Last week I spent 2 hours with the Jersey Shore Elite Chambers team. That time with Beth Chambers reminded me of one thing…NOBODY …NOBODY runs an AAU program like Beth Chambers. I don’t care if it’s a sneaker program or a local powerhouse team. The way Mary Beth Chambers runs the JSE or any other program she has been associated is the reason college coaches’ respect for her is 2nd to none and why players continue to develop and fulfill their dreams.
AAU teams and coaches are constantly trying to bring talent into their programs. The first and most important thing is accumulating talent. It’s the key to winning games and getting the attention of college coaches. It’s what drives AAU now and I don’t see it changing anytime soon. Get the best players, win games and sell it to the next group of parents and kids, you hope will join your program. This is what separates Mary Beth Chambers from every other AAU COACH AND TEAM.
I have called Mary Beth Chambers a number of times, including this year about players who I thought would be great for her team. In some cases they are great players and she has said no Thank You. Last year she took a kid, who I believed other kids where better players. She said I don’t care and took the kid she wanted. I told her it looked like she was playing favorites because she was a SJV PLAYER. She said “Tiny she is a fit and the parents are a fit” that kid…Tina LeBron. It’s one of the reasons why Mary Beth Chambers is the best in the business!
There are those who believe Mary Beth Chambers’ teams are always great because they get the best talent. Last year when some players who were thinking about joining her team, told her if she didn’t have certain players on the team, they would join her team. She told them she was sticking by this player and they’d be better served playing elsewhere. I told Mary Beth Chambers she was making a mistake, she told me “Tiny winning is not that important to me” Now you understand why she is different. It’s also why kids like Camerin Sphan of NJIT, Sara Olson of Monmouth, Katie O’Reilly of Lehigh, Sam Clark of Fordham, Arron Zimmerman and her very own daughter Kasey Chambers of U Penn become the captains in college. It why kids like Haley Unger who never dreamed of being a D1 player becomes just that, it’s why Ellen Doughty goes from a total unknown to 1st team ALL SHORE and D1 player at Army after a summer with Mary Beth Chambers team. The list of players who were nobody’s and became somebody’s after being part of Mary Beth Chambers AAU teams is too long to list. It’s called development and making dreams come true.
NJIT TEAM CAPTAIN CAMERIN SPHAN
Why was I at the JSE Chambers practice? Because Mary Beth Chambers brings in outside coaches every year to train her players. She brings in outside coaches to expose her players to different type of coaching philosophies. She wants her kids to know there are 100 ways to skin a cat. She brings in former D1 players to scrimmage her teams twice a week. Why? Because she wants hers players to know their weakness and what it takes to get to the next level. She has former players speak to her kids and tell them what to expect and what they need to do….no other AAU Team does such things.
Former Shore Superstars Dana Carbone, Sara Olson, Sam Gaustella , Caitlin Hyduke, Kasey Chambers and JB(Monmouth U) all ready to take on JSE
When you watch JSE Chamber’s play, the first thing you notice is this. Everyone plays the exact same amount of minutes. You also know, they ALWAYS play the best competition and winning is not always the ultimate goal. She will not change her substitutions patterns to win a meaningless AAU game. It’s about getting better. It about being a teammate, it’s about learning how to play the right way. It’s why everyone what’s to play for JSE, they are the Duke University of AAU girls’ basketball. They do it with class and college coaches know a Beth Chambers kid and their parents will NEVER be an issue and the her players are always prepared for the next level. They also know every player in her program will get better. They also know no player is bigger than the program. They also know everyone will be held accountable. That’s why NO AAU COACH’s word carries the weight that Mary Beth Chambers does….
The Chambers Gold team is made up of a lot of players who can either go D1 or D2 during the recruiting process. But like all Mary Beth Chambers team’s they will be given every chance to prove where they belong, even at the highest level. But watching her gold team practice shocked me. Not because of how organized the practice is run. What shocked me was the improvement of the players and more importantly, the ease of how they got along with each other. There is no competition against each other but more of a focus on the team. They cheer for each other and try to master their sets. You can tell the goal is for everyone to shine. There two highly recruited players Hannah Scanlan and Tori Hyduke understand there is no star treatment. But I believe both want it that way and their teammates appreciate that they don’t act like AAU STARS…SCANLAN signed with Bryant University and Hyduke will be one of the best players in all of New Jersey.
