Akosa: 'Chambers would be there at my wedding'

By Brendan Hall
Akosa Maduegbunam's commitment to Penn State yesterday, confirmed this afternoon by ESPNBoston.com, was a function of the academic and social amenities offered in Happy Valley. But more than anything, it was the product of a special bond the former Charlestown swingman forged with new Nittany Lions head coach Pat Chambers, dating back to when he first offered Maduegbunam as the head man at Boston University.

"I would say Coach Chambers is probably one of the best recruiters ever," Maduegbunam said this afternoon by phone. "He just makes you feel really welcome, really wanted. I tried to evaluate coaches as to where they'll be down the road.

"Somewhere along the line of life, I'll stop playing basketball, and Coach Chambers is a guy who would be there at my wedding. He is more than just a college coach. It's more than just basketball for him, it's about character and personality. He found that in me, and I found that in him."

Brendan Hall/ESPNBoston.com

 

The 6-foot-4 Maduegbunam was also considering offers from Temple, Drexel, New Hampshire and Iona at the time of his commitment, while Northeastern and St. Bonaventure had also expressed interest.

Maduegbunam, who transferred into Charlestown from Cushing Academy as a sophomore, will finish his high school career at Winchendon School starting in the fall. In his two seasons with the Townies, he averaged 20.5 points, seven rebounds, three assists and was a two-time All-City selection. This past winter, he was named to ESPNBoston's inaugural MIAA All-State Team after averaging 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, and leading the Townies to their first Boston City League title since 2006.

With a long, lean frame that allows him accelerate quickly when defending the perimeter, and finish at the rim, Maduegbunam could be a prospect that flies under the radar as he continues to develop his ballhandling skills. His three-point range and finishes in transition will likely fit well with Chambers, who prefers an uptempo style and isn't afraid to give the green-light from deep.

Earlier this month, Maduegbunam went toe-to-toe with New Hampton's Jared Terrell at the Reebok Headliner tryout in Dorchester, and was named one of the finalists selected to next month's Breakout Challenge in Philadelphia. His ceiling is considered high, and he could see his stock rise this summer running with the Expressions AAU club.

So at the questions of his ability to hang in the Big Ten, Maduegbunam is calmly dismissive.

"It's not a thing of whether I'm ready or not, it's a level I was born to play at," Maduegbunam said. "The schools I was getting offers from was because of connections. I never got to display myself at the national level, the AAU circuit; I could have been in the likes of any high-major school. It just so happens that I got lucky, but I like to say that that's where preparation and opportunity meet, and my number's been called to Penn State."

Asked to describe his emotions after making the phone call to Chambers, Maduegbunam struggled to put the right thoughts into words.

"It didn’t really hit me until I guess today, when I started telling people over the phone where I was going," Maduegbunam said. "I'd say my emotions were...late? I don’t know, I'm still going through it, it's so surreal."

Speaking on his later father Ofili Maduegbunam, who passed away a decade ago, Akosa continued, "Some people that were with me from the beginning and saw I had a vision with this basketball dream, they aren’t with me today. I find that kinda heart-aching, but these are the people I do it for. Of course you're gonna have a lot of doubters, but that's not what I play for. I play for the love of the game."

Featured MMA Fighter: Kin "Kong" Moy

Kin Moy, is 5-0 with a recent victory over Matt Dohert. Moy is widely regarded as the man to beat in the 135 weight class.

1) When and why did you get into mma?

That's a doozy of a question for me, as there was a lot that went into it. I've been doing martial arts since I was 9, but in a totally half-assed way. I would train once a week and think I was the shit. I was more into traditional martial arts at the time and one of my buddies showed me UFC, which got my attention -- but not in the way you might think! I was always into the 'style vs style' question, so I liked the concept of an 'anything goes' type of match, BUT I couldn't stand the grappling.

I was 16 or so when I first started watching MMA with my friend, and it really wasn't because I enjoyed it; it was because I liked to critique it. "That grappling stuff wouldn't work in a real fight!" "These guys suck at striking, why don't they chamber their kicks?!" I was essentially one of those fantasy-land d-bags that drive me insane now...

