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Union County certainly had its moments in Snapple Bowl XVII, but once again it was Middlesex rising to the occasion to post a fifth straight victory in the ever-popular mid-July football all-star classic! ***The Montclair Project Oasis Summer League is offering plenty of competitive action while the host team's coach relishes the work ethic of his inexperienced kids. Check out "Feature Articles" ***A great story in the Union County Junior American Legion playoffs has been 12th-seeded Elizabeth, which rode Johnny Padilla's 3-hitter over the Vikings of Union Catholic to advance into Monday's championship game vs. Roselle. Check out "The Buzz" |
Newark's Josh Brown (24), a rising sophomore at St. Anthony, helped lead the Essex County-based Team Izod 15-U squad to a second place finish at AAU Nationals in Little Rock, Ark. (Photo by Doug Allen) |
Team Izod 15-U Squad Reaches Rarified Air
By Finishing As Runner-Up In AAU Nationals
By Steve Tober
For sidelinechatter.com
The fruits of their accomplishments could be felt in a number of seemingly intangible ways, perhaps including an increased level of confidence and a calm demeanor when faced with a nail-biter of a finish in a county or state tournament game next February or March.
Whatever the eventual benefits are for each player from the Essex County-based Team Izod, the fact is that the talented 15-and-under team comprised of budding North Jersey high school stars entering their sophomore year can reside in rarified air for at least the rest of the summer having recently finished as the runner-up in the highly-regarded and long-standing AAU Nationals in Little Rock, Ark.
For young players such as Will Joyce of Newark East Side, Kenny Grant of East Orange Campus, Spencer Weisz of Seton Hall Prep and Newark resident Josh Brown, who will now don the maroon and gold of St. Anthony after his freshman season at Morristown-Beard, this summer’s experience as Team Izod 15-U team members should certainly translate into positive results experience-wise come the dead of winter when attention focuses on the scholastic ranks.
In knocking off such noted AAU programs as the St. Louis Eagles and All Ohio Red, while giving the renowned Texas Titans all they could handle before being edged, 59-51, in the Sunday, July 11, championship game, Team Izod came oh so close to completing a championship run in an AAU tourney that has seen some of the finest college and NBA players pass through Little Rock on the way to eventual stardom at a higher level.
“We could not be any more proud of what these young men accomplished,” said Team Izod General Manager Ed Bright of North Caldwell, who accompanied the team to Arkansas along with a traveling party that included coaches Carlos Cueto and Brian Coleman of St. Anthony and former NBA great Darryl Dawkins, who is a coach for all three levels of Team Izod: 15-U, 16-U and 17-U. “Team Izod had an amazing run at the 15-U Nationals.
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