Even though NYC Buckets often looks beyond the five boroughs, there is a lot of basketball being played right in New York City.
There are seven Division I programs in the five boroughs: St. John’s, Fordham, Manhattan, Columbia, St. Francis Brooklyn, LIU Brooklyn, and Wagner. There is a lot of talent to choose from on those teams, so I decided to build pre-season all-city teams.
There were definitely some tough calls while building these teams. One thing I noticed though is that there is a distinct lack of front court talent.
All-City Teams:
1st Team:
Marcus LoVett (So., G), St. John’s
Shamorie Ponds (So., G), St. John’s
Joseph Chartouny (Jr., G), Fordham
Zane Waterman (Sr., F), Manhattan
Bashir Ahmed (Sr., F), St. John’s
Ahmed scored 11 points in each of the Red Storm’s exhibition games. Ponds looks like he has the green light from anywhere after attempting 34 shots and scoring 46 points in the two exhibition games. LoVett was super efficient a season ago and gives St. John’s another dangerous backcourt threat. I chose Waterman for the first team over his teammate Rich Williams mostly due to the fact that Waterman played last season. He put up good numbers too, averaging 14.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg in 27.8 mpg. Chartouny might not get the publicity of some of the other players in the city, but he quietly averaged 12.1 ppg, 5.0 apg, 4.1 rpg and 3.2 spg last season. He’s in line for another big year with the Rams.
2nd Team:
Rich Williams (Jr., G/F), Manhattan
Mike Smith (So., G), Columbia
Rasheem Dunn (So., G), St. Francis Brooklyn
JoJo Cooper (Sr., G), Wagner
Joel Hernandez (Sr., G/F), LIU Brooklyn
Beyond the returning Rich Williams, the second team was a little harder to select. There is a lot of mid-major guard talent around the city. Joel Hernandez is also returning from injury, but in 2015-16 he was one of the best players in the NEC. Smith and Dunn burst onto the scene as a freshmen and should continue to have bunches of opportunities for the Lions and Terriers respectively. Cooper is the steady hand that runs the Wagner offense and defense when on the court. Bashir Mason expects big things from his senior guard.
Also considered: Nate Hickman (Sr., G), Columbia; Jashaun Agosto (So., G), LIU Brooklyn; Zavier Turner (Sr., G), Manhattan; Glenn Sanabria (Jr., G), St. Francis Brooklyn; Blake Francis (So., G), Wagner
Agosto was the hardest player to leave off of a team. He has a chance to be excellent this season in the NEC. Marvin Clark, Jr. and Justin Simon transferred to St. John’s from Michigan State and Arizona respectively and either could find themselves on an all-city team by the end of the season.
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