Less than a week and counting.
Thursday, February 1 is the date when everything changes for Kevin Brentnall.
Brentnall is the head coach of Northern Valley Regional High School in Old Tappan, New Jersey. The son of a basketball coach, Brentnall is in his fifth year of coaching at the high school level. And, for the most part, it's been a pretty average high school program for the upper income bracket neighborhoods of northeastern Jersey. They win more than they lose and occasionally get a small college coach or two calling each year about the team's top senior.
But on February 1, that all changes. That's when number 23 will suit up for the first time this season for the 7-4 Knights. That's when Lenny Cooke, the nation's top junior, becomes eligible for Old Tappan when they play Demerest Northern Valley Regional (Demerest, N.J.).
Old Tappan needs just one win to earn a spot in the county tournament. And don't think Old Tappan isn't drooling at the thought of the playoffs with Cooke.
"I can't wait until Lenny becomes eligible," Brentnall said. "The team says it all the time, we're all excited. He's unselfish, he's very talented, gets everyone involved and makes the team better. I'm ecstatic."
"We're a pretty solid team without Lenny," Brentnall said. "But with him, we could go far in the state tournament. (Note: Old Tappan is in the same division for the New Jersey state tournament as Dajuan Wagner's Camden HS)
"Lenny is a 2 or a 3 on the college level. At the high school level, he can play anywhere on the floor. He played with us in over 30 games this summer and he just raises the playing level of everyone on the team," Brentnall continued. "He's got such a competitive fire, he really hates to lose. I've had him run the point guard on occasion and physically, he can post up anyone at this level. He jumps out of the gym, shoots the 3-pointer, handles the ball great, is a very good passer and he's unselfish. And a good kid too. He's really matured, both as a student and as a person, in his short time here."
Brentnall had no prior inkling that the former All-NYC talent from La Salle Academy, would be transferring to Old Tappan.
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I knew I had to get my act together. There were too many distractions, wanting to hang out with everyone. I wasn't focused. I needed to get my academics together. ” |
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— Lenny Cooke |
"My athletic director called me and said that some 6-foot-6 kid had signed up," Brentnall said. "I didn't know it was Lenny Cooke until a couple of days later. And, yes, I knew of Lenny, knew he was a great player from New York City."
Cooke's been known in New York City basketball circles for a couple of years now, but made his mark on the national scene with a standout performance at this past summer's adidas ABCD Camp. And then, Cooke, who turned 18 on April 29, really got everyone's attention when he was the second leading scorer in NYC's famed Rucker League.
Yes, that Rucker League, the league which has over the decades hosted the finest talents that the Big Apple has to offer, from Tiny Archibald to Julius Erving. The league filled with NBA players, overseas professionals, NYC playground legends and a few college hotshots. Cooke averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds in this summer's Rucker, playing against the likes of Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, Zach Randolph, Omar Cook, Marcus Taylor, and Anthony Glover.
All of this is pretty heady stuff for a teenager. To be the best high school player in New York City, especially as a junior, makes you a basketball god. For Cooke, it proved troublesome.
Lenny's decision
"I knew I had to get my act together," Cooke said. "There were too many distractions, wanting to hang out with everyone. I wasn't focused. I needed to get my academics together. That's why I asked her if I could live with her family."
The "her" is Debbie Bortner, married mother of three from the wealthy New Jersey neighborhood of Old Tappan. Bortner had met Cooke when he first started playing organized basketball with her son, Brian Raimondi (a senior 6'1 guard at Old Tappan) in the eighth grade. Over the years, not only had Bortner coached him, but she also became a close family friend.
"Lenny's played with my son since the 8th grade and they've become close friends. They spend the weekends together and I've gotten to know Lenny's parents, Slim (Vernon) and Frieda, and they're terrific," Bortner said. "They're great people, they thought it would be a great idea.
"This was Lenny's idea, he took control of his own destiny. He put himself in check. His life was spiraling, he knew it and he wanted to make a change," Bortner said. "Over the years, I've gotten to know him and realize what a good and decent person Lenny Cooke is. So it was hard to say no, especially if we could help him get his life in check."
Cooke moved into the Bortner's home in May and enrolled at Old Tappan. And before you get any Fresh Prince of Bel Air notions, the Bortners laid down some guidelines for Cooke to follow.
