play with intensity and heart. The kids played with pride.

This was a big win for this group because it shows them what they are capable of doing when the listen, work hard and run the offense. Ryan, Alvin and Matt stepped up big. They made the right passes to the open men and shot the ball very well. I expect big things from these three guys. Everyone we play will focus their attention on Dwight. These guys will make them pay for laying off of them. Defensively, we played much better than before. We still need improvement and hopefully the guys know this."

In Quarter-finals action, Metro Boston fell to the NY Ravens by a final score of Metro Boston 53 vs NY Ravens 56. The NY Ravens went on to win the tournament by an average spread of 20 points beating the Middlesex Magic in the championship game. According to Coach Mo, "We couldn't find more ways to give that game away. Not to take anything away from the Ravens because they're a great program but we handed them that win. We controlled the second half for 12 out of 16 minutes. Hopefully this teaches the kids that we needed to play hard for all 32 minutes of a game."

Mo goes on to add, "I did a few things that I shouldn't have done in the second half. I take most of the blame for that loss. There will be a few things we work out in practice on Wednesday before heading out to Charlie Weber on the 12th in Villanova (PA)."

Monday, April 8
Boston Globe's Super Team
Metro Boston was well represented in this year's Boston Globe's All Scholastic team. In fact, two guys made the Super team. Matt Cahill (Sr.-Bridgewater-Raynham HS) and Dwight Brewington (Jr.-Lynn English HS) were selected as members of the Super Team.

According to Coach Mo, "I'm proud of both of them. They've worked hard in the classroom and on the court. They earned it. I'm happy for them and their family.

St. Anselm got a gem in Matt. He's capable at playing at the highest level but chose St. Anselm because he enjoyed his visit to the school and the coaching staff. A lot of people kept telling me, 'try to convince him of going to prep school and you'll have him for another year.' I told them as I'll tell anyone, 'Why. The kid has excellent grades and a high GPA'. The one knock on Matt is he's actually young for his grade compared to guys we faced all of last year. Last year in the junior division he played against guys 2 to 3 years older than him and held his own.

Sure he could've gone prep to open up a few more options, but people need to keep things in perspective. You play the round ball game to earn a scholarship. The only way to officially get the scholarship is if you have the grades. He's going to school without having to worry about tuition. His parent (Tom and Mary) did an excellent job raising him. Now they can maybe afford a much needed vacation.(Smiling)"

Mo goes on to add, "Dwight is Dwight. He's taking care of his books. He's taking normal classes despite his condition (hearing aides). He's 6'5 playing the PG role. A role I had to convince him he was capable of playing. He's real competitive.

I'm happy for his mother and grandmother. They did a great job raising him. He's learned a lot from seeing Willie (Phillips) play and practiced against. He already has two offers on the table and he's just finishing his junior year. He's determined. Very determined."

Tuesday, April 16
Charlie Weber Results
Villanova, PA: Metro Boston finished 3-1 at the Charlie Weber Tournament in Villanova, PA.

In pool play, Metro Boston beat the Delaware Sharpshooters, JC Heat (NJ), and Grass Roots (Canada).

In Quarter-finals action, Metro Boston fell to Positive Image by 3 points despite leading at the half by 15 points.

Friday, April 26
AAU Junior States Schedule
Boston, MA - The AAU Junior States games are going to be held at Emmanuel College in Boston, MA by the host club BABC.

Metro Boston's schedule for the championship round is as follows:

Thursday, April 25th:
Metro Boston 70 Mass Wildcats 55

Semi-finals:
Sunday, April 28th:
10:00 a.m. vs. winner of Jaguars/TBD

More to come....

Thursday, April 18
AAU States: Metro Boston beats Merrimack Valley
Emmanuel College - In opening round action at the AAU Mass State Tournament, Metro Boston defeated Merrimack Valley by a final score of 74-50.

Metro Boston was lead by Dwight Brewington (6'5 Jr. PG - Lynn English), Dorien Brown (6'7 Jr. PF/SF - Lynn English), Corey Cofield (6'6 Jr. PF/SF - Roxbury Latin) and Matt Blue (5'10 Jr. SG/PG - Bellingham HS).

According to Coach Mo, "We played a better second half than we did in the first half. We didn't play great, but we got the job done. I felt we did a poor job rebounding. We need to rebound better if we want to win the games I expect us to win. All in all we did well despite not having two key contributors playing in the game. They'll be ready on Saturday."

Mo goes on to add, "Tony and Mark did an excellent job coming off the bench. They stepped up. They gave 100% effort on both ends of the court."

More to come......

Monday, April 22
Metro Boston 3-0 in pool play at States!
Emmanuel College - Metro Boston completed a clean sweep in pool play at the AAU junior State tournament. Metro Boston beat Team Mass, Boston Blazers, and Merrimack Valley to go 3-0 in the opening round of the state tournament.

According to Coach Mo, "We did a pretty good job playing man to man versus Team Mass. Everyone picked up from full length of the floor. Everyone positioned themselves on help defense real well. We only had a 2:00 minute lapse in that game. Our offense clicked form inside and out. We moved the ball real well. All in all we did a good job."

Mo goes on to add, "Against the Blazers, we utilized our strenghths. We played real smart. Took the open jumpshots. Moved the ball real well and rebounded the ball pretty good. We're starting to click as a group. We're playing smarter and more effective."

More to come.....

Friday, April 26
Championship Round: Game 1
Emmanuel College - Metro Boston defeated Mass Wildcats by a final score of 70-55 in the opening round of the Championship round of the playoffs. Metro Boston will go on to face the winner of the MassHoops Jaguars vs TBD (team based on Friday's actions) on Saturday.

According to Coach Mo, "We won an ugly game. We didn't play well at all. I blame it on the lack of attendance at practice the night before. These guys expect to turn it off and on at any time. We played great last week and unfortunately the guys felt they could win easily. Don't get me wrong, when we're running on full cylinders, we're one of the best teams in the country - never mind the region.

Antonio (Anderson) and Matt Blue played big in the final four minutes of the game. Blue settled them down on offense and Antonio played excellent defense on the press. When I inserted these two guys we were only up a point with 4:27 left in the game. Ryan (Maloney), Matt (Blue) and Antonio (Anderson did an excellent job defensively on Chris Vetrano. They gave him fits and didn't give him an open look throughout the game."

Mo goes on to add, "We got into foul trouble early with the guards and that took them mentally out of the game on the offensive end. My guards need to keep playing focused and not get down on themselves because they're in foul trouble. One through eleven I feel we're strong and shouldn't lose a beat despite who is on the floor.

Courtney (Young) continues to stress me because we only have an eleven man roster but I tell him as I'll tell anyone, we go with what we got. My commitment is to all the guys on our team. I'm sure they (the team) are aware of that. I feel I've got guards that I can rotate and start without losing anything. We've played in Charlestown, Providence and Villanova early in the season against some tough teams. We should be hitting our stride for the first part of the season right now. We'll be ready for Sunday."

Western Mass. All-Stars
Michael "Mike" Vaz (6'3 WF - Commerce HS) and Ryan Maloney (6'0 PG/SG - Chicopee HS) were recently selected to the first and second teams of the Western Mass. All-Scholastics. Mike was selected to the first team and Ryan was selected to the second team.

Good job. Keep up the hard work!

Monday, May 6
Rosters & Profiles to be Updated!
Metro Boston will be updating the Web site in the up-coming weeks. Team picture, player pictures, bios, tournament schedules, etc. Also, the Editors views and opinions.

In the Spring of 2002, Metro Boston attended The Nate Hurwitz (Charlestown, MA), Providence (RI) Jam Fest, Charlie Weber Invitiational (Villanova, PA), and the Adidas Hoop Challenge (New Haven, CT). Metro Boston also attended the AAU State tournaments in the Juniors, Sophomores and Eighth Grade Divisions.

More to come in regards to tourneys. Team's motto, "Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime."

Stay tuned...

Friday, August 2
Florida Bound - Junior Nationals!
Orlando, FL - Metro Boston finished 2-3 (2-1 in pool games) in the AAU 17 & Under Junior Nationals in Orlando, Florida from July 25 - July 31, 2002.

In their opening pool game, Metro Boston lost ot the Salvation Army (KY) Blazers by a final score of 88-76. In their second pool game, Metro Boston beat Team Memphis - YOMCA 17's (TN) by a final score of 75-68 in overtime. In their final pool game, Metro Boston beat the Charlotte (NC) Aces (White) by a final score of 49-48.

Metro Boston finished second in their pool (G) and advanced into the championship round. In the opening round of the National Tournament, Metro Boston lost to the Louisiana Select team by a final score of 63-48. In their second game of the AAU Nationals round, Metro Boston lost to Central Florida PAL Force by a final score of 67-59.

According to Coach Mo, "This is always a great event for the kids. It gives them an opportunity to play in front of the college coaches. We're playing in a tournament where there were over 120 teams.

This is the one tournament beside the Showcase where you are playing teams that have kids within the same age group. No one there can be 19 years old playing in the Junior Nationals tournament."

This year's team consisted of:
Dwight Brewington (6'5 PG/SG rising Sr. at Worcester Academy),
Dorien Brown (6'7 SF/PF rising Sr. at Lynn English)
Corey Cofield (6'6 SF/PF rising Sr. at Roxbury Latin)
Matt Blue (5'9 PG/SG rising Sr. at Bellingham HS),
Daryl Brooks (6'0 SG/SG rising Sr. at West Roxbury HS),
Mark Buckley (6'0 PG/SG rising Sr. at Weymouth HS)
Ryan Maloney (6'1 PG/SG rising Sr. at Chicopee HS),
Mike Vaz (6'4 SF/PF rising Sr. at Commerce HS),
Antonio Anderson (6'4 SG/SF rising Sr. at Lynn Tech)
Alvin Lewis (6'1 PG/SG rising Jr.)
Brendan Hennelly (6'3 SF rising Sr.)
Josh Quinn (6'2 SG/SF rising Sr. at Weymouth HS)
George Wright (6'5 SF/PF PG at MCI Prep School)

More to come....

Thursday, September 5
Brewington featured in ESPN.com
Dwight Brewington was recently featured on Jeff Goodman, a freelance writer for ESPN.com's Recruiting web site wrote an article on the Class of 2003 member.

The article appeared in www.ESPN.com. Take a look by clicking on the link.

Dwight, keep up the good work!

Friday, September 6
Brewington featured in www.CNNSI.com
Dwight Brewington was recently featured on CNNSI.com, by writer Dave Telep from Bluechiphoops.com's Recruiting web site. He wrote an article on the Metro Boston Class of 2003 member.

The article appeared in www.CNNSI.com. Take a look by clicking on the link.

Dwight, keep up the good work!

Wednesday, October 16
adidas Hoop Challenge player profiles!
Here's a players recap for a few of the players from this past weekend:

Matt Blue - 5'8 SG/PG Bellingham High School
Deadly accurate shooter. The Zone buster as referred to by Coach Mo. "Anytime the opponents want to double team Dwight or go to a zone to pack it in, the kid makes them pay for it. He rolled both of his ankle the first night but still played through the pain. He's a competitor. My only knock on him is he doesn't shoot enough. He should take at least 10-14 shots per game. They all could be from behind the arc as well. He played excellent defense and pushed the ball real well."

Dorien Brown - 6'7 PF/WF Bellingham High School
The team MVP all year. He's the enforcer inside the paint. Played big all weekend long. Averaged a double-double with points and boards. "The scary thing about Dorien is he has yet to hit his full potential. This kid is in shape, running the floor, hitting the 16 footers. Wait till he gets into even better shape. He just started hitting the weights. He'll get his perimeter game better as he continues to do his shooting drills. He has shown signs at our practices in regards to defending the perimeter as he's given Dwight fits. He's real agile. He has an excellent first step. The sky's the limit for this kid. He's still growing."

Ryan Maloney - 6'2 SG/PG Chicopee High School
Jump shot has improved. Handling the ball much better. Has always been a great defender and pretty good ball handler. "Gave fits to every one of the guards we played against this weekend. Buried the 3 pointer during crucial times this past weekend and is learning to create space for himself. He's starting to improve his first step and is getting his jumpshot off a lot quicker. The kids nicknamed him the 'Hawk'. Hopefully it's because of his keen shooting and tough defensive presence! I love this kid. He backs down from no one."

Alvin Lewis - 6'1 PG Madison Park HS
The best kept secret of Massachusets this past spring. After his performance in the AAU Nationals and Super Showcase this past summer, he has started to draw interests from various division 1 and 2 schools. "He played real well this past weekend. He had a few mistakes he'd love to take back but I told him this is where you learn. Your playing in the Open division despite only being as junior. He controlled the tempo, hit the open players in the post and on the wings. He should be one of the top three point guards in Massachusetts if he continues to work at it. He has an excellent shot from the 3 point range and a mid-range game."

More to come on the following players (Anthony Drayton, Dwight Brewington, JR Moore, Charlie Jones, Leroy Byron, Travis George, etc...)

Thursday, October 17
adidas Hoop Challenge player profiles! - pt2
Here's part 2 of the players recap for a few of the players from this past weekend:

Anthony Drayton - 5'10 SG/PG Avon Old Farms (CT) School
A tough competitor. Has range beyond the 3 point arc. Can defend the full length of the floor. Can attacks the basket and finish with the best of them. "Anthony is the senior captain of the group. I love this kid. He's probably the best scorer if not second best on the team. If he was 6'2, just about every school in the country would be after him. The only thing he needs to work on is his conditioning and ball handling skills. He's out of shape right now because of a bad ankle sprain he's had over the past month and a half. He's drawn interests from various D1 and D2 schools. He can learn to play the point. He's going to be a great asset to any school he decides to attend."

