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Players Talk of Street Ball, Sleep Deprivation

By Michael Dobie and Arthur Staple | Staff Writers

Michael Clarke, senior at William E. Grady High School in Brooklyn, played with Riverside Church
"I wasn't used to waking up every morning in a different state and all the travel. I played horrible last summer; I wanted to just go home. If I could have been with them a year before, I would have done much better. You know not to stay out late, that you got to eat right. It's all experience. If I had another year, I'd do great."

Ricky Cranford, junior at Northeastern University, formerly from Benjamin Cardozo High School in Queens, played with the Long Island Panthers

"I got a chance to play against the top players in the country, guys who are in the NBA now, guys who are my friends. [Summer ball] got you prepared for college as far as travel and being able to get along with a group of guys on the road ... You didn't have to pay for anything. The coaches took care of all the stuff on the road. It was great being able to travel to Las Vegas and California, places I never would have seen otherwise. Everything was positive to me. I guess I would say there's a lot of politics that goes into [summer ball], but it's nothing you can't deal with."

Clifford Strong, sophomore at St. Francis (N.Y.) College, formerly played at Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn, played with Riverside Church

"I never grew up playing street basketball and that's essentially what summer is. It's really street basketball. It's time to test out things you would never try with your high school team."

"If I stayed home I would have been able to go to summer school and make up a class I had missed. I went away that summer instead and I was seen by a lot of coaches. But when scholarship time came around, I wasn't qualified. But if I stayed home, no one would have seen me."

Tristan Smith, senior at Amityville High School, played with the Long Island Panthers

"It didn't match my expectations that much because I didn't think I was treated fair. But I enjoyed it. Even not playing that much, I enjoyed it because I learned a lot of different things about how to take it. I kind of took everything in stride."

Taliek Brown, freshman at the University of Connecticut, formerly played at St. John's Prep High School in Queens, played with the Houston Jaguars

"At the end of the summer, you just get exhausted. It's like an NBA season. You're playing every day, every other day, two, three games a day. It's fun."

Jeff McMillan, freshman at Fordham University, formerly played at Bayside High School in Queens and Curtis High School in Staten Island, played with the Student-Athlete Broncos

"They play too many games. If you limited the games they play ... Then again, when I was in that situation, I wanted to play every day."

Wendell Gibson, senior at Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, played with Riverside Church

"You try to tell yourself [not to think about home] but when you're on the road for that long, it's hard not to be homesick. I've been in New York my whole life. I'm not used to making these trips. It felt like being a pro. But not too many people can say they've been where I have."

Mike Boynton, freshman at the University of South Carolina, formerly with Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn, played with Riverside Church

"The high school scene is more about winning. During the summer, you're trying to bring your personal stock up. You still want to win, but you're trying more to impress the [college] coach who called you the night before. It's trying to do your personal best."

Marlon Smith, sophomore at Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, played with the Gauchos, Tim Thomas Playaz and Riverside Church

"I want to learn more in basketball. When I went to Tim Thomas Playaz, I thought they'd have better opportunities for me to learn, but it's just games and games and games and they don't really practice. I'm going with Riverside so I can learn. [The Gauchos] probably feel that I wasn't loyal, but I did a lot for their program. I don't think they showed the loyalty back. They'd call and you'd have to go to games and that's it."

"I've been offered some things: sneakers, gear maybe. The Gauchos would offer me some small stuff. There's a lot of guys who think this is more material, not just basketball. People take it to extremes ... I wouldn't say anything [if I saw someone taking stuff to play]. It's their business. If they want to hurt themselves or their eligibility, it's their life."