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 My Site News: Whatever happened to A.J.? |
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Monday, November 20
Whatever happened to A.J.?
If you've been following this website for a number of years, you would know that there was one Noth Star player that received more accolades than anyone else. And yet, in this 2006/7 season, he is no longer gracing PHYBA's returning Open Division Championship team. Many will be asking... where's A.J.?
Well the North Stars will be proud to announce that we no longer want A.J. playing for us... and we don't want him to return!!! As long as he is playing in the U.S. for his education. YES! North Star A.J. Mandani Shoots For The Stars Down South as he plays for South Suburban College in Chicago!!!
A.J. started playing for the old Cougars team in the inaugural year of PHYBA. He and his brother Jon were instrumental in winning the very first Tykes Championship for PHYBA. The first time I saw him when I started coaching for North Stars the following year, I saw a strong, quick player with good skills try to carry his Cougar team on his own... only to finish 3rd out of 4 teams (Of course, my young team finished last). Without the help of his big brother Jon, he was playing 1v5 basketball, as he not only brought up the ball, but also tried to drive past the entire team. The Cougars were utilizing him improperly, as he was expected to do it all. This lead to much resentment by the other players and parents, sometimes turning nasty in front of this impressionable child. When I coached him for all-star that year, I realized that not only did I have an extremely talented player, he was also very coachable and respectful.
The following year he left PHYBA to avoid the negative atmosphere in Cougars. The North Stars Tyke on the other hand did a complete 180; the team went from losing all their games the year before to going to the championship that year. North Stars Tykes lost the championship by 2 baskets that year, and I remember thinking... If I had a player like A.J., we would have easily won that game.
The next year, my father ran into him and his mom at Square One, and asked if he would join North Stars. That chance encounter was a gift from heaven, and A.J. began his long playing career with North Stars.
That first Peewee year was rough. Though my Tykes team would eventually go back to the championship, the Peewee team was relatively young, with few players, and where stronger more experienced players preferred more established teams -- even one of my stronger players defected. We languished in the cellar.
The following year, my brother asked 2 of his friends to play for the team... they ended up to be strong players that had MPAA experience, as well were part of a school team that ended up winning Dufferin-Peel Catholic Intermediate (Gr. 7-8) championship (A.J.'s school team came in 3rd that Gr. 7 year). That Peewee team ended dominating the entire year, only to lose in the dying seconds of the championship game.
The next year, when the age divisions were changed, A.J.'s big brother Jon moved down a division to join his brother on the Bantam team. As well, PHYBA went through a serious transformation by allowing non-filipinos to play. This allowed their friend Miguel to join the team. Those 3 proved to be one of the most powerful combinations to play for North Star. That year, after having made the finals and coming short for 3 years in a row, we finally won a championship! I have always won a championship with one of the two teams I coached, every year! A.J. has helped me win a championship at every level since, including Midget, Juvenile, Premier, and now Open.
In school ball, A.J.'s team finally won the Dufferin-Peel Catholic Intermediate Championship in Grade 8. In Grade 9, his Ascension high school team was so dominant that they easily tripled their opponent's score in the Region of Peel Bantam championship. They were beating Toronto powerhouses easily, including the famed Eastern Commerce, and Ascension became a feared team. That year I encouraged him to branch out into the rep level of Ontario Basketball. His OBA team won their division championship, and A.J. became recognized as one of the marquee players in the GTA area. That summer A.J. tried out and was invited to the Nike Elite Development camp to train and play with the best of the best in all of Ontario. Included in that invitation was a tall forward, Jorge Nunes, who also played for North Stars that year. And their was some genuine interest for A.J. to join the mecca of GTA school basketball, Eastern Commerce.
The following year, preferring to stay home and play with his friends, Ascension won the Region of Peel Junior championship. His OBA team continued to be a powerhouse team, and a new AAU travelling team was formed made up of many of his OBA players. This new team allowed him to play in many American tournaments.
His Grade 11 year was to be his breakout year. Another star 6'5 big man had returned to Ascension to join Jon and Miguel (top scoring senior from the year before) and another dunking power-forward on the Senior team. A.J.'s famed skill as a point guard would have completed the strongest starting line that Ascension had seen. Great expectations were heaped on this team to not only win Region of Peel, but to go very far into AAA OFSSA. But a foolish event early in the season caused the expulsion of 4 members of the team, poor chemistry, and the early exit in school playoffs.
The disastrous events of that year spilled over into the next. Many of the strong younger players that were now arriving into the Senior team were undisciplined, and they still lacked an effective big man. A.J. and his 2-guard teammate tried their best to carry the team... but it wasn't enough. Though they were one of the top teams in their division, they were no longer the powerhouse of years before. A.J.'s stock, which was so highly regarded in previous years, began to lose value. Interest in A.J. began to wain just as he was about to graduate. That elusive NCAA ticket, that seemed probable a couple of year before, was slowly slipping away...
[TO BE CONTINUED LATER]
 | | South Suburban College - A.J. is seated on the extreme right |
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