Division I Certification Boosts Hartford Summer League
The atmosphere last year at the Greater Hartford Pro-Am summer basketball league was pretty much the same as always. Thumping hip-hop music and a couple of hundred fans filled Fox Middle School in the North End a few nights a week for an event that is as much about civic pride as basketball.
League founder Peter Higgins worked the microphone, his sarcasm and game analysis a large part of the experience. And it was, as usual, a showcase of some of the area's top former high school and college basketball players, from Jared Jordan to Charles 'The Beast' Easterling to Edmund Saunders to Ryan Gomes.
But this summer, the basketball will be kicked up a notch. The Pro-Am has regained certification from the NCAA, which means Division I players are again allowed to participate. UConn's Hasheem Thabeet, Jerome Dyson, Nate Miles and possibly others will play, as will East Hartford's Doug Wiggins, who played two seasons with the Huskies and is transferring to UMass. Players from Hartford, Quinnipiac and other Division I schools are expected to play, too.
'An influx of great talent that wasn't around last year,' said longtime Pro-Am coach Kevin Archer, whose All Axxess team won the 2007 championship. 'It will be a real boost to the competition.' The Pro-Am was denied NCAA certification for the first time last summer because Mike Neal, formerly of the University of Oklahoma, participated in the 2006 Pro-Am. NCAA rules stipulate that Division I players must live or attend school within 100 miles to be eligible. Neal, of Texas, has a longtime girlfriend in the Hartford area and spends most of his summers here. But his address was officially considered to be Texas by the NCAA. Neal was suspended for two games of his senior season and the Pro-Am went on without top college talent.
'We felt like we got the short end of the stick,' Higgins said. 'That's all hindsight now, though, and we're glad to have [Division I] players involved again.'
Play begins Saturday. There will be doubleheaders Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. With a 10-team league, up from eight last year, Higgins said there will occasionally be games on Thursdays. Admission is free.
This is a hectic time for Higgins, 38, who runs a trucking company, a promotions company and the Pro-Am, now in its 12th year, along with Kevin Kirksey. The GHPA is an organization that operates year-round, running youth-oriented clinics and community events, often in conjunction with the Doc Hurley Scholarship Foundation.
Higgins said the Pro-Am received $7,500 from the city last year. This year, the Pro-Am will receive up to $5,000 - budget cuts and a stagnant economy leaving less money for the Department of Health and Human Services to allocate. The summer league alone cost about $25,000 to run last season and will cost more this season because the Pro-Am must pay for medical insurance for Division I players. Team sponsors pay about $3,000, and Higgins sometimes covers incidental costs with his own money.
Still, this is his favorite time of year, a time when the vibe of music and good feelings pour out of Fox Middle School. The Pro-Am is a positive rallying point for a section of the city with its share of strife. Most of the sponsors Higgins secures are from the hip-hop music industry, a sign that the Pro-Am has caught on with young people. 'It becomes the focus for a large part of the North End community,' Higgins said. Said Archer: 'This event means a lot to all of us. It's a coming-together for the community, a coming-together for different cultures and different neighborhoods. It's not the NCAA Tournament. It's not the NBA. But it's unique, and to us, it's home.'
Gomes, a Waterbury native and an NBA free agent after spending last season with the Timberwolves, is again expected to play after he signs a contract. Higgins has reached out to Ray Allen. Vin Baker and Marcus Camby are possibilities. So are Rajon Rondo and Eddie House.
'Can't guarantee it,' Higgins said. 'But I'll be setting aside a few jerseys. I'm antsy to see who's going to walk into the gym.' The certification allows for players such as Allan Chaney (New London, headed for Florida) and Aaron Jackson (Hartford, Duquesne). Then there are the regulars, guys like Tetrick Stonar, Durelle Brown, Ismael Caro, the Jernigan family and more. All Axxess will try to defend its title with a roster that currently includes Thabeet, Brown, Jordan and Chris Prescott, who attended Northwest Catholic and will be a freshman at St. Joseph's (Pa.). 'A lot of the local guys love competing against those big-name guys,' Higgins said. 'I love their competitive spirit and I'll always go for the underdog, so to speak, but, personally, as long as there's good basketball and everyone is having a good time, that's great.'
