Much of New York City’s roster was new to the Sharette Dixon Memorial Classic, the annual event held in honor of New Heights’ athletic director Kimani Young’s deceased wife.
Omar Calhoun wasn’t and he remembered losing to New Jersey in the first two years of the event.
“I didn’t want that to happen again,” he said. “I couldn’t let New Jersey come in and beat New York.”
He made sure they didn’t.
The UConn-bound guard scored a game-high 23 points to earn MVP honors and lead the city to a surprisingly easy 133-101 win over New Jersey in front of a standing-room only crown Saturday night at Bishop Loughlin in Brooklyn.
Xaverian’s Brian Bernardi, a SMU commit, added 20 points, Cardozo’s Jermaine Lawrence followed with 16 and Lincoln’s Isaiah Whitehead had 10. UCLA-bound Kyle Anderson of St. Anthony in Jersey City poured in 21 for New Jersey.
New Jersey actually led 25-24 after the first quarter, but behind six straight points from Lawrence, the highly recruited 6-foot-9 junior, New York built a 52-40 lead it would never relinquish. New Jersey had the bigger nationally ranked names, from Anderson to Penn State recruit Brandon Taylor of Trenton Catholic and top point guard Jaren Sina of Gil St. Bernard.
But it was Calhoun, Bernardi and Lawrence who made the greatest impact. Lawrence was active in the paint on put backs and showed a soft touch around the hoop. His stock recently soared after an impressive performance at Cardozo’s open gym – he has scholarships offers from St. John’s, Syracuse, Kansas State and Villanova among many others – and he showed no fear against elite competition.
“I tried every opportunity I got to do something good,” Lawrence said. “It was a good way to bring my ‘A’ game against the best players from New Jersey and play with the best players in New York.”
Bernardi, previously known as only a shooter, displayed an improved handle and jump shot on the move. He sank a few 3-pointers, set up teammates for easy shots off dribble penetration and also exerted himself on the defensive end, rarely seen in such all-star games.
“I’ve been working on my game a lot and I wanted to show how far I’ve come,” he said.
The on-court talent was top-notch; there was a distinctive buzz in the crowd throughout the up-and-down showcase. Of the 25 players on the two rosters, seven are committed to Division I programs while several others have either yet to do so or are simply underclassmen waiting for the best fit.
“Everybody has been so supportive, all the kids, all the families,” Young said of those in attendance who helped raise money for the three children he had with Sharette Dixon (Kamaal Young, 9, Khaliq Young,7, and Salimah Young, 5) . “I’m flattered. I have a great team of people with me and I’d like to thank them all. … I think this event has legs and wings. I’m going to keep working at it and see what happens.”