Sports -U 15 and Under Basketball

Sports U Shines in Little Rock

This past week was a historic one for Sports University’s AAU All Stars of Fairfield, who finished an impressive sixth out of 58 teams competing in the 15-and Under AAU National Championships in Little Rock, Ark., as the nation’s best competed in order to crown a Champion in Division 2. Some 58 te ams from across America competed in the week- long competition. Sports U’s All-Stars qualified to compete by virtue of reaching the semifinals in the AAU Super Regionals back in April. The locals also won the State of New Jersey in D-2. The week started out with Sports U winning its bracket, defeating The Southeast Tennessee Impact, the Baldwin Blue Devils of Long Island and The Arkansas Mustangs all by an average of 25 points. Championship play started with Sports U up against The Arkansas Hawks, which is possibly the most popular AAU program in the Southwest. In a hotly contested game Sports U had to weather the emotion from the talented Hawks, and all their supporters in attendance, battling back from a double-digit deficit to eventually overcome the strong Arkansas squad and post an exciting victory by a narrow 4-point margin. In their next Championship bracket game, Sports U faced the AP Wildcats of Dallas, Tex. Sports U was in position to win with 1:14 left on the clock and down by just two points, 59-57, but the Essex County AAU squad lost due in part to the AP Wildcats hitting a record number of 3-point shots. The loss placed Sports U in the Consolation Bracket where positions 3-12 were open for the teams who won out the rest of their play. Sport U got back on their winning streak finishing 7-1 for the week and winning out for 6th place in the entire tourney out of all 58 teams in only their first full season in existence. “This week was the culmination of all the hard work that our players and coaches have put into this program,” said Ed Bright, Sports U’s president and general manager. “Head Coach Brian Coleman was brilliant in how he used the players on hand.

 We were without Angelo Mangiro and Lucky Jones, our dominant center and leading s corer respectively. “Every team we faced was of the high school varsity equivalent in quality and talent. We played against some of the best high school players in America and no team was weak. Teams of note that Sport U played were the Georgia Stars, BABC of Boston, Southwest Impact of Tennessee and the AP Wildcats of Dallas.” Sports U’s record for the Spring and Summer season now stands at 67-5 and all of its losses have come only in the semifinal and final rounds. “Without our captain Angelo Mangiro and leading scorer Lucky Jones we were totally dependent on our guards at the national,” said Bright. “We had Jordan Quick, Najea Brown, Robbie Joe, and Matt Fung to lead us and they did not disappoint. “NCAA Scouts from the University of North Carolina and Southeast Louisiana were on hand to watch our match up with the Arkansas Hawks and it was because of the talk throughout the Tournament about the guards of Sports University. “Our team has really began to mature and understand what it takes to not only compete at the highest level. But, each player is committed to getting better. Our coaches, from Darryl Dawkins and the doors he has opened for us, to Joe Hohn and Ira Bowman and the time they have put in developing each players skill level and basketball IQ, to Head Coach Brian Coleman, who has developed a style of basketball that we play which is grounded in defense and capitalizing off turnovers. “Our offensive style relies on movement and discipline. Coach Lou Jones has coordinated so many behind the scene responsibility that we cant even begin to mention how grateful we are to him. “But, the stars of our program continue to be the players and their commitment not only to basketball but to be leaders off the court. All of our players are excellent students and just downright good guys. They understand what we mean when we talk about leadership and community. Our parents have contributed in a way that make us stand out because their qualities are reflective in each of our kids. And of sponsors are the best, simply the best from PONY Sneakers to Pelle Pelle.”