"Danny Love Underdogs" by Mushtaq Choudhury

Hoop dreams are common on the playgrounds of Brooklyn. While New York is rich with well established high school basketball programs, the number of young basketball players looking for teams to play far exceeds them.

Daniel Jacob, 23-year-old coach of the Danny Love Underdogs and member of the Amateur Athletic Union, was well aware of these issues while growing up in the streets of Bedstuy Brooklyn. Jacob endured a tough childhood often finding himself dodging the pitfalls of poverty and utilized basketball as escapism to the harsh reality.

"I remember being the underdog. Not having enough money for AAU or other summer programs some of my friends were going to, and even high school ball being ruff. I felt left with no options but still I had to fight," says Jacob.

Since that feeling of hopelessness he decided to start his own AAU program with reduced enrollment fees funded by Jacobs' earnings from his part-time job at Sports Authority and neighbor hood fundraising. Basketball was more than just a game to Jacob as he felt it could teach life lessons, build determination and character, and keep the body and mind clean.

Jacob fell in love with the game of basketball and started taking it seriously as he enrolled himself when he was at New Utrecht High School. He remembers the excessive competition during try-outs and thought there was a slim chance of making the team with his undersized weight, nevertheless Jacob made the team.

"I remember beating guys in practice, playing hard on all my drills, but still not getting a response by my coach. My minutes suffered and I was ineffective. My coach had senior players that were guaranteed playing time which left me with no stage,” said Jacob.

Jacob, dissatisfied at his progress at New Utrecht, quit during the middle of his junior year and decided to commit himself to Danny Love Underdogs. He wanted to coach the game of basketball correctly and at the same time provide an outlet for athletes to continue basketball on a collegiate level.

Jacob wanted to build a program that didn’t recruit big names but just talent. He wanted to build a solid team of 15 boys who thrived for a chance to play, without rejecting players because of their size or skill level. He wanted eager players thirsty for a shot.

The Underdogs started their first year in the 14-16 year-old age group. Jacob started with the younger group to refreshing his coaching skills. His only coaching experience came when he was the assistant coach at St. Mary's summer church league of 1998. Nevertheless Jacob successfully finished the year 16-1, only losing in the semi-finals to the defending champions Long Island AAU champions, New York Red Dragons

"Playing for Danny that year helped me prepare for myself for my high school team. I learned how to play with a team, play defense as a unit, and learn the essence of team unity. My coach was impressed at John Adams the next year,” said Eric Lopez.

"Danny has a positive soul and wants to provide the younger crowd with appropriate coaching. He is like a mentor to these kids and they enjoy every moment," said Winston Elmer head operator of Beacon 132 in Brooklyn. "I never seen any one coach a group of kids so effectively and still manages to have such a relationship with each player, it's a good thing to see for basketball.

Brian Sutton, a coach for Richmond Hill High School in Queens learned that three of his players joined the Underdogs during the summer and returned in-shape and more knowledgeable about the game.

"I noticed harder cuts on angles, a better understanding of ball movement, physical fitness, but what stood out the most is that my players were thrilled to play defense,” said Sutton.

The Underdogs went into the following year with a buzz. With the success of the younger group, Jacob felt he could succeed at the next age group 16-18 and prepare his players for the college level. He began to recruit at malls, high school halls, and even the street basketball parks in Queens and Brooklyn.

Jacob started the next year badly, learning that the older age group brought ego conflicts, and even some fights for spots during try-outs. The Underdogs actually started the 2003 season short handed only playing with 10 players for the first 2 games. Jacob had low tolerance for bad attitude and felt he had to lay down the law to teach the game correctly.

In 2003 The Underdogs had their best year. The team played at Island Garden Annual AAU tournament going undefeated through the qualifying rounds but lost in the finals to Long Island Lighting. Their best wins came when the team beat Juice All-Stars, an AAU team that bred NBA superstar, Stephon Marbury, and his cousin Sebastian Telfair, in the Brooklyn summer regional AAU tournament.

"The Underdogs fit their name perfectly because I didn't expect them to put up the fight especially by looking at the roster on paper, but he had those kids on energy. They were focused,” said Gilbert Washingto, an assistant coach for Juice All-Stars.

The Underdogs are entering their 6^th year; the program helped athletes send tapes to Division 1 colleges, and worked on giving their players a chance to leave the program to only succeed elsewhere. William Goty a 6'9 power forward was picked up by Coastal Carolina as a red shirt, and two guards, Luis Rodriguez and Damon Derell played at Division 2 Sullivan County College in Jamestown, NY.

"The Underdogs are the diamonds in the ruff. I want to let the world know the money shouldn't run this sport, neither should pure talent. It's the fight as a team and determination individually to succeed in this game and also carry these tendencies by associating it with their lives," said Jacob.