by Alex Schwartz

The is8 event is one of the most prestigious basketball tournaments in the nation, whether it's high school or AAU ball. Each fall and spring about 70 teams play in New York City gyms and vie for the right to be named is8 champions. The is8 Tip-Off Fall Classic recently came to a close and it was a traditional Big Apple AAU power that took home the trophy.

Led by a core trio of Jayvughn Pinkston '10, Devon Collier '10, and Ashton Pankey '10, New Heights NYC defeated the NY Panthers in the championship game of the is8 Tip-Off Fall Classic. Pinkston, a combo forward out of Bishop Loughlin (NY) who is rated as the #78 player in Northstar Basketball's Class of 2010 Terrific 125, led the team en route to winning the Playoff MVP award. JJ Moore '10 of South Kent (CT), ranked #99 by Northstar Basketball, did all he could for the Panthers and was the recipient of the Player of the Year trophy.

This New Heights team has wreaked havoc on a national level for a number of years, but was never able to win is8 until now. The squad reached the semifinals a number of times, but could not capture the crown before this year. Head Coach Kimani Young never doubted the team and said that he felt this day would come. "Yeah, absolutely. We lost in a variety of ways. We lost at the buzzer one year to [current Rutgers sophomore] Mike Rosario and that [Playaz] crew. We lost to Lance [Stephenson, a freshman at Cincinnati] as a junior and as a senior, one of the top five players in the country. We knew our time would come. We just stayed the course and it paid off."

Winning the event is a major achievement, and Young recognizes that. "I think it was big. It was big for the kids. The is8 Fall Tip-Off is a great spring for those guys playing high school ball. It's a great accomplishment to win it out of 68 teams." He also knows that this means there will be a lot of pressure on his squad come spring when the next is8 season starts up. "Well, it can be just like being the defending champion in any sport, in any league. The bulls-eye is going to be on our back. It should be a test in the spring before the guys go off to college, but we're going to load up and try to win it again."

For those that have never been to an is8 game, Young summed it up like this, when I asked him exactly what it means to be the is8 champion: "I haven't seen many high school games that have the intensity and the pressure of a tough is8 game. It's just the mystique about that gym, it's a small gym. Pete Edwards, the commissioner of the is8 league, does a great job on the mic, just enhancing everything that's going on on the court. Just to know that so many great players, so many pros habe played in it. I grew up watching the is8 league, I played in it, and now to coach in it and now to have won it, it's a great accomplishment."

Although Pinkston, Collier, and Pankey were the big three for New Heights, there were a handful of other players that stepped up and helped the team take the championship. "It's crazy, they all had their moments of carrying us. [Stony Brook-commit] Dave Coley had big moments of shooting, Branden [Frazier] was big in the second half. Corey [Edwards, the only junior on the team] had a great second half. It was a team effort."

What does Coach Young think about reflecting back on his time with this great group of basketball players as he has seen them progress both on and off the court? "Adam [Berkowitz, another New Heights coach] and I joke about this all the time. We remember [their] freshman [year], we didn't know if we were going to get through that first year, we didn't know if we were going to continue coaching them and having them as a part of the program. . . . We had some peaks and valleys, but in the long haul we think it's all worth it because some of those guys had tremendous breakthroughs in their lives, so in that way it's been great."

Congratulations to Coach Kimani Young, Coach Adam Berkowitz, and the players on New Heights NYC on winning the is8 Fall Tip-Off Classic. Also, congratulations to the following tournament honorees:

Player of the Year: JJ Moore '10, South Kent (CT), NY Panthers
Playoff MVP: Jayvaughn Pinkston '10, Bishop Loughlin (NY), New Heights
Sportsmanship Award: Russ Smith '10, South Kent (CT), NY Panthers

First Team All-is8
Jayvaughn Pinkston '10, Bishop Loughlin (NY), New Heights
Richmond-commit Derrick Williams '10, St. Anthony's (NJ), Sports University
Temple-commit Aaron Brown '10, St. Benedict's (NJ), St. Benedict's HS
Seton Hall-commit Fuquan Edwin '10, Paterson Catholic (NJ), Playaz Seniors
Russ Smith '10, South Kent (CT), NY Panthers

Second Team All-is8
Devon Collier '10, St. Anthony's (NJ), New Heights
Leroy Isler '10, Boys & Girls (NY), Boys & Girls HS
Sterling Gibbs '11, Seton Hall Prep (NJ), NY Panthers
Texas-commit Myck Kabongo '11, St. Benedict's (NJ), St. Benedict's HS
Jeff Short '10, John F. Kennedy (NY)

In other New Heights-related news, I spoke with Coach Young about his top two players/prospects, Pinkston and Collier. To view my article on Pinkston for VUSports.com, click here.  As for Collier, the #118 ranked player in Northstar Basketball's Class of 2010, Young stated, "He's still choosing from his final four of St. John's, Seton Hall, Providence, and Oregon State. He's coming up to a decision pretty soon." Young went on to say, "He's going to commit pretty soon." Although it is not a sure thing, the 6'7 power forward will likely be signing in the fall signing period, which starts next Wednesday, November 11th.

Note- photo on the left is of Jayvaughn Pinkston and photo on the right is of Devon Collier; both are from http://scouthoops.scout.com/