Top AAU Coach Goes to St. John’s

Why does everyone knock coach briaca.  What does he do that's so wrong

Because someone needs to be blamed. Everyone is a know it all. We all know what the coaches add to practice, game, recruiting, etc.

Been holdin my tongue fo quite awhile and now that I got a call that the deal is done, I gotta let loose.

Kimani Young is a straight up leader of men! And y'all best believe!

He one of the smartest, most righteous and kind-hearted brothers on the scene. He help lead New Heights to be a model in community development where children are not playas. They children who need to be nurtured as human beings and students of the world. K did that while still makin it competative in ball. He do what St. John do: turn boys into men.

Kimani do his ballin' for Coach Isser at Forest Hill, which aint no powerhouse 'less y'all name is Ernie Grunfeld or Kenny Pat. But he a contemporary of mine and he straight up Lefrak thru and thru. The Smith fams truly brought him up to be who he be. And there aint no other better royalty in Queens than my boys from Lefrak. UTEP aint no joke if y'all remember the UTEP Two Step and of course the champs beatin Adolf and his boys. Anyways K wuz as smoove a playa as you'll see like Kenny.

Now, some y'all bring up his troubles. And yes he do have a past. But in the tru Catholic tradition, I believe y'all best forgive a man who turn his life around. K aint got no trouble talkin bout his past. And he dont make no excuses neither.

Anyways this is truly a blessin fo both K and St. John. And while this been in the works fo while now, I felt I needs to speak truth to power.

We all proud of ya son!

-Choz4Life

Great info Choz.

If Choz and KOB give someone their stamp of approval that's good enough for me

How funny would it be if Choz and KOB were Young and Cross. LOL

I've met KOB at that BEB party last year but havent seen a picture of Cross yet. HMMM

Quote from: Choz4Life on August 13, 2008, 11:24:54 PM

Been holdin my tongue fo quite awhile and now that I got a call that the deal is done, I gotta let loose.

Kimani Young is a straight up leader of men! And y'all best believe!

He one of the smartest, most righteous and kind-hearted brothers on the scene. He help lead New Heights to be a model in community development where children are not playas. They children who need to be nurtured as human beings and students of the world. K did that while still makin it competative in ball. He do what St. John do: turn boys into men.

Kimani do his ballin' for Coach Isser at Forest Hill, which aint no powerhouse 'less y'all name is Ernie Grunfeld or Kenny Pat. But he a contemporary of mine and he straight up Lefrak thru and thru. The Smith fams truly brought him up to be who he be. And there aint no other better royalty in Queens than my boys from Lefrak. UTEP aint no joke if y'all remember the UTEP Two Step and of course the champs beatin Adolf and his boys. Anyways K wuz as smoove a playa as you'll see like Kenny.

Now, some y'all bring up his troubles. And yes he do have a past. But in the tru Catholic tradition, I believe y'all best forgive a man who turn his life around. K aint got no trouble talkin bout his past. And he dont make no excuses neither.

Anyways this is truly a blessin fo both K and St. John. And while this been in the works fo while now, I felt I needs to speak truth to power.

We all proud of ya son!

-Choz4Life

Great info Choz.

If Choz and KOB give someone their stamp of approval that's good enough for me

How funny would it be if Choz and KOB were Young and Cross. LOL

I've met KOB at that BEB party last year but havent seen a picture of Cross yet. HMMM

Haha sorry Sherlock Maher they aren't the same person.... but good attempt

Why does everyone knock coach briaca.  What does he do that's so wrong

Probably becuase Norm hired him

we share similar DNA but we look completely different. He's the boss I'm the bodyguard

yeah but coach briaca recruited larry Calhoun malik justin and rob if I'm not mistaken. What's wrong with that

Quote from: Choz4Life on August 13, 2008, 11:24:54 PM

Been holdin my tongue fo quite awhile and now that I got a call that the deal is done, I gotta let loose.

Kimani Young is a straight up leader of men! And y'all best believe!

He one of the smartest, most righteous and kind-hearted brothers on the scene. He help lead New Heights to be a model in community development where children are not playas. They children who need to be nurtured as human beings and students of the world. K did that while still makin it competative in ball. He do what St. John do: turn boys into men.

