March 2015 - Radiant Suns

THE RADIANT SUN
A Monthly Basketball Review
The RADIANT SUN newsletter is designed to inform the basketball community of
various Radiant SUNS program initiatives, and local, state, and regional basketball
accomplishments. This publication will be distributed electronically and by mail on a
monthly basis. To submit a notable statistic, story, article, or, news update; send
M
information to [email protected] or call 908-237-2526.
Volume 30
February\March, 2015
www.radiantsuns.com
17U Suns Transition from High School
Season to High Exposure Spring Season
The 2015 17U Radiant Suns will embark upon the toughest
and most exciting Suns high-exposure Spring schedule to
date. Several of the 17U team players have played for the
th
Radiant Suns since its inception in 2008 as 5 graders.
Fast forward 6 ½ years later and these young men will be
competing in their most important and competitive
season ever, showcasing themselves in front of college
coaches from Division I, Division II, and Division III
institutions in most of their tournaments.
After an impressive 2-0 warm-up tournament at the Hoop
Group “Pre-season” Showcase on March 28 with victories
versus West NY (Buffalo, NY) (71-70) and Harlem United
(65-54), most players remained for March 29 for the
Upstate Top 100 in the same venue (SUNY Orange County,
Middletown, NY).
17 U Suns In Middletown, NY
17U Schedule
3/28 – HOOP Group Pre-season Showcase at
SUNY Orange County, Middletown, NY
4/11 - 4/12 – HOOP Group Spring Jam Fest at
Spooky Nook Sports, Manheim, PA
The schedule continues April 10-12 at Spooky Nook Sports,
Manheim, PA where the Hoop Group will host the Spring
Jam Fest, an added NCAA live event period this year. Two
weeks later, The Suns will travel to the Pitt Jam Fest April
24-26 looking to showcase its new and improved 17U
team amongst the finest competition the east coast has to
offer. The season will also feature several Hoop Group
Showdowns at their Headquarters in Neptune April 18-19,
and June 27-28. The Summer schedule includes several
more Hoop Group events - Summer Classic East King of
Prussia July 15-6, Summer Jam Fest @ Spooky Nook July
17-19, and the Buzzer Beater Classic at Hoop Group
Headquarters July 25-26.
4/18-4/19 – HOOP Group Spring Showdown at
HG Headquarters, Neptune, NJ
4/24-4/26 – HOOP Group Pitt Jam Fest by
Under Armour
5/23 – 5/24 –Suns Battle Against Breast
Cancer VI
612 -6/14 – Hoop Splash (at the Jersey
Shore), Belmar, NJ
6/27 – 6/28 - HOOP Group Summer
Showdown at HG Headquarters, Neptune,
NJ
7/15 – 7/16 - Summer Classic East King of
Prussia
7/17 – 7/19 - Summer Jam Fest at Spooky
Nook
7/25 – 7/26 – Buzzer Beater Classic at HG
Headquarters, Neptune, NJ
Plus Additional TBD
1
He began his pro career in Spain and moved on to Italy,
where he played from 1988 to 1993, earning Italian league
Most Valuable Player honors in 1993. Joining the famed
Maccabi Tel Aviv team, Alexis was MVP of the Israeli
league when his team captured the league and cup
championships in 1993-94.
Suns Feature 12th Grade Team in 2015
Wendell Alexis Joins Suns as Head Coach.
Each year, many high school
seniors who have not made a
final decision on college choices
or post-graduate school, still seek
high exposure tournaments in
the same manner as high school
juniors. The Suns are thrilled to
announce that former NBA and
FIBA professional Wendell Alexis,
who starred at Syracuse
University (see full bio below),
th
will lead our 12 Grade team into battle.
He later played in France and then moved to Germany,
where he played from 1996 to 2002. Along the way,
Wendell was a three-time MVP of the German league and
in 1998 was third in the voting for Athlete of the Year in
Berlin, a remarkable feat, considering the overwhelming
popularity of soccer in that country.