Dwight Brewington - 6'5 1/2 PG/SG/SF Worcester Academy
Excellent ball handling skills, finisher in the paint, free throw shooter, post player and above all competitor. The kid can play three different positions and produce at every single on of them. "He did a great job this weekend. He stepped up on the defensive end in both man to man, in the press and in the few times we had to go zone because our big men got into foul trouble. He rebounded the ball real well on both the offensive and defensive end.
Offensively, I never have any worries. Like I've said before, this kid can stroke from 20-22 feet away from the basket comfortably and accurately. When they put smaller guards on him, we posted him up. When they put a bigger forward, we spread the floor. He drove and either dished it to the open perimeter jump shooter, to the post men in the paint or finished on his own. This was his coming out party in New England. He already had his National party in Florida back in July."

JR Moore - 6'9 PF/C Worcester Academy
A strong rebounder and defensive enforcer in the paint. Can shoot from 14 feet in and has a few nifty moves in the post. "This kid I fell in love with this past weekend. I saw him a few times up at Worcester Academy playing pick up and he did a good job up there. He played even better down in Connecticut. URI got a steal. If this kid continues to work at it and learns some more moves in the paint from Tyrone Weeks, he might become one of the best post player in the A-10 by the time he's done at URI. He's an excellent kid. He's tough."

Charlie Jones - 6'3 SG/SF Worcester Academy
A slasher and solid penetrator. Attacks the basket aggressively and rebound pretty well for a guard. "Charlie played well for us this past weekend. He played well defensively covering the smaller guards on the perimeter and gave us some time defending post players in the paint when we had to go zone because of our big men in foul trouble. I like what I saw from him. I talked to him while on the road headed back home and gave him a few pointers on what to work on to improve his game. I told Dwight to work on him with a few of the drills I 've taught him over the past few years while he's up at Worcester. He can be a pretty good contributor for Morgan this upcoming year. He has a pretty good upside."

More to come on Travis George, Leroy Byron, etc.


Friday, August 2
AAU Super Showcase (Orlando, FL)
Orlando, FL - Metro Boston finished with a 1-3 (1-2 in pool play games) record in the AAU 17 & Under Super Showcase from July 22 - July 26, 2002.

In their opening pool play game, Metro Boston lost to the Magnolia (LA) Stars 67-62. In their second game, Metro Boston beat the Atlanta (GA) Prep Stars by a final score of 78-59. In the final pool game, Metro Boston lost to the Illinois Warriors by a final score of 59-58 by a buzzer beater three pointer.

Metro Boston finished second in their pool (B) and advanced into the championship (single-elimination) round. In the opening round of the playoffs, Metro Boston lost to the North Carolina Gaters by a final score of 68-54.

According to Coach Mo, "This was a great event for the kids. It gave them an opportunity to showcase their talent in front of the college coaches. We played in an invitational tournament where only 64 teams were invited and advanced into the championship round.

Unfortunately we didn't play too well and lost to some good teams. At the half, we lead in most of the games except for the Illinois Warriors and NC Gaters' game. We didn't take care of the ball at all. We made bad judgements with the ball. There were times we could've put our oppponents away but instead we let them back into the game.

I personally felt we played our best complete games against the Illinois Warriors and the Atlanta Prep Stars. That loss to the Illinois Warriors at the buzzer took the wind out of our sails for the play-offs. The kids played hard from start to finish these two games. In the Illinois game we had the lead by 2 points (Dwight Brewington coverts on two free throws) with 8 seconds left in the game. They inbound the ball, one of our defenders cheats and gets burnt and our defense reacts. This left one of their perimeter players open and fortunately for him, he hit the three pointer as time runs out.

In the other pool games, we played well for 16-20 minutes. But as everyone knows, the game is for 32 minutes not 20. We didn't play our best in Florida. I'm sure they know this."

Mo goes on to add, "In the play-offs, we lost to the NC Gaters, a team that beat BABC in their pool games by 12 points to win their pool outright. We were down 2 points at half-time despite committing 8 unforced turnovers. At the tail-end we broke down on defense and gave away a few uncontested lay-ups."

Tuesday, February 5
Cahill signed LOI
Matt Cahill (6'3 SG Sr. Bridgewater-Raynham HS) has signed a letter of intent to attend Saint Anselm College (NH) in 2003 on a full athletic scholarship during the early signing period in November.

According to Coach Mo, "St. A's got a gem. He's a great kid. He works hard, a great listener, a great student and is very athletic. I wish him and his family the best of luck and to enjoy the next four years. Saint A's walked away with a great asset not only to the basketball team but the school in general. Unfortunately for the other teams in the conference, they're about to witness a silent assasin."

Mo goes on to add, "Mary and Tom (Cahill) have been excellent parents. They've done a great job with Matt and have been very supportive. Congratulations! I want to personally thank you for all your help and support to the other kids on the team and my program. Stay in touch cause I'll definitely want to see Matt play at the next level."

Matt has been selected as player of the week in the Boston Globe this year on a couple of occassions. Great job, Matt!

Monday, April 15
Nate Hurwitz Champions!
Charlestown, MA - Metro Boston defeated YABC by a final score of 70-68 on Thursday, April 11th at the Charlestown Boys & Girls Club.

The team consisted of the following members: Dwight Brewington, Dorien Brown, Corey Cofield, Anthony Drayton, Willie Phillips and Alvin Lewis. Unable to attend the championship game were Daryl Brooks (injured), Ryan Maloney (ill), Mike Vaz (work), and Matt Cahill.

In the opening round, Metro Boston defeated Coastal Pops by a final score of 71-48. In the second round Metro Boston defeated BABC via forfeit. In the semi-finals, Metro Boston defeated Brockton by a final score 68-60. In the Championship game, Metro Boston defeated YABC.

Tuesday, August 13
Sprite Challenge Champions!
Roxbury, MA - Metro Boston defeated Metro East (Paris Street CC) in the championship game to win the 3rd Annual Sprite Challenge tournament.

Metro Boston was lead by Dorien Brown, Corey Cofield, Dwight Brewington, Matt Blue, Ryan Maloney, Antonio Anderson, Mike Vaz and Remy Cofield (rising 8th grader at Roxbury Latin).

In pool play, Metro Boston faced the LOG School (Brockton) coached by Steve Drayton. Metro Boston went on to win by a final score of 86-63.

According to Coach Mo, "They had a great set of guards in Stevie Hailey and Will Blaylock but the difference for us was our size. Corey and Dorien controlled the paint. Mike and Dwight played big in the paint. The guards for us did an excellent job hitting the open 3's."

In the second pool play game, Metro Boston beat Pumpkin's Crew by a final score of 78-55. Metro Boston jumped out quick, early and consistently.

According to Coach Mo, "We played our game and the press blew the game open. We controlled the boards and kept them consistently to one shot per posession. This was the best game we played all weekend."

In the final pool game, Metro Boston beat YABC by a final score of 84-77. Metro Boston was lead by Mike Vaz, Matt Blue, Ryan Maloney, Corey and Remy Cofield in the first half. Dorien Brown, Antonio Anderson and Dwight Brewington arrived at half time.

According to Coach Mo, "Matt shot lights out. We played well in the first half for at least 16 out of the 20 minutes. We actually had an 18 point lead in the first half. Unfortunately fatigue settled in. But fortunately for us the other guys came in at half time. We didn't play great in the second half, but we managed to pull out the win. Remy (Cofield 6'3 WF Roxbury Latin) played well despite being a rising 8th grader against rising Seniors."

In the championship game, Metro Boston beat Metro East (Paris Street CC) by a final score of 75-60. Metro Boston was lead by Mike Vaz and Matt Blue in the championship game.

According to Coach Mo, "The kids from Paris Street did a great job. They won 2 games in order to face us in the championship game. They beat the Roxbury Titans in the semi-final game to play us. I give them a ton of credit. Their kids didn't quit. James and Nu has done an excellent job with them. They gave us a good game. At the half we were only up 5 points. Our press, Mike and Matt did an excellent job to pull off that win for us in the second half."

Tuesday, August 13
Slam Dunk Champ and Tourney MVP!
Roxbury, Mass - In the slam dunk contest, Mike Vaz defeated Dwight Brewington by a point to win the tourney's slam dunk trophy. In the final four bracket, Mike beat out Dwight Brewington, Mike Jones (Sawyer), and Brandon Odom.

In regards to the tournament, Matt Blue was nominated tournament MVP by the Metro Boston players and coaching staff.

According to Mo, "I'm proud of both those guys. They played real well all weekend. Mike wanted to win the slam dunk contest and he did it convincingly beating out Dwight and Mike Jones (Thayer Academy). He also played real well throughout the tournament. I think his best dunk came at the end of our first pool game when he stole the ball and wind-milled it home."

Mo goes on to add, "As for Matt, he did it despite having back pains. He shot real well. He took the shots. I can't recall how many time I had to yell at him to shoot the ball throughout the year. He's one of the best 3 point shooters in Massachusetts. He should be shooting the ball for us at least 15 times from behind the arc. He played the whole tournament with a sprained back. Without him, I don't think we win it."

Good job, fellas!

Tuesday, September 17
Cofield commits!
Corey Cofield, a 6'6" Forward from Roxbury Latin, has verbally committed to attend William & Mary in Virginia in the Fall of 2003. Corey will sign his Letter of Intent (LOI) in November during the early signing period.

According to Coach Mo, "I'm very happy for Corey and his family. He's worked his way into being one of the top fifteen, if not ten players in state. I truly mean it. He's worked on his conditioning, his jumpshot from 16 feet in, his ball handling skills and his jumping ability. He committed himself to our program when he first came over and did everything we asked of him.

The funny thing is he still has plenty of room to improve as a player. He has yet to hit his peek. At the next level (Division I), he'll start lifting weights, working out daily on new post moves, perimeter shooting, improve his ball handling, etc. He can potentially play small forward when it's all said and done. They are going to love him there. They got a diamond."

Mo goes on to add, "Back in April at the Hoop Mountain HS tournament for the underclassmen game at UMass-Boston he showed everyone that he was one of the best players in Boston. The kid should have won the MVP for his team during that all-star game. Don't get me wrong, there were some good players playing in that event like Blaylock, Hailey, Sims, etc. but everyone in attendance knew Corey played well and deserved the award. There couldn't have been two Metro Boston players winning the MVP (laughing)? All jokes aside, he played real well that weekend, just as Dwight did.

In July, Corey played real well in the AAU Showcase and Nationals in Orlando, Florida. Corey played big in Florida. He was finishing on guys 6'9 - 6'11. When I say finishing, I mean throwing it down on bigger guys. Unfortunately for him he got hurt on the third day of the Nationals. He did draw interests from various schools but Corey wanted to lock up his destination by this fall. He wants to focus on his academics and the upcoming season at RL."

Great job Corey! Keep up the great work!

Monday, September 23
Brewington is Big East bound!
Dwight Brewington, 6'5 PG, has made a verbal commitment to attend Providence College begining in the fall of 2003.

According to Coach Mo, "I spoke to Dwight on Sunday morning and he told me he had a lengthy conversation with his mom, how the weekend went and how he interacted with the coaching staff. He said, 'Mo, even if I fall in love with South Carolina, I can't guarantee going there. My mom is not moving south. I want to be close to her and my family.' I told him as long as he's happy and he weighed all his options, the decision was his.

Head Coach Tim Welsh and Assistant Phil Seymore did their research. They had a great home visit with Dwight, Pam and myself. Then, they got Dwight on campus this weekend and the kid got to see PC on a first hand basis (Dwight had visited unofficially last spring). He played with guys on the team and he told me he felt real comfortable with the players."

Mo goes on to add, "Dwight drew interests and offers from some major univerisities besides Providence: South Carolina, Temple, NC State and Arizona. He had coaches like Dave Odom (SEC), Lute Olson (PAC 10), Tim Welsh (Big East) and Herb Sendek (ACC) watching him play a few times in Florida and all commenting on his game.

Could the kid play in any of these conference? I have no doubt in my mind. If we were affiliated with a shoe company they would've invited him to one of the shoe camps in early July. Many schools didn't get a chance to see him until the end of July at the AAU Supershowcase and the AAU Nationals. Many coaches couldn't believe their eyes.

He's a 6'5 PG that can shoot from the perimeter (22 feet in), sees the floor real well, goes to the rack, drives and dish, rebounds, etc. In my opinion he's the best guard to come out of Massachusetts in at least the past 5 years. I know this is a bold statement but I can't find a guard that I can compare him to. He's real versatile. He can play the PG. At 6'5 how many PGs can defend him man to man. Worst case scenerio, he'll post up or shoot over the smaller point guards. At Shooting Guard, he can stroke it from the perimeter and/or drive to the basket. At Small Forward, He can do the same as a Shooting Forward. The kid is a gym rat. He works on all aspects of the game."

Great job Dwight!

Wednesday, October 16
adidas Hoop Challenge Champions!
Bridgeport, CT - Below are comments by Coach Mo in regards to games from this past weekend at the adidas Hoop Challenge:

Saturday (pool game):
Metro Boston 63 CAS Warriors 58 (Double OT)
This was a tough win. This was the first game we've played in a while because of personal reasons on my side. Everything is great at home now so we had to get back to business.

The guys played well. Most of them were in shape. A few guys I'll get on as we begin to practice again for not taking care of their conditioning. All in all, we played well. We buckled down defensively in the second half and put together the little things to get the win. The game went back and forth and in the 2nd OT we handled our business to put the game out of reach.

