By ADAM ZAGORIA HERALD NEWS
NEW BRUNSWICK -- Mike Coburn and Corey Chandler won a championship Thursday night. It wasn't the Big East championship, and it wasn't the NCAA championship, either. It was the championship of the Rutgers College Player Summer League.
NEW BRUNSWICK -- Mike Coburn and Corey Chandler won a championship Thursday night. It wasn't the Big East championship, and it wasn't the NCAA championship, either. It was the championship of the Rutgers College Player Summer League.
It was the championship of the Rutgers College Player Summer League. But it was a championship nonetheless. And fans of Rutgers hoops hope it is not the last crown this talented duo ends up winning.
"They'll add a lot of energy," said Rutgers junior forward Jaron Griffin, who teamed with Coburn and Chandler on the Suydam Insurance squad that beat Paterson's Tony Murphy and Scarlet Fever, 93-88, for the summer league crown. "Mike has good point guard skills and I think he'll bring a lot to the table. And Corey has good scoring ability, and I think he'll bring that to the table."
The 6-foot Coburn scored a game-high 32 points in the title game, and the 6-2 Chandler added 14. Murphy, a former Herald News Player of the Year out of Eastside and now a rising senior at Norfolk (Va.) State, scored 19 in a losing effort. Coburn was named championship game MVP, and Murphy was named league MVP.
"They'll add a lot of energy," said Rutgers junior forward Jaron Griffin, who teamed with Coburn and Chandler on the Suydam Insurance squad that beat Paterson's Tony Murphy and Scarlet Fever, 93-88, for the summer league crown. "Mike has good point guard skills and I think he'll bring a lot to the table. And Corey has good scoring ability, and I think he'll bring that to the table."
The 6-foot Coburn scored a game-high 32 points in the title game, and the 6-2 Chandler added 14. Murphy, a former Herald News Player of the Year out of Eastside and now a rising senior at Norfolk (Va.) State, scored 19 in a losing effort. Coburn was named championship game MVP, and Murphy was named league MVP.
Coburn led Mount Vernon (N.Y.) High School to a back-to-back New York State Federation championships and the Chandler was a second-team Associated Press All-State selection at Newark East Side. Together, they form the cornerstones of an incoming recruiting class that also includes West Milford native Justin Sofman, a 6-4 shooting guard, and Earl Pettis, a 6-5 wing originally from Philadelphia.
Some around the Rutgers program think it is only a matter of time before Coburn, a natural point guard, and Chandler, a natural shooting guard, form the starting backcourt tandem for the Knights. "They will start one day," Griffin said "I don't know when, but they will have their opportunity to start. I just don't know when."
This summer Coburn and Chandler have not only been teammates, but roommates as well. "I'm the neat one," Coburn said. "I'm the messy one," Chandler added. "Hanging out with Mike, it changed me because it's not the same people you chill with," Chandler added. "I'm from Newark; it's not the greatest city in America. Hanging with him, he's a positive person, so I'm a changed person. I don't act all rowdy. I have to represent myself."
On the court, both players like to push the ball and play an up-tempo type of game. They are still learning to play off of one another, while also helping to make Rutgers (and Suydam) teammates Pettis and Byron Joynes better. In one recent game, Coburn threw an alley-oop pass that Chandler easily put in for a bucket. On another play, it was Chandler who distributed the ball from the perimeter to Coburn for a 4-foot jumper.
Coburn has averaged 19.5 points and 5.9 assists in the summer league, and Chandler 13.4 points, seven rebounds and five assists. "The two of them have been the catalyst for the summer league team," said former Kean University coach Sean Drennan, the Suydam Insurance coach.
Asked to break down each player's strengths and weaknesses, Drennan had no problem coming up with strengths. "Corey's maybe 6-1 and he plays five (or) six inches bigger," Drennan said. "He's ridiculously athletic. He can really shoot the 3. He has a great crossover. "He said to me at the beginning of the summer, he's never played the point. He has some trouble running the point or making some decisions. He's had some tough times where he squeezed a pass or two. He's used to playing against high school kids and now he's playing against kids as quick or as big as him."
As for Coburn, Drennan, like many others who know the young man from Mount Vernon, praised his leadership skills. "Mike sees the floor; he's the general on the floor," Drennan said. "Even though it's summer league, he's beyond his years in the knowledge of the game. He knows where people should be and where to find them. He can also score for his size. He gets in there and uses his body." Rutgers head coach Fred Hill echoed those sentiments in previous comments on Coburn. "Mike is a true leader and has a great mind for the game," Hill said. "He makes everyone around him better. He is a winner on and off the court."
The backcourt of the future is the backcourt of the present in summer league. And it may only be a matter of time before that transcends to the Big East. "I think that they'll be very good," Drennan said. "I don't know if they're going to have an immediate impact. They're definitely Big East players. Before their four years are up, they're definitely going to make an impact."
Some around the Rutgers program think it is only a matter of time before Coburn, a natural point guard, and Chandler, a natural shooting guard, form the starting backcourt tandem for the Knights. "They will start one day," Griffin said "I don't know when, but they will have their opportunity to start. I just don't know when."
This summer Coburn and Chandler have not only been teammates, but roommates as well. "I'm the neat one," Coburn said. "I'm the messy one," Chandler added. "Hanging out with Mike, it changed me because it's not the same people you chill with," Chandler added. "I'm from Newark; it's not the greatest city in America. Hanging with him, he's a positive person, so I'm a changed person. I don't act all rowdy. I have to represent myself."
On the court, both players like to push the ball and play an up-tempo type of game. They are still learning to play off of one another, while also helping to make Rutgers (and Suydam) teammates Pettis and Byron Joynes better. In one recent game, Coburn threw an alley-oop pass that Chandler easily put in for a bucket. On another play, it was Chandler who distributed the ball from the perimeter to Coburn for a 4-foot jumper.
Coburn has averaged 19.5 points and 5.9 assists in the summer league, and Chandler 13.4 points, seven rebounds and five assists. "The two of them have been the catalyst for the summer league team," said former Kean University coach Sean Drennan, the Suydam Insurance coach.
Asked to break down each player's strengths and weaknesses, Drennan had no problem coming up with strengths. "Corey's maybe 6-1 and he plays five (or) six inches bigger," Drennan said. "He's ridiculously athletic. He can really shoot the 3. He has a great crossover. "He said to me at the beginning of the summer, he's never played the point. He has some trouble running the point or making some decisions. He's had some tough times where he squeezed a pass or two. He's used to playing against high school kids and now he's playing against kids as quick or as big as him."
As for Coburn, Drennan, like many others who know the young man from Mount Vernon, praised his leadership skills. "Mike sees the floor; he's the general on the floor," Drennan said. "Even though it's summer league, he's beyond his years in the knowledge of the game. He knows where people should be and where to find them. He can also score for his size. He gets in there and uses his body." Rutgers head coach Fred Hill echoed those sentiments in previous comments on Coburn. "Mike is a true leader and has a great mind for the game," Hill said. "He makes everyone around him better. He is a winner on and off the court."
The backcourt of the future is the backcourt of the present in summer league. And it may only be a matter of time before that transcends to the Big East. "I think that they'll be very good," Drennan said. "I don't know if they're going to have an immediate impact. They're definitely Big East players. Before their four years are up, they're definitely going to make an impact."
Blog: northjersey.com/zagsblog
No comments:
Post a Comment