The Riverside Hawks: Ready To Fly

NEW YORK, NY – On Saturday, the Riverside Hawks programs Class of 2020, 2021, and 2022 hit the floor for an extensive practice session. This week the Hawks 17U Adidas Gold team will headed to Dallas, TX to play in the Gauntlet Series.

As you walk into the iconic landmark building down the long hallway pass the hardware of past Hawks legends. You push open the door and enter a small gothic style gym where the Hawks were preparing for the upcoming season. NYCHoops.net spoke with the newest members of the Hawks.

2021 6-8 F 235lb F Berk Metin attends Northfield Mount Hermon (MA). A native of Turkey joined the Hawks program last month and has lived in New York for one year. Prior to joining the New York program Metin played in Istanbul, Turkey with the Anadolu Efes a junior division team. “We were the best team in Turkey. We won two national championships in a row, we were undefeated. We loss in the finals my final year there, then I came here (USA) after that,” said Metin. The forward is a student of the game already but still very raw with room for growth. Metin enjoys physical play. He understands basketball at a high level pick and roll, and pick and pop he can also shoot the rock. Metin rebounds the ball out of position which is what the Hawks coaches like most about him. Although the forward is not a great ball handler yet he can post up well and has a good mid-range shot. Once Metin fine tune his ball handling skills and physically develops more into his basketball body he can expect to start to hear D1 offers.

2021 6-0 PG Abdias “Speedy” Carcamo (Archbishop Molloy HS (NY)) is a fast explosive point guard that can shoot the three. He can find the open man on the floor and already has been a proven leader for his team. He can read defenses very well, he realizes when people are setting up 1-3-1, 2-1-2 traps and he reads that quickly and makes adjustments. Still a student of the game the Hawks program is focused on teaching him how to play more pick and roll basketball. As the AAU season warms up you won’t find a purer point guard than Carcamo in NYC. Right now, what’s missing in his game is his consistency outside and his mid-range shot needs to improve.

2020 6-8 188lbs G Daniel Braster (Cushing Academy (MA)) is now entering his second year with the Hawks team. He is the best consistent shooter for the Hawks and is the team’s go to for clutch shots. This season the guard finished his high school season on a high note returning to Hawks more physically in shape than last season. His consistency has carried over into the start of the AAU season where last week the guard over delivered for his Hawks team in Boston. The Hawk’s coaches praise his leaping ability and ability to set up plays, he can also set up a pick and pop. Right now, he still needs to work on his defense. This young guard is not just a shooter he is also relied on for his leadership abilities and is a trust worthy player on the floor.

2020 6-6 201lbs F Shemani Fuller (Cardinal Hayes HS (NY)) is just in his first year with the program. The Hawk’s coaches describe his shooting like an air assault machine gun when free up. He is key to helping the Hawk’s win games since arriving. Once the ball is in the air there aren’t many that hang with this forward. He still very new to the game though and is very coachable.

2020 6-3 173lbs G Miles Brewster (Hotchkiss (CT)) has been with the Hawks program for three years. When first joining the team he was just a great ninth grade player on the B team. Then a switch flipped inside the guard by next season. He became an athlete and one of the hottest commodities in the New England area. A true student athlete with a grade point average of 3.7-3.8 range. Brown University has shown interest in him and has had the guard on their radar since his improvement. Right now if the guard’s shot becomes more pure expect the D1 schools to flock to him.

2020 5-11 170lbs PG Julien Soumaoro Cardinal Hayes (NY) plays at a high level is excellent at running a team. He can handle the rock and hits the big shots. He more of a Steph not yet a Stephen Curry type of shooter. He is the team’s go to point guard for now. He has a big leadership role on the team. Right now, he is learning to be a pass first guard and create for himself later.

2020 6-3 180lbs G 

(St. Raymonds (NY)) still very new to the Hawks program the coaches have been helping him sharpen his handle. Currently, Kortright is the only Hawk with solid offers “I have an offer from Hofstra University, St Francis, and Manhattan. Hofstra head coach has been to my game and the others have come to my practices”, said the guard.