Sunday (pool play):
Metro Boston 78 CT North Stars 66
Our size in the paint was the difference. Dorien, JR Moore (6'9 PF/C Worcester Academy) and Dwight played big in the paint. They had a small guard on Dwight and we posted him up. The guards: Matt, Ryan, Anthony, Alvin and Leroy Byron (6'2 G North Worcester High School) played well defensively.

Metro Boston 61 Positive Image (PA) 60
This was a win that we won at the buzzer. It shouldn't have been this close in the final seconds if we hit our free throws. No knock on Positive Image, they're a tough club but we should've been able to put that game away in the final two minutes. We were up 7 points with the ball and three minutes to go in the game.

It was a great pass from Alvin on the inbound play to Dwight. Dwight got a screen from Anthony and cut towards the basket to receive the pass and lay it up to gives the win as the buzzer sounded.

Play-offs (all games at University of Bridgeport):
Monday:
Quarter-finals - received a bye for winning pool.

Semi-finals:
Metro Boston 68 Connecticut Flames 60
We had a rusty start in this game. The kids were up late the night before and clowning around. This showed during the first half of this game. We played horrible man to man defense. In the second half we played a little bit better.

Championship Game
Metro Boston 56 Milford Academy 43
We came to play. End of Story. All the guys on the team gave me 100% effort, intensity and pride. We played an excellent prep school team. They had at least 4-5 guys with the potential of signing at the high to mid major D1 level. A few other guys could easily sign at the D1 lower level.

The difference that game was we controlled the boards. Dorien, JR, Dwight and Travis did an excellent job on the boards. They played tough inside the paint with the big boys from Milford Academy. In all of there previous wins, they controlled the boards by at least 15 rebounds per game. I told the guys before the game, the winner on the boards wins the game.

Offensively, the press in the second half gave us the opportunity to get out on the fast break. In the half court sets, Dwight literally killed them. When they put a smaller guard on him, we posted him up. When they put a big kid on him, Dwight blew past him and either finished with a three point play, a dunk or dumped off for the easy assist. When they double teamed him, he drove and dished for open jump shots from the other guards or easy dump down dunks for the big men. The kid made the game seem easy.

I can't wait for him to play at the next level to show and prove the type of player Dwight is. The best guard in New England, bar none. I saw a few comments our competitor had in the local papers last week. I respect his opinion but all of the best teams/programs in New England didn't play in his tournament. I didn't recall seeing Connecticut Select, New Hampshire Granite, RI Breakers or our team in the event.

No knock on his program, he's done an excellent job for the kids in Massachusetts over the past 20 years but there are other clubs out there that are competing at the highest level nowadays without the Nike and/or Adidas sponsorship and getting the recognition for other kids in the state. Guys like Pete Washington (YABC), Mike Crotty (Middlesex Magic) and our program have done an excellent job night in and night out without any major funding. Kids nowadays don't need to play for BABC only in order to have an opportunity to play in front of the college coaches. The top four players in the state played for various organizations: Mike Jones (Maryland) played for LI (NY) Panthers, Demitrius Nicols (Syracuse) played for both the RI Breakers/Tim Thomas Playaz, Hossan Fofana (Maryland) for Middlesex Magic and Dwight Brewington (Providence) played for us.

Metro Boston wins Omega; falls in Area IV tourney
In the Omega 16 & Under tournament held in Dorchester, Ma. on Sunday, November 19th Metro Boston beat the Dorchester Boys' & Girls' Club by 1 point as they defended their title for the second year in a row. Daryl Brooks (West Roxbury HS) followed up a Dwight Brewington's (Lynn English HS) missed jumpshot with seconds left on the clock to take the lead.

In the final play of the game, Dwight Brewington contested Will Blaylocks' final shot to seal the victory. Earlier in the day, Metro Boston had beaten Tent City and Blue Hill Boys' & Girls' Club in the earlier rounds of the Round Robbin tournament.

On Friday, November 17th at the 19 & Under Area IV Cambridge tournament, Metro Boston fell to Y.A.B.C. in overtime. At the end of regulation, Metro Boston had two opportunities to pull off the victory but fell short on a Dwight Brewington's jumpshot and Cory Szklarz (St.Peter-Marian HS) put back.

In overtime, Metro Boston quickly fell behind by six points and couldn't dig themselves out of it. Coach Mo added, "All in all, it was a pretty good event to attend. We are a young team that played in a much older division and lost to a pretty good team in overtime. The one knock I have was the officiating wasn't consistent."


Jamboree Info on Lena Park Tourney - Nov. 3rd - 4th
Below is the "All-Tourney" and "High Honorable Mention" from the Basketball Jamboree held at Lena Park C.D.C. on November 3rd and 4th.

All Tourney Team:
6'3 Dwight Brewington (Metro Boston: Lynn English HS)
5'10 Anthony Drayton (Metro Boston: Lincoln-Sudbury HS)
6'4 Dorien Brown (Metro Boston: Lynn Classical)
6'4 Robert Taylor (Stanhope: Newton North)
6'4 Jonathan Langston (YABC: Brockton HS)
6'2 Cory Szklarz (Worcester: St.Peter-Marian)
5'11 Matt Savage (Worcester: St.John's)
6'0 Steve Hashin (Breakers: New Bedford HS)
6'3 Corey Draffin (Breakers: New Bedford HS)
6'5 Rob Lucky (Ct. Select: Sacred Heart HS)
6'3 Calvin Davis (Ct. Select:Sacred Heart HS)
6'5 Kevin Fischer (Ct. Select: Rockville)

Honarable Mention:
5'10 Willie Phillips (Metro Boston:Lincoln-Sudbury)
6'2 Matt Cahill (Metro Boston:Bridgewater-Raynham HS)
5'11 Daryl Brooks (Metro Boston: West Roxbury HS)
6'2 Scott Roy (Breakers: New Bedford Voc.)
6'2 Marcus Wilcox (Ct. Select: Weaver HS)
5'11 Wesley Platt (YABC:No.Cambridge Catholic)
6'0 Mike D'Auria (Stanhope: Newton South)
5'11 Jamal Ford (Worcester: Doherty HS)

Tourney Results:
"First of all, I want to thank all the coaches and the kids that came out to participate in the event. I also want to thank my volunteer staff for all their help and commitment. Everyone seemed to have a great time and enjoyed themselves.

Below is a brief summary of the results from this weekend's 'Basketball Jamboree' and I wish all the participants much success as they prepare themselves for their upcoming basketball season", stated Coach Mo.

Friday:
Metro Boston beat Stanhope Garage

Saturday:
Y.A.B.C. beat Worcester Warriors
Breakers beat Stanhope Garage
Conn. Select lost to Worcester Warriors
Metro Boston beat Breakers
Conn. Select beat Y.A.B.C.(*)
Championship Game: Metro Boston beat Y.A.B.C.

Note(*): Y.A.B.C.[+12] advanced despite loss to Connecticut Select [+6] because of three-way tie in Pool play. The determining factor was total point differential in games played within the tied three teams. The other tied team was Worcester Warriors [-18].

All the games were held at Lena Park C.D.C.

Adidas Hoop Challenge Recap
Metro Boston competed in the Open and Juniors division at the Adidas Hoop Challenge this past weekend at Yale University.

In the "Open Division", Metro Boston Seniors lost two heartbreaking games. Against the NJ Cyclones, Metro Boston lost by three points. According to Coach Nu, "The problem for us as usual is we start out slow. We'd spot the other team 8-10 points early on and try to scrap back into the game. We missed at least 15 free throws in the second half."

The second lost came at the hands of the B-Ballers (NY) in overtime by a final score of 65-62. According to Coach Mo, "Same as before, we come out flat and spot our opponents 10-12 points. We actually could of won the game at the end of regulation but needed to go into overtime and try to win by at least 5 points because of tie-breaker rules, so we held onto the ball to try to pull it out in OT.

The kids faught hard. 6'4 Junior BF Antuan (Streater - Lynn Tech) played his butt off. He had a great game. He left everything on the floor. He easily ended up with a double-double (22 points and 12 rebounds). The Seniors, 6'2 SG Cory Szklarz (St.Peter-Marian), PG 5'10 Elector DaSilva (Canton HS), and SG 6'4 Jamal Brooks (Notre Dame Prep - Fitchburg, MA) also played well. Week in and week out, Cory played hard. He hit the open shots, attacked the basket and defended real well.

We decided to put a Senior group in mid-August to give more kids an opportunity for exposure (to the college coaches). They did everything we asked of them. The one regret I have was that they weren't together long enough to get to know each other better. I only wish we had these guys playing together since March. We promised them Charlie Weber (MD), NY Slam Jam Fest (NY) and the Adidas Hoop Challenge (CT) during live period (a period when coaches can come out and evaluate talent) this fall if they took care of business in practice. They did, therefore we delivered. We were the only team from Boston that was busy the whole month and at the events we needed to be at (where the scouts were at). The Juniors and Sophomores that played up also contributed well. This is a learning experience for them."

Metro Boston Juniors beat the Conn Select Sophs by a final score of 55-35. In their second game, Metro Boston lost to Brampton (Canada) by a final score of 61-54. Metro Boston advanced to the Quarter-finals because of the points differential.

In the quarterfinals, Metro Boston faced the Tim Thomas Playaz and lost by a final score of 68-48. According to Coach Mo, "This was the worst we could have played. There are no excuses for our performance. We played bad. The intensity and leadership wasn't there. This was a bad way to end the month. We played the game to their (TTP) level. Take nothing away from them, they're a pretty good team. The difference was we needed to play to our level, but didn't.

The kids that played well were 5'10 SG Daryl Brooks (So.-West Roxbury HS), 6'2 SG Matt Cahill (Jr.-Bridgewater&Raynham HS), and 6'5 BF Dorien Brown (So.-Lynn Classical). 6'3 PG Dwight Brewington (So.-Lynn English HS) didn't play bad, but didn't play great either."

Charlie Weber Invitational Info. (MD)
Note: 6'3 PG Dwight Brewington (Lynn English) selected overall top ten sophomores from the Charlie Weber tourney by Van Johnson Jr. from the www.Fastbreakrecruiting.rivals.com

In 17 & Under Division, Metro Boston finished with a 3-1 record losing in the playoffs.

In their first scheduled game, Metro Boston beat the Connecticut Rebels by forfeit (no show). In their second scheduled game, Metro Boston beat the (DC) Buffalo Soldiers 53-49. It was a tough fought game. The team from DC had opened up a 12 point lead in the first half but Metro Boston fought back. Dwight Brewington, Ken Jackson, Cory Szklarz, Antuan Streater and Elector DaSilva played tenacious defense to get back into the game and take one away from the opponent.

In their final pool play game, Metro Boston beat the Carolina Ballers by a final score of 103-92. It was an uptempo game, which played into Metro Boston's hands because of the guard play (Cory Szklars, Dwight Brewington, Elector DaSilva, and Ken Jackson).

In the playoffs of the National League, Metro Boston lost to a team from New York. According to Coach Mo, "We came out flat in the first half. There are no excuses for that. We were down 36-6, giving away breakaway layups, uncontested jumpshots and second-to-third shots. In the second half we came to play. We clawed back to within 12 points with 4 minutes to go when the coach from the opposing team received a technical foul for walking out on the floor.

Unfortunately, we missed the two key freethrows and turned the ball over that would have cut the lead to single digits. This took the wind from our sails. I told the guys afterwards, if we played the whole game with the same intensity as we did in that second half, we win that ball game. We gave them a tough run. Cory Szklarz (6'3 SG St.Peter-Marian) played his butt off. He had a hell of a game. The kid never quit, shot the ball well and left everything on the floor."

16 & Under Division, Metro Boston finished with a 2-1 record and did not advance from pool play because of the tie-breaker rules - least points allowed overall (three way tie between Canada Prepstars, SC Topps Sports and Metro Boston). The difference was 10 points.

In the opening game of pool play, Metro Boston beat the Keystone Blazers (PA) by a final score of 55-35. In their second game, Metro Boston lost to (SC) Topps Sports by a final score of 54-49. Coach Mo stated, "The problem we've had at times this year was that we didn't start games well from the jump. We decide to take warmups lightly and expect to pick it up in the course of the game. You have got to give the South Carolina team credit. They were hungry from the jump. They beat us to lose balls, were aggressive attacking the basket and played tough relentless defense. We let them build up confidence.

In the second half of the game, we started to play our style of game but unfortunate we were too little, too late. We missed a few key freethrows down the end and turned the ball over back-to-back when we could've taken the lead. I got to give them credit, they played a hell of a game."

In the final pool game, Metro Boston beat the Canada Prepstars by a final score of 60-55 in OverTime. Coach Mo stated, "We had a huge lead in the third period and found numerous ways of turning the ball over. We made too many simple mistakes."

Note: (SC) Topps Sports went on to win the the 16 & Under Division.

NY Slam Jam Tourney: Metro Boston Jrs. 2-1; Srs. 0-3
Metro Boston (Lena Park) competed in the New York Slam Jam Fest (hosted by Wayne Simone, Charlie Weber and Gary Deceasare) in Long Island (NY) this past weekend (Sept. 8th-10th. Coach Mo added, "This was a great event to attend. A major portion of the Division I, II, and III college coaches from the Northeast, Atlantic Coast, South and Midwest attending this event. There was no other place for the kids to be. This trip gave our kids an opportunity for exposure to various colleges and an opportunity to play against good competition.

Over 90 teams participated in this event, only four (4) slots were filled from Massachusetts teams (Metro Boston (2), Greater Boston and Springfield Slamm). We did pretty good competing in the two different divisions."