Kimani do his ballin' for Coach Isser at Forest Hill, which aint no powerhouse 'less y'all name is Ernie Grunfeld or Kenny Pat. But he a contemporary of mine and he straight up Lefrak thru and thru. The Smith fams truly brought him up to be who he be. And there aint no other better royalty in Queens than my boys from Lefrak. UTEP aint no joke if y'all remember the UTEP Two Step and of course the champs beatin Adolf and his boys. Anyways K wuz as smoove a playa as you'll see like Kenny.

Now, some y'all bring up his troubles. And yes he do have a past. But in the tru Catholic tradition, I believe y'all best forgive a man who turn his life around. K aint got no trouble talkin bout his past. And he dont make no excuses neither.

Anyways this is truly a blessin fo both K and St. John. And while this been in the works fo while now, I felt I needs to speak truth to power.

We all proud of ya son!

-Choz4Life

Great info Choz.

If Choz and KOB give someone their stamp of approval that's good enough for me

How funny would it be if Choz and KOB were Young and Cross. LOL

I've met KOB at that BEB party last year but havent seen a picture of Cross yet. HMMM

Thanks bre. But I aint Oz. That mad funny tho. Got a few years on that young'un. A few, not a lot.

Anyways, as y'all know I been quiet on the recruitin front 'cause y'all know my connection to a certain community-based program and my vow not to talk 'bout recruitin til it ova and done wit.

Well, I'm a gonna give my scoutin report soon on some of the hardcore NYC playaz St. John lookin at in the class just as soon as I get myselves some time. Seen some of these young'uns fo years and I'm mad proud of many reagrdless of who they play fo.

So that gonna come sometime in the next few day.

-Choz4Life

we share similar DNA but we look completely different. He's the boss I'm the bodyguard

OZ Cross and The Notorious KOB ? 

i'm down on braica because he's supposedly the offensive x and o coach and we can't reach 50 points most of the time.

as i pointed out once before, you don't have to be a trainer, a jockey or even a know it all to figure out which horse is winning the race.

quote...yeah but coach briaca recruited larry Calhoun malik justin and rob if I'm not mistaken. What's wrong with that...end quote.

these are nice players...or were in some cases...but where are the guys braica brought in who'll lead us to the promised land?  all i counted were eleven wins last year..and we had to play 30 games to get there.

Quote from: kob24 on August 15, 2008, 06:48:19 PM

we share similar DNA but we look completely different. He's the boss I'm the bodyguard

OZ Cross and The Notorious KOB ? 

Come on this is more boss and body guard...

i'm down on braica because he's supposedly the offensive x and o coach and we can't reach 50 points most of the time.

as i pointed out once before, you don't have to be a trainer, a jockey or even a know it all to figure out which horse is winning the race.

quote...yeah but coach briaca recruited larry Calhoun malik justin and rob if I'm not mistaken. What's wrong with that...end quote.

these are nice players...or were in some cases...but where are the guys braica brought in who'll lead us to the promised land?  all i counted were eleven wins last year..and we had to play 30 games to get there.

I thought Quartelbaum was supposed to be the recruiting guru on the staff?

Why does everyone knock coach briaca.  What does he do that's so wrong

Because is is not a good coach. .  he was supposed to be the "X & O" guy and offesnse was supposed to his specialty...   we have all seen the quality offensive performances of the Norm Roberts era at St. John's

He never earned a Big East #1 Assistants job..    he got the job because his is boys with Norm...    its not like he worked his way up to the job...  where was he before SJU.  St. Francis - Brooklyn..?

yeah but coach briaca recruited larry Calhoun malik justin and rob if I'm not mistaken. What's wrong with that?

Exactly kob... pay no attention to these guys. Most of the "haters" are just jealous h.s./aau coaches OR think norm should have hired a nut like their buddy Naclerio instead.. lol .. Is he john wooden? NO.. .. but he is a class act & he can coach. Plus, he also recruited Wait, who would have gone to UCLA had GB not stayed on this kid from the beginning...  nice work coach!!

btw - x & o's don't mean jacksh*t when u lose ur best player the last three years for most/all of the season & when ur point guard(lawrence) is a turnover machine who had maybe the worst senior season in SJU history.. .. let's see how we look this year with a healthy Mase, Boothe running the point, the addition of Wait in the post & the maturation of kids like Burrell, Kennedy, Horne, etc.... if we're still "struggling" to score points next year than I might agree that a coaching change is warranted.

