FBC Defenders

So proud of my SOLDIERS!, Defenders(STONE) finished the exposure period (battle baltimore 4-0, metro classic 4-0, Rose Summer Showcase 1-1) strong, 9-1. Congratulations! You’ve had a tremendous season! So Proud! Just So Darn Proud Of Every Player In Program. Defenders(Frederick) finished strong as well, improving with each game down the stretch. When most would have given up, these ladies beat the odds and fought through for victory or near victory, or even defeat, and grew with each game. I love you and am proud of you in ways you just can’t image. You inspire me to fight my way back to 100%. I will accept NOTHING less for myself because you have accepted nothing less. True inspiration!

Coach Frederick and Nicole you have done a tremendous job for the program. The way you guys stepped up when I went down is admirable. Best coaching staff in the world, any level, any pay grade! I will put you up against anyone!

Parents, without your unwavering commitment to me and this program there is no way I could have gone through these past weeks. NO WAY! I thank you one and all for holding together and allowing your girls the opportunity to see how good they could really become. For that I thank you all. I would also like to thank you for working so hard at the fund raisers. Because of that I am able to send those players who have been in the program from the beginning to Ohio at NO registration cost to them! Yes the club picked up the tab for registering 16 players @ $90 each. Also the club paid for the summer league games @ W 4th Street and CAS Douglas combined costed $1,650.

Finally there is Q James. The entire program owes you it’s very life for the 2010 season. You alone save our season because you stepped into the Administrator role and seamlessly guided the program through to this point and made it look effortlessly. I know for certain that is took tremendous effort on your part to manage the defenders commitments and your own. God Bless You! Thank You hardly seems adequate. Much LOVE!

John Stone
FBC Defenders AAU Club

The FBC Defenders(STONE) finished up the regular season on a tear (3rd Place) as their final standing are as follows; 4 wins 2 losses, played without their regular season head coach (John Stone) for all W 4th Street games. New head coach (Jasmine Lytle) guided the squad the allof the way and has been flawless in that effort. Big thanks the the adults (John Frederick) on the bench as the team could not possibly have done this without you (Jerod, Mrs. Stone, Andrea). The program is so lucky to have people like you! Reason, Season, Lifetime.

Next up for the Defenders @ W 4th Street are the playoffs where they will be the Lady XMEN in the semi-final game @ 9:15 a.m. Hope to see all Defenders family at the game!!!!

It is a hot & steamy summer saturday morning here in NYC as people begin to gather for what would ultimately become HISTORY for a team (and small program with only 2 teams) that seems to somehow show up 10 out 10 times wherever they go. In today’s me, me, me, take what I can world of aau basketball this would seem EXTREMELY odd but yet very refreshing if true. Well believe me it is absolutely, positively, TRUE. The FBC Defenders all arrive in new york this day ready to play there late morning game like they have so many times in the past. Parents and players gathering as if they are in their backyard preparing for a family function. Exchanging hugs and pleasantries like siblings all ultimately making there was to the matriarch of the program. Is this real? Some might think it’s not but for this program it is because of one primary founding principle. The FBC Defenders are a family through and through. Know that and NEVER doubt it, cause for EVERY family that it touches, they do KNOW it is ABSOLUTELY true.