In the Underclassmen division, Metro Boston beat the NY Ravens 61-55. Willie Phillips (Jr.-Lincoln-Sudbury) sealed the victory with a breakaway layup from a pass made by 6'5 PF/C Corey Cofield (So.-Roxbury Latin). Corey Cofield, SG 5'10 Anthony Drayton (Jr.Lincoln-Sudbury), and 6'2 SG Matt Cahill (Jr.Bridgewater-Raynham) lead the way for Metro Boston.

Metro Boston lost to the Connecticut Comets 57-48 in their second pool game. Coach Mo added, "We didn't play well from start to finish. We played lazy, forced shots and turned the ball over. I was very disappointed on my guards.

The bright spots for us were 6'5 WF/PF Dorien Brown (So.-Lynn Classical), 5'10 SG James French (So.-West Roxbury HS) and 5'11 SG Daryl Brooks (So.-West Roxbury HS). SG 5'10 Anthony Drayton played a better second half."

In their final game, Metro Boston beat the Virginia Cobras 60-57. 6'2 SG Matt Cahill (Jr.-Bridgewater-Raynham) finished with 20 points (4-7 from 3PT range) to lead the way.

In the Senior division, Metro Boston went 0-3 with two tough fought losses. They lost their first game in pool play to the DC Footstoppers 50-48. 6'3 PG/SG Dwight Brewington (Soph.-Lynn English) and 6'5 WF George Wright (Jr.-Everett) lead the way for Metro Boston.

In their second game, Metro Boston Sr. lost to Jersey Shore Warriors in OT 53-49. It was a tough fought matchup. 6'2 SG Corey Szklarz (Sr.-St.Meridian(Worcester, MA.), 6'5 WF George Wright, 6'1 CG Roderick Jean-Joseph (Sr.:Concord-Carlisle) and Dwight Brewington lead the way for the home team.

The team missed a lot of opportunities to seal the victory. At the end of regulation, Elector DaSilva (Sr.-Canton HS) misses a layup with :03 seconds left in regulation for the win.

Coach Mo added, "It's tough to lose that game especially when you get a great look in the final play of the game that could have sealed the victory. The other kids will forget all the mistakes they made in the game and just remember that missed lay-up. We committed at least 10 turnovers a half. Defensively we played great. They earned every basket."

In their final pool game, Metro Boston lost to Brooklyn Beasts 64-49. The conditions were pretty rough: wet floors, hot gym and very conjested. It was the teams final game of the night and event.

Metro Boston falls in Semi-Finals (PPI)
This past weekend (August 26th-27th) in the Play for Peace Invitational held in Newton, Mass., Metro Boston/Lena Park lost in the semi-finals. Head Coach and Program Director Mauricio "Mo" Vasquez provided this report.

"In our first game, we were scheduled to face the Mass. Wildcats, who later pulled out of the event. So we faced a team from Cambridge that filled their spot. It was a hard-nose, tough fought match up. We won this game by a few points; I can't recall the score. It was our first game back from the summer break, which I now regret. I'll write more to that affect later.   

We got a few of the kinks out, but I could tell we would be in tough shape for the weekend, when I called a timeout in the first game and the five players on the floor were winded. Fatigue was our worst opponent this weekend.

Against the Parish CC (East Boston), we won by at least 15-20 points. We played that game pretty well. Dorien (Brown) held their main scorer (George Wright) in check. We controlled the boards, offensive and defensively, and we were in position to help each other defensively every time down the floor.

In the final scheduled game against Connecticut Select, we won by 5-7 point. It was a close game. We would take the lead, and then they'd fight back and take the lead. The game was a seesaw match. The difference defensively were Dorien (Brown), Daryl (Brooks), and Tyran (Crosby). They controlled the boards, shut down their men and blocked key shots.

The difference offensively, was Dwight (Brewington), Corey (Cofield), Matt (Kahill) and Alray (Taylor).   They scored well in transition. We have always battled well with Connecticut Select. Wayne Simone always has a good team. I love playing against them. Despite the score, it's always a win-win situation.

In the semi-finals game, we lost to the Bay State Bulldogs, 72-66 in overtime. I give them credit; they were down early to us but fought back to take one from us. Taking nothing away from the Bulldogs, we couldn't have found any more ways to give that game away. Unforced turnover after turnover, not getting back on transition defense and simple violations after violations.

This will be the last year that we decide not to practice in the summer. Since Penn State, we have had maybe two or three practices. Never again. We looked horrible. We were out of shape and at times played out of sync.   If I had a dime for all the free throws we missed, I'd be in vacation somewhere in the Carribean.

My belief is in the summer, the kids can play for their local neighborhood teams as long as it doesn't interfere with our schedule, practices, games and their expected workout schedule.

I don't know what they got out of their local summer team(s), but it seemed to me it was only bad habits and lack of conditioning. We'll be ready for the fall. We'll at least be in shape, worst case scenario."


E.I.B.C. - Session 3 (July 27-31)
Two members of the Metro Boston/Lena Park team attended the highly-competitive Eastern Invitationals Basketball Clinic in July, during Session III in Trenton, New Jersey.

Rising Junior Anthony Drayton, 5'10 SG (Lincol-Sudbury HS), and Rising Sophomore Dwight Brewington, 6'3 PG/SG (Wakefield HS) each participated in the intense session along with some highly-touted talent on July 27th-31st.

According to Coach Mo, "This was a great camp to send the kids to. There's a ton of exposure and it's highly competitive. The kids get a chance to go head-to-head against people that often are rated high on people's recruiting lists. I'm sure they left a pretty good impression of Boston talent in New Jersey. They presented themselves well and hopefully left an impression of our program and team."

In regards to the players performance, Coach Mo goes on to add, "Anthony (Drayton) had a tough time because of an ankle sprain he suffered at Penn State (Charlie Weber Invitational (July 19th-21st)). I kind of wish he had more time to recover prior to going down because I know when Anthony's at 100%, he's tough to contain, let alone defend.

It's also tough because a lot of the kids tend to be selfish. It's hard playing with a group of kids you met for the first time, that have hidden agendas. Dwight tells me Anthony did pretty well, despite the constant butchering he received and the limitation on his movement because of his ankle sprain.

On the other hand, Dwight (Brewington) did pretty good for himself. He made the Top 20 Underclassmen All-Star game. He played both guard spots, shooting and point. I'm told by a few people that he played the Point Guard spot pretty good. Anthony told me that if it wasn't for Dwight running Point, his team might not have done as well."

Coach Mo goes on to add, "There's a philosophy I have and belief we, as a staff, share: Try to develop our student-athletes for the position(s) they'll play at the college level. Most of the kids in our program problably play out of position in their respective high schools. That's not a knock on any high school coach because often at the high school there isn't more than 1 person taller than 6'2". Therefore, the kids must play foward, power forward or center.

That's why my philosophy is, 'Try to develop our student-athletes for the position(s) they'll play at the college level.' This is something I've been doing since I started coaching basketball. Monty (Mack) sometimes played Center for his high school team. Oscar (Lopez) played Shooting Forward. The great thing at Southie High, Coach Loghnane worked on Guard drills all the time during practice. This helped them develop as Guards. When they played in tournaments and practiced for me, they played the Guard positions because, let's be honest, under 6'3" your going to be a Guard at Division I. I used to have to rotate Oscar (Lopez), Carmelo (Travieso), Jonathan (DePina), Monty (Mack) and Willie (Perez).

Let's take Dwight for instance. Since Dwight has joined our program, our staff has prepared him and helped him adjust to moving over from Shooting Forward to Point Guard. The kid actually plays three different spots for any and all of our groups. Since last summer, we helped him work on his jumpshot and inner strength. In do time he'll add weight. He's a hard worker. He'll earn everything he deserves in regards to the game. College coaches are already asking about him."

Metro Boston falls in Semis at Weber Invit'l (Penn State)
The Metro Boston (Lena Park) 16 & Under and 14 & Under teams faired well at the Weber/Simone Invitational at Penn State University on July 21st.

The 14 & Under team lost a tough game to the Long Island (N.Y.) Panthers by 10 points. Coach Derrek stated, "I'm proud of my guys despite the tough officiating down here. We only brought down five players because of last minute complications and cancellations but the kids played their hearts out. They left everything on the floor. We made a good run down here and represented the program well as a group."

The 16 & Under team failed to reach the championship game of the Weber/Simone Invitational by 1 point, losing to Team Canada in the semi-finals game. They had victories over Connecticut Select, Dewey Street (PA), Keystone (PA) Blazers and GC (NY) Ballers.

"This was a tough loss. I kept telling the kids, 'Don't play around with these guys (Team Canada). They're here in the semi-finals because they want it as much as we do and because they must be pretty good.' I felt we played flat and couldn't get ourselves in a rythm from start to finish. The level of play from everyone wasn't as good as I expected. The only one that played pretty well was Dwight Brewington in that semi-final game", stated Coach Mo.

Throughout the tournament, prior to the semi-final game, the Metro Boston 16 & Under team got great production from various individuals. In the opening game, 5'10 SG Anthony Drayton (Lincoln-Sudbury HS) scored 41 points to lead the come from behind win against Connecticut Select. Also, 6'5 PF/C David Centeio and 6'1 Chris Landford showed flashes of their capabilities.

In the second, third and fourth game, 6'5 C/PF Corey Cofield (Roxbury Latin H.School), 5'10 PG Willie Phillips (Lincoln-Sudbury HS), and 5'11 SG/SF Daryl Brooks stepped their game level and intensity up to coach's expectations. Unfortunately, only 6'3 PG/SG Dwight Brewington (Wakefield HS) maintained his level of play through the semi-final game.

Coach Mo goes on to add, "This was a tough loss. I felt we should have and could have won that game if we played up to the level of play we are capable of playing. My staff keeps telling me, 'They're young. They'll come around.'

I guess I'm too stubborn to think that regardless of age and experience, we have enough talented ball players here to win the big games despite their age and what age group we play in. We'll be ready for the fall. You can count on that."

Metro Boston is expecting to compete at various events in September and October. Keep an eye out on the web to see where they'll be playing next.

AAU Nationals Results (TN)
On June 30th, Metro Boston traveled to Kingsport, TN to participate in the 15 & Under/Freshmen AAU Nationals division. Metro Boston finished with 2 wins (Indiana - No excuses, Iowa Huskies) and 3 losses (Michigan Mustangs, HAAY Select, Wisconsin Runnin' Rebels) in the AAU Nationals.

Coach Mo reflects, "Academically, I was proud of the kids. They took advantage of an ACT preperation course that AAU offered at no cost. They attended all four classes, each and every day for two hours per day. The instructor was good. She was actually rewarding kids with Starbursts for each correct answer. I hope they got something out of it. Initially, I told the kids it was mandatory to attend the classes under AAU rules, but after the final class I let them know how proud I was of them to volunteer their free time and take the class (laughing as he recalls letting the kids know about the class).

In regards to basketball, we did fairly well. They kids showed signs, game in and game out, of how not to quit despite the score and time left in the game. We must have had one of the toughest pools in the event.

In pool play, we ended up beating the Indiana team (No Excuses) in overtime. They actually went on to win our pool with a record of 2-1. The other two teams we face (HAAY Select and Wisconsin Runnin' Rebels), we dug our selves into a deep hole early. We must have come from behind two or three times in each game. Unfortunately we couldn't gain the lead and get ahead of our opponents. I have got to give each opponent credit, despite our run at them, they kept their composure and handled their business.

In the Classic tournament, we beat a team from Iowa (Huskies) in the first round. In the first half we played a flawless game. We did everything right and everyone contributed. In the second half, we showed signs of how we play down to the level of competition, not to take anything away from our opponent. Corey, Daryl and Greg played well this game.

In the second round, we faced a team from Michigan (Mustangs) and lost by 3 points. This loss was tough on both, the kids and myself. I felt this was the best we played all week and still fell short. I have got to give credit to the team from Michigan, they didn't back down and gave us everything they had to win that ball game. I felt this was the only game where everyone contributed 110% at the same time and gave it their best. Unfortunately, we came up on the short end of the stick. This was one game I hope the kids learned something from and we build from it. After this game, we went out to eat and had a good team meeting.

The kids had a great time. My staff, the community center and the local corporation helped put a great package for the kids. I tell you, I've never seen so many buffets in one town before. I thinks they kids ate at every single one they wanted to.

Overall Daryl played the best and Corey wasn't too far behind. Tony, Mark, Justin, Craig and Marcus at times played up to expectations. Unfortunately for us, Greg, Dwight, Brendan and Matt struggled at times. They had their flashes and moments. The other down area we had was that our fellow teammate, Dorien, couldn't make the trip."

Metro Boston reaches Semi-finals of New Englands!
This past weekend, Metro Boston participated in the AAU's New England tournament held at Wentworth College and Northeastern University in the 15 & under/freshmen division finishing 3rd in the event.

On Saturday (6/17), in pool play, Metro Boston beat the NH Warriors (65-45). According to head coach, Mauricio "Mo" Vasquez, everyone had a great game. "One through ten, we played a complete game. The kids wanted to show people that we have a very good team. They're tired of hearing about other programs and not getting the respect they deserve. Corey (Cofield) played a great game, picking up for Dorien who wasn't able to play. (starting power forward Dorien Brown was out because of personal reasons.) Greg Nazarro, Daryl Brooks, Dwight Brewington, Justin Kesner, Craig Engerman, Tony White and Mark Buckley did a great job rebounding and applying defensive pressure throughout the game. Matt Blue, Marcus Jones and Corey played well offensively. They passed the ball well and hit key shots. All in all, everyone did a great job."      

