KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. — At full strength, the NYC Jayhawks are an unknown. Take away their two stars — Boys & Girls wing Leroy (Truck) Fludd and Lee Academy’s Boubacar Diallo — and only more questions marks pop up.
The neophyte program, however, has supplied plenty of answers.
The Jayhawks put forth arguably the most impressive performance of any team from the five boroughs at The Hoop Group’s Summer Classic East in King Of Prussia, Pa.
Despite missing arguably their top two players, the Jayhawks went 2-2, and the two losses were by a combined six points. They began the day with an extremely impressive 64-55 victory over New Rens-Memminger, a far better team on paper.
“A lot of people didn’t think we could do it, a lot of people put us down,” said Jayhawks coach Jay David, who started the program two years ago. “These kids work hard, they work together, I believe in these kids,” David said. “
St. Anthony’s Kody Jenkins scored 12 points for the Jayhawks and Boys & Girls’ Bryce Jones added 10. South Shore point guard Terrence Samuel paced the Rens, who went just 1-2 in the tournament, with 17 points and Anthony Pate of Long Island Lutheran had nine.
The Jayhawks forced overtime against Mid Atlantic Select (Md.), but fell short, 68-64, despite 22 points from Jones and 18 from Emile Blackman, a skilled wing from Half Hollows Hills West.
“I think we’re gonna make a lot of noise in Summer Jam [Fest] coming up [this weekend,” David said.
Panthers suffer another last-second loss: Five points is all that separated the New York Panthers from a perfect two days. Wednesday, they seemed headed to the Gold division quarterfinals before coughing up a late lead against ECE Mass; Thursday was far more devastating.
After picking up two victories in the loser’s bracket, the Panthers were well on their way to another win, leading Mid Atlantic Select (Md.) by 10 points with three minutes remaining. Only they never scored again and Lavon Long (team-high 14 points) put in the winning basket, following up a missed shot, at the buzzer.
Former Lincoln forward Travis Charles led the Panthers with 17 points South Kent wing Josh Wilchcombe had 16 and Mount Vernon’s Jarrell Marshall 13.
In their first game of the day, a 59-56 win over Cecil-Kirk (Md.), Jason Wright had 17 points, rebounds and three blocks and Charles put the game away with four clutch free throws. The Panthers followed that up with a 54-44 win over Sports Fest Blue Chips (Pa.).
Notes: New Rens-Hargraves 17U bounced back from dropping Wednesday’s opener by going 2-1 on Thursday. They topped the Mount Pleasant Bulldogs (Pa.) and Positive Image (Pa.), 58-45, before falling to the Connecticut Basketball Club-Donnelly, 73-48. In the victory over Positive Image, Thomas Jeffersn’s Ed Ogundeko scored 12 points. … The 16U New Rens-Hargraves were just as successful, topping Mid Atlantic Select (Md.) 75-49; getting by New Rens-Mark, 62-49; and ended the fulfilling though tiresome day with a victory over New Jersey Elite. … The 17U Westchester Hawks followed up an undefeated Wednesday with a winless Thursday. They fell in the Gold division quarterfinals, 62-44, to the Arkansas Hawks, the eventual champion, and then were knocked off, 55-52, by East Coast Fusion (Va.).