Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Carmelo Betancourt Rehabbing With The Best

IPRB has learned that Carmelo is back on his feet and rehabbing with the best trainer in PR, Desmond Santiago. IPRB learned that Carmelo got clearance to get back on the court and could be ready for the tournament season in March!

Carmelo and his family are also working with PR Playmakers who have been assisting in trying to set up a summer schedule for Carmelo. This would include a some live period camps and the selection of an AAU team.

Several teams could open a spot for Carmelo to include, Boo Williams, New Heights NYC and even Pump and Run Los Angeles.

Rasham Suarez 4A Regional Player Of The Year

IPRB just got a text from Rasham"s dad. We are going to link up with Rasham later today and talk about the honor, his plans for this summer, recruiting and whether or not Rasham is a high major D1 point guard.


There is lots to talk about so stay tuned!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Angel Garcia Live and Direct

IPRB traveled to Memphis late last year to see Lebron and the Cavs play against the much improved Grizzlies. While in Memphis we had a chance to see Angel Garcia work his ass off rehabbing his torn ACL. After a grueling work out I watched Angel shot NBA 3 pointers like it was a lay up.
Coach Pastner and the entire staff must have been licking their chops as it was clear to me after watching him shot the ball that if he could get healthy and stay healthy that this kid was pro.

We reported last week that Garcia was back and in his most recent game he showed the world why many insiders think he is a lottery pick. Garcia, who is only in his third game back from an ACL tear scored 16 points on seven-of-nine shooting from the field.


Garcia was expected to miss the season due to the torn ACL but made a quicker recovery than expected. We spoke to him tonight in his hotel room in New Orleans. You could tell how happy he was to be back on the court playing the game he loves!

Garcia said," I worked so hard and it was great to see 20,000 fans give me a standing ovation. My whole family called to tell me that I was all over the news and stuff in PR so it feels great."


The staff at Memphis should be applauded for not trying to play Garcia in long spurts. They have been playing him at 3-5 minutes at a time and allowing him to get his legs back and gain confidence.

"my coaches are great guys and have supported me. Im just going out there and trying to help me team win games. It is great to be back out there playing and trying to get back to the level I know I can play at," said Garcia.


We asked him about his plans for this summer and whether or not he will be able to play for the PR National Team. " I really want to come home and play for my country. I have to go to summer school so I not sure of my schedule but I want to play."

If Garcia stays healthy he is someone the coaches of the National Team need to consider. Garcia is a pro with a pro body and only needs to take care of the knee and we should be seeing him on TNT on Thursday nights!


Below are some You Tube highlights from Garcia


Tuesday, February 16, 2010

2010 McDonalds All American Preview

Below is a link for the 2010 Mcdonalds All American Game

http://www.youtube.com/user/ONEent#p/u/0/HUB80eNmT-A

Lets Stop The Madness!

My 12 year old son plays for Torrimar and over he last two weeks we have played teams which we beat by a combined total of over 60 points! To make matters worse the best kids on the team only get to play together for one quarter as the leagues require substitutions in each quarter. I continue to be amazed that parents allow some of their kids to play year round in the cycle of bad basketball.

I do not fault the clubs, nor do I fault the people operating the leagues. These leagues were not created to develop elite talent and do a great job at provided kids with an opportunity to stay productive and learn the game at an entry level.

Take a close look at Canada and now the DR and watch what they have done and are doing to develop elite players. The days of PR teaching the rest of the region about the game are a thing of the past and if we are not careful and focus on how to develop our elite prospects we will find PR Basketball falling out of the upper echelon of teams in the Americas.

Lets get the best kids to be coached by the best coaches with the best young referees all in one gym! Lets eliminate substitution and minimum player requrements and allow the best kids to play as long as they can without fouling out.
Lets take our best kids to compete at the biggest and most competitive tournaments and showcase events around the world.

This will help not hurt Little Lads, ACB and the Federation leagues! It will bring more parity to a lopsided league where only the teams from the biggest clubs win championships. There are so many kids playing basketball in PR that many clubs have an "a" and "b" team. So the argument used presented by many is untrue and inaccurate!