In their second game, Metro Boston beat the Paramount Falcons (ME) by a final score of 61-47. Coach Mo stated, "The key to this game was the play of SF Gregory Nazarro and Corey Cofield. They hit the floor on loose balls, crashed the boards relentlessly and hit key baskets at crucial times. Daryl played better in the second half of the game, hitting 3 point shots, blocking shots and rebounding. Dwight and Matt shot the ball well and created scoring opportunities for the other guys. Mark, Tony, and Kesner added to the defensive pressure we were applying causing the Falcons to make turnovers."

In the opening round of the playoffs, Metro Boston faced the Maine Select team (#1 team from Maine State tournament) and beat them by a final score of 61-41.

Coach Mo stated, "The difference was the reserves. When they came in, in the first half, they ballooned the lead from 10 points to about 20 points. Craig Engerman (PF) controlled the rebounds and did an excellent job on their big man, keeping him off the boards. Justin Kesner, went in banged around, grabbed a few rebounds and looked to score. Tony, as typical, played strong, aggressive defense and got a few key offensive rebounds when we needed it.

Offensively, the difference was Marcus Jones. He did a great job looking to feed the post players, not forcing shots and plays, and taking his shot at the right moments of the game. He hit at least 3 three pointers in that crucial spurt in the first half. He did his job to the exact perfection. He gives us a lift off the bench, with his perimeter shooting. His role is similar to that of Steve Kerr in his days at Chicago. When he's on, he's on."

In the semi-finals, Metro Boston faced #1 Massachusetts state champions MassHoops Jaguars (MA) and lost by a final score of 70-61.

Coach Mo stated, "You can break the game down into segments. For the first 8 minutes of the first half, we were tied going back and forth for the lead. They would score, we would score. What hurt us in the first half was the final 8 minutes. They went on a 14-16 points run that gave them not only the lead, but a good cushion at halftime. In the second half of the game, we matched them point for point for the first 6-8 minutes, but then fell apart for 4 minutes. At this point, they were up by 20 points with 7 minutes left in the game.

But as usual, my guys never quit. I was proud to see Dorien back and being a major contributor. That's what I'm most proud of (never quitting), in 2 minutes they cut a 20 point deficit to 5 points. Any other team might have given up at halftime, but we stayed with it and made a run at it.

The difference was the freethrow shooting. We must have missed at least 12-14 freethrows and made a few silly turnovers in the final 2 minutes of the game. You have got to give them credit, they've won the state for 3 years in a row now. They're a well coached team and have a lot of talent, not to mention height. They experience played a factor in the tail end of the game.

The big three for us (Dwight, Dorien and Corey) often get the attention and ink, but their are two other major contributors. The first major factors for our team are Matt, Daryl and Greg. They take pride in their defense and often hit key shots for us. I've dubbed Daryl as the 'Silent Assasin'. He's worked hard on his game and it's starting to show. Matt is a little too unselfish. Often he's passing up his shot for others to contribute. He's a hell of a team player, but I need to work with him a little more to look for his shot. As for Greg, he's worked real hard to come back from a tough ankle injury. This kid never quits, he'll give 100% night in and night out regardless of his health.

The second major factor is our reserves. They work hard. Mark and Kesner have been here for over a year now. They know what we're running and contribute on all ends of the floor. Craig and Tony are only 14 years old, yet they contribute just as much as the 15 years old. The added shooter is Marcus. When he's on, it makes it harder for teams to double-team the post players and congest the middle.

I'm proud of this group of kids. They have been a solid team all year. We've done at least 8 tournaments with this group and in every single event we've been, we've competed and have earned the respect and reputation of being a tough team to face."

Gymrat Challenge (Albany, NY)
On Memorial Day weekend, the Metro Boston 16 & Under/Sophomore Team (only 8 players) traveled to Albany, NY to participate in the Gymrat Challenge hosted at Siena College and Univ. of Albany-SUNY. The team members were:
    Sophomores: PG Willie Phillips (5'10), SG Anthony Drayton (5'10), C Julius Byrd (6'5) and PF Chris Landford (6'2).
    Freshmen: PG/SF Dwight Brewington (6'3), SF Daryl Brooks (5'11), PF Dorien Brown (6'5), and SG James French (5'8).

In opening round of pool play, on Saturday (May 27th), Metro Boston beat Morris County (N.J.) Bulls by a final score of 53-47. Coach Mauricio "Mo" Vasquez stated, "It was a hard-fought, come-from-behind win. The kids played hard. I'm proud of my guys, with only 8 kids we played a tough team and won (Note: Bulls were the #4 seed in AAU (N.J.) States and qualified for the Soph. nationals to be held in Michigan). The only unforunate part was Anthony Drayton (Soph.) getting hurt. He had to go to the emergency hospital to get stitched up. After the injury (in the early second half of the game), the kids gave 110% effort to ensure we won the game for Anthony. These are signs of great team chemistry. The kids care for each other, as all team members should. The Morris County (NJ) Bulls are a great young team/program. They'll be a team to watch of for in the AAU Nationals in July."

In their second scheduled pool-play game, Metro Boston faced the Lake Champlain (NY) Lakers and won by a final score of 64-48. Coach Mo stated, "On the plus side, we had excellent ball movement. Perfect interior play (Dorien Brown, Daryl Brooks and Chris Landford), excellent exterior play (Dwight Brewington, Willie Phillips, James French and Anthony Drayton (after receiving stitches for prior game injury). We moved the ball around well, gave quick outlets and filled the lanes well. On the bad side, it cost me
Julius Byrd (Soph.) by injury. A kid fell on his knee, causing a strain. The games and level of competition would only get harded from this point on and it will be tough with only 7 guys."

On Sunday (May 28th), Metro Boston beat the Adironback (NY) by a final score of 75-41. This marked the end of the pool play games. Coach Mo stated, "The kids played well. From 1 to 8 (Note: eventhough Julius Byrd did not play, he assisted in managing the scorebook.), everyone contributed. My major concern was having another player injuried prior to the play-off games."

After concluding the pool play games, the teams attended a meeting. The winning teams of each pool (10 pools in total) were seeded and placed in a single-elimination tournament format. Six wildcard teams also qualified (by overall best record and total points differential of pool play). Metro Boston was seeded #5 because of their pool play record (3-0) and margin of points differential (47) in their pool games.

In the opening round of the play-offs, Metro Boston faced a local New England team, R.I. Shooting Stars which were seeded #12. Metro Boston won the game with a final score of 63-40. Mo adds, "The game went back and forth. They would score, we would score. The difference was in the second half of the game. We started to play tough man-to-man defense. We contained our opponents and limited their shots to only one on each possession."

In the quarter-finals (Note: game played 25 minutes after first playoff game) , Metro Boston faced Syracuse (NY) Central Actions and won by a final score of 55-41. Coach Mo stated, "They were a tough club to face for us. They were both big and quick. We were actually down in the game and came back with the play from Anthony, Dwight, Wille, Dorien and Daryl. Willie played an integral part, containing their point guard and making it difficult for him to set their offense. I can't forget French and Chris, they rebounded the ball well and helped contain some bigger players then they are used to facing. All in all, we played real well."

In the semi-finals ( 1 hour after quarter-finals game), Metro Boston faced Riverside Church (fourth game on Sunday) and lost in a close game that went down to the last minute 49-55. Coach Mo stated, "I wouldn't trade any of my players for anyone else. These guys gave 110% effort all weekend. I'm proud of them. They deserve a big hand. They each showed signs of how talented they were. The sophomores showed signs of leadership; the freshmen showed signs of stepping up and competing in an older division. The only regret I had was that 2 kids couldn't make the trip. How many people actually had us pegged to get this far? Especially, with only 8 players and the injuries we faced throughout the weekend.

We faced a club that's one of the premier and nationally recognized organization in the country (they traveled with 12 outstanding players). We played them with only 7 players and were 2 plays/possessions away from winning the ball game. The score was tied at 49-49 with a 1:06 left in the game. Instead of slowing down the pace to ensure we scored, we rushed two outside shots and didn't get back in transition-defense quick enough to contest their shots, signs of fatique. Riverside Church (NY) beat every other teams they faced by an average point differential of 25 points.

All in all, I'm proud of my guys. Not once did they quit. They could have cashed out early with all the injuries we faced, but no. They have no signs of quitters, only winners! Julius tried to give it a go during the playoffs, a sign of a warrior. Anthony, despite stitches never once backed out or down. Willie, despite a cold, played hard. Chris, sprained ankle, gave it all he had to help relieve Dorien and seal up rebounds. Dwight and French played on despite bruises and scars from the the physical contact in the games. Dorien left everything he had on the line, each and every game. Never once did he back down. Daryl was the only one that escaped injury. He must have not been playing hard enough (laughing as he makes that statement in regards to Daryl). Just kidding. They all played well, hard and left it all on the line. They have the desire to win. This is what I like."

2000 Mass. AAU States - 15U/Freshmen Team
In "Pool Play" competition, Metro Boston faced NE Spirits on Saturday morning and won by a final score of 58-34. The game was a well-played match. Leading the way for Metro Boston was Dorien Brown, Daryl Brooks, Corey Cofield and Dwight Brewington.
"Dwight gives us the versatility of playing him at 3-4 different positions. He makes it tough for opponents to double-team our post players. Matt and Daryl are the silent assassins. They play tough, tenacious defense full length of the floor. In the post, I can't ask for too much more from Corey, Tyran, Craig and Dorien.", stated head coach Mauricio "Mo" Vasquez.

In their second game (Sat. afternoon), they faced Coastal Pops and won by a final score of 81-57. "A strong performance from all the players especially the bench. Tyran Crosby in the post was unstoppable. Mark Buckley (8 points), Craig Engerman (6 points and 6 rebounds), Tony White (7 points, 4 rebs and 2 steals) and Ben Bechler (4 assists and 2 steals) all contributed to a well team-oriented win", stated Mo.

On Sunday, prior to competing in the playoff game, Metro Boston faced the Mass. All-Stars and won by a final score of 63-43. According to Coach Mo, Metro Boston played flat from the onset. "Not to take credit away from the Mass. All-Stars because they played hard and showed solid patience running their sets, but anything and everything that we could've done to play badly in the first half of that game, we did. We missed freethrows, didn't recover quick enough or well enough defensively and missed plenty of easy layup/put back opportunities", stated coach Mauricio "Mo" Vasquez. He goes on to add, "If it wasn't for Dorien (Brown) blocking 9 shots and grabbing 16 rebounds (5 offensively), the game could have been closer. He must of ended the game with at least 20 points. I know for a fact, he was one block shot away from a triple-double."
   
On Sunday afternoon, in the first round of the playoffs, Metro Boston (Lena Park) faced Merrimack Valley BC. Metro Boston won the game by a final score of 66-46. Metro Boston was leads by Dorien Brown, Matt Blue, Dwight Brewington, Corey Cofield and Daryl Brooks. "At halftime the game was within 6 points. You have got to give MVBC credit, they are not as talented as we are but they are a well-coached group of kids that understands their strengths and limitations. I wish them much success as their season continues", stated Mo.

Metro Boston will face the Blazers on Saturday (May 13th) at 1:30 p.m. at Western New England College (Springfield, MA) in the second round of the playoffs.

Metro Boston wins Thunder in the Valley V!
Metro Boston's 15 & under team defeated Merrimack Valley 55-49 in the championship game of the "Thunder in the Valley V" held at UMass-Lowell on June 3rd & 4th.
Metro Boston was lead by Dorien Brown (hit key free throws in the clutch), Dwight Brewington, Greg Nazarro and Daryl Brooks.

"The kids played well, especially when they played against Worcester West AAU's 17 & under team. We played two good opponents in MVBC and WWAAU. This will help prepare us for the nationals in July. I'm proud of the effort put out by everyone", stated coach Mo.

Brockton Tournament
The Metro Boston team competed in the 18 & under division on the weekend of April 21st - 22nd. In the semi-finals round, the team lost by 1 point to the YABC Jr. team (Boston) coached by Pete Washington. YABC went on to win the event by beating host team Brockton in the championship game.

"It was a great game that could have gone either way. It went down the wire and in the final 15 seconds and we had 3 opportunites to win the ball game. You couldn't ask for more than that. It seemed like a championship game atmosphere. We (Metro Boston) have come a long way in this our third year of existence. YABC is a team that has been around for at least five to six years and their players have played together for over two and a half years. They are well coached and work hard. I give them credit. Pete, my only advice to you, be ready to go into battle again. Next time, we'll need to have it televised and charge admission", stated coach Mauricio "Mo" Vasquez as he grins in making the comment in regards to a televised game.

Mo goes on to add, "To tell you the truth, we didn't want the game to end. There are so many things that the kids and we (as coaches) learn, when we play against good competition. It gives them an opportunity to test their basketball skills against some very good players. For me it's great because we get to work on our X's and O's and defensive pressures. Also, more than half of my roster consists of freshmen and sophomores and they get a chance to improve their game.

As for the older guys, they get an opportunity to improve their game and play against some very good talent. This spring, the older kids have played in events to gain exposure to college coaches as well as compete against some great ball clubs from the northeast region".

In the opening round, Metro Boston faced and beat BABC by forfeit. Metro Boston was down by 3 points with a little over 3 minutes left in the first half when an incident occurred, causing the game to end on a forfeit by BABC.

Metro Boston competes at Connecticut Select tourney!
Metro Boston participated at Wayne Simone's Connecticut Select Hoop Challenge on April 14th - 16th. Competed in both freshmen and juniors' divisions. The freshmen team lost to the "Tim Thomas Playaz" team by two points on a crucial call in the final 2 seconds of the game and the juniors' team lost to Newark Zoo Crew by 3 points. Both teams went 2-1.

