Monthly Archives: January 2018

Black Cager Solutions: Recent Work for “Full Court Press on ALS”

January 25, 2018 By in Business News, Uncategorized Tags: Leave a comment

Full Court Press on ALS is an non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization dedicated to increasing awareness about ALS and funding on-going research projects seeking a cure for this horrible disease.

Black Cager Solutions has partnered with Full Court Press of ALS to create digital content and evaluate the full spectrum of platforms (both traditional and emerging) to determine where target audiences may be underpriced to reach.

We have created a Youtube video that vividly captures the experience of a Full Court Press on ALS Game.

 

For another Full Court Press on ALS game we utilized the Vimeo platform.

https://vimeo.com/252649434

 

Leading up to the Full Court Press on ALS games, we created digital “posters” that were distributed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. These posters were widely viewed and shared by members of the Philadelphia basketball community.

 

During the event, we capture images and video and upload them to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat.

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We create and disseminate Press Releases through a wide range of digital channels.

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We look forward to working with you to help your Sports Organization gain attention. Black Cager Solutions is totally transparent throughout the process. We explain the our approach to all marketing tools. We provide clients with exact details of all media purchased. The resulting engagement and viewing data associated with those purchases are fully and openly shared with clients, including all rates paid, detailed performance metrics, and anything else the clients may need.

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Black Cager Solutions                                                                                        blackcager@gmail.com

 

A Great… Sloppy, Mistake-Filled… Catholic League Game

January 13, 2018 By in Neumann-Goretti, Uncategorized Leave a comment

Some prefer to get dressed up and head downtown to one Stephen Starr’s restaurants for what they consider a “great” meal. The white linen tablecloths and the waiters with the European accents add to the ambiance for them. The meticulous presentation of the entree is part of the experience. The carefully cut steak, the perfectly positioned asparagus spears and the pricey bottle of wine… For many, it’s all part and parcel of a “great” meal…

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Me… I’d much rather head throw on some sweats and head over to Mom-Mom’s house… Once there, I grab one to those trays that you use to eat in front of the TV. With my seating squared away, I head for the kitchen… No waiters… No foreign accents… Just a bunch of perfectly prepared soul food… fried chicken, fried fish, ribs, potato salad, potato salad, greens, yams, biscuits… You know the rest… Keep the wine… Welch’s grape juice will do just fine…

Presentation is not a consideration… Just pile it on… Need some of everything… The messier the plate, the better…

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The Neumann-Goretti win of Roman Catholic on Friday night was just like a plate at Mom-Mom’s… It was sloppy, it had a little bit of everything… turnovers, hard fouls, elbows, controversial calls, suffocating defense, poor shot selection, mental mistakes, etc…

It was also good as shit… Just like that plate at Mom-Mom’s…

Let me be clear… Roman Catholic has a very good high school basketball team… Shit… They have four (4) legitimate Division 1 players in the starting 5…

They are also well coached…

The problem is they only use two other players…

If they were playing in Ice Cube’s 3 on 3 format, they would be overwhelming favorites…

However, they are playing 5 on 5 scholastic basketball… And, Neumann-Goretti plays 8 very good players…

Depth was the difference…

At the start of the game and at the start of the second half, Roman was VERY impressive. Seth Lundy, Hakim Hart, Allen Betrand and Lynn Greer jumped out on Neumann-Goretti… In both halves Roman managed to separate themselves a lil’ bit… But inevitably, Neumann-Goretti was able to wear them down…

When Neuman-Goretti goes to the bench, they bring in TaQuan Woodley a 6’6″ freshman phenom… He impacts the game every time he comes on the floor…

Case in point, Neumann-Goretti’s underclassman bench player met Roman Catholic star forward Seth Lundy at the top of white square on a drive… He got his entire palm on the ball and proceeded to throw the ball and Lundy to the ground with force…

Daymmmmnnnn youngfella…

When they go to the bench, Neumann-Goretti becomes a different and in some ways better team…

Roman on the other hand, does not go to the bench… They rely on their four stars to play the entire 32 minutes… On most nights, they will be able to win that way… On this night it was not enough…

Not withstanding the presence of Roman’s four Division 1 prospects, the best player on the floor tonight was Neumann-Goretti’s Chris Ings.