Lets get the club presidents in a room and focus on introducing a new league which would start in August 2010.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Angel Garcia Could Get Major Minutes Tonight

University of Memphis Soph. Angel Garcia could get major minutes at the 5 position tonight due to the fact that Pierre Henderson-Niles no longer on team. Henderson-Niles was released from the team and will not play anymore this year. His career at Memphis is over and that could mean big things for Garcia.

We reported last year that Garcia would be in the mix by February and based on what we are bing told by program insiders tonight could be a big night for Garcia.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Bobbito Garcia Live @ Water Club This Saturday

Bobbito aka Kool Bob Love aka Cool Cucumber Slice is spinning Saturday night at the Water Club. I'm not one to promote parties and club events but if you are in San Juan this weekend make your way over to Water Club.

ANGEL GARCIA CLEARED TO PRACTICE

More good news for all ya'll haters out there! Angel Garcia is back! He has been cleared to practice and could be suited as soon as this weekend. We saw Angel last year while visiting Memphis practice and this guy looked like a beast!

He has worked hard to get his knee back in shape and we are excited for him.

TORRIMAR AND JARDINES START ELITE TRAVEL TEAMS

Miami Tropics had it on lock and then Pump and Run held the title. Now PR Playmakers seems poised to make some serious moves. The fact of the matter is that travel basketball is the future of basketball in PR. Torrimar has started a travel team which competes in the Main Event in Las Vegas and word on the street is Jardines has start two teams as well.

Competition is the name of the game and exposure is what both players and their families are looking for. Parents are tired of driving to obscure places around the island only to see their son play against a team that has not talent.

They want competition and they want it now. PR Playmakers changed the youth game by starting as young as 8U and now has two of the top teams in the USA and clearly the top teams in both the 10U and 12U age group.

Said an AAU insider who also coaches locally in Puerto Rico," Everyone is watching the success that PRP is having and they recognize this is what parents and players want. Parents are seeing the level of talent and competition at the AAU level and they want that here."

Jardines has supposedly started a 12U team with super star PG Jhivvan Jackson leaving PRP and a 10U with several member of the PRP Team that went to the AAU Final Four in 2008.

PR Playmakers Bring Two Heavy Hitters To Coach 10U Travel Team

PR Playamkers just keeps making moves. First, they sign a deal with Nike and recently announced that two of PR's best youth coaches have agreed to come on board.

IPRB spoke with PRP Founder Todd Washington about this earlier today. "We are excited about having Gamaliel Suarez and Freddie Thomas join the PRP Family. Both of these guys understand the game at a very high level, are fantastic communicators and have a track record of getting it done. We are excited to have them."

Gama and Freddie will share the role of Head Coach for the 10U team which finished in 4th Place at the AAU Nationals in 2008.

AAU TO OPERATE ELITE YOUTH LEAGUE THIS FALL

You know how we do it! We are breaking this story first. Word out of Orlando is that the AAU is working with Chino Torres to start an elite league in August or early September. This is long over due as Little Lads is a great league but it is not deisgned for elite players. Players and their parents want to see the best play against the best and not just for one quarter. The more players that get a chance to play elite travel team basketball are coming back to PR and disgusted with some of the rules in the leagues. Substitution requirements, a ban on black socks, compession shirts and shorts and other rules which simply do not make sense have players and coaches upset.

On top of that, coaches want to coach in a real game situation and not be forced to have teams which are required to play kids who are not ready to compete.

The new league will allow the best players to play on a team and the clubs can still have a team in Little Lads. IPRB spoke to several of the club heads last week and they expressed excited about the new league.

Said one coach who spoke to IPRB last night, "The time has come for a new elite league in PR. One that can help us expose our kids to prep schools and colleges in the USA. A league that allows us to compete against the best teams in the USA. Players want it, coaches want it and parents want it."

We are trying to reach Chino Torres and the people from the AAU. More info to come on this soon but I can tell you that the streets are buzzing with excitment.