There are only four games remaining in the Under Armour Association and the NY Jayhawks sit one game out of the eighth and final spot in the Hungry Division. The top eight teams from the Hungry and Humble Divisions will travel to Atlanta, Georgia July 15 - 18 for the UA Association Finals for a chance to win a national championship. With three of the Jayhawks four remaining games against teams currently above them in the standings, you might think Head Coach Jay David would be worried. However quite the opposite is true.
Coach David remains optimistic about the Jayhawks' chances to improve and continue to compete at a high level. Part of David's positive outlook comes from knowing the talented roster he has assembled is more than capable. The leaders of the team are also the teams' most heralded players in Mamadou Diarra and Hamidou Diallo.
Diarra is an incredibly explosive athlete who finishes everything with a dunk. He recently cut list to Connecticut and VCU. Diallo, who is only going into his junior year of high school, is a guard 6'4 guard with long arms. He has the ability to knock down the midrange jumper and has a very high basketball IQ. Diallo, who is rated as the #5 shooting guard in the class of 2017 by ESPN and #38 overall by Rivals.com, holds offers from A10, Big 12 and Big East schools as well as numerous others.
The Jayhawks are much more than just a two man show, as it likely that all of their players will play college basketball. Others Jayhawks with multiple offers include Jair Bolden, who leads the team in scoring with Diallo, and Clive Allen. Big men Jose Martinez and Emmanuel Chukwu and guard Ray Jerome are likely to have Division I suitors in the near future as well. Add inJaheam Cornwall and starting 6'7 big man Gerald Blount and the Jayhwaks have a more than formidable squad.
The second reason Coach David has reason to believe his Jayhawks will have a strong finish to the summer is because of the discipline he has instilled and the teams foundation based on fundamentals. The discipline was initiated by David's uncle Andrew Lewis who started that Jayhawks as a local team from Queens, New York. When Lewis called David in to assist the team began to expand its reach as it pulled kids from Brooklyn, the Bronx, North New Jersey and Westchester.
Despite blending kids from different areas David managed to ensure all of his players remained high character guys and with strong academics. All of his players, who all attend elite prep schools, are just as likely to play in the Ivy League as they are the ACC. All that was on display at Saturday's practice as David observed the first few minutes of practice while the team ran conditioning drills and skill workouts that he previously implemented. So although David's Jayhawks may be a game out of the Finals now, David can relax a little knowing that the squad is headed in the right direction.
The Jayhawks are next in action in the Under Armour Circuit on Friday, May 22 when they take on the Philly Pride at House of Sports in Ardsley, New York.
x Paul Johnson
photo courtesy of Kelly Kline/Under Armour