But that all changed when I saw Anderson Silva destroy Chris Leben in his UFC debut. That opened my eyes to the beauty and artistry of combat sports. Fascinated by Anderson Silva, I decided that I had to see more of him, so I would watch UFC events that featured him. Eventually I began to like other fighters and slowly but surely, I actually grew to enjoy the sport itself. From there, the natural next step was to give it a shot myself!

2) Do you have a background in martial arts, boxing , wrestling etc?

I've trained (again, half-assed) in many different martial arts over the last 11 years. But, since I didn't put enough time into it, I suck at almost all of them so there hasn't been tons of carry over into MMA. I guess you could say that I have a slight background in striking, since I have been training it in one form or another for so long... But at the same time, if you condense all of that once-a-week-training that took place between the age of 9 and 17 (when I started training for real), it'd probably equal a year of intense training.

I definitely don't have the physical skills of someone that's been striking since he was 9, but my conceptual understanding is pretty strong because of my 'background.' It's definitely helped improve faster than I otherwise would.

3) What's you nickname, how did you get it?

My nickname is 'Kong.' One of my teammate's started calling me that because I so strongly objected to the generic ones like 'killer-Kin.' Not only does Kin 'Kong' roll off the tongue well, but there was definitely some ironic humor in the name because at the time, I was the smallest male fighter in the gym. Everyone else was at least 180+ and towering over me.



4) What are your ultimate goals in the sport?

My ultimate goal in the sport is to be the UFC 135 champion. I don't know if I'll ever be able to pull that off, but you might as well shoot for the stars right? I also hope to become a full-time instructor someday. I really love teaching and I have a real talent for it, if I do say so myself. I'm far better at passing on my knowledge of techniques than executing them. Unfortunately I don't know shit -- at least in the grand scheme of things! And that's why I've got to earn myself some credentials first. So yeah, my goal is to get as far as I can in the sport and then train others to go even further.

5) What do you think about your next opponent?

My next opponent is Rico Disciullo and I think he's freaking DANGEROUS! He's fast, he's explosive, and he hits like a sledgehammer. No hyperbole there -- he literally broke his last opponent's face with like 3 punches. On top of that, he's from a really superb camp and has top-notch training partners.

There's a lot of hype behind him right now because he's made such short work of his opponent's. He's dangerous, for sure, but I still see him as untested. I am a huge step up in competition for him. And in a sense, he's also a step up in competition for me.

Though I'd consider Mike Campanella, for example, to be a more well-rounded obstacle than Rico, I haven't faced anyone with even half his stopping power. Although he hasn't shown it in his MMA matches yet, Dat has some serious head kick KOs under his belt, but kicks don't come in bunches. On the other hand, I've seen Rico swarm people with a hailstorm of killer punches. So yeah, again, he'll be the most dangerous opponent yet.

6) How do you see the fight going/being finished?

Someone is going to get overwhelmed. Either I'm going to get KO'd in a whirlwind of haymakers like all of Rico's past opponents or I'm going beat him down with a winning combination of finesse and grit.

I've seen what he can do, and I have to respect the power and ferocity that he brings to the table. Yet, I don't see myself being another clip on his highlight reel. I can take a serious shot without even blinking, but even more importantly, I'm not the type to just stand around and wait for him to T off on my face. Yeah, that's definitely not on my agenda. I'm more interested in finding out if he can take as much as he can dish.

7) What weight do you walk at/how much do you cut to fight?

If I'm eating whatever I feel like (read: everything within a square mile), I tend to weigh 150-152. If I'm watching my weight, I'll be between 147-149. So I usually begin my drop from somewhere on that range. I shed the weight with a combination of dieting and sweating. I've lost as much as 8 pounds in the sauna before, but lately I've been trying to keep it closer to 5.

8) What's your favorite part about fighting?

My favorite part about fighting is knowing that I'm actually doing something. I hate people who talk and talk but never gear up and do the damn thing. I also hate when people don't realized that 'the damn thing,' isn't just stepping into the cage -- it's training and preparing for the fight. That's the real work; any clown can sign up and climb the stairs. And conversely, plenty of jokers train half-assed and talk about their skills without putting it to the test.

But when I fight, no matter what, I ALWAYS put in the work in the gym. I've always paid my dues before I walk down the aisle call myself a fighter. The actual combat is the climax to the grueling, thrilling, agonizing, beautiful process that is a training camp, that is a fight, that is 3 months of this lifestyle. All of it -- doing all of it right is my favorite part.

