Panthers Win iS8, Rhoomes Captures MVP; Myles Mack Weighing Options (UPDATED) | Zagsblog
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Thursday / March 28.
  • Panthers Win iS8, Rhoomes Captures MVP; Myles Mack Weighing Options (UPDATED)

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    Ryan Rhoomes earned MVP honors Sunday at the iS8 Nike Spring Classic after putting up 12 points to lead the New York Panthers to an 82-80 victory over New Heights.

    Maryland-bound junior point guard Sterling Gibbs added 18 points in the win for the Panthers. Jeffrey Short scored 15 points and Pittsburgh-bound wing J.J. Moore tallied 14.

    “I thought the two most consistent players today for us were Ryan Rhoomes and Sterling Gibbs,” said Panthers coach Gary Charles, whose program has won 17 IS8 championships. “From the beginning to the end, they were the most solid players that we had today.”

    Temple-bound guard Aaron Brown won the sportsmanship award by scoring a game-high 24 points for New Heights and Oregon-State bound forward Devon Collier added 14.

    The 6-foot-8, 210-pound Rhoomes out of Cardozo High in Queens will head to New Hampton (N.H.) in August to play for head coach Peter Hutchins.

    “I just wanted him to slow down, regroup, get his grades right and start working on himself,” said Aretha Rhoomes, Ryan’s mother.

    “He needs to prepare. He’s still young, 17. When school starts in September he’ll just be turning 18. He needs a year to get himself together.”

    Rhoomes continues a trend of New York-area stars leaving for out-of-state schools.

    Former St. Ray’s stars Omari Lawrence and Kevin Parrom both departed for South Kent (Conn.) before going to college. Doron Lamb left Brooklyn’s Bishop Loughlin for Oak Hill and ultimately chose Kentucky. J.J. Moore (Brentwood, N.Y.) and Russell Smith (Briarwood, N.Y.) also chose to go to South Kent. Angel Nunez of Harlem is now at Notre Dame Prep (Mass.) after leaving the Winchendon (Mass.) School. And Sidiki Johnson of Harlem will spend next year at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy after spending last season at St. Benedict’s Prep.

    Rhoomes has only played basketball since eighth grade, yet dropped a team-high 26 points and 10 rebounds when the City Team lost to the Suburban Team, 137-133, in last month’s Jordan Brand Regional Game.

    Aretha, who works as a warrant officer in Middletown, N.Y., is handling her son’s recruitment. She says she’s received calls of interest from Virginia, Temple, Marquette, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Memphis, Kentucky, Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisville and Colorado.

    Asked if he had any favorites, Ryan said, “No, not really.”

    “Ryan has none,” Aretha added. “If he has any [favorite], he’s not saying anything.”

    New Hampton has produced some talented players in recent years, including Chris Gaston, who attended St. Anthony and St. Benedict’s before prepping at New Hampton and ultimately becoming the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year at Fordham.

    Kyle Cain, a 6-7 forward presently at New Hampton, has become one of the hottest recruits on the board and is considering West Virginia, Arizona State, Illinois and Alabama.

    MYLES MACK WEIGHING OPTIONS

    Paterson Catholic junior point guard Myles Mack said he hopes to decide this week what high school he will attend next season.

    The 5-foot-10 Mack is considering New Jersey’s three top traditional programs, St. Anthony, St. Patrick and St. Benedict’s.

    “I’m not sure yet,” he said. “I haven’t really made a decision yet.”

    Mack said he hopes to visit St. Anthony in Jersey City and St. Patrick in Elizabeth this week

    “I’m going to visit St. Anthony early on this week,” he said. “I was going to visit St. Pat’s this week, too. I’ve been to St. Ben’s.”

    Paterson Catholic will close after this year and Mack’s teammate, 6-8 sophomore Kyle Anderson, has already declared his plans to play at St. Anthony for Hall of Famer Bob Hurley.

    If Mack were to follow suit, the backcourt could be reunited under Hurley.

    Asked if he would like to play with Anderson, Mack said, “Yeah, I would.”

    St. Patrick lost point guard Kyrie Irving to Duke and will need someone to come in and be a playmaker and distribute the ball to Kentucky-bound wing Michael Gilchrist.

    St. Benedict’s also needs a point guard, having lost Texas-bound floor general Myck Kabongo to Findlay Prep.

    (Photos courtesy Daily News and Rivals.com)

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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