Like all Chambers teams there are always surprises. Watching Courtney Dobrzynski was shocking to me. I have a number of coaches ask me about Dobrzynski and my response is always I do not see her enough to have an opinion. Recently Mary Beth Chambers has been telling me that Dobrynski is a sure fire D1 player and that I don’t understand how good she is is…well once again Mary Beth Chambers is right. I felt Courtney would only train and work with her teammates and friends. I felt she needed a comfort zone in order to perform. I was wrong as in dead wrong. What Courtney Dobrzynski does is play better when with kids who play the game the right way. Her size, length, IQ and toughness is off the charts. I believe she is one of the top wing players in the shore. This is a kid I believe is D1 lock in every sense of the word. How she is not being heavily recruited is beyond me, until I realized that this year she was asked to come off the bench for SJV. I noticed she could make three’s now and is murder off the dribble using her size and strength. Why doesn’t she show this more I thought? Then it hit me….she a kid who really is about winning. She also doesn’t play politics and only wants to be in places she is most happy. I believe that is why she doesn’t attend NBS. But I can assure you if she did…she would be one of the best wing players in the gym. This is going to be a great story before the summer ends. It was not long ago that many college coaches were buzzing about this young lady….now they will see why for my money she should be on every recruiters must list….it’s called the CHAMBERS EFFECT!
When you talk about surprises nothing has shocked me MORE THIS SPRING than SAJADA BONNER. She is a young lady that I would bet the farm on. College coaches we are talking superstar and that is not an understatement. This is a young lady with a monster work ethic, perfect attitude and mega talented. She is as good as any freshman in the shore this side of Faith Masonious. She is 5’11 with quickness, shooting ability, Ball handling ability and did I say with an attitude all coaches’ love. I simply believe she is the best keep secret I have ever seen in the shore. She will be a major impact next year from day one. She is another example of why you always want to play against the best and receive big time coaching in high school and then maybe more importantly in the spring and summer. This is a player every college coach will know in a couple of months….SHE IS A SPECIAL ONE!
JSE ELITE IS HOW A AAU PROGRAM SHOULD BE RUN…FUN, TEACHING AND NURTURING
THE JERSEY SHORE ELITE BLACK….
2018 #21 Andree, Bridget: Trinity Hall 5’10” G/F
Extremely athletic with a huge upside, gotta love her! Coachable and loves to be at practice. Does the intangibles, rebounds, scores, gets on the floor. Trinity Hall is an all-honors school, 4.0 GPA…I BELIEVE A FUTURE D1 PLAYER
2018 #13 Brady, Colleen: Southern Reg. 5’11” G/F, 5’10
Strong, a leader, athletic, tough, a competitor, works very hard, does the intangibles. Great teammate. GPA is 4.1 takes all Honors classes & taking all AP courses next year…THIS IS THE UTIMATE KEEP YOUR EYES ON HER PLAYER…THE SKY’S THE LIMIT
2019 #2 Herriott, Eliya: IHA (Immaculate Heart Academy), 5’9″ G
Young, strong and athletic, lots of natural ability. Has a huge upside: a freshman on the NJ Non-Public A North Sectional Championship team. https://youtu.be/M6eHWvT1FV8
2017 #31 Hughes, Caitlyn: Notre Dame 6’2″ F/C
Raw, great size and length, She working hard to progress faster, by July she should be a different player.
2017 #23 Hughes, Megan: Pt. Pleasant Boro 5’10 Shooting Guard. Hard worker, has the ability to score in multiple ways. One of the leaders in the shore conference @17.7ppg & 2.9apg. Class President of the Class of 2017…FUTURE D1 PLAYER
2017 #15 Keegan, Emma: RBR 5”6” G, Hard worker, coachable, smart. Leads her HS team in assists & steals. She is a practice player, will fill in whenever needed. She doesn’t miss practices, wants to include basketball in college plans. Takes all AP classes, high honors every marking period.
2017 #14 Kehoe, Riley: SJV 5’6″ G, Does whatever you ask, great teammate, plays hard, a player that has been practicing against some of the best players in the state for 3 years. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eWsxM1-hZHU&feature=youtu.be
2017 #12 Ramos, Julia: SJV 5’6″
Combo guard, terrific work ethic & determination. Very coachable, a leader, a glue kid, I love her! Will run through a wall for you. Big upside! Played a big role on SJV’s TOC championship team, SJV finished ranked 8th USA TODAY Super 25! THIS IS A STEAL OF STEALS
2018 #20 Tanke, Kerry: Manalapan 6’0″ F Raw, strong, good rebounding instincts, can defend and can run the floor. Very competitive. GPA 3.73/4.3 Honors classes…SHE HAS A D1 BODY!
THE CHAMBERS BLACK TEAM IS LOADED …COLLEGE COACHES PAY ATTENTION BECAUSE ALL CHAMBERS PLAYERS LOOK DIFFERENT COME JULY….
