RBA Sports: A Roslyn Success Story

Written by Joe Scotchie Friday, 24 June 2011 00:00

Helping Local Hoopsters Achieve Their Dreams

In 2009, Roslyn native and former Roslyn High School football standout B.J. Bass was operating his own logistics consulting business, but basketball remained his passion. That year, Roslyn High School was having a standout season of its own, being paced by George Beamon who was on his way to becoming the most prolific scorer in Roslyn High School history and the second greatest scorer in Long Island basketball history, second only to the former NBA star, Wally Sczerbiak.

Beamon, however, had not secured even a scholarship offer from a Division One college. B.J. not only thought that Beamon had the talent and desire for competition on that level; he also thought that he had NBA caliber skills.

So, B.J. talked to George’s brother and mother and soon was advising George on how to secure such a coveted scholarship. B.J. even put his consulting business on hold to help George. It worked. He promoted Beamon to numerous schools, including St. John’s, Syracuse, UConn, Manhattan, Fairfield, Siena, Stony Brook and others, and with the help of George’s friend and AAU Coach Rich Silverstein, B.J., in May 2009, was able to help get George a formal scholarship offer from Manhattan College, one that was eventually formalized.

After the signing, B.J. retired to Mims on Roslyn Road to celebrate. In fact, he felt a greater sense of accomplishment from the Beamon signing than he did from other career milestones, including building his own company and closing deals with major Fortune 500 companies. 

Around the same time, B.J. had set up a meeting in Great Neck to discuss his consulting business with Brian Rubenstein, a partner at Wheatley Partners, a venture capital fund based in New York. Brian and his family are major philanthropic benefactors in the Roslyn area, including sponsoring the development of the Sid Jacobson JCC, Temple Beth Sholom and North Shore LIJ. Plus, B.J. and Brian had been schoolmates in Roslyn. At the meeting, B.J. told Brian about the Beamon signing and the sense of accomplishment it gave him. All throughout the meeting, the two discussed pro basketball, the New York Knicks, and college basketball. In time, the two realized how much they had in common: shared values and business ideals, a passion for helping kids and a love of the game of basketball. The talk quickly turned to forming a business partnership. And indeed, the two decided to co-found RBA Sports, a sports marketing agency focused on NBA basketball and related corporate marketing initiatives.

B.J. was already certified as an NBA & FIBA agent and together, the two were able to quickly develop a unique value proposition for athletes and marketing partners, leveraging their combined resources and business expertise to offer financial management, professional training and strategic marketing services, something that B.J. claims is unparalleled in the sports marketing industry.

“What sets RBA apart as a basketball agency are its core values and its relationship with Basketball City, the new state of the art 100,000 square foot facility, located in lower Manhattan near South Street Seaport, one that is set to open in September 2011,” B.J. said.

In addition, RBA, B.J. said, is building an elite basketball training business and ‘Red Carpet Event’ business at the new venue and something that “presents a unique and significant value proposition to its player clients and sponsor partners.”

B.J. and Brian have been hard at work since then, signing talented players, developing a network of top coaches, media, trainers and NBA executives, and attending numerous games and strategic marketing functions, including the Dick Vitale Coaches vs. Cancer benefit in Manhattan.

RBA Sports’s most ambitious ventures so far have been its Player Combines. The first one took place in January 2010 at Manhattan College in Riverdale. Among the players participating at that event were Vernon Goodridge and Karron Clarke, two of the best players to come out of the city in recent years, but both below the NBA radar. Goodridge, a native of Brooklyn, attended the New York Knicks free agent camp last June and the NBA Summer League with the Philadelphia 76ers. He was later drafted fifth overall in the NBA Development League Draft by the Springfield Armor. This month, Goodridge is scheduled to participate in both the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks free agent camps. B.J., naturally, is hoping for a Knicks signing for Goodridge.

Closer to home, the second RBA Player Combine took place at Sid Jacobson JCC in East Hills earlier this month and was sponsored by Katz Wealth Management.

The JCC event was an even greater success. Sczerbiak was there as a scout for the ACB Spain league, while another Long Island notable, Craig “Speedy” Claxton, the former Hofstra and Golden State Warriors star was scouting for his former NBA team.

“As a result of that event, RBA was able to develop a vast international network in major basketball markets including Spain, Turkey, Italy, Israel, China, Lithuania, Argentina, Brazil and other countries,” B.J. said. Not only that, RBA placed players all over the world and as it turned out, navigated through two revolutions in its first full season, with players having to leave Egypt and Libya abruptly.

Around that time, RBA also signed Marvin Phillips, another power forward below the NBA radar. B.J. said that Phillips finished last season as the best rebounder in the NBA Development, averaging double figures in scoring and rebounding in 26 minutes of playing time.

B.J. added that if the NBA and the Players’ Union can avoid a lock out later this summer, then both Goodridge and Phillips are very close to achieving their lifelong dreams of reaching the NBA.

Recent signings include Rashad Bishop of Cincinnati, Ruben Guillandeaux of LaSalle, who joined the MAAC’s leading scorer from last season, and Rico Pickett - all as players RBA has eligible for the upcoming NBA draft. 

To learn more, sign up for B.J. and Brian’s newsletter and follow them on twitter @bjbass2 for news on their players and on the new venue in New York City as these basketball enthusiasts hope to continue New York’s legacy of basketball excellence.