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Jordan Brand Classic notebook: Spellman will go prep
By Theo Rabinowitz April 18, 2009
St. John's-bound guard Omari Lawrence scored 25 points for the city team.
Rice forward James Stukes was talking about his expectations for
his time at South Kent with Archbishop Molloy guard Russ Smith. Then he
pointed to Keith Spellman, Thomas Jefferson’s all-time leading scorer
who was selected to the city team but missed the Jordan Classic Brand regional game because of a
chronic back injury.
“He’s going to be there, too,” Stukes said.
“He’s going to be there, too,” Stukes said.
After a debilitating back injury robbed him of much of the second half of his senior season and an appearance in the regional game, the news keeps getting worse for the talented shooting guard. Prior to his senior season, Spellman had multiple mid-to-high major Division I offers, but his recruiting stock floundered after his injury. At one time last year, he was going to choose between St. John’s and Hofstra, but decided to wait it out a bit longer, a decision he regrets.
“I really took too long,” he lamented, later adding: “I wanted to play with the big dogs, the superstars, and that was my mistake. I had all the good schools offering me when I was younger.”
With offers from just Iona, New Orleans and Manhattan, Spellman said the current plan, unless a better opportunity presents itself, is to go to prep school. He is seeing a physical therapist and hopes rest will heal the ailing back.
“I know I’m not that kind of player; I can go higher,” he said. “I’m going to work harder (at South Kent).”
Lawrence shines in new home: If Saturday evening was any indication, Omari Lawrence will enjoy his new home. The St. John’s-bound wing scored 25 points to lead the City team past the Suburbs, 129-120, in the Jordan Brand Classic regional game at Madison Square Garden.
“In the beginning [of the game] I was really nervous, but I settled in really quickly,” said Lawrence, who spent his senior year at South Kent (Conn.) after making a name for himself at St. Raymond’s in the Bronx. He listed his favorite moment as meeting Michael Jordan.
With the game behind him, Lawrence said his attention now turns to his graduation from the South Kent School, which is only four weeks away.
I’ve been waiting to graduate for a long time and being away from home so much [at a boarding school] has been tough,” he said.
Williams continues to recover: Bishop Ford point guard Chaz Williams may not have shot the ball the way he would have liked – nobody wants to make 2-of-12 shots from the field – but the Hofstra-bound senior is coming along in the rehab of his shoulder and had eight assists. Williams, who dislocated the AC joint in his shoulder during the CHSAA Class A championship game in March, said he is 95 percent.
“Playing in the Garden was a phenomenal experience, and I’m blessed to have had this opportunity,” said Williams, who will leave for Hofstra in July. “My game is pass first and the fact that this game was played at a fast pace helped me out.”
fiveborosports@gmail.com
“In the beginning [of the game] I was really nervous, but I settled in really quickly,” said Lawrence, who spent his senior year at South Kent (Conn.) after making a name for himself at St. Raymond’s in the Bronx. He listed his favorite moment as meeting Michael Jordan.
With the game behind him, Lawrence said his attention now turns to his graduation from the South Kent School, which is only four weeks away.
I’ve been waiting to graduate for a long time and being away from home so much [at a boarding school] has been tough,” he said.
Williams continues to recover: Bishop Ford point guard Chaz Williams may not have shot the ball the way he would have liked – nobody wants to make 2-of-12 shots from the field – but the Hofstra-bound senior is coming along in the rehab of his shoulder and had eight assists. Williams, who dislocated the AC joint in his shoulder during the CHSAA Class A championship game in March, said he is 95 percent.
“Playing in the Garden was a phenomenal experience, and I’m blessed to have had this opportunity,” said Williams, who will leave for Hofstra in July. “My game is pass first and the fact that this game was played at a fast pace helped me out.”
fiveborosports@gmail.com