English Debuts At Portsmouth Invitational Wednesday Night
MAAC Sports
PORTSMOUTH, VA - For the fifth straight year, an Iona College men's basketball student-athlete will represent the Gaels at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament with senior A.J. English's invitation to the 64th annual event from Apr. 13-16 at Churchland High School Sports Complex.
English joins former teammates David Laury (2015),Sean Armand (2014) and Lamont Jones (2013) and former Gael standout Mike Glover (2012) as participants in the prestigious P.I.T. Among all NCAA Division I programs, only Temple and Iona have had players compete in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in each of the last five seasons. The Gaels and Owls are joined by Georgetown, Iowa State, Long Beach State and Ole Miss as the only six programs to send at least five participants to the tournament since 2012.
Each year for 63 years the P.I.T has invited 64 of the best college basketball players (seniors) from across the nation to participate in a four-day, twelve game tournament in front of representatives from every NBA team. The tournament drew the attention of NBA Scouts and General Managers in the 1970’s when players like Rick Barry, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Dave Cowens, John Lucas and Bobby Cremins came to Portsmouth to play. Soon the word spread and approximately 200 Scouts, General Managers and Representatives of all 30 NBA teams began to come to see players like John Stockton, Dennis Rodman, Tim Hardaway, Scottie Pippen and others. Today scouts from numerous international leagues have joined in on the annual April pilgrimage to Portsmouth. Over the years the P.I.T. has been a showcase for five of the 50 greatest players in NBA History (Rick Barry, Earl ‘The Pearl” Monroe, Dave Cowens, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen) and for many others who have gone on to NBA stardom including 2015 NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler.
English will play for coaches Bill Mann & John Kelly and Roger Brown's Restaurant. English competes alongside Arizona forward Ryan Anderson, Tulsa guard Shaquille Harrison, Texas center Prince Ibeh, Dayton forward Dyshawn Pierre, Nebraska forward Shavon Shields, Wake Forest forward Devin Thomas, and Stephen F. Austin guard Thomas Walkup.
Play begins Tonight (Apr. 13) when Roger Brown's Restaurant takes on Cherry Bekaert featuring Hofstra guard Juan'ya Green at 9:00 pm. The loser plays Thursday (Apr. 14) at 3:15 pm against the loser of Mike Duman Auto Sales vs Sales Systems, Ltd. Two winners of the first contest play in the semifinal round Friday (Apr. 15) at 7:00 pm. The final game takes place Saturday (Apr. 16) depending on how the results of the tournament play out. All games are played at Churchland High School Sports Complex in Portsmouth, VA.
In addition to Green, other participants of note from the New York Metropolitan Area or former Gael opponents include: Louisiana Tech's Alex Hamilton, Tulsa's Shaquille Harrison, Columbia's Maodo Lo, Iowa State's Jameel McKay and Abdel Nader, Dayton's Dyshawn Pierre, Yale's Justin Sears, Wake Forest's Devin Thomas, George Mason's Shevon Thompson, Stony Brook's Jameel Warney and Northern Iowa's Wes Washpun.