There's something special when visiting the Island Garden in Hempstead, New York. The arena is one of the best in the area to house an AAU event. There are always clinics and camps going on during the course of the year. And there's ample opportunity for the best players in the area to compete on a national level with the Long Island Lightning.
The Lightning program has enriched many young players in the New York area and many players such as Nick Murphy have benefitted from the great exposure.
Murphy, a 6-3, 195-pound forward/guard from Our Savior Lutheran in the Bronx, N.Y., has been part of many Lightning victories over the past few seasons. He could also be part of many more in the future, especially this summer.
Nick is a player who has been talking about taking a year on the prep level. This should enable him to polish his game more and gain more experience. Murphy is a tough player who can punish bigger players with his hard-hat mentality inside the paint.
If Murphy progresses in his short jumper skills, he can be a pretty good college basketball player. He is a very competitive player. Murphy scores most of his points on putbacks and chasing down loose balls for baskets.
Brian Nash's St. Francis program has already expressed interest in Murphy along with Manhattan, Delaware, Rider, Siena, UTEP, and Howard.
So, as the Lightning team hits the road this summer, Murphy will again have an opportunity to play for one of the country's top AAU programs -- the Long Island Lightning.