Border Wars: New York v. New Jersey
Words. HShoop
Is Samardo enough to put NJ on top?
Go ahead and try to argue with a New Yorker that their hometown doesn’t produce the best ballplayers around. Whether it’s NBA, playground, college or high school, NY sees itself as the cradle. But what about its neighbor, New Jersey? In this latest installment of “Border Wars,” we pitted NY and NJ against each other. And whereas some of these games we’ve put together are just fantasy, this one could actually go down: The states are so close to each other and all these players see each other a few times a year, whether its during the actual high school season or local tournaments like the famed Rumble in the Bronx and IS8, and the up-and-coming ATM Live run.
NEW YORK
G: Kemba Walker, 6-0, Sr., Rice (UConn)
G: Sylven Landesberg, 6-6, Sr., Holy Cross (Virginia)
F: Lance Stephenson, 6-5, Jr., Lincoln
F: Kevin Jones, 6-8, Sr., Mount Vernon
C: Ben Cronin, 7-0, Sr., Henninger (Michigan)
Bench: Erving Walker, G, 5-8, Sr., Christ the King (Florida); Mookie Jones, F, 6-6, Sr., Peekskill; Sean Kilpatrick, G, 6-4, Sr., White Plains; Jordan Henriquez, C/F, 6-9, Sr., Port Chester; Darryl “Truck” Bryant, G, 6-1, Sr., St. Raymond (West Virginia); Durand Scott, G, 6-4, Jr., Rice.
NEW JERSEY
G: Jordan Theodore, 6-0, Sr., Patterson Catholic (Seton Hall)
G: Dexter Strickland, 6-4, Jr., St. Patrick’s
F: Dominic Cheek, 6-5, Jr., St. Anthony’s
F: Lance Goulbourne, 6-6, Sr., The Hun School (Vanderbilt)
C: Samardo Samuels, 6-9, Sr., St. Benedict’s (Louisville)
Bench: Mike Rosario, G, 6-2, Sr., St. Anthony’s (Rutgers); Greg Echenique, C, 6-8, Sr., St. Benedict’s; Quintrell Thomas, F, 6-7, Sr., St. Patrick’s; Tyshawn Taylor, G, 6-2, Sr., St. Anthony; Paris Bennett, F, 6-6, Jr., St. Patrick’s.
New York is famous for its guards, boasting a history that includes Kenny Anderson, Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair, to name a few. The current NY team has Kemba Walker and Sylven Landesberg in the backcourt, who are collectively more talented than NJ’s Dexter Strickland and Jordan Theodore, although not by a large margin. It is Kemba’s defense and Landesberg’s size that gives NY the edge.
Lance Stephenson automatically gives NY the advantage at forward, and that’s not even considering Kevin Jones, a quietly effective face-up power forward. While Jones won’t shine in your typical all-star game style runs (i.e., Elite 24), he’ll do lots of damage in a more organized setting. Case in point, he took MVP of the RBK U championship game over the summer, than in the camp’s all-star game, was virtually invisible. New Jersey’s Dominic Cheek has a lot of potential as a wing, but he’s have trouble checking Stephenson. Lance Gouldbourne is also good, but Jones would outwork him on both sides of the ball.
Where Jersey has a big edge is in the middle. New York might have been able to compete when John Riek was still around, but with the 7-2 shot-blocker now playing at the Winchendon School in Massachusetts, the best NY can offer is Ben Cronin, a decent 7-footer who would get destroyed by NJ’s Samardo Samuels. Samardo isn’t as tall as Cronin, but he’s light years ahead in terms of strength, bulk and just overall talent. Samardo is arguably the best player in the country overall.
New York has the slight edge on the bench. Erving Walker can score in bunches and light it up from deep, but at the same time his size (5-8) is always an issue. NJ’s Mike Rosario can match him in the scoring department, and neither is great defensively. Sean Kilpatrick (NY) can also score as a slasher, and Tyshawn Taylor (NJ) is a great athlete. Greg Echenique (NJ) is solid but still has some developing to do; Mookie Jones (NY) is an athletic, versatile forward that sometimes takes away from his own game by heaving up too many outside jumpers.
Overall, we’d have to give New York the edge. Jersey would have to rely heavily on pounding the ball inside to Samuels in order to win, but Team NY has more weapons.