Rawle Alkins, New York Guards Trying to Put Big Apple Back on the Map at Elite 24 Game

NEW YORK — Rawle Alkins knows all too well about about the narrative that New York City hoops is dead — or dying.

You don’t have to ask him twice to get him started on the topic.

“New York, it’s not where it was so you can’t say that it’s still at the top,” the 6-foot-5 combo guard from Brooklyn told SNY.tv on Friday after practice for the Under Armour Elite 24 Game set for Saturday night in his home borough (ESPNU, 7 p.m).

“But they’re sleeping on a couple kids. Shamorie [Ponds] is pretty good. Jose Alvarado from [Christ the King], so New York is not where it was in the past where it was the Mecca of basketball but if you had to do a star rating, I would give it a 4-star.”

When the Elite 24 Game tips off, Alkins, Ponds and Hamidou Diallo will be repping New York City and hoping to remind everyone that the Big Apple — the city that produced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bob Cousy, Chris Mullin and Mark Jackson — can still generate talent.

“It’s a dream come true,” Alkins said. “Tons of great players from New York City have come to Elite 24, guy like Lance Stephenson, Kemba Walker. I got invited late. I guess it’s because a couple Nike kids dropped, I don’t know, but it’s still a blessing to be here.

“I proved something by getting invited, [becoming] one of the top 24 kids. I know a thousand kids, a thousand high school basketball kids, that would die to be here right now. I guess you can say I proved something by getting invited.

“As far as the game is concerned, it’s my city, it’s my home, so I’m going to have to put on a show for New York.”

Ponds, a 2016 guard from Brooklyn Thomas Jefferson who is close to making his college decision from a group that includes St. John’s, Providence, Minnesota and Creighton, feels the same way.

A year ago he was watching the game and wishing he was in it.

Now he is.

“It means a lot to go against the top players,” Ponds said. “Being in my hometown, it’s like a dream come true.”

Ponds, like Alkins, wants to rep the city in the game.

“We’re trying to show that New York is still on top,” Ponds said. “Me and Rawle are just trying to show New York and the people here, that we’re still on top.”

Diallo, a 2017 combo guard from Queens who plays for Putnam (CT) Woodstock Academy, echoes those sentiments.

“We’re the top players in New York so that shows that New York isn’t down that we’re here in the Elite 24, one of the top events in the country,” said Diallo, who recently heard from Kentucky.

Alkins, already projected as the No. 14 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com, has already repped New York City pretty well this summer.

He and his backcourt mate Mustapha Heron, a native of Meriden, Conn., who recently committed to Auburn over St. John’s and others, led the NY Rens AAU program to the adidas Gauntlet finale championship, while Alkins also won the title at the adidas Nations event in Long Beach, Calif.

“Me and Mustapha, we planned it out during the Dick’s Nationals event,” Alkins said. “He came to my school and we talked it out that we were going to play together. From that day on, we already planned that we were going to win the championship, and took steps. We took our good days, we had our bad days…So to win that championship, it was special for us.”

Of course, Mullin, now the St. John’s coach, and his fans, want to bring championships to the Big Apple, and they believe that a first step is keeping the local kids at home.

“I think it’s really important that we dominate New York,” Mullin said at his opening press conference. “If there’s a good player in New York City he needs to come to St John’s if he wants to play the best basketball.”

St. John’s remains in strong position for 2016 forward Kassoum Yakwe, who played his high school ball at Our Savior New American on Long Island and is close to announcing for St. John’s or Oregon.

Ponds could also pull the trigger soon, although he has upcoming visits set for St. John’s, Providence and Minnesota after visiting Creighton.

“I’m not sure yet, it could happen any minute though,” he said, adding that he could “possibly” announce Saturday at the game.

Asked if playing in New York in college would bring too much pressure, Ponds played that down.

“It wouldn’t’ be no pressure, I think I could handle it,” he said. “No pressure. It’s just whatever my family and me decide to do.”

Diallo is a 2017 guard who is being recruited by St. John’s along with a slew of other schools, including UConn, Kansas and others.

Alkins is Brooklyn kid whom Mullin would love to see stay home even if he’s leaving New York for prep school this season.

But St. John’s will face a stiff test with schools like Kentucky, Kansas, Louisville and Arizona also pursuing Alkins, who said he wants to visit 10 colleges.

For one night, though, New York City will be center of the grassroots basketball world, and its stars will look to shine.

 

Photos: Kelly Kline / Under Armour