"Lenny has had to buy into a whole new system," Bortner said. "It was a matter of adjusting to limits, self-control and self-discipline. Be responsible. Say what you mean, mean what you say. He's bought into it and it's been a wonderful transition to watch."
"He has the same rules that my kids have to follow," Bortner said. "Don't get me wrong, we have the same arguments that I've had with my other kids. Every kid, of course, is special, but I can't treat him like he's special. Every kid needs rules, limits. We have curfew; we're not in the city so there's nowhere to hang out. We're very comfortable financially, but does Lenny have an open pocketbook? No!"
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Seeing Lenny today, it's obvious how good the move was for him. He's more at ease, more at peace. He still has that intense fire to compete, but you can see he's a better person. And he's doing so much better academically. ” |
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— Gary Charles, Cooke's former coach |
For Cooke, it's not just a 40-minute ride between his old Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick and Old Tappan; it's a whole lifestyle change.
There are three younger siblings (Vernon, 16; Darius, 14; Tierra 7) in the Cooke household in Bushwick, a neighborhood that isn't immune to gangs, drugs and street violence. But for Lenny Cooke, the biggest problem was all the distractions. With his celebrity status in the neighborhood, everyone wanted a piece of his time. Time that wasn't being spent focused on his schoolwork.
"I miss it a lot, the lifestyle in Brooklyn, but then again, I don't miss it," Cooke said. "I'm doing what's important for me right now, concentrating on my academics and my basketball. Getting my grades together, so that I can be a better person. Brooklyn will always be my home and I still visit whenever I get the chance, but going to Old Tappan was the right thing to do."
"It's the best thing for my future, for my family and for my son," Cooke said. "His name is Anahijae and he was born on March 9. I go back to Brooklyn to see him at least once or twice a week. I'm doing this to better prepare myself for college and to get to the next level, so I can make sure that he has a better education and grows up in a better environment."
"Needed to get away..."
"I always felt that Lenny needed to get out of New York City," said Gary Charles, the head coach of the Long Island Panthers basketball club, who has coached Cooke in the past. "Debbie came into his life at the right time. She's set rules on him, she sticks to her guns and is providing discipline."
According to Charles, who was closely involved with another NYC basketball star and current LA Clipper Lamar Odom, being the best basketball player in New York City is a twin-edged sword. "Having dealt with the whole Lamar thing, I knew how tough it is," Charles said. "The positive thing is all the notoriety. The negative thing is all the notoriety. People wanting to latch on to you, all the distractions.
"But seeing Lenny today, it's obvious how good the move was for him," Charles said. "He's more at ease, more at peace. He still has that intense fire to compete, but you can see he's a better person. And he's doing so much better academically."
Late start
For Lenny Cooke, his basketball odyssey started in ninth grade. That's right, Cooke, who was always tall for his age, didn't start playing organized basketball until the ninth grade.
Having grown up in Atlantic City prior to his high school years, he was a freshman at Franklin K. Lane High School (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and someone spotted him shooting baskets on the playground and invited him to a tryout for the Long Island Panthers 15 & Under team. That's where Cooke met Tyrone Green and Bortner, who were running the practice. And that's where Cooke started his friendship with Brian Raimondi, Bortner's son.
"He was this 6-4 eighth grader, gangly arms and long," Bortner said. "Lenny was so raw back then. He couldn't dribble, couldn't shoot, had a terrible skill level, although he was very athletic.
"But he had this amazing work ethic and he's a tough ass kid. Hard-nosed. He wants to be the best basketball player, he can be and he works at it."
Changes
The changes have already started for Brentnall, who now has to clear his school voice mail on a daily basis as college coaches from around the country are calling, dozens of calls each day from major basketball programs, calling to pay their respects.
Old Tappan's upcoming game against Ramapo High has been moved to Ramapo College to accommodate the expected overflow crowd, anxious to see Cooke in action.
And Cooke's grades have significantly improved.
"The classes are smaller here," Cooke said. "And the teachers are helping me more. Now that I've been finally diagnosed with the learning disability, they know how to treat it."
For Cooke, February 1 can't arrive soon enough.
"I'm really looking forward to my first game," Cooke said. "It's been tough, sitting and watch the team play without me. And I really want to play well.
Mark Mayemura and David Benezra operate RecruitingUSA.com (www.recruitingusa.com), a college basketball recruiting news website, available to subscription. Call (818)783-2244 or e-mail them at hoopsusa@primenet.com for more information or to subscribe to the website.
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