At this time of year, Mike Crump usually needs to stash an extra roster in his back pocket to identify his new players. Wadleigh has become a home away from home for troubled standouts, a place for them to remake their career.
“They get here, you’re excited about their talent, but everyone who comes from somewhere else has a sense of entitlement,” said the outspoken coach, who led Wadleigh to the PSAL Class A quarterfinals last year and to the Manhattan AA crown the last four years. “Playing time is always an issue. They feel like they did you a favor.”
That’s not the case this year – the only newcomer is Lincoln’s Laz Martinez – as much of the roster were either on the varsity last year or were in the Harlem school to begin with, but didn’t play. Compared to recent seasons, Crump said, this is a very un-Wadleigh-like team – undersized, not overly deep, but tenacious, defensive-minded and scrappy.
Yes, defensive-minded, the Tigers’ greatest weakness in recent years. Returning guards Basil Harley and Trivonte Bloodman can both light it up from the perimeter – the two combined to average 17 points per game last winter – but Crump is most pleased by the two’s never-ending motor and intensity on the defensive end. Neither is his best’s perimeter defender; that would be Ely Brown, who has shown the ability to lock up elite guards so far in the preseason.
The 6-foot-4 Martinez, originally from Harlem, ended up at Wadleigh after an injury-ravaged junior year at Lincoln. After two years of academic struggles, junior Louis Costen, a 6-foot-5 forward, is ready to contribute. He will play in the paint on defense, but handle the ball when Wadleigh has possession.
Costen is similar to former star Malik Thomas, who is now at Boston University, because of his versatility, but Crump thinks “physically at this age he’s little bit more athletic than Malik was.”
Sheffar Hunter, a 5-foot-7 guard, 6-foot-4 forward Shaquille Urgent, 6-foot-6 forward Jovan George – Wadleigh’s biggest player – and 6-foot-3 forward Paris Roberts will all see time as reserves.
Wadleigh’s front line last winter was mammoth – 6-foot-8, 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-5 – yet was often beaten up in the paint. Crump prefers this small group, as he plans to use its speed to press and trap.
“If you have tall guys who won’t play defense and small guys that will, I’ll take the smaller guys,” he said. “They look small, but they play a lot bigger. They’re tough. We’ve had some tough scrimmages and we stood up; no deficiency on the boards, our speed and tenacity is a little more prevalent.”
Crump, most of all, sees a hunger with his club that was previously lacking. Harley and Bloodman are the only players with much experience; Martinez is looking to earn a college scholarship; Hunter and Roberts didn’t get on the court much last year; and Brown, George and Urgent were in the school, but didn’t tryout.
“I love the chemistry; it’s a smaller group, less clicks,” he said. “It’s pretty much guys who want to be at Wadleigh and have waited until their year to play varsity basketball.”