Metro Boston competes at Charlie Weber Invitational (PA)
The Metro Boston Basketball Club competed in the 16 & under division at the Charlie Weber Invitational (Villanova, PA) on April 7th - 9th. The team went 3-0 in pool games against Topps Sports (S.C.), New York Ravens, and P.G. Select (Md.). The team also beat the Magic Basketball Club from North Carolina.

After winning their pool and advancing into the quarter-finals round, Metro Boston lost to the Virginia Wildcats by 6 points in overtime.
"It was a hard fought game that could have gone either way. We had plenty of opportunities to win the ball game in regulation, let alone in the overtime session. We have got to give them credit. They were a well-trained, slightly older and experienced team.

The Weber Invitational is a great event. The competition is very competive. Every game is hard fought down to the wire. You really get your monies worth. Last year in Sept. at this same event (held in Maryland) in the same age division, we went 2-1 finishing a close second to P.G. Select.

P.G. Select, the same team we faced this year, beat us by 8 points. In my mind, the main factor was in-experience. Of the twelve players on the roster (in Sept.), 7 kids were freshmen that had just started high school, let alone had yet to tryout for their respective high school teams. The kids seemed a little bit nervous and I believe that was because of the huge magnitude of this event. In that game, we committed 30 turnovers for 36 points. We missed 17 free throws.   We fed into their style of game.

This year we played more relaxed. At times, we took advantage of our strengths and did the things we should have done. But, there are a few little things that we still need to work on, especially on taking care of the ball", stated head coach/program founder Mauricio "Mo" Vasquez.

He goes on to add, "Overall, we finished 4-1. This is not bad for a club that is young and coming-of-age together at tough level competitions such as the Weber Invitational and the Connecticut Select Challenge. I'm proud of all the kids in our program that are committed and work hard to succeed.

We were one of the very few/limited clubs that left the New England region to compete at a major event to represent not only our organization but Boston and the state of Massachusetts. For this I thank everyone involved in the program, from the youth development director at Lena Park and the administration, to my volunteer coaching staff, to the parents for their support and especially the kids for believing in me believing in them. God bless."

Dwight Brewington featured in NECN!
On Monday, December 11th, Dwight Brewington (Lynn English HS - Soph.), a member of the 15-17 & Under Teams, was featured on the New England Cable News network on the issues he's faced and on how well he is doing in school. Hope everyone had a chance to see it!

Good job Dwight!

**2001 Tryout Dates & Times (Revised 3/2/01)**
As of today, Friday, March 2nd the dates and times are as follows:

Try-Outs will be held on the following dates at Lena Park C.D.C. (150 American Legion Highway) in Dorchester, Mass. (See each different age division for exact times & dates!)

Directions to this facility are available from the menu on the left by clicking on "Gym Directions".

Specific times for each age group are shown below. Each age group will be required to attend the specific dates(s) only (Note: 16's and 17's will be required to attend both assigned sessions listed below.) Also note, the official AAU date of birth age requirement is listed below.

14 & Under/8th Grade (tryout Date & info.):
March 3,2001 - Sept.1,1986/Sept.1,1985
9:40 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

15 & Under/9th Grade (tryout date & info.):
March 3,2001 - Sept.1,1985/Sept.1,1984
9:40 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

16 & Under/10th Grade (tryout date & info.):
March 8,2001 - Sept.1,1984/Sept.1,1983
5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
March 10, 2001
8:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

17 & Under/11th Grade (tryout date & info.):
March 8,2001 - Sept.1,1983/Sept.1,1982
5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
March 10, 2001
8:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

19 & Under/12th Grade (tryout date & info.):
March 8,2001 - Sept.1,1981
5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
March 10, 2001
8:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

You must have a completed application form and $12 fee paid before the try-out (Fee will be used for participants' AAU insurance card purposes). More to come on this.

In 2000, Metro Boston/Lena Park fielded 5 teams (Seniors, Juniors, Sophomores, Freshmen, 8th Grade). New student-athletes are encouraged to attend try-outs. Metro Boston's teams are filled with student-athletes from around the Boston area and as far away as 25 miles from towns such as Lynn, Weymouth, Canton, Bellingham, and many others.

For additional information, please feel free to contact Mauricio "Mo" Vasquez at 617-436-1900 ext. 224 or e-mail him at Mo_Metroboston@yahoo.com

See you there.

Friday, April 11
Site to be Updated on April 18th!
Metro Boston will be updating the web site on Friday, April 18th! It will include complete official roster information, tournament schedules, etc. Our apologies for not updating the site in the recent months but Head Coach Mauricio "Mo" Vasquez has been out due to surgery.

Stay in tune.....

Monday, April 14
MetroBoston Jrs. fall to Dejuan Wagner FS (NJ) in final sec!
North Kingston, RI - Metro Boston Jrs. fell to the Dejuan Wagner FS (NJ) in the final seconds (79-77) by a last second putback in pool play.

On Saturday, Metro Boston beat the JC Boys Club 54-53 in the first game of pool play by an Alvin Lewis' drive in the closing seconds of regulation. Metro Boston was down 8 points with 2:24 left in the game.

According to Coach Mo, "We didn't play well at all. We played pretty bad. Nothing against the Jersey team, because they played hard and pretty well. I could tell that my time off of the sidelines and practices didn't help the team. I take the blame for the lack of preparation mt team had. We made mistakes that I wouldn't expect us to make in the normal course of the year. I think the guys were trying to hard. In due time we'll correct some of the things I felt we did bad."

In the second pool game, Metro Boston beat the Warriors B-Ball team by a final score of 73-54. The game was blown open in the final minutes of the first half. Metro Boston went on a 14-2 run in the final minutes of the first half to get a 13 point lead.

According to Coach Mo, "We played pretty good. We moved the ball around real well. We began to play defense real well and shot pretty good. In the second half, we began to run up the score but unfortunately lost two guys to injuries. Not having depth for this tournament hurt us. A few guys missed the bus. They'll pay for it at practice."

Coach Mo goes on to add, "In the final pool game against the Dejuan Wagner team, the injuries and lack of depth hurt us. It was our third game of the day and it showed. We were up by 3 points in the final minute and a half but turned the ball over because of fatigue. They were a pretty good team 1-12. They had a pretty good amount of big men and quality guards. They were tenacious on defense the whole game.

All in all, I love what I saw this weekend from the team. It's going to take a little time to get everything operating smoothly, but we should be fine. They never quit! A sign from teams I've coached in the past. I like this group. They should make some good noise in the summer."

Monday, April 21
AAU Junior States - Pool Play Results
Boston, MA - Below are the Massachusetts AAU Junior State tournament results for Lena Park/Metro Boston:

Saturday (April 19, 2003)
Metro Boston 78 Springfield Slamm 31
Metro Boston jumped out on a 10-2 lead and never looked back. Metro Boston kept up the intensity for the full 32 minutes. Metro Boston was lead by (in no particular order) Alvin Lewis (6'1 PG Madison Park HS), Ryan Maloney (6'1 PG Suffield Academy), Reggie Alleyne (6'0 SG NCC), Dorien Brown (6'7 PF/WF Northfield Mt.Herman), Russell Martin (6'6 WF/PF Cushing Academy), Jahmal Swanson (6'4 WF/PF NCC), Jeraud Ilays (6'1 WF Revere HS) and David Bennett (6'8 PF/C).

According to Coach Mo, "The kids came out to play from the minute they suited up. They played well. The unfortunate part was when Dorien twisted his ankle in the second just before I had the chance to take him out of the game. This went on to hurt us the second game. Besides the injury, the guys, all eight of them, played as I expected us to play. There's a few things we need to work on and I'm sure the kids realize that despite winning the first game big."

Metro Boston 75 MVBC 79 (OT)
Unforunately in Game 2 of the day, the wind from the Metro Boston sails changed directions. The team came out flat and Dorien Brown was limping noticeably. The team had a chance to potentially seal the victory by Alvin Lewis getting fouled going to the basket with 6.1 secs remaining in the game. Unfortunately for Alvin, he missed both free throws to put Metro Boston up two points with 6.1 secs remaining in the game. MVBC had one more opportunity in the closing secs. but didn't converge, therefore sending the game into overtime.

In overtime, things got bad for Metro Boston as Russell Martin and Jahmal Swanson fouled out in the opening minute. Metro Boston tried to play catch up but unfortunately it was too little, too late. They eventually fell 79-75 in overtime.

According to Coach Mo, "We played bad. We showed spurts at times that we are pretty good but didn't do it for a complete game. Merrimack Valley did an excellent job shooting the three pointers, making their free-throws and taking advantage of Dorien's injury. I give them all the credit in the world. They played good.

As for us, we need to converge on our free-throws (we missed six free-throws in the closing minute of regulation), do a better job rebounding, and a better job defensively. We didn't play that well. This I take blame for because we really haven't had a chance to practice yet. I've been out for 5 weeks because of my surgery and there are a few guys we're still waiting on paperwork for. It didn't help us either that we had so many guys in foul trouble. Two guys fouled out. Two or three guys had four fouls. A few of the others had three."

Sunday (April 20, 2003)
Metro Bostob 15 Boston Blazers 0 (Forfeit)
This game didn't take place because the Boston Blazers opted to stay home for Easter Sunday. Metro Boston showed up for the game. According to Coach Mo, "This was a tough weekend for players,coaches, referees, etc. to attend an event. Maybe next year they move the Junior states to late April or early May. If the event was sanctioned for NCAA coaches in divisions I, II, and III, I could understand kids, players, etc. sacrificing a few hours on Easter Sunday to play in front of coaches to have an opportunity to possibly earn a scholarship. Maybe next year, whomever is hosting this events follows up with the high school federation and gets the events sanctioned. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense to host it this early."

In the regards to this year's Metro Boston Junior team, Coach Mo goes on to add, "We will be fine the rest of the way with the eight guys we had this past weekend or the 10 that are on the roster once they're cleared. I personally feel this might be a better team than the one we had the past year or two. Whether we add a post player or two and a wing player or not, we'll be okay. Those that know me, know I will go battle with what I got. I feel great about the team we have this year despite my personal set backs.

We have a number of guys that can put it up. We have a force in the paint that can also play the wing. We also have two great point guards on the floor to start and end the games with and the best part is they both can shoot/score like the great point guard I had last year that's headed to Providence. We have a few new guys to the team that need to learn the system and learn to gel with the guys that have been in our program. We also have a few guys that are young playing on this team and the big fella is only a sophomore."

Medal Rounds scheduled for April 24-27: To Be Determined.

More to come....

Monday, April 21
Metro Boston goes 2-1 in pool play!
Check the results and commentary in the "Latest News" section from this past weekend's AAU State tourney.

Metro Boston falls in Jamfest!
Check out the "Latest News" section for information on how how Metro Boston did at the Jamfest!

Wednesday, May 14
AAU Jr. States - Championship Round
Boston, MA - Below is the results and a game recap from Coach Mo Vasquez for the AAU Junior State Tourney Medal Rounds games for Metro Boston.
Site - Orchard Gardens Community Center

Saturday (April 26th):
Metro Boston 50 vs. Shaq Attack 68
Game Recap: The team played well in the first half. Unfortunately for us, we didn't continue to do the things we needed to get done in the second half to pull-off the win. We did an excellent job getting their big kid in foul trouble but offensively, in the second half, guys tried to do it all by themselves. This didn't work out for us. It's never worked out for anyone. They began to pull away with lay-up opportunites from lack of ball control on our end. Before you know it they were up 16 points and took the wind out of us.

Metro Boston 62 vs. Middlesex Magic 66
Game Recap: We started off slow against a pretty good team. They played tough and aggressive. They built an 18 point lead early in the game and we had to fight back in order to get the game to within 6-8 points at halftime. In the second half we actually took the lead by about 4 but unfortunately for us we turned the ball over at crucial times in the closing minutes.

Overall View: We did a preety good job despite not practicing. I told the kids that I'll take responsibility for those games. We only had 8 guys suiting up and five were new to the system. We only practice once because of my knee surgery. I was out from early March until April 12th. We weren't prepared. This I take blame for. That won't happen going forward.

We're starting to practice regularly. The guys are now getting to practice and hopefully by the end of May we should be clicking well. I like this group despite the lack of depth. We'll be better conditioned mentally and physically by the end of May. We have a very good set of guards in Ryan, Alvin and Reggie. I can't forget the other guys that are now starting to fit in. In the interior we have a pretrty solid group in Dorien and Russell. These two guys just need more time together to play better. We're going to be fine. We're starting to gel know.

Friday, May 9
Five-Star Hoop Classic Challenge
Boston, MA - Below is the results for the Five-Star Hoop Classic Challenge on the weekend of May 16th - 18th. Metro Boston's coach Mo Vasquez added the following comments:

Friday, May 16th:
Madison Park HS (Roxbury, MA)
8:00 p.m. Metro Boston 56 Cecil Kirk(MD) 58
We came out flat in the first quarter. The problem for us was it took us a while to get our game rolling. We didn't do a good job warming up for this game. Cecil Kirk is a very talented club that you can't put yourself behind. We actually had 3 chances to either tie the game or win it in the closing seconds of the game. Unfortunately for us two of those shots went inside-out of the rim. One of them was a three pointer in the final 2 seconds. The kids played tough for me three out of four quarters.

Saturday, May 17th:
Madison Park HS (Roxbury, MA)
2:00 p.m. Metro Boston beat Riverside Church (NY) by 6 points
We came to play this game. We hustled back on defense and ran the offense for most part of the game. My guards did an excellent job handling the ball. The interior game of Dorien, Tom, Breno and Russ held their own in the paint as I expected. We rebounded the ball pretty well and took it at their big men.

5:30 p.m. Metro Boston 77 FLA Kings 73
This was the second worst game we played in the event. My guys didn't come to play. A few guys had to leave and it showed on the guys that remained. We came out flat. We didn't defend at all. We won the game and that was all that mattered.

