Christopher Obekpa - PF - Our Savior New American - Centereach, NY - ST. JOHN'S

Quote from: Moose on March 26, 2012, 04:13:10 PM

Quote from: PIB on March 26, 2012, 03:56:45 PM

I live in Port Chester. I'm thinking about heading over to watch the game.

Port Chester born and raised and still in Westchester.  I go every year but this year some of the usual suspect teams weren't in the tourney.  Knowing some of the names tonight I will go for the 2nd game.

Your in for a treat if obekpas team plays whiteheads team tonight. They also have Jordan Washington on obekpas team, what a front court! Wouldn't be suprised if you catch chiles and company being at the game either.

I thought the same thing about their frontcourt.  Problem is CYP is a guards game because the court is tiny.

As for coaches when I was a kid I remember coaches crawling around that place.  Remember Fran sitting front and center for lots of games.  But I thought rules changed and the last few years with big big talent playing there were no coaches present.  Only D2 and below.

Quote from: Chilleb on March 26, 2012, 04:22:08 PM

Quote from: Moose on March 26, 2012, 04:13:10 PM

Quote from: PIB on March 26, 2012, 03:56:45 PM

I live in Port Chester. I'm thinking about heading over to watch the game.

Port Chester born and raised and still in Westchester.  I go every year but this year some of the usual suspect teams weren't in the tourney.  Knowing some of the names tonight I will go for the 2nd game.

Your in for a treat if obekpas team plays whiteheads team tonight. They also have Jordan Washington on obekpas team, what a front court! Wouldn't be suprised if you catch chiles and company being at the game either.

I thought the same thing about their frontcourt.  Problem is CYP is a guards game because the court is tiny.

As for coaches when I was a kid I remember coaches crawling around that place.  Remember Fran sitting front and center for lots of games.  But I thought rules changed and the last few years with big big talent playing there were no coaches present.  Only D2 and below.

that's a shame but with the signing of this class we'll be right back in the hunt with these other coaches for the big talent. Was watching the re-run of the mcd all American game where we had two commits. Omar cook and Darius miles. That could be us again by '14

Quote from: Moose on March 26, 2012, 04:26:35 PM

Quote from: Chilleb on March 26, 2012, 04:22:08 PM

Quote from: Moose on March 26, 2012, 04:13:10 PM

Quote from: PIB on March 26, 2012, 03:56:45 PM

I live in Port Chester. I'm thinking about heading over to watch the game.

Port Chester born and raised and still in Westchester.  I go every year but this year some of the usual suspect teams weren't in the tourney.  Knowing some of the names tonight I will go for the 2nd game.

Your in for a treat if obekpas team plays whiteheads team tonight. They also have Jordan Washington on obekpas team, what a front court! Wouldn't be suprised if you catch chiles and company being at the game either.

I thought the same thing about their frontcourt.  Problem is CYP is a guards game because the court is tiny.

As for coaches when I was a kid I remember coaches crawling around that place.  Remember Fran sitting front and center for lots of games.  But I thought rules changed and the last few years with big big talent playing there were no coaches present.  Only D2 and below.

that's a shame but with the signing of this class we'll be right back in the hunt with these other coaches for the big talent. Was watching the re-run of the mcd all American game where we had two commits. Omar cook and Darius miles. That could be us again by '14

Have a tape of McD game with Sealy and Werdann. Cast included Alonzo, Shawn Kemp and a ton of other talent. Getting back to that level would be sweet!

Quote from: Moose on March 26, 2012, 04:13:10 PM

Quote from: PIB on March 26, 2012, 03:56:45 PM

I live in Port Chester. I'm thinking about heading over to watch the game.

Port Chester born and raised and still in Westchester.  I go every year but this year some of the usual suspect teams weren't in the tourney.  Knowing some of the names tonight I will go for the 2nd game.

My father was also born and raised in PC.

21 North....

Quote from: Moose on March 26, 2012, 04:26:35 PM

Quote from: Chilleb on March 26, 2012, 04:22:08 PM

Quote from: Moose on March 26, 2012, 04:13:10 PM

Quote from: PIB on March 26, 2012, 03:56:45 PM

I live in Port Chester. I'm thinking about heading over to watch the game.

Port Chester born and raised and still in Westchester.  I go every year but this year some of the usual suspect teams weren't in the tourney.  Knowing some of the names tonight I will go for the 2nd game.

