Gary Browne Transfers to Arlington Country Day

Gary Browne Ramirez, a 6'1 PG/SG from St Francis School in PR has decided to transfer to Arlington Country Day School "ACDS", in Jacksonville, Florida. ACDS Head Coach, Rex Morgan is familiar with Puerto Rican players having coached several including PR National Team SG, Danny Huertas. Danny's younger brother is a freshman at ACDS and his mother works at the school. ACDS lost its PG who was from Turkey and decided to accept a contract overseas to play professionally. ACDS has a roster full of big time D1 players and Browne will have a chance to play PG and show people that he can run a team. Browne has played the SG position both in high school and for the national team but clearly his position at the next level is going to be PG.

Todd Washington, Senior Advisor to the President of the PR Basketball Federation told IPRB, "Gary has all the skills necessary to transition into being a PG. I think it is his natural position and will allow him to utilize his dribble-drive ability coupled with his long range shooting. ACDS has so much talent on the wing and in the post that opponents will have to double team those players leaving Gary open. This is the perfect situation for him and I am so excited that he is getting a chance to play at this level. Gary and I have been working all fall and I can tell you he will excel in this environment. He is a great kid and really deserves this!"


Arlington Country Day is coach by former Boston Celtic, Rex Morgan. They play a nationally ranked schedule this year including Montrose Christian and St Benedicts both of whom have players from PR on their rosters. ACDS front line has two 7 footers and wings who have been offered by SEC, ACC and Big 12 schools.

University of Central Florida Recruiting Betancourt

IPRB confirmed from Carmelo Betancourt that UCF reached out and expressed interest in recruiting him. The connection was made by one of Carmelo's good friends, Carlos Morales Jr. Betancourt has garnered tremendous interest this fall by both high and mid-major programs. He is going to have to show coaches that his size will not interfere with his ability to play at the highest level. IPRB is a big Betancourt supporter and has seen him play against bigger athletic players and dominate.

UCF could be a nice fit for Carmelo and is a program on the rise. UCF also has recruited Puerto Rican players in the past including sharp shooter Isaac Sosa who is a Junior at UCF.

Raymond Cintron Visits Middle Tennessee State University

IPRB confirmed this evening that Raymond Cintron visted MTSU over the weekend. Cintron who is in his second year at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College has had UNLV, Oklahoma and UTEP come see him practice this fall and have been actively recruiting him. UNLV offered him this summer but Cintron decided to wait to sign a Letter of Intent.

Sources close to Cintron tell IPRB that he had a great trip last weekend and may actually sign with MTSU during the NCAA early signing period. MTSU supposedly told Cintron that he will come in and start next year and that he is the type of player who could be an All Conference selection, next year. MTSU plays in the Sun Belt Conference and is always at the top of the conference and a regular in the NCAA tournament. This year they play 3 SEC schools in Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Auburn.

PR Playmakers Founder, Todd Washington said, "MTSU is a great fit for Raymond. Raymonds' Junior College coach and I spoke at length tonight and he has known them for a long time. They want to hand the ball to Raymond next year and let him run the show. It's a place where he will be a big fish in a nice size pond. It's great to see Raymond mature and really understand that it is not only about basketball but the collegiate experience. He told us that MTSU felt like home and that he really liked the school, his future teammates and the coaching staff. A lot of people doubted that he would be happy and succeed going to school in Mississippi. Raymond is as happy as he has ever been and more importantly he has opened the door for other players from PR to follow in his footsteps in further their education."

Former Carmen Del Sol forward, Angel Matias is also attending Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He is a redshirt Freshman.

Betancourt To Attend Midnight Madness At Georgetown

Class of 2011 PG, Carmelo Betancourt will attend Midnight Madness at Georgetown University confirmed a source earlier today. Betancourt who transferred to powerhouse Monstrose Christian Academy this fall has been on Georgetowns' recruiting radar since last spring when Coach Thompson was on vacation in Puerto Rico with his family.