Play-offs (Northeastern University):
9:15 p.m. Metro Boston 62 NY Student-Athletes Broncos 59
We started out pretty well in this game. I felt we controlled the pace and the paint in this game. Dorien did an excellent job when he got the ball. Unfortunately, we didn't give him the ball as much as I wanted to put the team away early. Alvin, Ryan, Leroy and Mike played pretty well. Tom and Breno did a pretty good job for guys that recently joined our group.

Sunday, May 18th:
Madison Park HS (Roxbury, MA)
Quarter-finals:
9:00 a.m. Metro Boston 48 BABC 59
This was the worst game of the event. We played as bad as we could. Despite playing our worst, we were still in the game through 3 quarters. I have to give Chris (Vetrano), Jerome (Kirkland) and Antoine (Coleman) credit for BABC. They played big for them. Charles had an okay game but unfortunately for us, 1-10 didn't show up for this game. We played bad.

We started to play well in the second half when Leroy blocked Gerry (Corcoran)'s dunk attempt on a breakaway. That gave us a lift and I believe we actually took the lead. Unfortunately, that was it for the wind in our sails. We literally dropped anchor in the fourth and called it the night.

Overall Recap:
We didn't do that bad for a team that we recently put together. We haven't practiced much. We'll start clicking by June. You can count on that. Some of the new guys are learning the system. Some of the veterans are learning to play with the new guys. The operation on my knee put us back 6-8 weeks as a program. We'll be fine.

I actually like the talent level of this group. It reminds me of when we had quality depth at the guard spot two-three years ago with Matt (Cahill), Willie (Phillips), and Anthony (Drayton), Matt (Blue), and Dwight (Brewington). In the front court, this might be the best group we've ever had. Dorien, Russell, Tom and Breno give us quality depth in the paint. Corey (Cofield) and George (Wright) did an excellent job for us. I can't take anything away from. They both were excellent ball players and signed a scholarship to play college basketball.

Tuesday, May 27
Florida Bound - Super Showcase & Junior Nationals!
Metro Boston will be headed south for the summer. Metro Boston Jrs. will be participating in the AAU Super Showcase tournament from July 22-26th. Upon completing the Super Showcase, they'll be participating in the AAU Nationals. Metro Boston received an invitation to the Super Showcase in mid-April. This past weekend Metro Boston won the Qualifier tournament by beating the Boston Saintz, 70-68 in the championship game.

According to Coach Mo, "These two events are pretty big to attend in the summer. Every college coach in the country will be attending these events. Its one of the rare events where you can actually play teams that are within the 17/18 & under age range. Last year Corey (Cofield) and Dwight (Brewington) benefited the most from attending these events. Others that benefited were George (Wright) and Matt (Blue).

Dorien (Brown), Alvin (Lewis) and Ryan (Maloney) niched some interest as well and with them returning this year could be big for them. Kids can make a name for themselves if they play hard on both the defensive and offensive end of the floor. This year I hope more members of the program reap the benefits from traveling down to Florida."

More to come....

Tuesday, July 8
Metro Boston Junior roster! - updated!
The Metro Boston Jrs. team roster and player evaluation is provided below:

Guards:
Alvin Lewis* (6'1 - Madison Park HS): A strong guard that handles the ball real well and has excellent court vision. Can score from the perimeter (3 point range), going to the basket and off the dribble. Can create his own offense. A solid defender and a competitive player. Always willing to step up to the challenge.

Ryan Maloney* (6'1 - Suffield Academy): He's a very good scorer. Capable of hitting his shot from 8-20 feet away from the basket. Attacks the basket aggressively. Has excellent court sense and vision. Handles the ball real well and is a solid defender. Backs down from no one.

Anthony White (6'1 - Boston English HS): A very solid defender. Handles the ball well. Has great court vision. Offensively, he can attack the basket and score from 8-16 feet away from the basket. A very hard worker. Rebounds the ball real well for a guard.

Reggie Alleyne (5'11 - North Cambridge Catholic): Has great court vision. Can handles the ball. Offensively, he can attack the basket and score from 8-16 feet away from the basket. Can shoot from three point range. Working his way back from a knee injury suffered a year ago. A very hard worker - headed in the right direction.

Leroy Byron (5'11 - Worcester Academy): Attacks the basket aggressively. Has good court sense and vision. Handles the ball well and is an excellent defender. Will not back down from anyone. Has a very quick first step and a leaper. Rebounds real well and blocks shots for a guard.

Scott Campbell (6'0 - Weymouth HS): A sophomore guard with solid size and strength. Can score from behind the three point arc and 8-16 feet from the basket. Handles the ball pretty well and has pretty good court vision. Currently learning to play the game in an older age division. He should benefit from the experience he gains this year.

Julian Gates (6'1 - Catholic Memorial HS): A solid defender. Attacks the basket aggressively and finishes. Rebounds the ball real well for a guard. Can score from 8-16 feet away from the basket. A very hard worker - headed in the right direction.

Forwards/Center:
Dorien Brown* (6'7 - Northfield Mt. Hermon): Great player around the basket: facing the basket or his back towards basket. A quick first step and a good shooter. An excellent defender and shot blocker. Handles the ball pretty well for his size. A very athletic and strong forward.

Russell Martin (6'6 - Cushing Academy): Great shooter. Can shoot from 6-20 feet away from the basket. Has very good athletic ability. Can play with his back to the basket. Has excellent court sense and vision. Handles the ball real well for his size. Moves real well without the ball.

Kendric Price (6'7 - BB&N): A sophomore forward with solid size. Can score from behind the three point arc and anything closer to the basket. Handles the ball pretty well for his size and has pretty good court vision. Currently learning to play the game in an older age division. He should benefit from the experience he gains this year. A very hard worker - headed in the right direction.

Breno Giacomini (6'6 - Malden HS): A strong, athletic kid in the paint. An excellent rebounder and post player. Can face up to the basket 8-16 feet away from the basket. Finishes underneathe the basket. A solid defender. Runs the floor real well.

Thomas Driscoll (6'6 - BC High): A big, strong kid in the paint. Very athletic for his size. An excellent rebounder and post player. Passes the ball real well and finishes underneathe the basket. A solid defender. Can face up to the basket and score from 8-16 feet away. Uses the glass real effective. Steps up to any challenge.

Bilal Abdullah (6'4 - Tabor Academy): A strong athletic wing player. He can shoot from behind the arc, attack the basket and has a mid-range game. New to the program and currently learning his role on the team. Provides depth to the small forward/power forward spots on the team.

Note(s):
* denotes Captains

The following players won't be able to make the trip for personal reasons:
Carl Johnson (5'9 - Brighton HS): A very quick guard. Can create his own offense off of the dribble. A solid defender. Handles the ball well and can score 8-16 feet from the basket.

Arch Mitchell (6'4 - Framingham HS): A pretty good shooter. Rebounds the ball well for a guard. Can shoot from behind the arc. Has a pretty good mid-range game.

Super Showcase schedule set!
The Metro Boston Jrs. schedule for the Super Showcase in Orlando, FL is provided below. Metro Boston was placed in pool 'L' of the event. All games are scheduled for the Disney Wide World of Sports site - in the Milk House Field. The schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, July 23rd:
2:30 p.m vs Boo Williams - Court 6
10:00 p.m. vs Rising Stars JG - Court 1

Thursday, July 24th:
4:00 p.m. Team Georgia Elite - Court 3

Play-offs:
Thursday, July 24th:
First Round:
7:30 p.m. 1st place of pool vs. 2nd place of pool F
or
9:00 p.m. 2d place of pool L vs 1st place of pool K

Tuesday, July 15
Elite 8 Tourney
Metro Boston Jrs. will be participating in a Juniors tournament on July 19th - 20th. Coastal Pops will be hosting a tournament in the South Shore this upcoming weekend at the Furnace Brook Middle School in Marshfield, MA.

Saturday, July 19th:
11:30 a.m. vs. Bristol Stars
2:00 p.m. vs. Merrimack Valley

Sunday, July 20th:
9:00 a.m. vs. Coastal Pops
11:30 p.m. vs. NH Playerz

Thursday, July 31
AAU Jr. Nationals results!
Orlando, FL - Lena Park/Metro Boston finished second in their pool in the AAU Junior Nationals (Division I). The results were as follows:

Saturday:
Team Memphis (YOMCA 17's) 72 Lena Park/Metro Boston 55
Game Recap: We played poorly this game and still had an opportunity to pull it out in the fourth quarter. We started out flat and turned the ball over a numerous of times each quarter. In the fourth quarter, we had their lead down to 6 points with an opportunity to close the gap to either 3 or 4 points.

Unfortunately for us, the referees kept taking the game out of our hands. A string of ticky-tack fouls were called against us and before you know it the spread is back up to 11-12 points. I have to give Memphis credit they played their game. They picked up a few new players for the AAU Nationals from the Tennessee Travelers. It wasn't the same team from the Showcase.

Also, Dorien played this game with a back and tail bone injury that limited his mobility. I have to give it to him, he gave it a go every game despite his injuries. The trainer got to meet and get acquainted with the big guy. Kendric got cut above his left eye (5 stiches were required). Tommy and Breno stepped up big for us.

Sunday:
Team NCI Hoopstars Elite 66 Lena Park/Metro Boston 77
Game Recap: We played real well this game. This game was delayed because of a power outage during the first quarter. Dorien picked up three quick fouls partly because of his injury. Russell, Tommy, Bilal and Breno played real well. The guards did an excellent job. We played with the intensity required from start to finish. Kendric did an excellent job on the top of the press. Bilal shot the ball well. Reggie passed the ball real well and hit the open shots for us.

Maryland Stealth 62 Lena Park/Metro Boston 69
Game Recap: This was an ugly win for us. We almost gave this game away three different times in the second half. Ryan and Alvin played big. Combined they probably committed less than 6 turnovers for the game. Reggie had a pretty good second half in this game. Russell did real well this game for us. He was passing the ball real well and finally got his touch back. The frontcourt guys did a good job rebounding the ball and limiting the other team to one shot on their possessions.

More to come....

Monday:
Play-offs (National Bracket):
Georgia Stars 79 Lena Park/Metro Boston 69

Tuesday:
Atlanta All-Stars 86 Lena Park/Metro Boston 75

More to come...

Friday, July 25
Metro Boston finishes first in Pool play!
Orlando, FL - Lena Park/Metro Boston advanced to the championship round of the Super Showcase. Metro Boston beat Boo Williams (OT-Final 92-82), lost to Illinois (61-56) and beat Team Georgia Elite (79-69). Metro Boston finished first place in their pool despite being the fourth ranked team in the pool.

vs. Boo Williams:
Our MVP's of this game were Tony White (Boston English HS) and Leroy Byron (Worcester Academy). They did a hell of a job playing defense against Marquise Cook, one of the highly ranked PG's in the country. They chased and harrassed him all over the floor. They didn't give this kid any breathing room. We came out to play against a highly touted AAU club.

Dorien (Northfield Mt.Herman) and Alvin (Madison Park HS) also did their job defensively as well as offensively. Dorien played big and he controlled the paint. Dorien did what we expected him to do. Alvin did an excellent job playing the point and put his name on the national map. He played excellent defense and rebounded the ball well.

This game started to cause a buzz for us because I'm pretty sure no one expected us to win this game. We had a packed crowd for this game. College coaches, fans, and other teams were there to see this game play out. We won this game convincingly in the OT because we limited them to one shot and caused them to commit turnovers. The difference was Kendric (Price - BB&N) in the OT (he scored 8 points). This game started out with us being down 10-0 but we never quit. My guys fought through it and overcame the slow start.

vs. Illinois Rising Stars
We came out flat. We didn't do a good enough job on the defensive end. This was an ugly game for us. This was the worst game we played in this event. We couldn't put the ball in the ocean and we settled for perimeter shots.

vs. Team Georgia Elite
We played well from begining to end. Again our defense prevailed. Tony and Leroy did an excellent job on the defensive end. The MVP's of this game were Reggie Alleyne (North Cambridge Catholic), Tom Driscoll (BC High) and Bilal Abdullah (Tabor Academy). Not to take anything away form Dorien (injured tail bone but played despite injury), Alvin and Ryan. These guys played well and its expected but the other three guys stepped up and played big.

They're both the catalyst and MVP's of our club game in and game out but they can't do it all by themselves. Reggie and Kendric were nailing a few three pointers and dropping dimes (assists) at the 2/3 slots. Tony played tough at the three spot and defended from baseline to baseline. Tommy was clutch on his free throws and sealing up the rebounds on the defensive end in the second half. Ryan started to click and played big for us as did Russell Martin. We played tough from begining to end.

Friday, July 25
Metro Boston wins first round game!
Orlando, FL - Lena Park/Metro Boston Jrs. beat Team Florida Coast to Coast by a final score of 76-60 in the opening round of the AAU Super Showcase championship round.

According to Coach Mo, "We played real well this game. All thirteen guys contributed. We did a great job rebounding the ball. Dorien played tough despite being injured (bruised tail-bone) and limited movement because of the injury. Alvin, Ryan and Leroy did an excellent job on the perimeter. Tony and Leroy did an excellent job defending their guards. Breno, Tommy and Bilal did an excellent job on the interior with Dorien.

It was great to get Scotty Campbell (6'1 So.-Weymouth HS) playing time. It's been a rough schedule and unfortunately he's only played a few minutes. This game Scott got to score, rebound and give an assist. Scott is a tough kid but he's currently in a predicament because we have older kids and big numbers issue at the guard spot. Next year will be different for him because he'll be a junior and we'll work on him to expect bigger things from him."

