Advertisement
basketball Edit

East New York Guard Earns MVP

Anyone who has watched the sideline theatrics of Brooklyn Law & Tech head coach Kenny Pretlow knows the veteran NYC coach is known to put on a show. Whether he’s contesting a call, giving a player a good old fashioned earful, or raising the decibel levels during a timeout, Pretlow can erupt at any given moment and provide tremendous entertainment value for all in attendance.

Pretlow’s latest act entails forging a once piecemeal, youth laden core into a battle tested team that won’t shy away from playing some of the city’s heavy hitters. Once of the more intriguing underdog stories of this fresh faced group has been the emergence of 5-foot-5 point guard Gregory “Chewy” Ricketts.

The smurf sized but quick guard has evolved from a facilitator to a facilitator and a scorer, developing a dependable outside shot to go along with his knack for carving out space and scoring on surges to the rim.

After scoring 20 points to help spearhead the Jets to a 54-49 win over St. Joseph’s By The Sea during the title game of the NYC prospects tournament, the diminutive guard with the big engine garnered MVP honors of the “Rep Your Boro” Youth basketball event at Baisley Pond Park in Queens.

Ricketts has quickly assimilated to a role that will involve him scoring more and utilizing a quick first step and crafty finishing.

At the same time, however, he subscribes to the role of a more traditional point guard who makes his teammates beneficiaries of his presence. After cementing himself as a scorer who could trigger game altering scoring runs this summer, Ricketts orchestrated the attack with a game best 10 assists as Law and Tech defeated Far Rockaway-based Team Crate, 45-43, in overtime.

Ricketts’ effort on the defensive end, where he wound up with a game-high five steals and was constantly providing thorough on ball pressure, was equally noteworthy. Ricketts has given the Jets an electric power source this summer and a high octane guard who atones for a considerable lack of height with an immeasurable intangible—heart.

As an elder statesman and foundational piece, the onus is on Ricketts to run the team and operate a souped up attack. As the primary distributor, one guy he will be looking to is Class of 2023 guard D’Mair Williams. Williams finished with 15 points and 10 boards, including a clutch go-ahead jumper which proved to be the game winner.


Advertisement