FBC Defenders

The FBC Defenders are very proud to announce the selection of Taryana Kelly to the 2011 Allstar team for the Rose Classic Spring Tournament! Taryana played on the FBC Defenders team that won the Pacific Division by dominating the paint on both ends of the floor. Her selection to the allstar team is validation that this 6′2″ post has arrived! The allstar game is scheduled to be played on Sunday June 5th, 3 p.m., at 300 Adelphi Street, Brooklyn, NY.

Congratulations Taryana! We are all so very proud of you!

Congratulations are in order for the FBC Defenders team as it wins the Pacific Division regular season at the Nike Rose Classic Spring 2011 in Brooklyn, NY finishing 5-0! Jasmine Walker a junior guard from North Brunswick High and Janissa Delzo a junior guard from Wardlaw-Hartridge High leads the team at 16 points per game and 8 points per game respectively. Shalette Brown leads the team in rebounds while Taryana Kelly controls the paint and Ashanti Bess leads the team in assist to turnover ratio. The addition of Shaun Stevenson has given the team a true point guard that understands how to get everyone involved while still contributing herself. This has allowed the team to move Ashanti Bess from the 1 to the 2 or 3 position at certain times in a game to take advantage of her quickness on the defensive side and her deep 3pt shooting. But make no mistake, Jasmine Walker has clearly established herself as one of the best players at the Rose Classic this year. She is doing whatever the team needs from scoring to rebounding to defending. Follow each player’s performance on the stats page at http://www.fbcdefenders.com/teams/2011-team-stats-stone/

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!

The FBC Defenders are very proud to announce the selection of Jasmine Walker to the 2010 Allstar team for the Rose Classic Spring Tournament! Walker played on the Defenders team that won the Pacific Division by leading them in scoring, second in assists, and second in steals. The allstar game is scheduled to be played on Sunday June 6th, 2 p.m., at 300 Adelphi Street, Brooklyn, NY.

Congratulations Walker! You are having a tremendous season!

FBC Defenders (Stone) lost 35-70 today in the 1st round of the Rose Classic playoffs to Swagga Like Us. The game started off with Swagga sinking a 3-pointer, tying up a jump ball, and then hitting a 2-point shot to take a 5-0 lead. Janissa came back with a 3-pointer to bring the score up to 3-5, but after several aggressive steals by Swagga, the game started to get away from the Defenders. The 1st quarter ended with our team down 10 to 25. The 2nd quarter brought more impressive shooting from the other team, particularly from Swagga’s forward, who dominated the scoring. At the end of the half, the Defenders were trailing 15 to 36. There were some brief spurts of defense at points during the 2nd half, but it was not enough to hold off the onslaught from Swagga. The final score was a disappointing 35 to 70.

Walker was the Defender’s high scorer with 11. Jenean led with 7 rebounds, and Ashante had a high of 4 assists.

FBC Defenders (Stone) fell to the NE Exodus 27-41 on Saturday May 15th to bring their record to 5 wins and 1 loss in the Rose Classic. Even with this loss, Defenders still won their Division in the Brooklyn tournament. The game started with Walker scoring the Defenders’ first five points, and connecting on an assist to Shalette, leading 7 to 4 late in the 1st quarter. Janissa scored a two from the floor, bringing the 1st quarter to a close of 9 to 4. We didn’t fare as well in the 2nd quarter, falling behind 13 to 18 to end the half. When NE Exodus came out with a pressure defense, we had some difficulty getting the ball up the court. The team suffered another blow when Shallette went down hard with 3:53 left in the 3rd quarter and had to leave the game. The team was unable to rally, and went scoreless in the 3rd quarter while Exodus increased their lead to 18 - 26. The scoring drought continued in the 4th quarter although the team tried to battle back. The game ended with the team suffering their first loss, with a final score of 27 to 41.

On a sunny, hot day, Coach Stone’s team rolled into May with another round at the Rose Classic in Brooklyn.  It was beginning to look like the team would not get a game in on Saturday morning, May 1st, as game time rolled around and only 4 Team CEO  players were in the gym.  The Defenders benefitted from the tardiness of the other team, as they were spotted 26 points — 1 for each minute that Team CEO was late. The game was also shortened by the same number of minutes, so the teams played a little over a full half.  At the start of the 4th quarter, the Defenders were leading 41 -4.  With one minute left in the abbreviated game, the lead was extended to 56 - 15.  We finished up with a 58 -19 final score.

Mrs. Stone commented after the game that “coach didn’t have to work as hard today, but the girls didn’t come in like it was a game!”  We need to see the same intensity despite the game situation.   High scorer of the game was Janissa at 8 points, with Jas pulling down 5 rebounds in the contest.  Shari had the high for assists, with 3.   Let’s keep those wins rolling in for the rest of May!

Congratulations to Jamine Lytle for being selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star Team at the Rose Classic Basketball Tournament in Brooklyn. Jasmine has been a versatile post player with the Defenders for the past 2 years. Now in her third season with the program she is being asked to play three positions (3, 4, 5) and has responded with her best season of her career. Only a sophomore at New Brunswick High School in New Jersey she was very excited to learn the news late last night (5/4/09). A lot of the credit for her success this season must be given the hard work she put in over the past 2 years with her personal trainer, Q James (BBallLife.com) and his player development program.

The All-Star game will be played at 12 noon on Sunday, 5/7, at JHS 113, 300 Adelphi Street, Brooklyn NY.

2009 Rose Classic - EAST ALL STAR TEAM

TAYLOR FORD (EXODUS BLACK), SADE JACKSON (NEWHEIGHTS), PORSHA POSTELL (NEW HEIGHTS), SHEENIKA SMITH (GOLDEN GIRLS), TERRY GREEN ( GOLDEN GIRLS), KARIN ROBINSON (LADY WILDCATS), JASMINE LYTLE (FBC DEFENDERS AAU), MARY “POPPIN” BOISVERT( PHILLY BELLES), BRIA HARTLEY (EXODUS NYC), JENN O’NEILL (EXODUS NYC), PIPPA  (WESTCHESTER HOOPERS), KELLY ROBINSON (NY XPLOSION), K. ALOISOS (NY X-PLOSION)