After a year in Greece, Alexis returned to Germany, where
he led his new team, Mitteldeutscher, to its best record
and its first-ever European trophy--the 2004 FIBA Cup. As a
result, he capped his career as MVP for the Western region
of FIBA, basketball's world governing body.
The team will play a similar highly competitive schedule,
focusing primarily on NCAA Live Period events that will
provide maximum exposure to college coaches. The
schedule begins in New England at the Basketbull Hall of
Fame New England Championships April 10 to 12 in
Greater Hartford, CT. On April 25-26, the team will play in
the Northeast Live Invitational in Greater Springfield, MA.
The Team plans to mirror the Summer Live events of the
17U team including Hoop Group events - Summer Classic
East King of Prussia July 15-6, Summer Jam Fest @ Spooky
Nook July 17-19, and the Buzzer Beater Classic at Hoop
Group Headquarters July 25-26.
Having gone out at the top of his game as a player,
Wendell Alexis spent a year coaching as an assistant at St.
Joseph High School in Metuchen, NJ, and also as head
coach of the MSU Skyliners 16u AAU team, before joining
the staff at NJIT. At St. Joseph, he worked extensively with
Andrew Bynum, who went directly from high school to the
NBA's Los Angeles Lakers.
12th Grade Schedule
7/12-7/13 – BasketBull Hall of Fame New
England Championships, Hartford, CT
Wendell Alexis -The Radiant Suns welcome Wendell
Alexis to their coaching staff for the Spring of 2015.
NJIT was the first college coaching stop for Alexis, but he
has spent his entire adult life in the game, having starred
at Syracuse, where he graduated in 1986, and continuing
through a professional career that lasted nearly 20 years
until his retirement in 2004.
A graduate of Christ the King High School in Queens, Alexis
was one of the top players in New York City before
heading off to Syracuse. He scored 1,212 career points and
grabbed over 400 rebounds, earning all-Big East for teams
that consistently ranked among the best in the country.
7/25-26 – Basketbull Northeast Live
Invitational, Springfield, MA
7/15 – 7/16 - Summer Classic East King
of Prussia
7/17 – 7/19 - Summer Jam Fest at
Spooky Nook
7/25 – 7/26 – Buzzer Beater Classic, at
HG Headquarters, Neptune, NJ
Drafted by the Golden State Warriors in 1986, he spent his
professional career overseas, starring in some of the top
foreign leagues, including Spain, Italy, Israel, France,
Germany and Greece. He was an all-star in the Euroleague
(leading club teams from throughout the continent) from
1998 to 2001.
Plus Additional TBD
In 1998, he represented the United States as a member of
the bronze medal-winning Team USA at the World
Basketball Championships in Athens, Greece.
2
Wade Baldwin IV Receives
2015 SEC First Team
All-Freshman Team Honors
Anton Beard, Arkansas - G, 6-0, 190, Fr., North Little Rock,
Ark.
Devin Robinson, Florida - F, 6-8, 178, Fr., Chesterfield, Va.
Devin Booker, Kentucky - G, 6-6, 206, Fr., Grand Rapids,
Mich.
Trey Lyles, Kentucky - F, 6-10, 235, Fr., Indianapolis, Ind.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky - F, 6-11, 250, Fr.,
Piscataway, N.J.
Tyler Ulis, Kentucky - G, 5-9, 155, Fr., Lima, Ohio
Wade Baldwin IV, Vanderbilt - G, 6-3, 195, Fr.,
Belle Mead, N.J.
Riley LaChance, Vanderbilt - G, 6-2, 194, Fr., Brookfield,
Wisc.
RADIANT SUNS Basketball
Suns Seniors Announce College Destinations
To Register - visit
radiantsuns.com/events.html
Or call
908-635-6130
Devyn Spruell – Notre Dame (football)
Brandon Votek – Gettysburg (basketball)
Myles Thomas – Xavier
Jack Engel – Stevens Institute (basketball)
Will Howes – Lafayette (track \ x –country)
Austin Alfonso – Susquehanna (basketball)
Please share your college destination
with us for future announcements!
