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| Rowan Barrett |
Prior to the invention of the NYBL young players, club
coaches, parents, and fans of the purest basketball; youth basketball would sit
and debate who would beat who, who could take who, and who is the biggest star
with the most upside. For years folks
either had to wait until the high school club circuit or a big time tournament that
they both entered and somehow won and crossed paths. A lot of things often had to align for stars
to be matched up against other stars in high stake events that mattered.
Additionally throughout the history individual epic one on
one basketball match-ups have been dreamed of on paper at every level. Often times these battles do not materialize
in neither the team realm nor the individual realm. With the creation of the NYBL by league
founder Rob Taylor these match-ups are finally feeding the appetite of basketball junkies all over the country.
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| Wendell Moore |
At this level to be considered an “epic” battle it must
contain the following elements.
1.
Star Power – High Level Players that have
performed on the big stage before and are considered to be future next level
stars in either High School, College, or Pros.
2.
Name Recognition – Players must be known commodities
in their respective markets
3.
Quality Teams – No one wants to see a blowout –
the game itself must be of high quality as well
4.
Something on line – Bragging rights are always a
“good” reason, but when you add a championship of playoff positioning to the
mix now you have something “great”
5.
Crowd – Does the game really exist if there is
no one there to see it?
6.
Build up – Just like any big event, the
anticipation is almost as good as the event (at least you hope) itself
7.
Close Game – many times you get all of these and
the game itself isn’t good quality which can cause a letdown within itself
8.
Production overrides potential – players must
produce under the lights the potential matchup is memorialized by the stars
actually shinning at the given time
9.
Event must documented – a record must be made so
that the argument can continue and/or a decision rendered
10.
Controversy – Nothing is better than after all
of this there is still room for debate! This allows the arguments to continue
until the next “epic” battle
The Prolific Performance Basketball, NYBL instant classic
and individual epic battle selection of Session III is: 2019 Brampton Warriors (Canada) v CP3 All-Stars
(North Carolina) / Rowan Barrett v Wendell Moore.
1.
Star Power – Wendell Moore and Rowan Barrett are
both considered on every national ranking board as top 10 players pre-summer
and will likely end up top five if not top 3 by the end of summer. Each has won multiple championships and each
has committed to play with the National Select Team which works with only the top
players in the country in their respective classes.
2.
Name Recognition – All scouts and other top
players know these names and they each respect their games. Moore
and Barrett have played and performed on the national camp circuit and have 3rd
party documentation qualifying that each brings it on a high level in evaluation
settings.
3.
CP3 is the current National Champion and performs consistently in the national
level and has rarely suffered defeat in recent years– Brampton has won everything
they could win in Canada and have won multiple national events in the states beating some of the best team in country
4.
Without question NYLB is the best league and
going into this game, CP3 had one loss on the season and Brampton only 2; a
1-point defeat to Team Takeover in Session I and a buzzer beater in OT to Team
Teague in Session III. The win for Brampton would have
tied the teams in the win/loss category heading into the playoff with the
winner poised for a #1 seed.
5.
Every free player, every parent whose child wasn’t
themselves playing, and every free person in event came to witness this
game. The crowed was into the game, with
each team’s fans filling the air with patterned cheers and cadences.
6.
We knew since the first NYBL session that this
was going to be a game folks wanted to see – prior to this game the NYBL
Session 3 preview featured the specific game as one to watch. Both teams and
both players have been listed as top teams and both players found themselves listed as
the top performers and first team All NYBL going into each of the sessions.
7.
The game was no let down, every single possession
was valued and almost a game within itself.
The lead stretched at times to as much as 8 to 10 in CP3's favor; but was
always answered with a run from Brampton. The Warriors at the 6:52 mark of the
4th used a 8-o run to briefly take the lead causing CP3 to use a timeout. After the timeout CP3 again seized control
and sealed the victory with under a minute left at the free-throw line.
8.
So many stars at every level survive on their
names and reputation – this game each of the players did it on the court. Wendell Moore finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds 6 assist 4 steals 2 blocks; while showing incredible versatility by
running the point guard position the entire game. There may not be any player in the country
that can play all 5 positions legitimately and equally as well. He can also guard all 5 spots effectively
also. Rowan Barrett further built his
reputation by playing both ends and scoring from all three level from every
angle and way imaginable – transition, leading the break, lane filling, high post, low
post, offensive boards, defensive boards and pushing, three pointers and field throws
he did it all no matter if he had the ball or if he was fed. He ended up his day
as well with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assist.
9.
Prolific Performance Basketball had field
reporters on site – men in the gym; who eyeballed this game and qualified it as
one of the top match-ups of this and/or any other session. You can always count on the NYBL for top
notch action and you can count on P2 to report it.
10.
Interviewing both coaches after the game
Brampton felt the foul situation to be disproportionate; citing that at one
point in the 3rd quarter the foul count was 9 to 2 and 11-3. They also felt the 4 technical fouls accessed
to the bench were not warranted. From CP3's standpoint this game was never in
question and they referenced their star Moore, when saying no matter what they
would have done; Moore running the one guard pulled their big out and opened
the driving and finishing lanes and if they’d played him with a smaller player
they would have immediately gone to Moore on the inside which CP3 felt equally
as comfortable. What does all this
mean? Simply that we must do it again as
the question can still be debated as to who is the top player in the 2019 class. What can’t be debated is that these young men
who each are better persons than players; are one of the best no matter who you
put first the other has to be right behind.
Currently the National Select Team is in discussion with matching these two
young stars together as teammates in this year’s Fab 48 event in Las
Vegas. Currently Moore is confirmed along with
teammate Mike Green for July 12 and 13 Big Shot Tournament event in Myrtle
Beach, SC.
With the NYBL playoffs happening at session 4; there is a
very real possibility that these teams and these players will meet again; we
should only be so lucky.
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