Yet what makes the Wizards so interesting this season is their ability to defend and score points from a variety of positions! The Wizards have 9 players averaging double digits in scoring: Aubin Scott 25 PPG, Jason Romer 15 PPG, Jermaine Abraham 11 PPG, Brandon Lawley 13 PPG, Greg Lott 11 PPG, Dele Coker 11 PPG, Tim Zephyr 12 PPG, Tamien Trent 16 PPG, and Rob Hampton 11 PPG. When you add in Greg Cerillo and Levy Mwanza’s scoring averages the Wizards average 70 PPG off their bench.

Add to this scoring the fact that the Wizards only give up 99 PPG and one can see what makes them difficult to beat!

“I have learned over the years that the more versatility you can have the better off you are at this level,” stated Wizards Head Coach Greg Cerillo. “Not many guys here like to play defense. Truly it is hard to get recruited as a great defensive player from lower levels of basketball. Yet defense appears to be contagious and several teams in our league have stepped it up on that side of the ball this year. Our desire was to match or better their efforts.”

Cerillo continued, “When the year started we established our goal to be in the Final Four and to place our self in a position to win a championship! This season may just come down to who is playing best the last 2 weeks of the year. We need to get better and keep improving to compete, and we will.”

Currently the New York wizards sit atop the Northern Division of the EBA with a 6-1 record! Up next for the Wizards is a road game against the NYC Jaguars on 2/25! In their last competition the Wizards held the Jaguars to 71 points in the game, 34 in the second half!

“We realize the Jaguars are struggling right now,” continued Cerillo. “They’re a first-year club and many teams have been through similar situations. Yet we can’t take anything for granted. In each game we play, we need to use the competition to get better to reach our ultimate goal – to win the title!”

Eastern Basketball Alliance

The return of Jamal Palmer (former Horizon player and coach) added the floor leadership that the Horizon had been lacking. Clicking on all cylinders, the Horizon rebounded from a 57 to 52 halftime deficit, playing a close third quarter and then exploding in the fourth to outscore the Madness 35 to 18 to claim the 8-point victory.

The Horizon went ahead at 103 to 102 with three minutes left in the 4th. They never looked back. Dom Asbury contributed 11 of his 20 points and Justin Simmons made 8 straight from the foul line in the final quarter.

Eastern Basketball Alliance

Yet it is the Wizards’ guard play that has carried them for most of the season and Saturday’s victory over the Virginia Nova Hawks was no exception. Each of the four guards in uniform scored in double digits, led by Jason Romer’s 22 points, Aubin Scott’s 21, Eric Ferguson’s 13, and Tamien Trent’s 13.

“What really makes this club appealing to me this year is our defensive effort,” stated Wizards Head Coach Greg Cerillo. “We chase people off or aggressively challenge 3-point shooters, and run them into our shot blockers down low. In six games this season, we have only had seven 3-point baskets made on us. If teams want to beat us they need to shoot very well or challenge our bigs.”

“Tonight, however, the Nova Hawks did challenge our bigs and made a game of it. Truly the Nova Hawks under Coach Hall and his staff are one of the better-coached clubs in our league. They kept running different line-ups out there on us tonight causing difficult match-ups. When you think about a team making a 6-hour van ride and then playing like that, it just may be one of the better road performances of the season.”

The Wizards were led by Jason Romer’s 22 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 3-point shots. Big Man Dele Coker, getting his first start of the season, had 11 points 20 rebounds, and 6 blocks.

“Dele was a beast inside for us on the defensive end and on the glass,” continued Cerillo. “Once we get back small forwards Rob Hampton (15 ppg) and Greg Lott (12 ppg) who both missed the game for personal reasons, we feel we are ready to make a run. We need both these guys to match up to smaller clubs and tonight they were missed.”

The Nova Hawks were led by Joseph Flegler’s 26 points.

The Wizards next game will be against the NYC Jaguars on Saturday February 25 in Brooklyn, NY.

Eastern Basketball Alliance

Hudson Valley was on the road for both weekend games. They completely dominated an out-manned NYC Jaguars squad 158 to 65. Things were a bit tougher as they took the court in Harrisburg against the Horizon though the results were the same. Hudson Valley prevailed 103 to 92.

