Preps to watch: Five stars of the future emerge from NY playgrounds

Photo credit: Game Face

High-school football star Torian Phillips of Port Richmond on Staten Island is headed to Syracuse University in the fall of 2009. (RJ Mickelson/amNY)

By Max J. Dickstein

From the fields and courts of New York they came: Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig, Sandy Koufax and Whitey Ford of the major leagues; NFL quarterbacks Sid Luckman and Vinny Testaverde; NBA greats Bob Cousy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bernard King.

Here is amNewYork’s selection of five of the brightest young prospects emerging from today’s New York sportscape.

Torian Phillips, Staten Island

New York’s top football recruit may find himself challenged at Syracuse this fall. But Big East competition is what Phillips wants out of his full-ride scholarship.

“I want to see how fast the comp level is,” said the two-way star, who led Port Richmond (13-0) to the Public Schools Athletic League title last fall as a running back, defensive back and return specialist. “I heard it can sneak up on you.”

While the Orange plan to use Phillips on defense, he rushed for 1,486 yards and scored 34 touchdowns as a senior for the Red Raiders, including a record-tying four TDs in the championship game.

“I like scoring touchdowns,” Phillips said. “But defense is good because when you stop a touchdown, sometimes it feels better than scoring.”

This winter, Syracuse sent the 5-foot-10, 175-pounder a workout plan to help him add some college-level bulk. (He aims to add 10 pounds.)

“Torian is a better kid than he is a football player,” said his coach at Port Richmond, Louis Vesce. “I’ve never had an All-Star like that — the best player in the city — conduct himself so well. He did it all very humbly, didn’t ever put himself above the team.”

BASKETBALL

Lance Stephenson, Brooklyn

A Coney Island phenom in the tradition of Brooklyn-born guards such as Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair, Stephenson is a 6-foot-5, 210-pound swingman with preps-to-pros flash and talent.

The 18-year-old already has national exposure. Long ranked as a top college recruit, Stephenson has been featured in two documentaries, including an Internet-only production at BornReady.tv that offers an unstinting, 20-episode chronicle of Stephenson’s junior year at Abraham Lincoln High School. It lays bare his raw emotions and ability, as well as the enormous pressure on him.

In March, Stephenson led the Railsplitters to a record fourth straight PSAL Class AA boys championship. He averaged 31.9 points and 12.8 rebounds as a senior and became the state’s boys career scoring leader.

Stephenson has dithered about his college choice recently (Arizona and Maryland seem to be the most probable destinations). Wherever he ends up seems likely to be a one-year stopover before Stephenson makes himself eligible for the NBA draft.TENNIS

The Brighton Beach-raised tennis prodigy, who turned 18 last Friday, is at a crossroads in her young career.

Born in Ukraine and raised here since she was 5, the 2008 USTA Girls’ 18s champion made her main-draw U.S. Open debut in August, when she held a set point in the first round against No. 13 Agnes Szavay before losing. She turned pro this season.

“She’s dynamic,” said Mark Weil, who has trained her at his tennis academy in Ojai, Calif., of Brodsky’s game. “Huge firepower on both groundstrokes. The challenge has been putting her game together to beat girls at a very high level. Mentally, that’s now starting to catch up with her physical abilities.”

Hoping to improve her ranking, currently No. 362 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, the 5-foot-5 baseliner has begun traveling to tournaments alone (without her coach-father, Eduard) and working with a new coach, Lenny Schloss, in South Carolina.

Mariel Checo, Brooklyn

Tuesday night was shaping up to be a big one for this right-hander with a 96 mph fastball and 0.44 ERA.

Norman Thomas’ 6-foot-3 senior ace was set to start in the PSAL championship game against Monroe at KeySpan Park in Coney Island last night, even as he was seen as a viable candidate to be picked in the MLB’s First-Year Player Draft — also last night.

Amanda Annicaro, Queens

When Benjamin N. Cardozo (19-0) visits five-time city champion Tottenville (20-0) on Staten Island to play their PSAL semifinal at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, junior Cardozo starter Annicaro will try for her city-best 17th victory.

Annicaro’s 0.88 ERA over 88 innings for the Judges attests to her unflinching control of games.

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