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Rising junior Spencer Weisz of Seton Hall Prep and Sports U/Team IZOD
will have more hardware to take home after helping to lead his Essex
County-based 16-and-under AAU basketball team to recent championships
in both the NY2LA Summer Jam in Milwaukee and the very prestigious Las
Vegas Fab 48. (Dominick Paoli Photography)
Team IZOD 16U’s Impressive
While Winning AAU Summer Tourneys
Seton Hall Prep’s Spencer Weisz knew he could play for any number of
AAU basketball teams out there in the spring-summer world of traveling
hoop troupes, but he also realized that he was looking for something
beyond just rolling out the balls and running up and down the court.
“A lot of AAU teams have a bunch of individuals who try and play
together, but when you can have a true ‘team’ concept and have people
who really care about each other on and off the court, that’s
special,” said the impressive rising 6-foot-4 ½ junior swingman, who
is one of the key components on a highly-successful Sports
University/Team IZOD squad that has been playing its best basketball
of the summer. “What I like about this team is that it’s not just
about basketball, but also about building character, and we have a
bunch of great guys who have figured out how we can best play
together, and the positive results have been showing with the way
we’ve been winning.”
Sports U/Team IZOD has made a meteoric rise up the national AAU ladder
in just its fifth year of existence and the 16-and-under squad
recently elevated itself to a No. 10 ranking in the country by
capturing both the NY2LA Summer Jam championship sponsored by Under
Armour in Milwaukee and the prestigious Las Vegas Fab 48 title.
Weisz, one of the key performers for SHP during the winter scholastic
season, is part of a special Sports U/Team IZOD roster that includes
Josh Brown and Hallice Cooke of St. Anthony, Kenny Grant of East
Orange Campus, Dwayne Merrill of Newark Tech, Kasim Chandler of St.
Thomas Moore (Conn.) and Keith Kirkwood of Neptune, who have been
among the integral members of a championship squad.
“I think earlier in the season we were still feeling each other out,
but once we put it all together we’ve been rolling lately,” said Weisz,
who started as a sophomore for Coach Bob Farrell at SHP. “The core of
this team, including Kasim Chandler, Josh Brown, Donte DeMunguia (of
Atlantic City) and Hallice Cooke were all on our 15U team that
finished second in the country (at the AAU Nationals in Little Rock,
Ark.) last year, and I think that experience gave us confidence and
showed us that we could definitely hang with the bigger name teams we
faced.”
Sports U/Team IZOD's 16U basketball team has established national
prominence with championships at both the Summer Jam in Milwaukee and
Las Vegas Fab 48. From left, are, in front row: Keith Kirkwood of
Neptune, James Nelson of Rice, Kasim Chandler of St. Thomas Moore,
Josh Brown of St. Anthony, Hallice Cooke of St. Anthony and Brian
Coleman, director of basketball operations. In back: Coach Eric
Harrield, Spencer Weisz of Seton Hall Prep, Kenny Grant of East Orange
Campus, Kentrall Brooks of St. Anthony, Tom Lacey of Seton Hall Prep
and Dwayne Merrill of Newark Tech. Missing from photo were other
players Donte DeMunguia of Atlantic City and Manuel Suarez of
Cliffside Park.
Sports U/Team IZOD's ever-present President and General Manager Ed
Bright founded the successful grassroots AAU basketball program back
in 2006 and today there are seven different teams (10U-17U) competing.
Earlier this season, Sports U/Team IZOD knocked off the Playaz, Team
Final and Long Island Lightning in the June Rumble in the Bronx. There
was a tough overtime loss to the New York Gauchos in the finals of the
Rumble in the Bronx, but the Fairfield, N.J.-based Essex County team
was well on its way with its early, highly-competitive performances.
After a strong showing in the Hoop Group Summer Classic to get the
July “live” period rolling, Sports U/Team IZOD showed its maturation
into a bona fide national-caliber 16U squad by playing some of its
best hoops of the summer in the NY2LA Summer Slam in Milwaukee,
knocking off top-notch teams such as Dream Vision and the Illinois
Wolves (in the finals).
Dozens of top college coaches, including Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, John
Calipari of Kentucky and Bob Huggins of West Virginia were on hand in
Milwaukee to watch the talent that abounded on the hardwood..
Whether it was Josh Brown slashing his way to the basket, Cooke
sinking a string of 3-pointers, Grant jumping high above the rim to
make a block, Kirkwood rebounding with relentless force, Merrill doing
his thing on the inside or on the perimeter and Weisz displaying his
immense basketball IQ with seamless passing and crisp cuts to the
hoop, Sports U/Team IZOD revealed once again why it is one special
group of present and future young stars.
“This group really knows how to play together,” said Sports U/Team
IZOD President and General Manager Ed Bright. “There are two things we
have to do to be successful: play defense and subsidize what we do
individually and do it as a ‘5,’ and these kids play as a unit as well
as any 16U team out there.” The Sports U/Team IZOD 16U squad has made
tremendous inroads behind the guidance of Brian Coleman, the program’s
director of basketball, and Coach Eric Harrield. “Our coaches have
been great, and they’ve encouraged us to work together in order to be
a better whole,” said Weisz. “I’m used to playing ‘team’ basketball at
the Prep and that’s definitely also the approach with Sports U/Team
IZOD.” Penn, Princeton, Columbia, St. Joseph and Northwestern, Penn
State and Bucknell have all expressed interest in Weisz, who turned 16
on May 31.
