Nike Summer Slam, featuring best girls’ basketball players in country, tips off Tuesday
Jill Cook is one of the most respected girls’ high school basketball coaches in the country, heading the famed Christ the King program in New York. She also coaches the powerful Liberty Belles AAU summer program, also based in Manhattan.
Trying to insure that her team would get the best competition possible during the summer months, Cook thought of starting a tournament that could bring the best AAU teams from all over the country to the New York metropolitan area.
"I started to take my team to other tournaments," Cook said. "And I ended up going to tournaments where the competition wasn’t so good. So I wanted to run a tournament that would bring the best teams in."
However, the first dilemma was finding the appropriate site to host the tourney.
Cook’s brother, Dennis, is one of Bob Leckie’s assistant coaches at St. Peter’s College.
"I first became interested in Jersey City, because I thought it was a good central location," Jill Cook said. "Dennis then said, ‘Why not hold it at St. Peter’s?’ It made sense, considering that there are three courts at St. Peter’s and it’s a great facility."
Last year, Cook held the first event at St. Peter’s College, hosting 32 local AAU teams. But this year, the event has grown, bringing teams from all over the country to Jersey City, beginning Tuesday morning.
The "Nike Summer Slam 2003" will be held throughout Jersey City, including St. Peter’s College’s Yanitelli Center, as well as the Jersey City Armory, Hudson Catholic and St. Peter’s Prep.
More than 40 teams from all over the nation and Canada will participate in the three-day event.
However, more importantly, the tournament is a college exposure tourney, so more than 100 NCAA Division I women’s basketball coaches from all over the country will be in attendance to take a closer look at the players participating.
This is the first week that college coaches can actively recruit high school players, under the rules of instituted by the NCAA. So it’s perfect timing to have a top-flight national tournament this week, in order to bring the coaches in to see the players.
"It’s great for the players to get this kind of college exposure," Cook said. "We have commitments from the coaches at Boston College, Miami, Siena, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Georgetown. The coaches I’ve spoken to have been really excited about the tournament. It’s easily accessible and the area is great. I’ve received positive feedback from people who have come to downtown Jersey City and have enjoyed the hotels and restaurants. Jersey City has really become a nice place."
Some of the top teams in the tournament include Cook’s Liberty Belles, as well as the Colorado Hoopsters and the New England Crusaders, all nationally recognized AAU powerhouses. New Jersey programs such as the Central Jersey Hawks and the Tri-State Tar Heels will also participate.
There will be three age brackets, for those entering their sophomore year, their junior year and their senior year.
St. Anthony boys’ basketball coach Bob Hurley, who is also the director of Jersey City Recreation, has provided Cook with his assistance.
"He’s been a tremendous help with everything," Cook said.
In fact, Jersey City Recreation has formed two teams that will participate in the tournament, with such respected people like Hudson County Hall of Famer Charles "Mandy" Johnson, County Prep girls’ head coach Andrew Muscanero and local assistant coaches Jato Benitez and Lauren Castagna coaching the teams.
"I think it’s a great thing for the neighborhood and a great way for local girls to play in such a prestigious tournament," Hurley said. "We were happy to help."
Cook is pleased that there will be a local flavor to the tournament.
"It’s giving the Jersey City girls a real insight as to what’s out there in girls’ basketball," Cook said. "I think it’s important that these kids can get to see what can be in their future."
The Jersey City team will see its first action Tuesday at the Armory at 11 a.m.
The tourney runs through Thursday at all the different sites, with most of the action taking place at St. Peter’s College.
"It really seems to be going pretty well," Cook said. "I think the coaches like the quality of the event and I know that the other teams feel that it’s going to be a good event as well."