NEWS DESK
3 MILLION VISITORS!
LONG ISLAND'S
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE!
WINNINGEST ACTIVE COACHES
Jeff Weiss - 606 - LWAWally Bachman - 443 - Jericho
Steve Liebertz - 408 - Great Neck South
CHAMPIONSHIPS ON THE MOVE
The 2020 NYSPHSAA State Basketball Championships have returned to Glens Falls.
It's as it should be!
HALL OF FAME CALLS TWO FROM LI!
The New York State Basketball Hall Of Fame will welcome two of our all-time great coaches at this season's induction ceremony. Coach Carl Johnson from the legendary Bridgehampton Killer Bees program, who coached the team to four state championships and played for them in another three, and Chris Agostino - part of the incredible Agostino coaching family that boasts four varsity coaches and a list of championships and great players as long as your arm. He took Harborfields to three straight Section 11 titles, two Long Island Championships, and a New York State Championship and he continues to add to his legacy as the Athletic Director at Elmont. The ceremony will be next spring in Glens Falls. See you there!
The 2020 New York State Federation Tournament Of Champions will be held at Fordham University this season! Also as it should be! Big audiences for the big event!
BCANY SUMMER HOOPS FESTIVAL
An All-Star Team competition between teams from every part of New York State, Suffolk County claimed its first title ever this year, defeating Hudson Valley in the final. Brentwood's Bryce Harris had 24 points and BBP's Pierce Prendergast 15 in the title game. A Long Island team won it in 2011.
LONG ISLAND TAKING OVER BIG 10
Two LuHi kids - Andre Curbelo and Zed Key, have committed to Big 10 schools for next season. Curbelo to Illinois and Key to Ohio State. They join fellow LuHi player Devonte Green, who is in his senior year at Indiana.
SUFFOLK ROSTER
Pierce Prendergast/BBP
Milan Johnson/Comswegoue
Ahkee Anderson/Greenport
Bryce Harris/Brentwood
Divvahde Lucas/Amityville
Spencer Malloy/Commack
Jaden Kealy/Connetquot
Kenny Lazo/Brentwood
Courtney Booth/Sachem East
Tyrone Pannell/Central Islip
NASSAU ROSTER
Eamon McGowan/South Side
Isiah Barnes/Elmont
Jordan Lawson/Elmont
Alex Bauer/Long Beach
Ahmad Crowell/Manhasset
Dimitri Garrett/Oceanside
Brandon Weiss/Jericho
Preston Harts/Sewanhaka
Juwan Shuford/Uniondale
THOMAS O'CONNELL TO ST. JOHN'S
Chaminade's Thomas O'Connell, who just wrapped up a great lacrosse career at the University of Maryland, is returning to his first love and will be playing basketball for St. John's University this season as a grad student. His younger brother Michael just won his second straight Alzheimer's All-Star Classic MVP trophy.
THE SWEET SIXTEEN
Find last season's final and all future Long Island, New York City, and New York State Basketball rankings HERE
It's year two of our great new high school basketball showcase - once again the can't miss basketball event of the holidays! For just $5 a day or $8 for two days, see 4 outstanding games each day between top teams from all over the Metropolitan area, and all games will be played at the beautiful St. Anthony's High School Gym in South Huntington. Last year, we din't have a game that was decided by more than 9 points!
Here is the line-up of teams so far:
Bishop Hendricken HS
11 time Rhode Island State Champions
Brentwood HS
Defending Long Island Class AA Champions and New York Public School State Finalists
Chaminade HS
Two time CHSAA State Champions, four time State finalists, and Long Island CHSAA Regular Season Champions or Co-Champions for the past four years.
Curtis HS
Defending Staten Island PSAL Class AA Champions
Holy Trinity HS
Defending Long Island Catholic School Champions, two time CHSAA State Champions and three time State finalists.
Mount Vernon HS
Defending Sec 1 and 11 time New York State Champions
Nazereth HS
Two time Federation State Champions
St. Anthony's HS
Two time Federation State Champions and 3 time CHSAA State Champions
St. Mary's HS
Two time Federation State Champions,Four time CHSAA State Champions and 5 time State finalists.
