Bronx Sports Column: Lady Mustangs are National Champs; Kemba's Killing It in the Big Dance

The Monroe Lady Mustangs won the national junior college championship last weekend.

 So much good basketball going on, it's enough to make your head spin. Before we get to the Big Dance, we'll start with the littler dances, which produced at least one Bronx champion.

Lady Mustangs Bring Home Hardware
With its 78-74 victory over Pima Community College (Ariz.) last Saturday night, the Monroe College Lady Mustangs basketball team took home its third national junior college title and first since moving to the Division II level two years ago. Sophomore Shanee Williams led the 11th-seed Lady Mustangs in scoring throughout the tournament, averaging 15.5 points per game and was named MVP.

"All year we talked about the difference between being great and being special," said Coach Goodman. "These players have worked so hard and now they can say they are truly special. Years from now people will remember that the Monroe Mustangs, an 11-seed, became national champions."

Meanwhile, Monroe's mens team finished third nationally.

Wings Takes Girls Title, Clinton Falls in Final Four
The Bronx's Wings Academy girls -- the Lady Wings -- team beat Curtis 46-43 for the PSAL Girls A Division title during a raucous championship game (bout) that featured a bleacher brawl. Just minutes after hitting the game-winning three-pointer with 2.3 seconds left, senior Aquillin Hayes announced she would be attending the University of New Haven to play hoops next yer. Here's photos from the game by the NY Post.

The Lady Wings were scheduled to play today at 1:30 p.m. in the State Federation tournament, but I haven't been able to find a score anywhere on the internet.

The 29th-seeded DeWitt Clinton boys team's shocking underdog run through the PSAL boys A tournament came to a screeching halt in the Final Four a week ago, as the Governors fell to eventual champion Midwood. 77-53.

Bronxites Move on to Elite 8
Soundview product and University of Connecticut point guard Kemba Walker is turning the NCAA men's basketball tournament into his own personal showcase. Walker, an IS 174 alumnist, absolutely abused the higher-seeded San Diego St. Aztecs last night, scoring nearly half of his team's points during the Huskies 74-67.

A dancer who performed at the Apollo three times as a youngster, Walker, a 6-foot-1, 175 puma of a ballplayer scored from everywhere and every which way imaginable. Plus, the kid's got personality.

The LA Times' columnist Bill Plashke swooned: "Just like that, the tiny guy with the wide-eyed smile and scraggly chin hair that he refuses to shave has become the best thing about this billion-dollar tournament. After a weekend filled with average basketball and questionable officiating, college basketball needs Kemba Walker, a star who is not too big to act like a child, a 20-year-old who laughs his way through giant games with playground guts."

Walker's UConn team plays Arizona, which features Bronx-bred forward Kevin Parrom (St. Raymond's High School), on Saturday for the chance to play in the Final Four in Houston. 

One final note: On Saturday afternoon, at 4:30 p.m. in Yonkers, the St. Brendan's School boys fifth and sixth grade team plays for some type of state championship.

Bronx Sports Column: A Borough-Centric Tournament Breakdown

Bronx boy Kemba Walker has UConn dancing.

Today marks the beginning of the best four-day stretch in all of sports: the opening two rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Nothing compares to the drama of the Big Dance. Every game -- there are 16 today, 16 more tomorrow and another 16 over the weekend -- is a dogfight. Every game contains potential for heroism and heartbreak. It's 18- to 22-year-old kids playing the biggest games of their lives. The quality isn't as high as you'll see in the NBA, but the desire and hustle and passion is immeasurably greater.

Let the Madness begin!

(For the record, I'll be rooting hard for my hometown Washington Huskies, a 7th seed, who face Georgia Friday night with a matchup against 2-seed North Carolina looming. I've also become an increasingly fanatic St. John's supporter. The Johnnies, led by Bronx-bred point guard Dwight Hardy, play a tough Gonzaga team in Denver tonight without senior DJ Kennedy, who blew out his knee during last week's Big East tournament. Final Four Picks: Ohio St., Pittsburgh, Purdue, Duke. Champion: Ohio St.)

Because this is a borough-centric blog, I'm going to highlight all the Bronxites playing in the tournament and break down their teams' prospects for advancement.