The Cleveland Cavaliers feature three players who played high school ball in New Jersey in Kyrie Irving (2), J.R. Smith (5) and Tristan Thompson (13). Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
This was at 5 a.m. on a spring day in 2007 when Tristan Thompson and Myck Kabongo, two young basketball players from Ontario, Canada, jumped into a rental car with their coach from the Grassroots Canada AAU program, Ro Russell, and embarked on a seven-hour drive to St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, N.J.
The two players didn’t know much about the school – other than it had produced an NBA guard.
“I knew it had J.R. Smith [then of the Denver Nuggets],” Kabongo told me back in 2009. “I was like, ‘They must have a good coach. I want to play at that level.'”
The coach was Dan Hurley, then of St. Benedict’s Prep and now leading a rising power in the Atlantic 10 at Rhode Island.
Dan Hurley coached J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson at St. Benedict’s, and coached against Kyrie Irving of St. Pat’s Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
“Obviously, J.R.’s success, coming in [to St. Benedict’s] as a talented player and turning that into a first-round draft opportunity, [Thompson and Kabongo] were excited to put themselves in a similar development program,” Hurley told SNY.tv. “J.R. was somebody that they had watched. Kids want to go to programs that not only win but produce great players and J.R.’s presence attracted other talented players.”
Eight years after that early-morning rental car ride, Thompson and Smith are now teammates of LeBron James on a Cleveland Cavaliers team hoping to bring that city its first major championship since 1960.
Along with the two former St. Benedict’s players, the Cavs also feature former St. Patrick star Kyrie Irving, who is bothered by a strained right foot and tendinitis in his left knee as the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors are set to begin with Game 1 on Thursday night.
“Whatever he can give us, it’s going to be great for our team,” James told reporters. “Kyrie at 50 percent, Kyrie at 60 percent, Kyrie at 70 percent is better than Kyrie at zero. His presence on the floor. When that No. 2 Irving steps onto the court, he’s a presence. And the defense has to be aware of him, has to account for him just because of his abilities to make plays.”
Back on the East Coast, a lot of folks will be rooting for the Jersey Boys to upset Steph Curry and company in the finals.
“Any time you have the best player in the game [James] it certainly gives you a great chance,” Hurley said. “Obviously, I’ll be rooting for the Cavaliers in this one because you have guys there that I’m connected with, either guys I’ve coached or guys I’ve watched grow in the game like Kyrie. And obviously you root for those guys and hope they can win a ring.”
Hurley will be rooting for the 6-foot-9 Thompson even though the two had a falling out in early 2009 out that led Thompson to leave St. Benedict’s and finish up at Findlay Prep in Las Vegas.
Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson is averaging 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds in the postseason. Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Now, Thompson’s star is on the rise so much that LeBron himself has said he wants the Canadian to be a Cavalier “for his whole career.”
Thompson turned down a reported four-year, $52 million contract extension offer in October before the season began.
“This guy is 24 years old. He’s played in 340-plus straight games, and he’s gotten better every single season,” James, who shares an agent in Rich Paul with Thompson, recently told reporters. “It’s almost like what more can you ask out of a guy, even though we ask for more out of him.”
If the Cavaliers are to win this series, they will need big contributions on the boards from Thompson, who is averaging 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds in the postseason, consistently giving the Cavs second-chance opportunities with offensive rebounds.
“Tristan’s relentlessness, his pursuit of the ball, his ability to seek contact; he understands the game of basketball,” current UNLV and former Findlay Prep coach Todd Simon told the Las Vegas Sun.
“LeBron has such an elite understanding of basketball,” Simon added. “If you play hard, don’t necessarily need the ball but know how to get to spots where you can be successful, he’ll use you.”
As for the man Thompson and Kabongo voyaged to St. Benedict’s to emulate, he has also been a key contributor for the Cavs.
Former Knick J.R. Smith is thriving with the Cavs. Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Dumped by Knicks President Phil Jackson along with Iman Shumpert to bring cap relief, Smith is averaging 13.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in the postseason while shooting 40 percent from the arc. Smith has notched point-rebound double-doubles in two straight games off the bench; he didn’t have any double-doubles as a starter or reserve with Cleveland or New York in the regular season.
His Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year banner still hangs in the gym at St. Benedict’s Prep.
“Obviously, New Jersey and the metropolitan area has always been a great basketball area,” Hurley said. “It has always produced strong programs, great players, fantastic coaches, and that was a really cool time in high school basketball in Jersey with Kevin [Boyle] at St. Pat’s, myself at St. Benedict’s and my dad [Hall of Famer Bob Hurley] at St. Anthony and Paterson Catholic and all the great programs.”
As for Irving, Hurley’s St. Benedict’s teams faced his St. Patrick teams twice, with Irving outscoring Thompson 21-13 in their lone meeting, an 88-62 St. Pat’s rout on Feb. 4, 2009 at the Rutgers Athletic Center
“Tristan played against him one time,” Hurley recalled in a deadpan. “Kyrie won that one. Thanks for reminding me.”