here at the Cage, a world famous venue sitting in village next door to the Blue Note. The bustle picking up now the Defenders are finally up, gametime. Now at the cage fans all know when the Defenders play it will be an exciting game. Especially since they have this extremely dynamic coach who always seems to come with kid never seen before who just erupts at some point in a game. Win or Lose! It is amazing to watch and so the fence outside starts to pack.  The refs call for captains, little minute check, jump ball and the game is on. As the Positive direction team come out they jump on the Defenders from the start. A little startle the defenders take a quick blow but survive it. Remember now that’s nothing for them. Why? Because that who they are and they know it is NOT over yet game just started. Staring into the eyes of one of the Pd players is a kid that really looks like she should be at the short somewhere hanging. But what THEY don’t know is she is smoldering. Up the floor, down the floor they go. And them all of a suddden that same young lady does a quick body check. AM I FEELING, YES, IS IT TIME, HECK YEAH, you see had been asked that at key times in games before by her coach. BUT TODAY SHE IS NOT WAITING FOR HIM. Today it would be her who decides. At that moment she demanded the ball and BANG! Rain a 3333333333! On her way back she thought, that felt good. O crap you guy are in trouble and you don’t even know. Then all of a sudden she smiled. Now running the point for the Defenders is Ashanti Bess. Serving at point due to the abscence of the talented Shari Jones who normally starts. Now Ashanti has been working with Coach Stone to get her mentally to a place where she can KNOW she is a beast. Today she is there so looking this teammate of hers she sees it and thinks OMG. So next few position she is pass her the ball EVERYTIME she can. Who is she? Only the FBC Defenders Rose Classic famous Janissa “let id rain” Delzo!!!!!!! And for a short while at west fourth the sun was out but Janissa began to just make it RAIN 3s. Before the other team could realize the Defenders were right back in it and the team called time. Yelling at her team not to relax the coach made a critical mistake. She told her team not to let up until up by twenty. Bad move as the Defenders heard that and it was OVER!

Final Score FBC Defenders 59    Positive Direction 41    GAME OVER!

High Scorers Jasmine “ol skool” Phelps with 14 pts, Shalette “The Beastie” with 10pts and of course Janissa “Rain” Delzo 10 pts, Tia “Paryana” Kelly 9 brds 4 blks, and final Ashanti “you don’t know” Bess 7 dimes.

Now I know the coach so thought why not say hello. To my surprise the team was coach by Jamine “big pretty smile” Lytle currently the single most hearlded Defenders player of ALL time and sitting quietly on the bench with her making her coaching debut was MRS BRENDA STONE, the coaches wife. OMG!

Hey coach, I hope you’re doing well just keeping you updated with the games. Today we had to play 4 on 4 against the PA Storm. We only scored 2 points in the first half to the storm’s 20 something, during the start of the second half the team was motivated by the parents to hustle and play hard. With the help of Parris… J. Branker and Janaysia James to get us scoring, we soon found out that we could actually play a game with only 4 people. I was the teams leading scorer with 8 points, but with 4 or 5 minuets left on the clock Parris J. Branker goes down with a minor knee injury. The game ended 16-33., just as I was geting into a scoring groove, I was upset and then realized that our team was fighting, not only to try to come back and make the game close but to also prove to our parents and coach that we four players have heart and really wanted to play. Today was a good day for FBC DefendersAAU Frederick team.

By Karalyne Brown

FBC Defenders (Stone) tipped off at 11:30 AM on Wednesday, July 7th against the Buffalo Storm for their fourth game of the Penn State Blue Chip Tournament.  The Storm had a 5-0 run going until Walker drove into the lane, got fouled, and made 1 of her free throws.  Shari had a pass to Tia in the high post and she was fouled on her turnaround jumper, making 2 of 2, to bring the score to 3-5.  This was a sign of things to come, as the refs called an extremely tight game, calling every slight hand check and contact as a foul.  Defenders executed well on defense, forcing the Storm to step out on the baseline and causing a turnover.  Shari continued the foul festival, driving in for a layup and, you guessed it, fouled.  Shalette drove the lane next, and was also fouled.  Walker had a good block on a drive into the paint, followed by a steal by Shari, drive, made layup and 1 (not made).  Ashanti hit a 3 to bring us to 9-5.  The Storm also spent a lot time at the line, and the score was tied up at 9-9.  Shalette was active under the boards, getting her own rebound and putting it up for a basket for 11-9.  Erika had a good defensive play disrupting a pass into the paint.  Ashanti put up a 3, missed, but had Shalette there to rebound it, go up and get the foul, and shoot 2 of 2 from the foul line to put the score to 13-11.  Shari had a pass ahead to Walker who drove in for 2 to make it 15-11.  Janissa’s strong defense forced a travel call for another turnover.  Shari had a drive into the lane, got fouled, and made 2 of 3 to extend our lead to 17-13.  A midrange jumper by Janissa took us to 19-13.  The Storm battled back to get the score to 19-17.  Shari made a pass in to Shalette who put it up for 2 to bring us to 21-17.  Amazingly, we were already into 1 and 1 foul shots with several minutes to go in the half.  Shari had a drive, got fouled, and made 1 of 2 shots.  We ended the half at 21-18.

