Michael Bruce
Sport: Basketball Year: Junior
School: John Bowne
HIGHLIGHTS: In a breakout junior year, Bruce led the second-place Wildcats in scoring with over 23 points-per-game, good for tops in the Queens II-A division. Bruce started as a sophomore and junior at John Bowne after transferring from the High School for Law Enforcement. Because of his improving game and deadly shooting touch, Division I schools Fairleigh Dickinson and Rider have shown interest in the 6-foot, 160-pound guard.
NOTABLE: This summer, he's playing A.A.U. basketball with NYC Finest in various tournaments throughout the metropolitan area. A St. Albans native, Bruce, 17, started playing basketball at the age of six because his cousin, Craig Barclay, used to force him to play. At the time, he'd rather play tag or just run around, he said. But now he loves the game, and can't stay away from the court. He started to get serious about it around the seventh grade when his coach at I.S. 59 wanted him to play on the school team.
PERSONAL: His favorite player is Dwayne Wade of the NBA champion Miami Heat, and MVP of the NBA Finals.
Abel Taveres
Sport: Baseball Year: Senior
School: Newtown
HIGHLIGHTS: A four-year starter for the Pioneers, Taveras hit .283 with 14 RBI, eight runs scored and six stolen bases. For Taveras, his most memorable moment at Newtown came in the playoffs this spring, when the Pioneers topped borough power Cardozo, 7-4, for his first and only playoff win. He is headed to Division II Dominican College in upstate New York.
NOTABLE: Taveras isn't a jock, far from it. He plays piano and performs with a professional dance company, Descarga Latina. The Corona native isn't sure what he wants to do in life, although law, because he likes to argue and has been told he's good at it, interests him. His musical interest was piqued as a freshman at the East Elmhurst school. Although Taveras played piano as a youth, he had given it up, until he was informed of Newtown's burgeoning music program.
PERSONAL: Taveras first picked up a glove at the age of four, and hasn't put it down since. His father signed him up the second he could throw a ball for the Elmjack Little League, and he learned the game from his older brother.
Ante Kolanovic
Sport: Baseball Year: Senior
School: William Bryant
HIGHLIGHTS: Kolanovic had a standout senior year for the Owls, going 3-1 and striking out 31 batters in 27.1 innings; the pitcher/outfielder added 13 RBIs. He listed his personal highlight as the season opening, 12-7 victory over the borough's public school juggernaut, John Adams, when he earned the win and also cranked his only homer of the season. He's spending the summer pitching for the Bayside All-Stars, who travel throughout the northeast for tournaments in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey.
NOTABLE: The 17-year-old right-hander plans on attending either Queens College or John Jay; he intends on pitching there also. He wants to study business, partly because of the time he's worked for his father's construction company, Astoria Taping & Spackling, Inc.
PERSONAL: Kolanovic didn't start playing organized baseball until his sophomore year at William Bryant. He always took part in sandlot ball in various parks near his Astoria home with friends, but never in a league. “I just wanted to join a team,” he said as to why he tried out.