Winchester began their two-game weekend with an overtime win over the Horizon 109 to 104. Led by Onyie Onunaku’s 30 points, and Tyrone Roach’s 26 points, the Storm fought back from a 58 to 33 halftime deficit to end regulation play at 94-94.

Washington Madness completed the EBA weekend play with a 146 to 139 win over the Storm.

Eastern Basketball Alliance

On Friday evening February 3, 2012 in the EBA (Eastern Basketball Alliance), Tim Zephyr, Dele Coaker, Jermain Abraham, and Aubin Scott led the Wizards to one of the most dominating performances of the season with a 111 – 71 win over the NYC Jaguars. In this game, Coker posted 8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 blocks; Abraham made 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1block; Scott scored 29 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 steals while Zephyr chipped in 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block after injuring his elbow in the first quarter.

Fast forward to Saturday February 4, 2012 in the ACPBL, the North Jersey Pros, with the very same players suiting up for the North Jersey Pros, posted the following statistics: Coker 21 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, and 4 blocks; Abraham 18 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists; Zephyr 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist. EBA League MVP Aubin Scott added 28 points 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals to give the Pros their first victory of the season with a 118-105 win over NY 524.

“This is exactly what we hoped for when Christian Villar of the Pros and I expressed an interest in helping these players,” stated Wizards Head Coach Greg Cerillo. ”These players, as is the case with all our Wizards players who started the season on the Wizards roster, are not just some of the best players on the Wizards, or the EBA, but some of the best players in our area.”

“Winning is always important to me,” continued Cerillo. “Job one for these players is to help their respective teams challenge for a championship. In turn, we will promote their abilities to every overseas team and agent. Their skill speaks for itself. Christian Villar, owner of the North Jersey Pros, clearly feels the same way. Winners tend to find each other.”

Fans of the Wizards and Pros can expect to hear a lot from these players this season! More than likely 2x more than anyone else!

Eastern Basketball Alliance

“The consulting and coaching staff of Mr. Ricketts and Mr. Ryans is as much a part of NYC basketball as is Pee-Wee Kirkland and Rutger park; having them part of the Hype family is key to our success. The other part is defense – scoring a hundred points a game in this league is the average. Holding teams below that can equal a victory.”

With that being said, the Hype have acquired two formidable players in the paint – Marcel Esonwune at the forward and Sam Wallace in the center. Marcel ended his college career at York as one of the best basketball players in its history. His 1,818 points are the second-highest in school history and his 360 blocks are a school record. His 1,325 rebounds are also believed to be a school record. Sam Wallace comes in from an equally impressive college career at Elizabeth City State and will protect the basket from opponents at an impressive 6’-10” 260 lbs.

When asked if Mr. Pickett had anymore tricks up his sleeve for the remainder of the season, he smugly smiled and said, “A certain Syracuse alumni from the inaugural Hype season would be on his way back from overseas and make a big impact.” Who could that be?

Eastern Basketball Alliance

This is what Metro Head Coach, Al Brown, had to say about the game:

“Based on the last contest I expected the Winchester team to bring even more tenacity, since we would be competing in front of their home crowd. Winchester played an extremely physical game. I think we were caught by surprise at how physical they would be. With that said tempers were a bit testy and it took the halftime for us to regroup and adjust to the climate of the game. We needed to do whatever we could to match their intensity. We seemed to be flat, impatient and lacked focus initially.”

“At halftime we were determined to adjust and refocus our approach to second half of the game. It started with the entire group re-committing to defense. The commitment to the defense put us in position to compete at a high level for the duration. It was a highly competitive contest, and for whatever reason it was emotionally charged. It took a major effort defensively, while showing patience and precision on offense.”

“These strides couldn’t have come at a better time, because the Winchester team increased the pressure with an array of 3 point field goals late in the game. We had a tough time adjusting to the small lineup. After some very crucial defensive stances, we became a lot more methodical in our execution. We began to establish a rhythm defensively and offensively. A rhythm we struggled to obtain in the first half. With all this said, our effort only forced the game into OT. I believe the momentum from regulation was carried over into overtime and we were fortunate enough to take control of the game. This game had so, many swings. Both teams had to work extremely hard. We pushed each other to the max. Great Game!”