The second half got started with more foul calls, much to the chagrin of supporters from both teams.  Storm took the lead at 21-22.  We traded baskets, then Shari found Janissa for a 3 to bring the lead back to our side at 26-24.  Walker stole the ball, and went coast to coast for 2.  More seemingly endless foul shooting, until Janissa hit another 3 to make the score 32-28.  Walker had another drive, followed by 2 foul shots, then a steal on an inbound pass.  Ashanti also took a steal and went the length of the court for 2.  Ashanti hit a 3 to bring the score to 39-34.  The Storm kept hanging on, taking advantage of their free throws.  Shalette continued to make a lot of plays under the boards until she fouled out with 5:14 to go in the half.  We started to take advantage of the ref’s close calling by driving more to the basket.  Walker and Janissa both got fouled and made 2 of 2.  Shari was tussling under the boards with the big girls, while Tia got foulded and made 1 of 2.  We had more fouls to close out the final minute, but we came out ahead 47-38.  All the fans would have preferred to see less foul calls, and have the game flow more, but we’ll take the win.

High Scorer and Rebounder goes to Walker with 11 points and 7 rebounds.  Shari and Walker both had high assists with 3 each.  Shalette had 1 block.

FBC Defenders (Stone) beat Team Alexander in a late game on Saturday May 8th to bring their record to an impressive 5-0 in the Rose Classic. The offense got started with Walker putting up a 3, missing, but alertly following up her shot, grabbing the rebound, and sinking a 2. It was a low scoring 1st quarter, but the Defenders led 14 to 7. Team Alexander had already racked up 5 fouls, to our 2, in that first quarter, setting a tone that was to continue throughout the game. The scoring drought continued for both teams, but Team Alexander managed to tie the game at 18-18 with 18 seconds left in the 1st half. The teams continued to battle in the 3rd quarter when Jas scored to tie it at 24-24 with a minute 20 seconds to go. We were fortunate to finish the 3rd quarter with a 30-24 lead. The challenge continued into the 4th quarter, but Defenders managed to pull ahead to 34-24 with 4 minutes left. The atmosphere was getting tense, with trash talk that even the spectators could hear! Our team took a huge blow when Jas went down with an injury late in the quarter. Despite this, the team pulled together to finish out the win with a 40-29 final score. Shalette had a monster game with 16 points and 9 rebounds, keeping the team in the game. Walker led with 5 assists.

Our thoughts and best wishes go out to Jaz, hoping for a speedy recovery for her! Situations like this remind us all of what’s truly important, and what team really means.

F. Dickerson University: FBC DEFENDERS (Frederick) vs FAST BREAK, Staten Island Game#2
5-1-2010 6:15pm

What a second game, defenders showed up with force like a Mighty Storm and as a team working the floor. The Fast Break was a very aggressive and physical playing team, defenders maintained cool attitude and focus in game. Defenders played competitive basketball scoring basket for basket at one point, it seemed to be a different team. Janaysia James scored first point of game at foul line and scored first 2 points of game. Defenders rallied keeping score within 5 points and advancing in second half.  Janaysia James led team at half with 5 points, half time score 10 to 18 Defenders trailing close. Brittany Vick scored first 3 pointer of game, setting the team on fire. Good Game Ladies, Your On a Streak!!!

Tip: Defenders zone into game, follow ball on offense and defense make sure you know location of ball at all times. The opponent never gives you time to think on offense, because they are in your face playing defense. Copy them, play in there face defense, when you return pressure it causes them to turn over ball, remember the game is also about strategy. Read your opponent, know who can dribble, shoot and pass on the opposing team, you can do this within the first 4 minutes of game. Once you know opponent, listen to coach and ATTACK!!! Janaysia James says the game was good and team played better, we did not give up, we are motivated to play, we are going to win together as a team because we are strong. We come very close to winning game. We need to continue working hard. My Team is Tough!!!