The colleges also continue to come calling for many of the other
players involved with Sports U/Team IZOD, which now has seven teams
(10U to 17U). Other 16 U standouts, including Brown (Cincinnati in hot
pursuit) and Cooke (Virginia,Virginia Commonwealth, Iona and San
Francisco) are also generating a lot of buzz among the college
recruiters as they prepare to enter their junior years in high school.
Among the 17U players in the Sports U/Team IZOD AAU program are SHP’s
Dallas Anglin (Rice, Richmond, Penn State and Iona among his suitors)
and Stephon Mosley, Rashad Andrews of St. Anthony and Quentin DeCosey
of St. Joe’s of Metuchen, who is being pursued by Temple. Last year’s
Sports U/Team IZOD 17U standouts, including East Orange’s Mario Moody
(Wagner) and St. Anthony’s Lucky Jones (Robert Morris) and Elijah
Carter (Rutgers) are now headed into the college ranks this fall.
Another Sports U/Team IZOD alum, Derrick Williams of St. Anthony, is
expected to be a top candidate to start as a sophomore at Richmond
this winter. Then, there is the current 15U team, with noted rising
sophomores such as Karl Towns (St Joe’s/Metuchen), Quadri Moore of
Linden and Tyree Sykes of Newark Tech among the players to keep an eye
on with that budding unit.
All the while, the mission remains the same: to combine basketball,
academics and solid citizenship in the quest to build better young men
moving forward. “I think it’s just a great program because not only do
we teach them how to play basketball, but we also try to teach them
how to be good, young men,” said Darryl Dawkins, the former NBA star
who has been a coach for Sports U/Team IZOD since the program’s
inception five years ago. “We mentor these kids and try to help them
get into college.
“We’re a close group…We also teach them, ‘Hey, you may not be a
professional basketball player, but if you can be a doctor, a lawyer,
a dentist, they’re pros too!” The players have thoroughly enjoyed and
appreciated having “Chocolate Thunder” as part of the Sports U/Team
IZOD program. “Last year when our 15-U team went to the AAU Nationals
in Little Rock, coach Dawkins was with us the whole time and it was
great to hear people there ask him about what teams he played for when
he was young,” said Weisz. “He is always such a great ambassador for
the game of basketball, plus he’s just a lot of fun to be around.
We're so lucky to have him around.”
Dawkins and his longtime friend Bright have been a solid tandem in
keeping the entire Sports U/Team IZOD program growing in leaps and
bounds in terms of national recognition and respect.
“I’ve had people at tournaments tell me, ‘You guys do things the right
way,’” said Bright. “When you hear that, you can’t help but feel good
about where this program has come in such a short time, plus it’s
tremendous to see these young men grow up and prepare themselves for
college, something a few of them might not have been so confident
about accomplishing before they became involved with Sports U/Team
IZOD.”
College potential has never been in doubt for Weisz, who has
maintained a 4.43 grade point average his first two years at SHP.
Still, he takes nothing for granted when it comes to appreciating the
family of support he has found with Sports U/Team IZOD.
“Mr. Bright really wants all the kids to be the best they can be on
and off the court and he really makes us strive to be role models,”
said Weisz. “There is a great support system with everyone at Sports
U/Team IZOD and also classes on a variety of topics, including how to
present yourself in public, and doing interviews, lessons that are
invaluable for young high school players hoping to be a success at the
next level.”
The Sports U/Team IZOD 16U’s will take a little bit of a break in
August, but will gear up for the Fall Fest at Seton Hall University in
September and then transition into preparing for the next high school
season which starts with formal practice in late November.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be part of a great high school program
and a terrific AAU team as well,” said Weisz. “I know that I have to
continue to work hard both on and off the court each and every day.”
HOOPS NOTES- Kasim Chandler, the 5-10 guard who shined the past
three seasons at Newark East Side, is only 16 and will enter St.
Thomas Moore in Connecticut this fall after deciding to transfer out
of the Brick City public school…Past Sports U/Team IZOD special
speakers have included Peter Harvey, the former state Attorney
General, who has conducted sessions with the players about critical
thinking, leadership and how to pick friends and handle yourself
properly when confronted by authority…With Bob Farrell retiring at SHP,
his longtime assistant, Kevin Williams, will be the head coach for
Weisz, Anglin and Mosley with the Pirates this winter. “I think Coach
Williams will do a great job keeping the program at a high level,”
said Weisz, whose older sister, Rebecca, 19, was a standout girls
tennis player at Hanover Park before moving on as a student at the
University of Michigan…Weisz said that New Heights of New York City,
who split two contests with Sports U/Team IZOD, was the best team his
AAU squad faced this summer. “They were short-handed the first time we
played them and beat them in Albany in Gym Rats,” said Weisz. “But
they came back to beat us in the Summer Classic in Philadephia.”
Sports U/Team IZOD 16U Roster, 2011 Summer Season:
Champions of NY2LA Summer Jam in Milwaukee and Las Vegas Fab 48
Kentrall Brooks, 6-8 PF, St.Anthony
Josh Brown, 6-3 PG, St. Anthony
Kasim Chandler, 5-10 PG, St. Thomas Moore (Conn.)
Hallice Cooke, 6-2 SG, St. Anthony
Donte DeMunguia, 6-10 C, Atlantic City
Kenny Grant, 6-8 PF, East Orange Campus
Keith Kirkwood, 6-3 SF, Neptune
Tom Lacey, 6-7 C, Seton Hall Prep
Dwayne Merrill, 6-6 SF, Newark Tech
James Nelson, 5-8 PG, Rice (N.Y.)
Manuel Suarez, 6-10 C, Cliffside Park
Spencer Weisz, 6-4 ½ SF, Seton Hall Prep
Brian Coleman, executive director of basketball
Eric Harrield, coach
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