PR Playmakers Founder, Todd Washington told us earlier today that, " Carmelo has been invited to Midnight Madness at Georgetown. Clearly they are interested in Carmelo but he has to show Georgetown and all the other schools that are interested in him that he can play at this level. Getting invited to Midnight Madness is a clear signal of the schools' interest but he is far away from getting an offer from Georgetown. The season starts soon and I feel confident that Carmelo will show everyone what we already know! He's a big time guard trapped and a small package."

Midnight Madness is the official start of the college basketball season with team hold practice at midnight on October 15th. Typically there are all types of festivities including a dunk contest, three point shootout, scrimmage and live performances.

Wale, a DC area native and rising star on the rap scene will be performing tomorrow at Georgetowns' Midnight Madness.

When Do Kids Start Practicing and Playing on 10ft Baskets?

There are many benefits to having our young players play on 8.5ft baskets. It is clearly one of the reasons we are such great jump shooters. Young players can focus on developing the proper form and mechanics of a jump shot versus having the "chuck" a ball up to try and make a shot on a 10ft basket. This has been discussed at every local club and at every game. When is it the right time for average players to begin playing on 10ft baskets vs. when do elite prospects begin playing on 10ft baskets?

Are we delaying an elite prospects' development by forcing him to play games on 8.5 baskets against kids who are recreational players? IPRB is sitting down with NBA World Champion and former playground legend Butch Lee to discuss his thoughts on the subject.

He's got some interesting things to say!

11U and 12U National Teams Prepare for MIT

Hats to the the leadership at the Federation! IPRB has confirmed that the 11U and 12U National Teams will be playing in this years Maryland Invitational Tournament in February 2010. The MIT is widely regarded as the top event for ages 8-14 during the winter season. Top teams including DC Assault, New Heights NYC, Team Battle, DC Takeover and King Street Kings participate in this event annually.

Victor Ortiz who is responsible for this age group has created both an A and B team and is focusing on developing a year round program which will allow the best kids to train and play against each other. The MIT is an important part of the development of these young players given that many of them have yet to compete against this type of athletic talent.

IPRB spoke to a local youth coach who stated," Playing at the MIT is going to be an eye opener for both our players and their parents. The athletic level is superior to what most of our kids have seen and from a size standpoint we've got to get used to playing against bigger kids. Anyone who watched the World Championships or went to the World Basketball Festival saw us struggle against some of the bigger teams. Sending our kids to play and beat teams in Argentina and Cuba by 30-40 points isn't going to help these kids develop.

Several programs including Miami Tropics, Pump and Run Puerto Rico, ABB and PR Playmakers have been sending teams to play in AAU and the "Summer Circuit" for years. Look at the young players from 11U PR Playmakers and 11U ABB Teams. Some of those teams didn't win a game this year but that is not the point. Those kids learned to deal with losing, playing against players who are athletically superior and recognizing that they have to work on not only developing their jump shot but their bodies. Some of these kids play in leagues year round and have never worked on strength and conditioning. Every kid who leaves here to play in college says the same thing. I cannot believe how out of shape I was when I got to school.

Learning these lessons at an early age can only help these prospects get better.

FOREIGN PLAYERS PLANNING TO SUE BSN FOR DISCRIMINATION

IPRB learned today, that the oldest professional basketball league in world, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional ("BSN") a Puerto Rico based professional basketball league and it's owners will be sued in the coming weeks for job discrimination. Information obtained by IPRB suggest that a group of foreign players has retained some of very powerful lawyers who plan to file the lawsuit in the coming weeks.


Much like the leagues in Europe and Asia, the BSN imposes a limit on the number of non-nationals who can play on a team to two. Many forget that the NBA only allowed two black players per team in the 1960's and leagues in countries outside of the USA do not have Federal laws which prohibit discrimination based on race, religion or sexual orientation.

We will share more information as it becomes available.