NJ Playaz

Location: Paterson, New Jersey
Region: GBOA East
Coach: Jerome Smart (Head Coach), Kyle Anderson (Asst. Coach)
NBA Alumni: 8, (Tim Thomas, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, J.R. Smith, Eddie Griffin, Dahntay Jones)
NCAA Alums: 72, (Darryl Watkins Jr., Demetris Nicholas, Will Sheridan, Bashir Mason, Mark Jarrell-Wright)
Founded: 1997

The Playaz Basketball Club (PBC) has been in existence since 1997, originating from the Paterson AAU Team (A.K.A. the Pat Cats) that was formed in 1993. Many notable players locally and nationally have played in this program. NBA stars Tim Thomas, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, Eddie Griffin, Brevin Knight, DaJuan Wagner, Dahntay Jones and J.R. Smith have all been either Pat Cats or PLAYAZ. What began as one team has now grown into the 17 year-old Playaz 'Gold' team, the 16 year-old Playaz 'Red' Team, the 15 year-old Playaz 'White'team and 14 year old 'Black' team. The team's colors are Gold, Red, White and Black. In the spring of 2005, the PBC took on the sponsorship of 3 elementary school aged brackets: 12u, 13u and 14u. These teams have added to the organization's premise of being a PROGRAM rather than a team. Playaz also sponsors "TEAM PATERSON", an elementary school all-star team. Tim Thomas of the Los Angeles Clippers, Vince Carter of the NJ Nets, Dahntay Jones of the Sacramento Kings, J.R. Smith of the Denver Nuggets and also the late Eddie Griffin of the Minnesota Timberwolves have all been part of the PBC sponsorship fraternity for teams and/or events at some time during the past few years. The Playaz Basketball Club is one of the nation's elite travel team programs, becoming the program for the "Better Player". It is Playaz' continuing desire to be more than just an AAU team - the organization wishes to not only service past and present players but also provide services in their home communities.