Wizards Balanced Attack & Defense Key To Early Success:
From left to right: Jermaine Abraham, Brandon Lawley, Greg Cerillo, Dele Coker, Aubin Scott, Tim Zephyr, Rob Hampton, Levy Mwanza (Not Pictured – Tamine Trent, Jason Romer, Eric Ferguson, Brian Faustin, Greg Lott)
Over the past several seasons much has been made about the size of the Wizards front line. Opponents have often walked into the Wizards gym and had to look up at their dominating front line(s). This season it is not unusual for the Wizards to start a line-up that stands 6’10”, 6’9”, 6’7”, 6’3”, and 6’1”!
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.”
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!
Currently the New York wizards sit atop the Northern Division of the EBA with a 6-1 record!
“We realize the Jaguars are struggling right now” Continued Cerillo “There a first year club and many teams have been through similar situations. Yet we can’t take anything for granted. Each game we play we need to use the competition to get better to reach our ultimate goal. To win a title!”
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2/19/12
Wizards Win 104-99
Many people facing off against the Wizards are immediately impressed with their size. Dele Coker is 6'10", Tim Zephyr is 6'9", Brandon Lawley is 6'7", Jermain Abraham is 6'7", Levy Mwanza is 6'8", Brian Faustin is 6'9". This large and athletic front line has virtually established a no-fly zone around the Wizards basket.
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 different. Each of the 4 guards in uniform scored in double digits, led by Jason Romers 22 points, Aubin Scotts 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-pt shooters, and run them into our shot blockers down low. In 6 games this season we have only had 7 3-pt 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 Brown 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 Nova Hawks were led by Joseph Flegler's 26 points.
The Wizards were led by Jason Romers 22 points 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 3-pt shots. 6'10" 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 Wizards next game will be against the NYC Jaguars on Saturday 2/25 in Brooklyn NY.
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2/10/12
2 States / 2 Days / 2 Games / 2 Leagues / 2 Wins / 0 Problems:
Over a 2 day span beginning Friday 2/3/2012 in Long Island NY 4 New York Wizards/North Jersey Pros players established a presence in two different leagues which earned their respective teams 2 wins in two days in both New York and New Jersey!
On Friday evening 2/3/12 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 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1block, Scott 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 2/4/12 in the ACPBL with the North Jersey Pros and 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, while EBA League MVP Aubin Scott posted 28 points 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals in their Pros first victory of the season with a 118-105 victory over NY 524.
"This is exactly what we hoped for when Christian Villar of the Pros and myself 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 1 was for these players is to help their respective teams challange for a championship. In turn we will promote their ability to every overseas team and agent. Their ability speaks for itself. Christian Villar, owner of the North Jersey Pros clearly feels the same way and 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!
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2/6/12
Wizards Win Big 111-71
It was a like watching two different halfs! The Wizards went into the locker room at halftime with a very narrow 40-37 lead. But outscored the Jaguars 71-34 in the second half.
"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 halfs 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 15 un-forced turnovers in the first half so truly we shot ourself 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 halfs 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 challanged 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."
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2/3/12
New York Wizards & North Jersey Pros Strike an Unprecedented Agreement
Would the old ABA work together with the NBA? Would footballs old AFL work with the NFL? How about hockeys AFL working with the NHL? The answer to all those questions is and was no! Which is why the Wizards & Pros arrangement is so unusual.
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 weekends 2/4 Pros home game!
"The Wizards have always attempted to be a leader in the minor league basketball industry" Stated Wizards head Coach Greg Cerillo "We were the first EBA team to ever play at Madison Square Garden, the first to every 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 team, 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), 6'9" Tim Zephyr out of DI Norfolk State. Tim is refered 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 Pro's is Jermaine Abraham who at 6'7" has established himself as one of the strongest players in any league he plays in. Also expected to be offered 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!!!
Go Wizards - Go Pros
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1/29/12
Wizards Win 122-113
The New York Wizards defeated a difficult Philadelphia Live squad 122-113 to keep their home game winning streak alive (the Wizards have lost just 1 home game in 3 years).
After opening up a 18 point 3rd quarter lead the Live stormed back to within 4 points before the Wizards closed them out.
The Wizards were led once again by last years EBA player of the year Aubin Scott who finished the contest with 35 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. The live were led by Tyrone "Red" Hill with 30 points and 15 rebounds.
"Everyone in this league can play" Stated Wizards Head Coach Greg Cerillo "In my opinion each teams starting five is capable to play each other. It's depth that will make a difference in this league!"
The Wizards brought 42 points off their bench including Tamine Trents 20 (9 of 10 from the free throw line in the 4th quarter) and newly acquired Dele Coker who had 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
The Wizards have become hard to match up against as small teams get the storm brought from their guard play which includes League MVP Aubin Scott, standout scorer and defender Jason Romer, impossible to match up against Tamien Trent, Arkansas stand out and perhaps the best defensive guard in the league in Eric Ferguson, and 3-pt shooting specialist Greg Cerillo Jr.
If opponents elect to go big the Wizrads can roll out the walking double/double 6'9" Tim Zephyr, 6'7" Brandon Lawley (one of the more unselfish players in the league), newly acquired Division I player Dele Coker (6'10") who can make a living on the inside or out, Jermaine Abraham who is 6'7" and one of the strongest players in the league, and 6'8" rebounding and shot blocking spealist Levy Mwanza.
Where the Wizards are most improved is at the small forward position where Norfolk State rookie Rob Hampton (6'4") and 6'5" Greg Lott can score and match up against almost any opponent.
"Our strength is our ability to match up against anyone" Stated Coach Cerillo "Truly our team has the talent, yet the teams with the most talent don't always win the championship. We still have lots of work to do! The defending champion is always the champion until someone knocks them off."
The Wizards next opponent will be the NYC Jaguars in a rare Friday night game this Friday 2/3 at Fundamental sports Training in Westbury at 9 PM!
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1/24/12
St. John’s Big Man Dele Coker Set To Begin Pro Career With EBA New York Wizards
6’ 10” Dele Coker came out of High School in 2007 rated as one of the top 20 big men in the country. He selected Big East Powerhouse St. John’s as his best option to play collegiate ball.
In 4 years at St. John’s Dele progressed each year while maintaining his solid work ethic, shot blocking ability, and dominating rebounding presence.
“What many people don’t realize about Dele is that he is a terrific offensive player with a solid mid-range jump shot” Stated Wizards Head Coach Greg Cerillo “The guy has shot .630% from the field for a full Big East season (2009/2010) and 70% from the free throw line in another season (2008/2009). With enough minutes this guy is a walking double/double! Dele’s game is totally unslefish and he is an absolute perfect fit for the Wizards.”
Coaker is expected to be immediately thrown into the fray this Saturday (1/28) as the Wizards face off against Divisional Oppenent the Philadelphia Live at Robert Frost Middle School in Deer Park New York at 7 PM.
“One only needs to meet Dele for a few moments to determine that he is a terrific person” Continued Wizards Head Coach Greg Cerillo “He is going to be loved by his teammates, fans, and community. Truly though I anticipate only a limited window with this young man. I assume he will be signed to an overseas contract once he starts showing his ability in the EBA.”
Fans can listen to the game on Internet Radio by logging onto their computers at:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sportsrantzradio/2012/01/15/test-1