- Connecticut Gold News -
2006 Wrap Up
2006 was one of the most successful years Connecticut Gold has ever had. The u17 boys team finished the year 38-18, an impressive 20 games over .500. The Spring/Summer session had a record of 25-13 while the team went 13-5 in the Fall. The u17's won three tournaments, finished second in the state tournament, and reached the quarter finals of the Classic at the AAU Nationals in Orlando, FL. Two players have already committed to Division I programs (see below) and others are still garnering interest from DI schools.
The u14 girls team finished 2006 with an incredible 41-9 record. The season was highlighted by winning both the u14 and u15 New England Super Regional.
Abromaitis selects Notre Dame, Zayjac verbals to Quinnipiac - October 30th, 2006
Two u17 Connecticut Gold players committed to Division I programs this past week. 6'7" wing Tim Abromaitis verballed to the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN) of the Big East Conference and 6'10" center Ed Zayjac agreed to attend Quinnpiac University (Hamden, CT) of the Northeast Conference. Abromaitis and Zayjac become the 33rd and 34th CT Gold alumni to play at a Division I program.
Rhode Island Breakers Tournament (Providence, RI) - October 23rd, 2006
CT Gold finished the Fall season on a high note, going 4-0 en route to winning the RI Breakers tournament.
Naismith Hall of Fame Tournament (Springfield, MA) - October 8th, 2006
CT Gold finished 2-1 in the Naismith HOF Tournament.
Middlesex Magic Tournament (Waltham, MA) - September 25th, 2006
Connecticut Gold went 3-2 in the Middlesex Magic's Fall tournament, falling in the championship game.
CT Select (Waterbury, CT) - September 18th, 2006
Connecticut Gold opened the Fall season by going 4-2 in the Connecticut Select Tournament. The team went 2-1 on Saturday and Sunday, losing in the finals to Kennedy HS (NYC) by four points.
AAU Nationals (Orlando, FL) - August 2nd, 2006
Connecticut Gold wrapped up it's Spring/Summer season with a 3-4 week in the AAU National Tournament held at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Orlando, FL. CT Gold started off slow going 0-3 in pool play, but made a quick turn around winning their first three games in the Classic. Their tournament finally came to end with a 72-68 loss to the D.A.W.G.S. of Cocoa Beach, FL.
Warrior Classic (Manchester, CT) - June 26th, 2006
CT Gold finished a perfect 4-0 en route to winning the Warrior Classic in Manchester. Gold defeated two CT North Star teams and CT Select in pool play and CT Basketball Club in the finals. The championship game marked Gold's 20th victory of the season.
NHA Peak Tournament (New Haven, CT) - June 12th, 2006
Connecticut Gold had another 3-1 weekend in the NHA Peak Tournament. CT Gold swept their pool with victories over the CT Warriors, Manhassett All-Stars and Dunbar Mavericks. In the semi-finals, CT Gold lost to Skills Camp 96-88 to end their weekend. Gold's record improves to 16-7.
Rhode Island Breakers Tournament (Lincoln, RI) - June 5th, 2006
Connecticut Gold had a strong weekend in Rhode Island, going 3-1 and advancing to the finals. In the finals, CT Gold lost an 8-point decision to the host Rhode Island Breakers. Gold improves to 13-6 on the season.
Hoop Mountain Classic (Easton, MA) - May 15th, 2006
The u17 boys completed a perfect trip to the Hoop Mountain Classic, finishing 3-0. On Saturday morning CT Gold defeated the Manhassett All-Stars 71-63. In the afternoon game, CT Gold topped the Rhode Island River Hawks 56-36. In the final game of the weekend on Sunday afternoon, CT Gold outlasted the Baystate Magic 80-75. CT Gold improves to 10-4 on the Spring season.
Coach Kevin Kehoe Named Connecticut AAU Boys Basketball Chairman - May 8th, 2006
Kevin Kehoe (CT Gold Director, Head Coach boys u17, girls u14) was named the State of Connecticut's AAU Boys Basketball Chairman on May 7th, 2006. Coach Kehoe takes over the chairman position effective immediately with a two year duration. Coach Kehoe and Connecticut Gold's new responsibilities include running the state AAU tournament each year as well as handling administrative duties of all AAU activity in the state of Connecticut.
Charlie Weber Invitational (Washington DC) - May 2nd, 2006
Connecticut Gold finished 1-2 during their trip to the nation's capital this weekend. On Saturday morning CT Gold lost a close game to Richmond Elite (VA) by four points. In their afternoon game CT Gold defeated Magic-DST32 by 18 points, allowing CT Gold to win the pool because all three teams finished 1-1 and the point spread tiebreaker was in favor of CT Gold.
On Sunday morning CT Gold lost to Huntington Place (Philadelphia) by 16 points to end their run in the tournament.
Connecticut AAU State Tournament (Hartford, CT) - April 24th, 2006
CT Gold opened the double-elimination tournament with a victory on Saturday morning and followed up with a win over <team>. Saturday night CT Gold picked up another win to advance to the winner's bracket final on Sunday morning. In a match up featuring the top two teams in the tournament, CT Gold squared off against CT Basketball Club. The game was tight throughout until CBC opened a six point lead with 1:30 to play, but CT Gold came back and tied the game with :30 seconds left to play. CBC held the ball for the last shot and with :12 remaining called a timeout. When the game resumed, CT Gold went on the offensive and blitzed the opposing point guard, causing an errant pass and a steal. CT Gold then pushed the ball up court and a reverse lay up by Drew Zito at the buzzer gave CT Gold a two-point victory.
The victory gave CT Gold a bye to the finals where they met CBC (who won the loser's bracket) for the second time on Monday evening. CT Gold found themselves down early, but used another comeback to erase an 18 point deficit. However, CBC held on to win when CT Gold missed a three-pointer with :06 left that would have tied the game.
The rubber match between CT Gold and CBC for the state title is TBA. Although the state title has yet to be decided, both teams have qualified for the AAU National Tournament in Orlando, FL from July 26 through August 1.
Hoop Group Tournament (Providence, RI) - April 16th, 2006
Connecticut Gold finished the tournament 2-1 in pool play. The u17 boys team opened the tournament with a closely contested game on Friday evening when they defeated the BC Eagles Grey (NY). The following morning saw a convincing victory over Maine Basketball Report (ME) before losing a tight one to CJ Hawks (NJ). CT Gold trailed by as much as 17 in the second half before a furious comeback tied the game with under two minutes to play.