High School Basketball

If you're in New York and like high school basketball, here is my New Year's gift to you:

Saturday, January 7

Event: LI MLK Classic (BOYS)
Gym: Island Garden Arena (where the Knicks and Liberty used to practice)
Location: West Hempstead, NY
Tip off: 12:00pm

Upper Room vs. Campus Magnet
East Meadow vs. Hempstead
Long Beack vs. Martin Van Buren (we are the mighty mighty vee-bees)


Event: 2006 Girls Basketball Invitational Classic
Gym: York College
Location: Jamaica, NY
Tip off: 11:00am

Lincoln vs. Holy Trinity
Midwood vs. Massapequa
Francis Lewis vs. St. Michael's Academy


Note: In the second game, Midwood is the team to watch or should I say Melanie Murphy is the player to watch. She's on her way to Stanford next year. In the third game, Francis Lewis lost to Bergtraum in last year's PSAL Championship but everybody loses to Bergtraum. Francis Lewis is one of the best programs in the city. "Queen V" Vionca Murray is on her way to Va. Tech next year. She had 34 against Cardozo recently and looks unstoppable against the high school crowd.

Players to watch:
Lincoln: Marissa Austin, Charmon Watt
Francis Lewis: Vionca Murray, Diatiem Hill
Midwood: Mesha Joseph, Melanie Murphy


Event: The Borough Challenge (BOYS)
Gym: Lehman College
Location: Bronx, NY
Tip off: 1:00pm

The Bronx vs. Queens (Lehman vs. Springfield Gardens)
Brooklyn vs. Staten Island (Robeson vs. Curtis)
Manhattan vs. Brooklyn (Wadleigh vs. Boys & Girls)



Sunday, January 8

Event: 2006 Girls Basketball Invitational Classic
Gym: Lehman College
Location: Bronx, NY
Tip off: 10:00am

Manhattan Center vs. Malverne
Cardozo vs. Paterson East Side
Grand Street Campus vs. North Babylon
John F. Kennedy vs. Shabazz

Note: Manhattan Center looks sick this year. They've always looked really good and were always well coached but this year they look elite good. Francis Lewis, Bergtraum, Christ the King good. Ashley Cox is unbelievable when she's on.

Players to watch:
Manhattan Center: Ashley Cox, Chena Parker
Cardozo: Marissa Flagg, Lekesha Harris, Adenike Oyesile
Grand Street Campus: Kenya Kirkland
Shabazz: Jania Sims, Kellindra Zachery, Iasia Hemingway
Paterson East Side: Shadisha Green, Davina Yacab


Saturday, January 14

Event: 3rd Annual Big Apple Basketball High School Invitational (BOYS)
Gym: Baruch College
Location: New York, NY
Tip off: 11:30am

Uniondale vs. Boys & Girls
St. Andrews vs. Bloomfield Tech
Bellaire vs. Grady
Notre Dame Prep vs. St. Thomas More



Sunday, January 15

Event: Nike Super 6 Invitational
Gym: Madison Square Garden
Location: New York, NY
Tip off: 1:00pm

Grady vs. Boys & Girls (BOYS)
Murry Bergtraum vs. Christ The King (GIRLS)
Rice vs. St. Patrick's (BOYS)

Note: Grady vs. Boys & Girls should be excellent and you know both will bring all of Brooklyn to The Garden for this showdown. But the game to really watch is Bergtraum vs. Christ the King. Their games put some WNBA matchups to shame. Finally, us city dwellers don't have to go all the way to Glens Falls or wait until the State championship in March to see it. Tina Charles is leading the way for Christ the King in her senior year before she blows up on the national scene at UCONN. Of course, there's the player averaging 40 points, 11 assists and 6 rebounds a game before she heads to Rutgers to rule the Big East with Matee Ajavon and Kia Vaughn. EPIPHANY PRINCE!!!!

Players to watch:
Bergtraum: Epiphany Prince, Tasha Bartlett, Erica Morrow
Christ the King: Tina Charles



Event: 3rd Annual Big Apple Basketball High School Invitational (BOYS)
Gym: Baruch College
Location: New York, NY
Tip off: 1:00pm

Thomas Jefferson vs. Poly Prep
Patterson Catholic vs. Our Savior Lutheran
Newark East Side vs. All Hallows
Niagra Falls vs. Robeson



Monday, January 16

Event: 3rd Annual Big Apple Basketball High School Invitational (BOYS)
Gym: Baruch College
Location: New York, NY
Tip off: 12:00pm

Bellaire vs. Our Savior Lutheran
Niagra Falls vs. St. Dominic's
Woodmere Academy vs. Benjamin Banneker
West Milford vs. Cardozo
Patterson Catholic vs. Bishop Loughlin



Sunday, January 22

Event: Queens MLK Invitational (BOYS)
Gym: McClancy High School
Location: East Elmhurst, NY
Tip off: 12:00pm

St. John's Prep vs. Samuel Gompers
Woodmere Academy vs. Hempstead
Long Island City vs. McClancy



Sunday, January 29

Event: Long Island/New York Invitational Classic (BOYS)
Gym: Elmcor
Location: Corona, NY
Tip off: 12:00pm

Bronx High School of Science vs. McClancy
Telecommunications vs. Forest Hills
Kingston vs. Chaminade



Wednesday, February 8

Event: PSAL Regular Season Game (GIRLS)
Gym: Manhattan Center High School
Location: Harlem, NY
Tip off: 4:30pm

Murry Bergtraum vs. Manhattan Center

Note: Fittingly, this is the final game of the regular season for both teams. One can only hope they'll end up battling it out at The Garden for the City championship in March.

Players to watch:
Manhattan Center: Ashley Cox, Chena Parker
Bergtraum: Epiphany Prince, Tasha Bartlett, Erica Morrow


Ticket prices vary. Just bring some dough. I only did notes on the girls games because the boys games would take forever.