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.