Ings was really messing up everyone’s plate…

The junior point guard harassed Greer all over the court… He forced him rush his shots…

 

https://vimeo.com/250935516

He forced him to turn the ball over and turn the ball over and turn the ball over…

Ings finished with 22 points, Greer finished with 7…

Neumann-Goretti also has a significant s”ize advantage in the low post. When Neumann-Goretti was struggling to create a shot in the second half, they made a determined effort get the ball in the low post to 6’9″ center Marcus Littles… He was able to muscle his way to field goals on consecutive possessions. These buckets helped stem the tide for Neumann-Goretti.

Roman Catholic’s Big 4 scored 51 of the team’s 54 points… But on this night, it just wasn’t enough to overcome Chris Ings and his gang of 8.

Sitting with friends, Temple legend, Howie Evans, Philly Pride Coach Howard Hudson and Ron Byrd from down the “Bottom,” it felt like I was at Mom-Mom’s house… Only better… The game was live and not on TV!

That felt like a playoff game… The kids on BOTH teams wanted to win… The pressure was palpable… Some handled it better than others…

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Chris Ings (right) scored 22 points

Chris Ings handled it best… and his team came away with the win as a result.

See y’all at the next one… Bring the sweet potato pie!

 

 

 

 

Coach… Looking for Good SENIOR Players?

January 4, 2018 By in Uncategorized Tags: Leave a comment

It’s that time of year… My homies coaching at the smaller D1 programs out west and down south start hitting me up… “Who’s still out there?”

“We had a kid leave…”

“Our top recruit went somewhere else…”

For whatever reason… D1, D2 and NAIA coaches, in January. begin to look under every rock, visit every gym and call every contact trying to fill out their rosters for next year.

This a “cheat sheet” for my buddies… This is a list of kids that could help some D1 programs, would contribute immediately at most D2/NAIAs and would be stars at the D3 level. These are kids Black Cager Scouting Service has seen up close.

Available Seniors-page-0

Coach… you know the routine… google ’em, look at the Hudl, Krossover and youtube highlights… If you have a sincere interest in any of these kids, we can put you in touch with the coaches and families IMMEDIATELY!

Good Luck…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neumann-Goretti wins at Archbishop Carroll!!

January 3, 2018 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , Leave a comment

One day in September, I sat down and thought long and hard about the upcoming scholastic basketball season… I was eager… couldn’t wait… I knew we would be treated to some really good HS hoops!

On any given night… The once mighty could fall…

Trying to give some structure to my thoughts, I produced and published my list of the projected top 10 high school teams in the region…

Most of the usual suspects were represented… Westtown, Imhotep, Roman Catholic, Plymouth-Whitemarsh and Abington were there…

There was a notable absence… Neumann-Goretti was NOT on my preseason top 10 list…

Yooooo… I was FUCKIN’ buggin!

Oh… I heard from all the Neumann-Goretti fans and even had a very interesting discussion with Carl Arrigale himself about my prediction that Neumann-Goretti would slide from their perennial elite perch…

At the time… I stuck to my guns…

After all… The All-American point GOD was in Lexington… The Top 100 power forward was on the Mainline…

The cupboard, if not bare, was seriously depleted…

So, I thought…

They lost two HIGH MAJOR performers… How would they replace that type of firepower?

The hungry, thirsty Catholic League pack would surely inch much closer to the vaunted Saints…

So, I thought…

I now realize, there were three things I failed to adequately consider…

Thing 1 – The ability of legendary Coach Arrigale to adapt to the personnel at hand and devise a winning game plan.

