The East Coast All Stars (ECA) was founded in the summer of 2006. Comprised of the best college talent in the country, the All Stars assemble in the New York City area each summer for a two day training camp. From New York, the team will depart to their European destination for eight days of top flight competition. In 2007 the ECA’s took on the Dutch National Team (lead by the NBA’s Francisco Elson, of the Seattle Sonics) to open Holland’s brand new 10,000 seat UCF Arena. Some of the best club and national teams in Europe have gone against the All Star’s. The team has competed in Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. August of 2010 has the All Stars scheduled to play in multiple events throughout Spain.
In touring with the East Coast All Stars each participant will be assisted in obtaining a valid passport. The lessons learned by the players go a long way in preparing them for life after college. Living within foreign cultures, learning the history of other countries, and competing at Europe’s highest levels make this an unforgettable experience.
Some of the best and brightest coaching minds in basketball today have assisted the East Coast All Stars:
In 2006, Coach Bob Cimmino, the Head Coach of New York’s Mount Vernon High School, assisted Rancourt for a 10 day tour to Denmark and Sweden. In 2009 Cimmino assisted again as the team competed in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria. Since 1999, Coach Cimmino has posted an overall record of 216 wins and 31 losses. In that span, he has made it to the Section 1 Finals every year and has won 8 out of the last 9 of them. In addition, Cimmino has won 8 Regional Championships, and has won the New York State Championship 5 times. Coach Cimmino’s Knights have been rewarded for their efforts by having Nike join forces with them as well.
In 2007, Coach Maurice “Mo” Hicks, the Head Coach of New York’s Legendary Rice High School, and Director of Operations for the New York Gaucho's, joined forces with Coach Rancourt. In one of ECA’s more talented teams, Rancourt and Hick’s lead the team into Holland and Belgium for 10 days of high level competition. Coach Hicks has possibly produced more high major division I athletes than any high school coach in the country, including starting guard Russell Robinson of the 2007 NCAA National Champion University of Kansas. Within the five boroughs, high school coaches covet winning the New York City Championship held at Fordham each year… Coach Hicks has five of them. In addition, Hicks has five Catholic State Championships and four Federations Titles to add to his hardware. Nike noticed the value of Rice High School early on as well, and has created the Rice High School shoe from their Kobe line as well.
The programs across the country that have had their stars head to Europe with the ECA’s speak volumes for the level of competition they face when overseas. Here are a couple few of those institutions:
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