Photo courtesy of Dave’s Joint.
By David Cordova
When the summertime comes in the five boroughs of New York City, there is plenty of excitement for when the tournaments start. Whether in a gym or an asphalt court, there is very likely to be a crowd, an emcee, a DJ and plenty of action.
NY vs. NY provides all of that and then some. Now in its seventh year of existence, the event, put together by Nike Basketball, has been a staple for the city, as six of the city’s finest tournaments, all of whom have a sponsorship with Nike & also Jordan Brand all do battle for a period of two months.
The six teams are: Gersh Park (East New York, Brooklyn), West 4th Street (Greenwich Village, Manhattan), Lincoln Park (South Ozone Park, Queens), Dyckman (Inwood, Manhattan), Tri-State (Central Harlem, Manhattan) and the defending champions Watson (Soundview, The Bronx).
It all tipped off on June 17th at Eagle Academy III in South Jamaica, Queens, which was the rain site for Baisley Pond Park. Before the first game tipped off, there were lines all around the school, awaiting entry. Only a limited amount of spectators made it into the building that night, but in true fashion, there was a show.
On this night, Tri-State would emerge victorious against West 4th Street, Watson would dominate in their rematch of last year’s championship game against Gersh and Dyckman would dominate against Lincoln Park.
The next two stops would also take place indoors. The second stop would take place on June 24th at St. Raymond High School for Boys in the Parkchester section of The Bronx, due to a heat wave taking place on that date. Then on July 1st, the games were moved indoors to Achievement First Charter High School in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn.
Both dates were electric, as there was some great action that took place on both nights.
Aside from the local talent from both New York and New Jersey that play in the event, there are some gems from different states that came out to ball. And not just any hoopers, but rather high-level talent.
Tri-State, coached by New York State Basketball Hall of Famer Dwayne “Tiny” Morton, the head coach at Lawrence Woodmere Academy, a private school in Woodmere, Long Island, had some high level talent come out to play, such as Zion Green, a 6-foot-8 forward from Camden High School from Camden, New Jersey, who is ranked at No. 35 in the Class of 2027 by ESPN, in Week 1.
In Week 2, they had two gems from the state of Florida in 6-foot-11 forward Marcis Ponder, out of Miami, who is ranked as the No. 72 prospect in the Class of 2026 by ESPN and also 6-foot-4 guard Willie Burnett III, out of Palm Bay, who is also rated by ESPN as the No. 59 prospect in the Class of 2026. Both will be attending the new Gillion Academy in Virginia this coming high school season.
West 4th Street, coached by Brian Shea of Adams Street Academy, Alex Gaviria of the New York Rens and Joe Brown, Jr., the head coach of the eighth-grade team for the PSA Cardinals, had two nationally-ranked prospects from the state of Maryland play for them in Anthony Brown, Jr., a 6-foot-1 guard out of Forestville, Maryland that plays at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C. and was a second-team all-WCAC selection last season, rated at No. 94 in the Class of 2026 by ESPN and also Neiko Mundey, another 6-foot-1 guard out of Olney, Maryland and plays at Prince George’s Christian Academy, is also rated at No. 70 in the same class by ESPN.
After playing for the first three weeks of the tournament, Brown has become a fan favorite, as his ability to dominate as a small guard that can score in bunches has been a sight to see. His electrifying play has carried over into the Nike EYBL, where he has been putting in work with Team Durant at the Peach Jam in North Augusta, South Carolina and has earned invites to the Chris Paul Point Guard Elite Camp in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and the Mamba Invitational in Los Angeles, California, both of which will take place in August.
Lincoln Park, coached by Jabbar Tucker, the head coach of the Ave Life streetball squad and a NY vs. NY champion after winning the title with Dyckman in 2019, had some high-level talent in Michai White, a 6-foot-1 guard from Hackensack, New Jersey, who is rated as the No. 22 recruit in the Class of 2028 by ESPN and will be attending Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire this coming fall. Then there was Adama Tambedou, a 6-foot-7 forward from Putnam Science Academy in Putnam, Connecticut, who is rated as the No. 144 recruit in the Class of 2026 by 247 Sports. Both played in Week 2.
In Week 1, they brought out two gems from Charlotte, North Carolina in Tarris Bouie, a 6-foot-6 forward who is rated as the No. 32 recruit in the Class of 2026 by ESPN and Markus Kerr, a 6-foot-5 guard who recently reclassified into the Class of 2027. Both players attended Julius L. Chambers High School, a public school powerhouse in the Queen City. Next season, both will be playing in the Nike EYBL Scholastic League as Bouie will be playing at Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio and Kerr will be playing at Brewster Academy.
The defending champions, Watson, coached by Javon “Hood” Holley, an assistant coach at DeWitt Clinton Educational Campus in The Bronx and the head coach of the 17U Castle Athletics team in the PUMA NXT PRO League, had two surprises of his own in Abdou Toure, a 6-foot-6 forward out of New Haven, Connecticut, and plays for the two-time defending CIAC Division I state champions, Notre-Dame-West Haven High School, is rated as the No. 35 recruit in the Class of 2026 by ESPN and also Amir Jenkins, a 6-foot-2 guard out of Worcester Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts, who recently reclassified into the Class of 2025 and will be suiting up at West Virginia University this upcoming season.
Both came out in Week 1 and showed out against Gersh and held their own, drawing plenty of oohs and ahhs from the crowd inside Eagle III and made plenty of noise. It definitely helped that they had chemistry together, as they both have played for BABC on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit this summer and led them to a record of 36-3. With their amazing play, they showed that New England definitely has talent.
Having the out of town talent come into NY vs. NY has made the event very competitive, as it gives the general public a chance to see future Division I players and potential future NBA players coming into the parks or gyms to showcase their talent.
Without slighting the local talent, it gives the talent from these other states to play in the very environments that they’ve seen on YouTube or social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X (formerly known as Twitter). Playing at places like Rucker Park and even Monsignor Kett Playground (most commonly referred to as Dyckman Park) is the dream of many youths outside of New York and to hoop there would be a huge thing.
If they do well, the public embraces them and shows them love. If they do poorly, they may get booed and roasted online. But at the end of the day, playing on the street ball circuit in NYC is a great first look before they go on to the next level.
With one final regular season stop taking place tonight at Parque de Los Ninos Playground, the home court of the Watson Classic, and the playoffs looming, it will definitely be a treat to see who the next “guest” will be.
But one thing is for certain, NY vs. NY is not just a local staple in the city, but more of a national showcase for high schoolers. Moving forward with the remaining weeks, there may definitely be a “guest,” coming through to hoop. A few years from now, when the prospects will remember when they got to hoop on the asphalt courts of New York City, which is considered the “Mecca of Basketball.”
Dave's JOINT 
Leave a comment