Thing 2 – The ability of Chris Ings to assume the role of “Neumann Point Guard” and be incredibly effective while playing HIS game… and…

Thing 3 – The arrival of a HIGH MAJOR prospect that would impact the Catholic League from Day 1.

Coach Arrigale no longer has one of the all-time great Philly guards running the show. Chris Ings will most likely not be a McDonald’s All-American… Marcus Littles is a nice A10 big, he’s not a top 100 player sought by Big East powers…

Arrigale had to adjust his approach… He had to find a different way to win big games…

He has done so in an impressive manner… Last year, Quade Green constantly applied pressure on opponents by deftly probing defenses on every possession and hoisting shot after shot…A hyper-aggressive offensive tour de force… Green relentlessly imposed his will on scholastic basketball in Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania for that matter…

This worked for the the the 2016-17 Saints…Led by Green and Cosby-Roundtree, they won their 7th State Championship in 8 seasons…

Gone are clear outs and the 1-4 sets for Green… No longer are we treated to 3, 4, 5 or even 6 lobs for clean dunks by Cosby-Roundtree at the rim…

Shit is much different this year… and maybe just as effective…

For the 2017-18 Saints, Chris Ings plays are far more controlled, and indeed cerebral, brand of point guard… He takes his time… Whereas Green was daring, Ings is risk averse… He values every possession… He ensures that his teammates are involved… Think Howie Evans circa 1987…

Quade was Quade on the floor…

Ings is Carl Arrigale on the floor…

Ings is a throwback Philly point guard. I, for one, am a fan of the oldies…

It would have been so easy for him to to get caught up in the hype surrounding his personal duel with the highly touted Archbishop Carroll point guard, AJ Hoggard. At 6’3” and a solid 205 lbs, Hoggard is widely regarded as a HIGH MAJOR point guard prospect. He currently holds scholarship offers from Seton Hall (Big East), Rutgers (Big 10) and UConn (American). People wanted to see the matchup… People would inevitably talk about the matchup…

Rather than get caught up in the drama surrounding an individual battle, Ings stuck to the Neumann-Goretti game plan! He applied relentless pressure to opposing ball handlers… His lateral quickness is approaching an elite level… Offensively, he chose his spots carefully… He would penetrate when appropriate… He would pull up when necessary… He would NEVER seem hurried and out of control… Oh yeah… if he saw an opening he would just turn the corner and bang it on someone… With his “off hand”…

An excellent performance from an ol’ skool Philly point guard redefining the position at Point Guard High…

https://vimeo.com/249479002

But… Ings was not alone…

Perhaps, the most impressive, and definitely the most entertaining, performance was turned in by the precocious freshman power forward TaQuan Woodley…

“Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane… It’s Superman!”

Seven months ago Woodley was in middle school… Think about that…

Tonight… He was a 15 year old basketball pugilist…

He had a prolonged sparring session with Archbishop Carroll field goal attempts near the rim… He was literally “punching that sh!t” time after time after time…

https://vimeo.com/249480048

I was looking for Mills Lane to step in with a standing 8 count…

On the offensive end, Woodley dunked and dunked and dunked… The energy boost he provides cannot be adequately measured… He truly lifts his team…

His blocks, one could argue, should count for for 2 blocks… In boxing, when you’re knocked down, you generally lose the round 10-8… I saw a couple 10-7 rounds tonight…

Feisty and proud, Paul Romanczuk and Carroll battled to the end… They managed to cut the deficit to single digits late in the fourth quarter… But Arrigale’s Saints were too disciplined and they shot their fouls shots to well to surrender the lead during the “hack-a-Saint” period to close the game.

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Chris, DaDa, Marcus, Noel, TaQuan and Carl… I was FUCKIN’ Buggin!

The Saint are once again… Marchin’ In!!