9) What's the worst part about fighting?

The worst part about fighting is facing my own doubts and demons. I hate those days when I can't do anything right or when I quit on myself in training and question why I've given up so much of my time and energy on an activity that consists largely of me getting beat up. Like any other fighter, sometimes I leave the gym feeling chewed up and spit out -- earnestly wondering if I actually have what it takes or if I'm just waisting my brain cells on a pipe dream. That takes so much out of me mentally, but I always have to go back for another helping tomorrow, because the show must go on. That moment inbetween agonizing about today's failures and dreading tomorrow's training session is least favorite part about this sport. Oh, and dieting. And sprints... sprints suck.

10) Anyone locally or in the big's that you really would love to fight, and why?

Actually the guy I really want to fight right now is Rico Disciullo, so I'm in luck! I also want to fight Colton Blanchette since he's ranked #3 out of the 135 lbs amateurs (Dave Lachapelle who was ranked #2 is a friend of mine and he went pro). I don't give the rankings tons of weight, but at the same time, they were given for a reason.

I'm much quicker to doubt myself than pat myself on the back, so I feel the need to prove (mostly to myself) that I've earned the #1 ranking and that it wasn't just some mistake or misinterpretation. And the best way to do that is to fight the most dangerous mofos around, such as Rico or Colton.

11)What do you feel is your best weapon in your fights?

I think my biggest weapon is my well-roundedness. Though I'm not amazing at any one aspect of the game, I'm a legitimate threat anywhere (to a 135 lbs amateur, at least). Even more importantly, I put these skills together and use them in combination rather than in isolation.

A close second would be my uniqueness. My striking style is an uncommon martial art in the United States. My gym is a San Da school, which is a Chinese form of kickboxing that's very similar to Muay Thai -- yet markedly distinct! I've got a lot of weapons at my disposal that other people haven't really been exposed to, so they're unprepared to counter my somewhat unorthodox techniques and tactics.

In closing I would like to thank and acknowledge my coaches -- Paul Rosado, Eric Grossman, Lyle Lashley, David Ginsberg, and Marvin Perry! I would also like to thank all of my teammates, but especially the ones who got me started -- Leo Akiki, Jeremiah 'Dr Doom' Diruzzo, and Sonia Mejia!

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, my father David Moy! Sometimes I think that root of my passion for martial arts stemmed from my aspiration to one day be as badass as him! Plus he gave me my foundation in striking.

Thank you all so much! If it weren't for all of you, I'd still be a lonely fat kid playing video games and eating icecream... As opposed to a lonely but fit 20 year old with an eating disorder (read: fighters diet) who daydreams constantly about playing video games and eating icecream. .

Thanks again to Kin, for the very interesting read!!

Posted by Jeremy at 4/19/2011

Ray Allen's daughter commits to Quinnipiac

By Lenny Neslin, Boston.com Staff

Wellesley High School product Tierra Allen will play volleyball for Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., the university's athletics department announced. Tierra is Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen's daughter.

"Tierra is one of the most powerful athletes I saw last season," Quinnipiac head coach Robin Sparks said. "She has a fantastic jump serve and hits the ball with authority. Once she adjusts to the pace of the collegiate game, she is going to be a terrific contributor."

Allen, who played her first three high school years in South Carolina at Crestwood High School, was a four-time league all-star and a two-time all-area selection between the two schools. She averaged 10 kills, 10 service points and three assists per match as a senior, and was named a Boston Globe Bay State All-Star.

OK by Reggie Jackson

BC guard storms into NBA with Thunder

By Rich Thompson  |   Friday, June 24, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  NBA Coverage

Al Skinner recruited him.
Steve Donahue wanted to keep him.
Scott Brooks has him now.

The Oklahoma City Thunder last night selected Boston College junior point guard Reggie Jackson with the 24th pick in the first round of the NBA draft. Jackson elected to bypass his senior year at The Heights and transform his Atlantic Coast Conference experience into a professional career.

“Well obviously I’m ecstatic, I’ve been drafted in the first round by a great organization and I feel truly blessed,” Jackson said. “I’m pretty excited about going to a team that can win a championship for many years.