Quote from: kob24 on August 15, 2008, 06:50:27 PM

yeah but coach briaca recruited larry Calhoun malik justin and rob if I'm not mistaken. What's wrong with that?

Exactly kob... pay no attention to these guys. Most of the "haters" are just jealous h.s./aau coaches OR think norm should have hired a nut like their buddy Naclerio instead.. lol .. Is he john wooden? NO.. .. but he is a class act & he can coach. Plus, he also recruited Wait, who would have gone to UCLA had GB not stayed on this kid from the beginning...  nice work coach!!

btw - x & o's don't mean jacksh*t when u lose ur best player the last three years for most/all of the season & when ur point guard(lawrence) is a turnover machine who had maybe the worst senior season in SJU history.. .. let's see how we look this year with a healthy Mase, Boothe running the point, the addition of Wait in the post & the maturation of kids like Burrell, Kennedy, Horne, etc.... if we're still "struggling" to score points next year than I might agree that a coaching change is warranted.

lol easy oldred. Wait wasn't going to UCLA if he didn't go to St. John's. Lets not go off the deep end put the kool aid down. Is Braica an X&O's genius? NO probably not. Is Braica a bad coach? No I don't think so. Do I think people judge him unfairly due to his relationship with Norm? Yes I do.

who gave coach Briaca the title of head x and o guy. The kids run the same offensive sets as Kansas so that is norm calling the shots

I guess this makes it official that both guys are on board...

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2008/08/18/2008-08-18_st_johns_adds_two_assistants_to_help_wit.html

BY ROGER RUBIN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Monday, August 18th 2008, 11:55 PM

Norm Roberts has added two local connections to help recruit more city athletes.
St. John's coach Norm Roberts is taking steps to bolster city recruiting by filling two spots on his staff with significant local connections.

Kimani Young, director of the New Heights youth development program, takes the manager/video coordinator post. Oswald Cross, who coached Our Savior Lutheran High and the L.I. Panthers AAU program, takes an administrative position.

Bringing Young on board could be seen as controversial because eight years ago he was arrested with 96 pounds of marijuana in Texas and served time in prison. Since his return to New York, community service has been central to Young. He spent several years as a director for a Police Athletic League Center in Brooklyn in addition to his New Heights work.

He played with Lincoln High coach Dwayne Morton for one season at LIU before transferring to UTEP to play for legendary coach Don Haskins. In recent years he founded the S. Carter AAU team, which won a national title.

Young could give the Storm an "in" with Javon Pinkston of Loughlin and Devon Collier and Ashton Pankey of St. Anthony of Jersey City. Cross could help in recruiting Omari Lawrence and Kevin Parrom, who are enrolled at South Kent (Conn).

With Ian Begley

I received two calls this morning. .   both guys season ticket holders and long time fans...   but don't read the boards or anything...      both guys outraged that the school would hire a guy with a drug conviction on his record...

This is the same school that threw Willie Shaw off the team for smoking pot..?

I received two calls this morning. .   both guys season ticket holders and long time fans...   but don't read the boards or anything...      both guys outraged that the school would hire a guy with a drug conviction on his record...

This is the same school that threw Willie Shaw off the team for smoking pot..?

did you tell them you thought it was a great move?

Quote from: pmg911 on August 19, 2008, 10:53:37 AM

I received two calls this morning. .   both guys season ticket holders and long time fans...   but don't read the boards or anything...      both guys outraged that the school would hire a guy with a drug conviction on his record...

This is the same school that threw Willie Shaw off the team for smoking pot..?

did you tell them you thought it was a great move?

Yes I did..   and from a basketball perspective I think it is...   

I do think they are going to get some blow back from some sectors though...

I received two calls this morning. .   both guys season ticket holders and long time fans...   but don't read the boards or anything...      both guys outraged that the school would hire a guy with a drug conviction on his record...

This is the same school that threw Willie Shaw off the team for smoking pot..?

One was in the then present and this is in the past.  I would't want to be looked at by the things I did when I was 20 or so.  Something along the lines of "He who has no sins cast the first stone"  I certainly can't