NY Liberty Belles

NY Liberty Belles Club History
3/9/09 - 12:30 PM

 The NY Liberty Belles AAU Basketball Club is entering our 19th year of competition. The NY Liberty Belles was founded by Vincent Cannizzaro in 1990 as a non-profit organization that operates within the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States.

Our goal is to offer young female athletes the opportunity to play basketball at a highly competitive level while also gaining new experiences through travel, commitment and teamwork. We are extremely proud of the program we have built. We have sent over 50 teams to the AAU National Championship Tournaments and more than 150 of our players have received college scholarships. Some of our former players include: Chamique Holdsclaw- Univ. of Tennessee & Washington Mystics, Sue Bird - University of Connecticut & Seattle Storm, Tina Charles - University of Connecticut, Carem Gay - Duke University, Lorin Dixon - University of Connecticut, Hilary Howard - Duke University, Clare Droesch - Boston College, Tricia Tubridy - Harvard and Bethany Donaphin - Stanford University. (See our alumni section for a more comprehensive list)

Our teams, players and coaches have always achieved high marks of excellence throughout the years.

Some of our accomplishments include:

 

  • More than 150 Liberty Belles players have received college scholarships.

  •  We have sent over 50 teams to participate at AAU National Championship tournaments.

  •  Liberty Belles teams have played for the National Championship at AAU Nationals three times.

  •  More than 30 Sweet Sixteen Finishes at AAU National Championship Tournaments.

  •  More than 15 Elite Eight Finishes at AAU National Championship Tournaments.

  • We have traveled to more than 25 states to compete. Some of those states include: Florida, New Mexico, Washington, Oklahoma, Iowa, Tennessee, Virginia, Connecticut, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Washington D.C., North Carolina, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, Utah, Delaware, Louisiana and Oregon.

  • We have played in Championship games at the USA Cup in Chicago, USJN in Washington D.C., Boo Williams in Virginia, the National Invitational Tournament in Florida and the End of the Trail in Oregon.

  •  Numerous Metropolitan Association Regional Championship titles.

  • The 2005 Liberty Belles won the prestigious USJN National Championship in Washington, D.C.

 

The NY Liberty Belles plan to continue this traditional of excellence for many years to come.

All of our efforts are constantly focused on building a better future for our players...  and that will NEVER change!!

Top

NY Liberty Belles Professional Players
3/8/09 - 01:01 PM

The NY Liberty Belles have had a number of former players advance on to compete in the women's professional basketball ranks. We have MORE professional players in our alumni that ANY other team in the New York area. We are also the ONLY AAU club in the United States to have two former players as #1 WNBA draft choices, Sue Bird and Chamique Holdsclaw. We are very proud of these young women and we wish them continued success in their careers!!!
Sue Bird Liberty Belles Class of 1998
UCONN Class of 2002
NCAA National Champions in 2000 & 2002.
Currently plays for the Seattle Storm in the WNBA.
2002 #1 pick in the WNBA draft.
2002 and 2003 First Team All-WNBA.
2002 and 2003 WNBA All-Star.
Played for the WNBL's Springfield Spirit in 2003.
Chamique Holdsclaw Liberty Belles Class of 1995
University of Tennessee Class of 1999
NCAA Champions in 1996, 1997 & 1998.
Currently plays for the Washington Mystics in the WNBA.
1999 #1 pick in the WNBA draft.
1999 WNBA Rookie of the year.
2000 Olympic Gold Medalist.
1999, 2000, 2001 & 2003 WNBA All-Star.
2000 & 2001 All WNBA.
Plays in Korea during the WNBA off-season.
Hilary Howard Liberty Belles Class of 1995
Duke University Class of 1999.
NCAA National Champions in 1999.
Played in Sweden.
Nicole Conway Liberty Belles Class of 1998
Boston College Class of 2002
Played for the Springfield Spirit in the WNBL in 2003.
Currently plays in Ireland.
Debbie Hemery Liberty Belles Class of 1991
George Washington University Class of 1995
Has played Professionally in France for more than 6 years.
Darlene Saar Liberty Belles Class of 1991
George Washington University Class of 1995
Played Professionally in Sweden.
Bethany Donaphin Liberty Belles Class of 1998
Stanford University Class of 2002
Current member of the WNBA’s New York Liberty.
Kristeena Alexander Liberty Belles Class of 1996
George Washington University Class of 2001
Plays Professionally in Israel.

Top

NY Liberty Belles Coaches
3/7/09 - 11:28 AM

The Liberty Belles coaching staff is made up of coaches with decades of experience playing and coaching basketball at the high school and collegiate level. Our staff's dedication to excellence and individual attention has led to years of great Liberty Belles players and teams.

 Jill Cook -  A former Division I player at Georgetown Jill has been with the Liberty Belles for 15 years. She is the club's acting President. Jill has coached the varsity at Christ the King H.S. for the past 15 years. She is also a former college coach- coaching for 2 years at Adelphi University. She has also coached for USA Basketball in Colorado Springs where her East team captured the Gold Medal in June 2003. She has coached more than 80 scholarship winners and led her Liberty Belles team to numerous Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and Final Four AAU National Championship appearances. Her 1998 17 & under team played for the AAU National Championship in Indianapolis. Jill’s 2005 Liberty Belles team won the prestigious USJN National Championship in Washington D.C.

Bob Mackey - Bob joins the Liberty Belles staff for the first time in 2007. Bob is the Head Coach at National Powerhouse Christ the King H.S. He was named National coach of the year in 2005 and his CK teams won back to back National Championships in 2005 and 2006. He brings more than 22 years of basketball experience to the Belles.

Top