Your in for a treat if obekpas team plays whiteheads team tonight. They also have Jordan Washington on obekpas team, what a front court! Wouldn't be suprised if you catch chiles and company being at the game either.

I thought the same thing about their frontcourt.  Problem is CYP is a guards game because the court is tiny.

As for coaches when I was a kid I remember coaches crawling around that place.  Remember Fran sitting front and center for lots of games.  But I thought rules changed and the last few years with big big talent playing there were no coaches present.  Only D2 and below.

that's a shame but with the signing of this class we'll be right back in the hunt with these other coaches for the big talent. Was watching the re-run of the mcd all American game where we had two commits. Omar cook and Darius miles. That could be us again by '14

Damn straight...  Things lining up pretty well.  This class is important step in getting us to next level of competitiveness.  If we land Sanchez, Bourgault and Obekpa we will have depth, athleticism and enough size to be a legit tourney team with the way this staff prepares these teams for late season play.  If we bring the talent in, we'll be setting things up well for 13' and 14' classes to fill in with big talent.

No word on how the Obekpa visit went???

Quote from: PIB on March 26, 2012, 03:56:45 PM

I live in Port Chester. I'm thinking about heading over to watch the game.

Port Chester born and raised and still in Westchester.  I go every year but this year some of the usual suspect teams weren't in the tourney.  Knowing some of the names tonight I will go for the 2nd game.

I used to buy hotdogs from an old man named Moose years ago. He used to sell them out of a small street cart by the Pathmark.

RIP Moose... Best hot dogs around...

 

Quote from: RedVet on March 25, 2012, 11:38:10 PM

Quote from: crgreen on March 25, 2012, 11:19:56 PM

Quote from: Choz4Life on March 25, 2012, 08:38:05 PM

Quote from: Section 9 on March 25, 2012, 05:00:49 PM

Time for a little SJU history lesson.  He was a 6'8" man-child at LuHi ranked either 1 or 2 coming out.  Looie landed him in '77 and he never reached the lofty expectations many expected of him.  His body matured early.  He teamed with Reggie Carter at LuHi and they both wound up here after Reggie transferred in from Hawaii.

I think he may have been ranked #2 next to..... Magic.

Earvin and Wayne were high out of high school, but not THAT high nationally.   Still remember the Street & Smith cover that year - The big 3 were Gene Banks, Kenny Dennard and Albert King.  Albert was the defacto #1, but S&S had a special 3 page feature on the "real" #1 - a 6'10 soph in West Virginia named Earl Jones....

CR, I seem to remember Magic, like Felipe Lopez years later, being on the SI cover prior to the start of his freshman season ... and that's bigger than the S&S cover.

SI vault shows THIS as the first Magic Cover.   

And FYI, when it came to HS hoops, SI was nowhere close to being as prestigious as S&S.....There was Street and Smith, and there was Parade covering HS on the national scene.  And if you paid your subscription fee, a six time a year  Newsletter called Blue Ribbon (still around today, tho evolved into the best collegiate annual you can find but with decreased HS reporting).   There wasn't a "Sports Illustrated High School All America team - just the occasional national article on a single player or two.   They never did live down the 1970 cover of Tom McMillen (of course, lucky for them due to NCAA rules, it took 2 years for them to actually play Varsity basketball for folks to realize how silly McMillen over Bill Walton really was).

Thanks for setting my memory straight; it's getting foggier and foggier. (Although I do recall Magic being on the cover of a national magazine just prior to or early in his freshmen year.) It's great to have a savant like you on both our boards. As for S&S vs. SI, I agree that S&S was (and is) the more serious magazine for college basketball fans, but you can't deny that SI reaches a much wider readership and that the SI cover has special meaning.

“@NYPost_Brazille: RT @LoHudInsider: This kid Chris Obekpa is UN-BE-BELIEVABLE. Wow. Rodney Abrams leads 59-50 late in the fourth.”

Zach impressed at Portchester

Was gonna do big post but I'll keep this in the Felix thread.  Impressed hell out of me tonight. He might have missed 2 or 3 shots the whole night.  He was hitting jumpers too not like it was all dunks, even though he gets his head above the rim.  You can tell him and Obekpa have a rapport on the court.  They look for eachother real well.  He sold me tonight.