Saturday, July 26
Metro Boston falls in the Sweet 16!
Orlando, FL - Lena Park/Metro Boston Jrs. fell to Team Breakdown (FL) by a final score of 71-69 in the quarter-finals of the AAU Super Showcase.

According to coach Mo, "In the closing seconds, Team Breakdown rebounded a missed shot. The rebounder fell to the floor on his back, picked himself up without dribbling the ball and layed in the ball for the win. In any other game, that is a called a travel but the three officials on the floor let the points count. This was a tough way to lose."

Mo goes on to add, "We were down 16 points early in the game when Dorien was off the floor because of 3 quick fouls. He only played 4 minutes in the first half. We tried to get him out after he picked up his 2nd foul but the officials wouldn't allow the substitution for some unknown reason. The next possession, Dorien was given the third foul despite not being near the play.

Tom Driscoll (BC High) and Breno Giacomini (Malden HS) did an excellent job replacing Dorien in the first half. They helped cut the lead down to 5 at halftime. In the second half we made our run and even took the lead in the final three minutes. Unfortunately for us a few guys missed free-throws that could have sealed the game for us.

You have to give Team Breakdown credit. They are a scrappy ball club. They have a kid named Joseph McCrae that I clearly feel was one of the best kids we played against. He is real tough. Everytime they needed to score, this kid would hit a shot from 3 point range or a mid-range jumper despite the good defense we played. I got to see him play again against BABC in the following round and he was playing big. They ended up beating BABC by about 7 points and he was the catalyst once again. The kid is tough."

Thursday, August 21
Top Guards in Mass.
Here's the best Guards in Massachusetts - (Note: Player profiles will be updated in the upcoming days/weeks):

Top Guards:
PG Alvin Lewis (Sr. - Madison Park HS)
Top Point Guard (Mass.) in his class - bar none. Has excellent court vision, handles the ball very well and is developing the leadership mentality required at the PG spot. Offensively, he can create off the dribble, shoot from behind the arc, and attack the basket. A tough defender that is generally overlooked for his defense. Has drawn major interest from colleges & universities in the Division I level.

PG Chris Vetrano (Sr. - Andover HS)
An excellent shooter form 18-22 feet away from the basket. He handles the ball pretty well. If this kid was 6'2+ a lot of schools would be recruiting him for the shooting guard position. His size makes him a PG. A smart player and gets a lot done for his size (i.e. rebounding). He has adequate speed for a guard but to play at the highest level he would need to improve his speed and defensive ability. Definitely a Division II prospect but can compete in the low-Division I level with improvement on his speed and defensive ability.

CG Jerome Kirkland (Sr. - O'Bryant HS)
A pretty good shooter from 16-19 feet away from the basket. He handles the ball pretty well and is a solid defender. I believe his defensive ability is the best part of his game. This kid can defend from baseline to baseline. His size hurts his game because he often is played out of position. He should be a PG because of his size. He simply needs to improve his strength, ball handling skills and play the PG spot on a full-time bases. Possible low-Division I prospect.

SG Gerry Corcoran (PG - Worcester Academy)
Excellent size for a shooting guard. He has athletic ability and had an excellent high school career for a low-tier high school. He's more of a spot-up shooter. He needs to improve his defensive skills. Not a good defender. Also, needs to improve his speed and learn to create off the dribble. A low-Division I prospect with improvements to his game could become a solid mid-major.

CG Marquis Victor (Sr. - Central Catholic)
Has excellent size for a PG but is more of a combo guard. An athletic scorer/slasher, handles the ball well and can hit his shot from the perimeter. A solid defender and rebounder for a guard. Has shown signs that he can play the PG position. He needs to continue working on his body strength, speed and defensive skills. A low-Division I prospect.

CG Leroy Byron (PG - Worcester Academy)
He handles the ball pretty well and is a very solid defender. His defensive ability is the best part of his game. This kid can defend from baseline to baseline. He's strong enough to defend bigger guards and rebounds very well. Attacks the basket aggressively and finishes with the best of them. He's capable of running the PG spot. Definitely a Division II player with the possibility of drawing interest from a low-Division I schools.

More to come on....
CG Tommy Cuddihy (Sr. - Scituate (?))
PG Lewis Finnegan (Sr. - Lexington HS)
CG Nick Mattone (Sr. - St. Andrews (RI))

Guards - Honorable Mention:
CG Julian Gates (Sr. - Catholic Memorial HS)
A combo-guard in it's truest sense. He can handle the ball and can score from the perimeter and attacking the basket. Has become a better player by working on his offense skills and conditioning. A pretty good defender and rebounder. Has pretty good size for a guard. A Division II prospect.

CG Tony White (Sr. - Boston English)
A hell of a defender. Can defend baseline to baseline. Held his own and played real well in the AAU Super Showcase in Florida. Has real good court vision and handles the ball okay. Has good size for a guard and rebounds real well. Is better going to the basket and a set jump shooter. Has a pretty long wing span. Can definitely benefit from an extra year (i.e. prep) to polish his perimeter game and possible PG skills (i.e. ball handling, etc.). A Division II and III prospect currently but with an extra year can definitely land a solid scholarship offer.

CG Reggie Alleyne (Sr. - NCC)
This kid has come a long way from a knee injury. He has improved his defensive skills and footwork. Has a pretty solid jump shot and pull-up game. Handles the ball pretty well. Has real good court vision and a sense for the game. Played big in the AAU Super Showcase in Florida. Needs to get stronger and continue improving his quickness (i.e. first step). A Division II & III prospect.

PG Justin Dick (Sr. - Prep School)
A pure PG in regards to set-up the offense and dish the ball. A strong guard that can attack the basket with the best of them when he's game shape. He handles the ball pretty well and is a solid defender. He did a great job in Florida for BABC when the other guards were having problems against a press. Needs to work on his perimeter game and pound the ball less. He's more of an open court PG on the break than a half-court guard because of his perimeter game. A Division II and low-division I prospect until he improves his perimeter offensive game.

More to come on.....
PG Bryan Wholey (Sr. - BC High)
SG Farnold Degand (Jr. - O'Bryant HS)
SG P.J. Bernard (PG - )
SG Matt Wolfe (Sr. - Walpole HS)

Note (this is for entertainment purposes only): The listed players mentioned above are players that I have personally seen play on a
numerous occasions under one of the following terms: a.)played for our program, b.)played against our program, c.) participated in events we have attended or d.)attended an event as a spectator.

I did not list the players in any specific order. The players are evaluated on their talent, athletic ability, potential to advance (improve), and commitment to the game. To my readers, I will express my 'opinion' to the best of my knowledge without being pursuaded or bias.

Coach's note:
As a reminder, there is a ton of 'potential' talent in the state, it just so happens that of all the participants I have seen in Massachusetts, these are the few I consider as 'the best in the state'. There are student-athletes that I have yet to see play or have seen play in a limited number of games, therefore I can not express my opinion on their basketball ability. To those few I say, 'Keep playing and working hard. We travel enough to cover the state, whether it's for competition purposes or simply to watch the game of basketball. Hopefully your team/club will be at those events.'   

Remember - you are all student-athletes! Without the appropriate grades, college dreams become minimal.

Good Luck!

Thursday, August 21
Top Forwards/Centers in Mass.
Here's the best Forwards/Centers in Massachusetts - (Note: Player profiles will be updated in the upcoming days/weeks):

Top Forwards:
WF/PF Dorien Brown (PG - Northfield Mt. Hermon)
PF Charles Burch (Sr. - Tabor Academy)
WF Tony Gaffney (PG - Northfield Mt Hermon)
SF Bilal Abdullah (Sr. - Tabor Academy)
PF Jeff Adrien (Sr. - Brookline HS)
SF Alex Popp (PG - Northfield Mt. Hermon)
WF Kendric Price (Jr. - BB&N)
WF Antoine Coleman (Sr. - Everett HS)

Forwards - Honorable Mention:
WF Jonathan Cruz (So. - Central Catholic)
WF Colby Santos (Jr. - Tabor Academy)
WF Brandon Odom (Sr. - Thayer Academy)
WF Colin MacIntosh (Sr - BC High)
WF Daryl Lodge (Sr. - Charlestown HS)
WF Russell Martin (PG - Cushing Academy)
WF/PF Rolland Millen (Sr. - )
WF/PF Jahmal Swanson (Sr. - NCC)
PF Ben Coblyn (Sr. - Commerce HS)
PF Breno Giacomini (Sr. - Malden HS)
PF Tommy Driscoll (Sr. - BC High)
PF Jonathan Kale (Jr. - St. Andrews (RI))

Top Centers:
Tim Clifford (Sr. - Walpole HS)

Centers - Honorable Mention:
Mark McDonald (Sr. - Lexington HS)
Travis George (Sr. - Madison Park HS)

Note (this is for entertainment purposes only): The listed players mentioned above are players that I have personally seen play on a
numerous occasions under one of the following terms: a.)played for our program, b.)played against our program, c.) participated in events we have attended or d.)attended an event as a spectator.

I did not list the players in any specific order. The players are evaluated on their talent, athletic ability, potential to advance (improve), and commitment to the game. To my readers, I will express my 'opinion' to the best of my knowledge without being pursuaded or bias.

Coach's note:
As a reminder, there is a ton of 'potential' talent in the state, it just so happens that of all the participants I have seen in Massachusetts, these are the few I consider as 'the best in the state'. There are student-athletes that I have yet to see play or have seen play in a limited number of games, therefore I can not express my opinion on their basketball ability. To those few I say, 'Keep playing and working hard. We travel enough to cover the state, whether it's for competition purposes or simply to watch the game of basketball. Hopefully your team/club will be at those events.'   

Remember - you are all student-athletes! Without the appropriate grades, college dreams become minimal.

Good Luck!

Wednesday, July 16
Alumni Updates!
Here's a brief update on Metro Boston members/alumni:

Current Posting:
Matt Blue (5'8) - St. Lawrence University (NY)
Attended Bellingham High School. Co-Captain of the basketball team that won the Division III Massachusetts State Championship. Will be playing in the ECAC Conference.

Mike Vaz (6'3) - Umass-Amherst
Attended Springfield Commerce. Won the State Football Championship for western Massachusetts. Will be playing football in the Atlantic-10 conference in 2004.

Previous posting:
Anthony Drayton (5'10) - Le Moyne College (NY)
Signed Letter of Intent (LOI) to attend in 2003-2004. Attended Avon Old Farms this past season. Will be playing in the same Northeast-10 Conference as Matt Cahill.

Dwight Brewington (6'5) - Providence College (RI)
Signed LOI to attend in 2003-2004. Attended Worcester Academy this past season where he lead them to a Class A Championship (first in the past 16 years). Will be playing in the Big East Conference.

Corey Cofield (6'6) - William & Mary (VA)
Signed LOI to attend in 2003-2004. Attended Roxbury Latin this past season. Will be playing in the Colonial Athletic Association Conference.

George Wright (6'5) - St Francis (PA)
Signed LOI to attend in 2003-2004. Attended MCI this past season. Attended high school at Everett HS. George will be playing in the NEC Conference.

Mark Buckley (6'0) - Nichols College (RI)
Attended Weymouth H.S. Played Basketball and Lacrosse for Weymouth. Will be playing Lacrosse in the Commonwealth Coast Conference.

Joshua Quinn (6'0) - Mt. Ida College (MA)
Attended Weymouth H.S. Played Basketball and Football for Weymouth. Will be playing Football in the ECAC Conference.

Willie Phillips (5'10) - Salem State (Starting Guard)
Willie had an excellent year for Salem State in his freshmen year. He help guide his team deep into the NCAA Division III play-offs this past winter, losing to eventual Division III champs Williams College.

Matt Cahill (6'2) - Saint Anselm (Starting Guard)
Matt Cahill had an excellent season for Saint A's in his freshmen year, as well. Matt was named to the All-Rookie team of the Northeast 10 Conference. Matt started as the shooting guard in his first game of his career and scored 32 points. Matt never let up.

Cory Szklarz (6'2) - Umass-Boston
Played this past winter for Head Coach Charlie Titus. Attended high school at Peter-Marian High School in Worcester, MA.

Others pursuing higher learning:
Chris Landford - Curry College
Cedric Phillips - Roxbury Community College

Keep up the hard work, gentlemen!

Wednesday, August 6
Ryan Maloney headed to the Northeast 10 Conference!
Chicopee, MA - Ryan Maloney (6'1 G - Chicopee HS) has verbally committed to St. Michael's in Vermont. He has accepted a full scholarship to attend the Northeast-10 school in the fall of 2003. He will be playing in the same conference as fellow Lena Park/Metro Boston members Anthony Drayton (Le Moyne) and Matt Cahill (St. Anselm).

According to Coach Mo, "This is great news for the Maloneys. Ryan had committed and made the required deposits/payments to attend Suffield Academy next month but this offer came about because of his academic standings and performance at the tourneys in Florida. We spoke late last week and again on Sunday afternoon.

The coaches at St. Michael's had contacted him and myself late last week informing us that a scholarship was available for this coming year. The Maloneys scheduled his visit for this past Monday. Before you know it, by Tuesday afternoon he officially accepted the offer and will be headed to college instead of prep school.

I'm proud of Ryan. He had a tough senior year because of mono. He missed nearly the whole basketball season. We talked in the late winter and started the process rolling for prep school to make up for the lost year. Ryan worked hard this spring. Made a commitment to the game and the team and before you know it he was playing real well at the events we attended. He did real good at the Nationals. I am real happy for him and his family. His mom was in tears when she heard the great news. His dad was thrilled for him. We're (the staff) very happy for him."

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