“I loved BC, I loved my experience there but I felt that this was the best time to pursue my NBA dream.”
Jackson is going to a young playoff team that is poised to contend for the NBA title. The Thunder’s commander on the floor is guard Russell Westbrook, a 6-foot-3, third-year pro out of UCLA who averaged 21.9 points per game last season. Jackson has a good idea on what he has to finesse and incorporate into his game to complement Westbrook before he reports to training camp.

“I have watched him and he is somebody I can help on the attack and take some pressure off him,” Jackson said. “I have to work hard on my shot and I need to improve my defensive approach. I’m focused on helping out on defense and fine-tuning my shot into their offense.

“I have to increase my court vision and get people the ball in positions where they can be successful.”
Jackson was the Colorado High School Player of the Year at Palmer High where he averaged 29.6 points per game. He appeared in 34 games as a freshman at BC playing behind Tyrese Rice.

The 6-foot-3 guard started 20-of-31 games as a sophomore during Skinner’s last season on the Eagles bench.

“I felt Reggie definitely had the capability to do that and he was driven to try and be the best player he can be,” said Skinner, who built a 247-165 record in 13 seasons at BC.

“I honestly think his best basketball is in front of him and he is only going to continue to get better. Offensively he just has to be a little more consistent. He can shoot the ball, shoot the floater, finish in the lane and just be more consistent with his game and he’s going to do that.”

Donahue replaced Skinner at the start of the 2010-11 season and built his program around Jackson, who started 32-of-34 games, played 1,161 minutes (34.1 avg.) and scored 618 points (18.2) with 146 rebounds, 152 assists and 36 steals. He converted 219-of-435 field goals including 71-of-169 from behind the arc.
“I think the thing that makes Reggie fairly unique in the sense for an NBA player is that with his size and his athleticism, he still plays with a great deal of poise, IQ and vision,” said Donahue.

“He attacks the rim but he still understands the game so well. He has that nice combination of cerebral player, yet honestly, has the athleticism to play in that league.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1347663

Celtics go big, go Boilers

Swap picks with Nets to add JaJuan Johnson

By Mark Murphy  |   Friday, June 24, 2011  |  http://bostonherald.com/  |  Boston Celtics

 

In a sense, the Celtics [team stats] went into last night’s draft as one of the most restricted teams in the field.
Though they picked in a position (No. 25) where the only option is generally to take the best player available, they stayed true to their greatest need. With only one true center on their roster in Jermaine O’Neal, the C’s really had no choice but to go big last night.

The result is JaJuan Johnson, a lanky 6-foot-10 scorer from Purdue who will have to add considerable weight and strength to play post defense in the NBA.

They also guaranteed a more comfortable transition for Johnson — though not by design — when they picked his four-year college teammate with the 55th pick. Johnson and guard E’Twaun Moore, a 6-3 shooter, became the two most successful basketball players in Purdue history, with 107 career wins.
But the Celtics are looking for more tangible qualities right now, and believe that in the case of a young big man, Johnson has skill that wouldn’t necessarily be as apparent in a younger big man.
Rivers actually saw Johnson and Moore play during a game against his son Jeremiah’s Indiana team.



“Jeremiah loved him,” Rivers said last night of Johnson. “He thought that was one of the best players he’s played against. I was (ticked) because Purdue was kicking their butts. But Jeremiah actually said that kid can really play. I didn’t project later on that the kid would be on my team.”

The Celtics may have never drafted Johnson had Reggie Jackson still been on the board, but the Boston College guard went No. 24 to Oklahoma City. They drafted Providence scorer Marshon Brooks at No. 25 for New Jersey, which — following Dallas’ selection of Jordan Hamilton at No. 26 — picked Johnson for the Celtics.

The C’s also received New Jersey’s second round pick in 2014 as part of the deal.

“There were three guys we wanted — Reggie was one of them and he went right in front of us,” said Rivers. “There was the guy we got, and someone else who went right behind us who would think very much like us.
“We knew Reggie was off the board, so it was a quick deal,” he said. “We had to make sure the guy we wanted would still be there if we moved down, and we found out (Dallas) was taking someone else, so it worked out. It’s tough to get out of the draft that late.”

The other player who interested the Celtics was Marquette small forward Jimmy Butler, taken No. 30 by Chicago.

Johnson, an offensively skilled player who needs to add muscle and strength in his lower body, displayed a well-rounded arsenal that included range out to the college 3-point line. He averaged 20.5 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Boilermakers last season, and also shot a healthy 49.4 percent.