You have to add somewhere in the vicinity of 15-18 boards for Obekpa.  Tom Konchalski turned to me and my friend at one point and said he had 9, 14 and 11.  And then he added two monsterous dunks and some more boards and blocks after.  Obekpa totally sold me tonight as well.  I was lukewarm to start with him, but tonight.  In a guards tournament he was able to make an impact.  Might have maybe had 2 fouls only.  His blocks come one and one, help and most importantly to me sometimes in succession. He would block one and then the follow up as well.  I don't get nervous when he has the ball.  I don't want him dribbling coast to coast but he can grab the board and take a few dribbles to start the break.

*Side note Kimani Young was coaching the Rodney Abrams/New Heights team with Obekpa and Felix.

Great report - thanks, Moose

“@LoHudInsider: CYP semifinals: Blaze, Rodney Abrams advance to championship http://t.co/NPHxa6w1”

Planning another visit?

http://depaul.scout.com/a.z?s=430&p=2&c=1171598&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fdepaul.scout.com%2f2%2f1171598.html#.T3EsX3RHMxk.twitter

Dont have access to it, anyone can give a synopsis?

“@LoHudInsider: CYP semifinals: Blaze, Rodney Abrams advance to championship http://t.co/NPHxa6w1”

http://varsityinsider.lohudblogs.com/

BTW-The guys who are in Westchester to see these games should stop by and say Hi to Kevin Devaney of the Journal News assuming he is there.  He does a good job of covering local high school sports:


They were pitted against the likes of Our Lady of Saviour’s Chris Obekpa, one of the top unsigned players in the state, and teammate Felix Balamou, who has committed to St. John’s. The duo dominated the game. The nimble 6-foot-9 Obekpa – fresh off a recent official visit to St. John’s – had 13 points and blocked a whopping 13 shots. Balamou led all scoters (sic) with 28 points on a series of acrobatic plays and deep jumpers.

Planning another visit?

http://depaul.scout.com/a.z?s=430&p=2&c=1171598&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fdepaul.scout.com%2f2%2f1171598.html#.T3EsX3RHMxk.twitter

Dont have access to it, anyone can give a synopsis?

He is going to visit Oregon next as I suspected.  Keep in mind as tradition starting on Thursday 3/29 running to April 5th at noon (in other words the Final Four) the dead period in recruiting starts.  No off or on campus recruiting.  In other words no attending events and no campus visits.  So he will visit presumably after 4/5.

He is going to visit Oregon next as I suspected.  Keep in mind as tradition starting on Thursday 3/29 running to April 5th at noon (in other words the Final Four) the dead period in recruiting starts.  No off or on campus recruiting.  In other words no attending events and no campus visits.  So he will visit presumably after 4/5.

Thanks fordham96. Hope we left a strong impression on him.

http://www.zagsblog.com/2012/03/27/obekpa-visits-johnnies-oregon-up-next/

“Chris enjoyed his official visit to St Johns this past weekend,” Our Savior assistant Eric Jaklitsch said by email. “He had been to campus and games a few times but there is only so much you can do on an unofficial visit. He had the chance to watch workouts on Friday and then went out to dinner with the coaching staff and JaKarr Sampson at night. The next day he was able to take a tour of Madison Square Garden and see some sites around New York City he had not seen before. At night he was able to hangout with the coaches and JaKarr while watching the NCAA tournament games.”

Wasn't as dominant as last night, tonight.  The opposing team didn't want anything to do with him and Jordan Washington so they settled to hoist jumpers the whole night.  Obekpa might have had 2-3 blocks only.  Still solid and it was great to hear all the people talking about how sound his defense is and how he avoids foul trouble in the process.  I did notice some issues fighting for loose tip in's a bit where he needs to finish a bit better but thats correctable.

Nice article and super photo of the big guy.

“@WNSports: Duo from Africa lead Rodney Abrams to CYP title: PORT CHESTER — Felix Balamou and Christopher Obekpa were a long... http://t.co/F5pK0vyr”

Chris is reportedly playing in the All American Classic in New Orleans this weekend. 

http://www.gazellegroup.com/events/aac/teams.htm

Not sure he gets any chance to shine.  They've put him on a team with RSCI overall 1 recruit 6'10 Nerlans Noell, #4 overall 6'9  Mitch McGary, #13 overall 6'10 Dujuan Coleman, and #17 overall 7'0 Kaleb Traczewski.....