3
Levi Holmes Surpasses 1000 Point Mark
In mid February, Rutgers Prep senior Levi Homes scored
th
his 1000 point for the Argonauts. Levi will attend St.
Michael’s College in Vermont next fall.
Congratulations Levi!
Former Suns Player Breein Tyree has earned the
attention of many college scouts. Breein is a multisport athlete and stars at St. Joe’s in both basketball
and football (at the quarterback position). He has
had interest from over 20 Division 1 schools including
USC, Rutgers, Iowa State, Holy Cross, Penn State,
Syracuse, Temple, Boston U, St. Joseph’s, Maryland,
Monmouth, Richmond, and others.
We wish Breein the best of success in what looks to
be an exciting college career!
THE REF’S CALL
By Leslie “Hook” Greene*
Hello All,
This month I will talk about the “Correctable
Error.” There are five scenarios when an Official
may correct an error if a rule is inadvertently
ignored and results in:
a. Failure to award a merited free throw
b. Awarding an unmerited free throw
c. Permitting a wrong player to attempt a free
throw
d. Attempting a free throw at the wrong basket
e. Erroneously counting or cancelling a score **
Former Suns Player, Senior Kam David (#3)
celebrates Tournament of Champions victory and
outstanding 28-4 season with Roselle Catholic
teammates and students
St. Joe’s Junior Breein Tyree
continues to impress college scouts in
2014-2015 season.
** May have happened in the Kentucky vs.
Wisconsin NCAA Final Four game and was not
corrected.
*Leslie Greene has over 30 years
4
experience as a high school basketball
official.
Rutgers Prep had a great run to close out
the 2014-2015 season. The Argonauts
finished 22-6, ending at No. 18 in the
NJ.com Top 20 after losing to eventual
Tournament of Champions Roselle
Catholic in the South Jersey, Non-Public B
semifinals. Past and Present Suns players
included Karl Charles, Levi Holmes, Greg
Smith, PJ Straham, Jake Needleman, CJ
Howell, and Dan Schantz
5
Announcing The
RADIANT SUNS Basketball
ANTHOLOGY
Don't miss the opportunity to have this
memorable keepsake and continue to
make a positive difference in the lives of
these young athletes . . .
This will be a limited addition publication .
..
coming this spring!
A 200 ++ page Pictorial and
Written Journey of the SUNS teams,
Reserve your copy today for only
$50
players, athletic events, community service
events, and excursions since 2008. This
Reply with quantities desired. Please send
payment to:
Radiant SUNS Basketball
318 Route 202 North, Suite 2A,
Flemington, NJ 08822
historical Journal also includes articles,
records, and memories of The Sun Guy TM
student athletes through their academic,
athletic and personal development from
high school and college careers.
If you wish to have your Anthology shipped
outside of New Jersey, please add $6.00 to your
order.
By purchasing a journal today you can . . .
Thank you!
2008 to and including their present





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
Provide Additional Opportunities for
Our Student Athletes including
Networking for College Recruiting
and Job Opportunities
Set Your Example for Our Student
Athletes Who Will One Day Pay Your
Gesture Forward to Rising Student
Athletes of the Future
Become A Lasting Part of Our
History & The Development of Our
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Make A Difference By Helping Our
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Through Social Awareness and
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Participation and Exposure
Promote the Synergies of Diversity,
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Community Service of
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Have a collectible keepsake
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accomplishments
The SUN GUY TM
Respects Everyone
Helps Others
Maintains Discipline
Keeps An Open Mind
Practices Peace
Enjoys Life
AND Gives Light And Hope to All"
L. Greg Smith - 908-500-2061
Chuck Berger - 908-635-6130
Leslie M. Greene - 201-424-3679
6
RADIANT SUNS Basketball
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The SUN GUY TM
8
"Respects Everyone, Helps Others, Maintains Discipline,
Keeps An Open Mind, Practices Peace, Enjoys Life,
AND Gives Light And Hope to All"