His immediate value will be as a pick-and-pop shooter and a good scorer in transition. Though he was named both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten, Johnson has seasons to go before he is able to defend the post. He is considered too thin to hold his own against an NBA-level center, and can expect to spend a lot of time in the weight room.

“Just have him eat dinners with me,” joked Rivers. “I don’t know if he needs to put on weight, but he needs to get stronger, and that includes weight. I’m not that concerned by that right now.

“He’s terrifically athletic. He was a great rebounder in college, which you hope translates over. But we’ve proven we can get big shots. So if we can get him shots and he can make them, it will work. All of those wins tells you he can play with a team. He was able to fit in and be a winner on that team and still play well, which is important.”

Article URL: http://bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1347607

Cathedral parts ways with hoop coach Carnell Suttles

By Dan Ventura  |   Thursday, June 9, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  | 

Carnell Suttles was part of Cathedral’s first class of Hall of Fame inductees in February. Four months later, the successful Cathedral boys basketball coach was told the school was heading in another direction.
Suttles recently learned of his fate after meeting with second-year athletic director Jimmy Lynch, who didn’t return repeated calls seeking comment.

“They handed me a piece of paper saying in the best interests of the students, they were going to hire another coach,” said Suttles. “I asked them to explain what they meant by that and they couldn’t do it. We didn’t cut any kids here, our kids were graduating and getting into colleges.”

Under Suttles and assistant coach Tree Washington, who was also let go, Cathedral was the premier Division 4 program in the state. Over the last six years, the Panthers won three state titles and reached the South sectional final each year, going 115-30 overall.

“It’s a sad day,” said the personable Suttles. “If the program wasn’t doing well, I would be the first guy to say that we need to make a change. But we made the tournament every year I coached except for the first one when we took a winless team from the year before and went 9-11.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1344153

Inspirational Jalen Brantley guides BABC to a title

By Tom Layman / Boston Shootout  |   Monday, June 6, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  | 

 

Photo by Dominick Reuter

 

MEDFORD — It was an early-morning message that Leo Papile probably wasn’t expecting.
Papile found out around 6 a.m. from an early text that his guard Jalen Brantley would be on a morning bus and ready to be picked up at South Station to play in the final day of the Boston Shootout.

What Brantley did on the court could count as normal, as his team-high 22 points helped BABC U-17 (63-1) claim the Boston Shootout Championship with a 75-56 win over Albany City Rocks at Tufts University’s Cousens Gymnasium — the squad’s 11th Shootout title since 1999.
But Brantley’s week has been anything but normal.

The 16-year-old Springfield native lost his family home in last week’s debilitating storms out west. And Saturday, Brantley had to lay to rest his 37-year-old uncle after he died unexpectedly.

“It was tough coming,” said Brantley. “My mom really didn’t want me to come because of what is going on. I just tried to come and play like every other normal game. I knew I had to be here and (my teammates) wanted me to be here, so I just came.”

Brantley was pivotal for an undermanned BABC squad that only played seven players. He went 4-of-8 from behind the arc, and his good decisions on the pick-and-roll created good shots.

“He’s extremely efficient on both ends of the floor,” Papile said of Brantley. “In the pick-and-rolls, he is very, very clever.”

Brantley wasn’t the only player to come back in the final day of the tournament. Nerlens Noel, who Papile said was running a 100-plus degree fever over the weekend, returned to post eight points, six rebounds and two blocks in limited minutes. Most importantly, the 6-foot-9 forward dished out four assists, most of them to Georges Niang (21 points, 10 rebounds) in the post.

“He didn’t really have the normal energy that he has,” said Papile. “The fact that he’s here and he’s sick tells you something about him.”

BABC was getting all it could handle from Albany in early. BABC jumped out to a 8-0 start, but Albany was took a 15-14 lead with less than 13 minutes left in the first half. But Noel’s put-back dunk off a missed 3-pointer by Jake Layman (17 points), and another slam helped BABC go on a 7-3 run for a 40-31 lead at intermission.

Niang’s successful 3-point play after grabbing an offensive rebound gave BABC a 61-48 lead with over eight minutes to go, and Brantley scored seven of the final 10 points to close out the victory.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/high_school/general/view.bg?articleid=1343320