New York Knockout: Teddy’s Friday Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Took my talents to New York for this weekend (well... virtually) to help out with event coverage at the New York Knockout. I'll admit that it was not easy to do this remotely. But I'm really glad I got to help out in any way. Here's my notes from the opening evening.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Please also note that I do not have full or accurate rosters for numerous squads. Please reach out to me via X or by email if there was anything I missed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='2078612' first='NY' last='Finest'] 17u Gordon Opens With Dominant Win</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I opened the weekend covering [program_tooltip program_id='2078612' first='NY' last='Finest'] 17u - Gordon take on [program_tooltip program_id='3581271' first='Queens' last='Defenders']. It was the Finest who had the hot hand early with everyone touching the rook. It seemed like everyone got open in one way or another. Their bread-and-butter was in transition, which helped them get off to a 19-4 start. They later showed an ability to shoot at a high clip with several solid spot-up shooters knocking down shots. Going on another key run in the second half, too.vBut it was their defense that really caught my eye. Doing a great job of defending the passing lane. Even leading to a fast break dunk from one of their players late in the contest. This was one of the teams I did not have rosters for (please share so I can edit some names). But it's a program to watch if coaches are at one of their events.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tribestarz and [program_tooltip program_id='2078612' first='NY' last='Finest'] 17u - Lewis</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I caught the end of an exciting back-and-forth matchup between [program_tooltip program_id='2078612' first='NY' last='Finest'] 17u lewis squad and Tribestarz 17u. The two probably exchanged leads 7 or 8 times from when I began coverage. With 20 seconds left, [program_tooltip program_id='2078612' first='NY' last='Finest']'s 17u W/G Joshua Merchant knocked down a pair of clutch free throws in the games dying seconds to secure a 74-71 win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>A Look at Team Ice 17u</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>To wrap up my evening, I caught New Jersey's Team Ice 17u in their matchup with Lighting. It was a tight game in the early stages which saw [player_tooltip player_id='3562516' first='Zyshawn' last='Tuck'] make some key plays near the rim, he's a guy who showed a strong physical presence on the interior of both ends throughout this game. But he was just a small piece of a physical Ice squad. Joshua Chukwuele is another promising forward who found his way driving to the rim. Drawing a few key fouls early on in this contest as part of a big run to close out the opening frame. Guard play stepped up later in the game. I was particularly impressed with what 5'9" point guard [player_tooltip player_id='3341538' first='Elijah' last='Cortes'] did as a playmaker and defender. Facilitating lots of key buckets to eventually give them a 20-point lead. [player_tooltip player_id='3590762' first='Dante' last='Terrell'] also got hot from deep and contributed in transition. It was too much for their opponents to handle as they cruised to a 63-43 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->