Coach’s corner: Coach Frederick - What a game, they have what it takes. All they need to do is continue working hard in practice. We know what to work on, we just need to work harder and consistent on those skills. Good job Team!!! I am Happy. Coach Nicole - They played a very good game, the improvement rate is very good. We have a lot to work on, but we are looking good. Good game Team!!!

Game Stats: Final Score 22 to 31
Janaysia James- 11 pts. / 4 foul shot pt. / 1-3 pointer / 0 steals / 0 blocks
Paris Branker- 6 pts. / 0 foul shot pt. / 0 steals / 0 blocks
Karalyne Brown- 3 pts. / 3 foul shot pt. / 0 steals / 0 blocks
Brittany Vick- 1 pt. / 1 foul shot / 0 steals / 0 blocks
Jackie Gura- 1 pt. / 1 foul shot / 0 steals / 0 blocks

Hello Fans! Today is day 3 of the tournament and the team is really struggling! I can only tell you that at the half the team was down 35 to 11. The second half was just as bad as the team is struggling right now to get and maintain a rythmn. Final score was 61 to 25, next game at 4:10 p.m. in the White Bldg. Pray for us PLEASE!

Written by: Srednefed, Ghost Writer

Hello Fans! it’s me again, Srednefed, coming to you with today’s games. The defenders played two games today with a lot of similarities and very different results. First game of the day was against the Wescon Fillies. Once again the team started out slowly and somewhat anxious. It would seem that for a team called the Defenders this club wants to be known more for their offense than defense. The team tried to compete with the Fillies shot for shot while playing a rather helter skelter type defense. Unfortunately for the defenders the Fillies loved to run the floor and when they set up simply spread the floor for the drive and kick. Believe you me this made for a very frustrating first half that only saw the defenders take a slim halftime lead. During the halftime break the team got a rather spirited reminder what allowed them to blow open their first game yesterday. D-E-F-E-N-S-E became the focus of the second half and once coach was able to find a rotation that worked the team coasted to a nice victory.

Of course the second game of the day against the NEPA Flames was a whole different story. Unlike the first two games the defenders came out on the attach. This strategy proved to be a good one as they took an early lead in the first half suggesting that this would finally be the game everyone expected from the defenders. But alas it was not to be as the subs were not able to maintain the same level of intensity, focus, effort, and consistency. It seemed that with every substitution there were periods of good play but just not enough consistency to maintain the lead and thus the momentum. A stretch of unforced turnovers, scrambling defense, and lack of intensity, and a willingness to give up rebounds and 3s doomed the game from around the 9 minute mark in the first half through the end of the game. There were stretches of good play and bad play but probably the single most dissappointing thing that I noticed was the giant step backwards as a team. This team has an M.O. of ‘whenever things get tough they turn on each other’. Today’s second game was no different. I sure hope they find a way to pull it together but just looking at how the girls are segmented into their own little groups this does not seem likely.

Tomorrow is another day as hope springs eternal! Goodnight Fans! Thanks for tunning in, see you back here tomorrow with what I hope is a very exciting report!

PEACE

Hello Fans!

Today the FBC Defenders took the floor in the opening game of the Blue Chip - US Invitational at Penn State University by defeating the Buffalo Storm! The game started as if the Defenders were going to crush the Storm by executing their offense to get several open 3s and fast break layups. But after a 7 minute span of sluggish play and tons of unforced turnovers the Defender found themselves in a heated battle at the end of the first half. For some unknow reason the team just could not find it’s rythm offensively and the defense was just plain nonexistent! During the 3 minute half time break, the coaching staff  pleaded with the team to settle down and play defense, Defenders Defense! Still a bit out of sorts to start the second half and a few lineup adjustments the team finally hit is stride and was able to blow the game open behind a tenacious defense and much needed patience on offense.  With a better effort in the second half the team cruised to their first win in the tournament and their next game tomorrow at 10:20 a.m. Stay tuned for more following tomorrow’s game!…….