 

ALWAYSLIVE and Black Cager announce strategic partnership to provide high-quality youth basketball events

January 1, 2018 By in Business News, Uncategorized Leave a comment

Philadelphia and Paterson, NJ. — January 1, 2018 — ALWAYSLIVE and Black Cager Sports Media on Monday announced a strategic partnership to provide high-quality youth basketball events. The two innovative youth-basketball focused companies are teaming up to integrate their services and provide a series of highly competitive grassroots youth basketball events for boys and girls throughout the Mid-Atlantic region (NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD & DC).

With the rapid expansion of grassroots/AAU basketball, it has become increasingly important for club directors, coaches and parents to leverage participation and gain increased access to coaches offering scholarships. ALWAYSLIVE maximizes the recruiting exposure and visibility of student-athletes pursuing college scholarships and other athletic advancement opportunities. The name of the service describes its purpose of providing college coaches and recruiters year-round access to NCAA-compliant student-athlete profiles and game performance data. Why should players limit their advancement opportunities to the few periods a year the NCAA allows in-person viewing of games and personal contact when they can be ALWAYSLIVE?

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“The ALWAYSLIVE platform takes recruiting exposure to the next level by combining cutting-edge technology with years of industry experience to connect players with college recruiters,” said Darryl Jacobs, Regional Director for ALWAYSLIVE. “We capture complete game video, statistics and player data… all of this is uploaded and assigned to player profiles. The resulting enhanced player profiles are made searchable by and shareable with recruiters, coaches, fans, and other players across major social media platforms enhancing player visibility.”

“We are committed to providing a platform for players to display their talents and introducing young people, especially minorities, to the business side of sports,” said Delgreco K. Wilson, Executive Director of Black Cager Sports Media. “Our partnership with ALWAYSLIVE will make it easier than ever to help kids get attention from college recruiters and provide entry-level jobs as well as internships for minority youth interested in Sports and Event Management as a career.

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Participants in ALWAYSLIVE/Black Cager events can do the following:

1. create their own player profile (FREE) and manage any related data already in the
system, including setting public/private options for total control of profile data.

2. enhance their profile by providing additional information about themselves such as
awards and recognitions earned, upcoming event and tournament schedule, academic
information (i.e., GPA and SAT/ACT scores) and contact information (i.e., email, social
media handles, etc.).

3. Players will also be able to upload and associate additional content with their player
profile, including photos and links to existing online videos and social media mentions.

4. The ALWAYSLIVE platform allows the player to share any or all content from their profile via email, text or major social media platforms.

Through the ALWAYSLIVE platform, College Coaches can access:

1. our collection of student-athlete player profiles. These profiles include complete game videos, advanced stats and enhanced player information available in NCAA-compliant formats.

2. Recruiters can search for players by any number of biological, geographical, academic and performance data points to quickly identify the best recruits.

3. If a recruiter is interested in a player, they have the option to request contact through the platform. ALWAYSLIVE brokers all initial requests for contact between subscribers for privacy. Only if both parties agree will the contact proceed.

The schedule of ALWAYSLIVE/Black Cager events will be release in the next few weeks.

About ALWAYSLIVE
ALWAYSLIVE maximizes the recruiting exposure and visibility of student-athletes pursuing college scholarships and other athletic advancement opportunities. The name of the service describes its purpose of providing college coaches and recruiters year-round access to NCAA-compliant student-athlete profiles and game performance data.
www.always.live

About Black Cager Sports Media
Black Cager Sports Media is a minority owned, basketball focused media company. Black Cager produces content across a wide range of platforms including print, Blogs, taped studio shows and live-streaming scholastic/Grassroots events. Black Cager Sports Media is dedicated to increasing opportunities for minorities in the multi-billion dollar sports industry.
www.blackcagersports.com
www.delgrecowilson.com

 

Press Contacts

Darryl Jacobs, Regional Director, ALWAYSLIVE – darryl.jacobs@createforce.com

Delgreco K. Wilson, Executive Director, Black Cager Sports Media – blackcager@gmail.com