Eastern Basketball Alliance

“The Jags ran a solid zone on us the first half, and it took us a little while to figure it out,” stated Wizards Head Coach Greg Cerillo. “I have challenged my team all season long to roll out two great defensive halves and that is exactly what we did. Giving up 37 in a half is outstanding and then we turned it up a notch by giving up only 34 in the second half.”

The Jaguars were led by Roman Perez with 21 points.

Cerillo continued: “This is a first-year club and they have struggled a bit scoring points all season (The Jaguars are averaging 78 points a game on offense). I knew if we kept running and attacking we could make the point total difficult to match. We had unforced turnovers in the first half so truly, we shot ourselves in the foot a bit. That team came out of the gate strong though. With a few more players they may just be able to string together 2 halves like the first and make life difficult on some teams.”

The Wizards were once again led by their outstanding guard play. League MVP Aubin Scott is on his way to another outstanding season and posted 29 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals against the Jaguars. Aubin’s running mates in the back court, Jason Romer & Eric Ferguson posted 20 and 14 respectively.

If the deadly guard combination mentioned was not enough the Wizards were able to overcome an injury to Mr. Double/Double Time Zephry and get another solid performance from Dele Coker with 8 points 11 rebounds and 4 blocks.

The Wizards may have received their biggest shot in the arm from 6’7″ power forward Jermaine Abraham who in one half of basketball posted 16 points and 10 rebounds. Greg Lott also played excellent in the first half with 10 solid points when points were hard to come by.

“These guard lineups are very difficult for our matchups,” stated Wizards Head Coach Cerillo. “We want to get all our players work in hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. Yet tonight our bigs were monsters. We challenged every shooter all the way out to the 3-pt line and made life difficult for our opponents. When the game went inside Coker, Lawley, Abraham, and Zephyr did a great job turning shots away.”

Eastern Basketball Alliance

The two-time EBA Final Four participating New York Wizards and the ACPBL North Jersey Pro’s have reached a cross promotional agreement which will place their players at the forefront of minor league basketball exposure and certainly will benefit each program in securing their players overseas contracts.

In principle, the agreement begins with the North Jersey Pros’ utilizing some of the EBA New York Wizards’ players for ACPBL contests beginning with this weekend’s February 4 Pros home game!

“The Wizards have always attempted to be a leader in the minor league basketball industry,” stated Wizard’s Head Coach Greg Cerillo. “We were the first EBA team to ever play at Madison Square Garden, the first to ever play a professional 48-minute double-header game, the first to have our games broadcast Live on Internet Radio, and now the first to have our players represent two leagues, on two different teams, with 2 different ownerships.”

The first players impacted by this unique agreement will be EBA League MVP and Wizards Point Guard Aubin Scott (currently the leading scorer and assist person in the EBA), and 6’9″ Tim Zephyr out of DI Norfolk State. Tim is referred to as the “Walking Double Double” (points and rebounds) and is a fan favorite because of his athletic ability and dunking prowess.

Also expected to join the Pros is Jermaine Abraham who. at 6’7″, has established himself as one of the strongest players in any league in which he plays. Also taking advantage of this unique opportunity is 6’10″ St. John’s product Dele Coker, who will block or challenge every shot defensively while utilizing a soft mid range jump shot to chip in 15 plus points per game.

Cerillo continued, “When even thinking of joining forces with someone else for an opportunity like this, you have to find someone who has the best interest of the players at heart, a person of integrity, and a person who wants to bring a quality product to his community! Pros Owner Christian Villar is exactly that. I have know this man for several years and I am honored to be involved with him and his program.”

Wizards and Pros fans can expect to see a quality product on the floor from the best minor league players in the area! Stay tuned for more details!!!

Eastern Basketball Alliance

Down 46-40 at halftime, the Horizon team fought to no avail to climb out of the hole. Joe Kennerly had 33 points to lead all scorers. He was backed-up by Angelo Hernandez with 23 and Ed Jones with 19.

Dom Asbury, for the second week in a row, was high scorer for the Horizon with 22 points. Seth Leonard had 11 of his 21 points in the 4th quarter as the home team mounted a short-lived comeback.

Horizon are off next weekend and then go back into action Saturday, February 11 at Winchester, VA followed by a 2:00PM Sunday home game against the Hudson Valley Hype on February 12.

Eastern Basketball Alliance