1st Annual
High School Heaven's Playground Tournament
Saturday, June 12, 2004
Seton Hall Preparatory School
West Orange, NJ

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Perhaps it was the fact that this was our first high school-only tournament, perhaps we were simply due after crummy weather for three years, but something convinced the basketball gods to finally bless Heaven's Playground with a beautiful day of weather. With not a cloud in the sky and temperatures holding just above 70 degrees, high school ballers from across northern New Jersey convened at Seton Hall Prep last Saturday, June 12 for our first annual High School Heaven.

Over 50 players and 15 teams competed for the championship, raising money for Operation Smile and the Griffin-Bridges Program while battling it out both indoors and outdoors in this double elimination tournament. While every team gave it their all, the tournament finally came down to the Blue Devils and the Black Knights battling it out in a fantastic finish.

The first round sparked off the tournament with some exciting action. The Spiders - led by Richard Scott - just crept by Yellow, an all-female team hailing from Mount St. Dominic's. Early favorites, the senior team Scavengers, suffered their first loss at the hands of Triple Entente. Blue Devils began their walk to the championship with a quick routing of the Knicks.

The Rough Riders - one of the stronger performances of the day - had an easy time with most of their opponents. With Joe Lomotey, Steven Friedella, and Casey Fleming working the perimeter, Rob Gaeta dominated under the boards, driving through anyone in his way.

Things really started to get hot with Black Knights - who enjoyed a bye in the first round - playing the Blue Devils, who they would later meet in the championship. Black Knights' size and play under the hoop were an exciting match for the Blue Devils' speed and smooth play. While Blue Devils pulled away with the win, Black Knights showed they weren't done with a record six consecutive wins to get into the championship.

Perhaps one of the crowd's favorite games was Cyrille vs. Valley Ballers. Judging by Cyrille's size and age, it seemed it would be an easy win. But, Valley Ballers staged a late comeback, led by 11-year-old Spencer Drice! Spencer continued to amaze the crowd, hitting jumpers, stealing balls, and driving to the hoop over players twice his size. Watching Spenser exasperate his opponents and react to the crowd helped earn him the honorary title of Heaven's Playground's "Mr. Hustle."

After their defeat of the Black Knights in Round 2, the Blue Devils continued to dominate; their height, agility, and fluid passing were even too much for Spencer Drice and the Valley Ballers, who suffered their first defeat at the hands of the Devils. With the Blue Devils undefeated in the championship, Black Knights faced the daunting task of having to beat them two games in a row, after playing a total of seven games!

Black Knights, though tired, surely showed no sign of slowing down, as they pushed the score to 11-8. Justin Bell, Bobby Barbarite, and Phil Baldwin fended off the Knights late charge, however, with a key performance by Bell. Bell hit several points both inside and outside, warranting him the prestigious Heaven's Playground MVP award. With a 4 point lead, the Blue Devils sealed the victory as HP's first high school champs with a beautiful pass sequence, and a clean lay-up by Bell to end the game.

The first annual high school tournament proved to be a success, and an event that hopefully will continue to become a HP tradition.

This tournament was dedicated to the wonderful work of Operation Smile and the Thomas J. Griffin Bridges Program at Seton Hall.