Below is the announcement from our friends at The Jim Couch Foundation. SLAM will be in the building and will have complete coverage of the event.
On the weekend of October 19-20, 2013, 64 of the Nation’s top freshmen, sophomore and junior basketball players will descend on New York City to participate in the Jim Couch National Training Showcase presented by Combinator Magazine. The event, benefiting the Jim Couch Foundation’s Free Basketball Conditioning and Fitness Clinic programming, is in its third year and has been attended by actor Morris Chestnut, MTV2 Converse Band of Ballers host Bobbito Garcia, Sports Illustrated model Damaris Lewis, hip-hop mogul Irv Gotti, and ESPN 30 for 30 Director Dan Klores.
Saturday’s program starts at 1:00 pm EST at Baruch College, 55 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, NY.
The Jim Couch Foundation Training Consortium along with ICONIC 32 Sports Lab will supervise the Saturday 8-station player training session. The highlight of the day is the Combinator Magazine “Are You a Combinator? Basketball-Cross fit Skills Challenge” at 4:30 pm EST. The event will combine both basketball and cross-fit drill sequences with a DJ host.
The day will end with a Class of 2017 (freshmen) versus Class of 2016 (sophomore) scrimmage game at 6:30 pm EST. On Sunday, selected players will be invited back to showcase their skills and receive dedicated counseling and academic mentorship from Jim Couch alumni.
The following players have committed to play in the Jim Couch Super 16 National Training Showcase Freshmen Game at 1:00 pm EST:
Cody Riley (6-7 Forward, Sierra Canyon HS, Chatsworth, CA); Wendell Carter Jr. (6-8 Center, Fulton Leadership Academy, Atlanta, GA); Matur Maker, (6-9 Center, Carlisle School, Axton, VA); DJ Harvey (6-5 Forward, DeMatha HS, Washington, DC); Jalek Felton (6-2 Guard, Mullins HS, Mullins, SC); DeAndre Bourne (6-2 Guard, Leman Manhattan Prep, New York, NY); Ira Lee (6-8 Forward, Sierra Canyon HS, Chatsworth, CA); Devin Clyburn (6-3 Guard, Rectory School, Pomfret, CT); Quade Green (5-10 Guard, Newman Goretti HS, Philadelphia, PA); Hasahn French (6-6, Forward, Commonwealth Academy, Springfield, MA); Remy Martin (5-10 Guard, Sierra Canyon HS, Chatsworth, CA); Jordan Tucker (6-5 Guard, White Plains HS, White Plains NY); Chineduvictor Uyaelunmo (6-11 Center, Gulliver Prep, Miami, FL); Nate Pierre-Louis (6-1 Guard, St. Peter’s Prep, Jersey City, NJ); Kaleb Fitzgerald (5-10 Guard, Cardinal Newman HS, Miami, FL); Tomas Murphy ( 6-8 Forward, The Prout School, Wakefield, RI).
The following players have committed to play in the Jim Couch Super 16 National Training Showcase Sophomore Game starting at 3:00 pm EST:
Thon Maker (7-0 Center, Carlisle School, Axton, VA); Kassoum Yakwe (6-7 Forward, Our Savior New American, Centereach, NY); Devonte Green (6-3 Guard, Our Savior New American, Centereach, NY); Omari Spellman (6-8 Forward, North Royalton HS, North Royalton, OH); Sedee Kieta (6-9 Center, Vermont Academy, Saxtons River, VT); Payton Pritchard (6-0 Guard, West Linn HS, West Linn, OR); Austin Harriot (6-5 Guard, Germantown Friends HS, Philadelphia, PA); Temple Gibbs (6-0 Guard, Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, NJ); Jeromy Rodriguez (6-7 Forward, Pope John XXIII HS, Sparta Township, NJ); Ben Rabinowitz (6-1 Guard, Ramaz School, New York, NY); Joe Hampton (6-6 Forward, DeMatha HS, Washington, DC); Unique McLean (6-1 Guard, Hoosac School, Hoosick, NY); Sam Ibiezugbe (6-11 Center, Masters School, West Simsbury, CT); Ty Jerome (5-11 Guard, Iona Prep, New Rochelle, NY); Ryan Murphy (6-2 Guard, Fairfield Prep, Fairfield, CT); Christian Vitale (6-1 Guard, Vermont Academy, Saxtons River, VT).
The Super 16 National Training Showcase celebrates the career of Mr. Jim Couch, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s first coach. This showcase is in honor of Couch’s work in the New York City community as a leader and innovator of basketball training and mentorship. This event is an evolution: its genesis comes from the 2007 launched Jim Couch Reunion Games that featured the NBA’s Kemba Walker and Tobias Harris as headliners; the 2008 Girls High School game featuring the best of Westchester vs. the best of NYC metro; the 2009 expansion that included regional teams from Boston, Connecticut, Albany, and New Jersey; and the 2010 Freshman Game that featured the top 9th graders from the New York Metro region vs. Long Island’s top entering freshman. 2011 launched the Jim Couch Super 16 Training Showcase with 2015 ESPN top-ranked players Stephen Zimmerman, Thomas Bryant, Isaiah Briscoe, and Cheick Diallo. In last year’s 2012 showcase 2016 ESPN top-ranked players Thon Maker, Kassoum Yakwe and Mario Kegler participated. USA Basketball’s BJ Johnson also attended last year’s showcase.