Thurgood Marshall Academy
Defending PSAL Class AA Manhattan Borough Champions
Trinity Catholic HS
Seven time Connecticut State Champions
TOP RETURNING SCORERS
Zaire Baines/Portledge 34.2
Ty-Shon Pannell/Central Islip 26.7
Malik Edmead/Deer Park 25.1
Josh Fenner/John Glenn 24.7
Ahkee Anderson/Center Moriches 23.0
Xavier Allen/Mattituck 22.3
Thomas Cirrito/Miller Place 22.3
Teddy Mangiarotti/Locust Valley 22.3
Mike Sixsmith/Holy Trinity 21.3
Brett Karkus/Hewlett 20.6
Colin Cassara/Newfield 20.0
LUHI NATIONALLY RANKED
USA Today put LuHi 9th nationally in their preseason rankings. STORY
Coming off their first New York State Federation Class AA Title ever and 8th overall, colleges continue to gobble up LuHi players. Jalen Celestine became their third high major signing, committing to Cal-Berkeley.
An early start to the school season changed the mix at the 11th Annual Thanksgiving Rumble, with competition from 3rd grade up to 7th grade, and the much anticipated 7th grade final went to Long Island's Castle program, with a convincing win over a shorthanded Next Level from NYC. The Lady Lions, also from NYC, dominated the Girls 6th Grade Division, defeating Purpose Basketball in the chip
ASK THE REF!
Rule Changes - High School 2019-2020
Every year around this time we dedicate a column to understanding any rule changes in high school basketball for the season ahead. High school rules are set by the NFHS (National Federation of High Schools) which is the governing body for high schools nationwide.
A major issue each season is the high number of differences between high school rules and rules in the colleges (NCAA) and pros (NBA). It is unfortunate that the three bodies cannot come to an agreement so everyone plays under one set of rules. We may devote a column to those differences at some point in the future, but for now, our goal is simply to focus on changes to the basic set of high school rules for the season ahead.
This year (2019-2020) the rule changes are minimal, indicating a relatively good feeling about the state of the game on the high school level.
1. Uniforms - the NFHS continues to put a lot of effort into standardizing and clarifying rules having to do with uniforms. It's an issue because there should be some allowance for individuality by the competing teams while still having players be "uniform in their uniforms." The goal is to avoid having "anything goes" situations where it looks like a pick up game at the local Y. That said, the change regarding uniforms is that they will be phasing out uniform numbers with a color that is the same or similar to the prevailing color of the jersey but with a contrasting border color. Those are still legal the next few years but will become illegal as of the 2024-25 season.
2. Headbands - starting this season, headbands may be up to 3 inches in width instead of the previous 2 inches, must encircle the entire head, have NO
extensions, worn on the forehead or crown only, and be non-abrasive and unadorned. Only ONE may be worn by each team player and all headbands must be the same color for all players on a team. Hair control devices, as used on ponytails, are not restricted in these ways. Additionally, players may fold or roll up shorts provided only one manufacturer's logo may be visible, draw strings are contained and the shorts do not expose the anatomy in objectionable ways.
3. Bench technicals - the assistant coach(es) may now legally enter the court (in addition to the head coach) in
order to help restore order during a fight. It's all about player safety.
4. Backcourt - A ball in team control of Team A in the front court that is deflected by a defensive player, which causes the ball to go into the back court, may be recovered by either team unless the offense was the last to touch the ball before it went into the back court. If the offense was last to touch the ball in its front court, only the defense can legally recover the basketball.
5. Signal (mechanics) change - On a held ball, the official will blow the whistle and first raise his extended arm to stop the clock and then, secondly, give the approved/required signal for a held ball. This change simply makes the signals to stop the clock more consistent.
- Skip Yutzler
Have a question?
RETURNING ALL-NEW YORK STATE
Ahkeee Anderson, Center Moriches*
Xavier Allen, Mattituck
Zaire Baines, Portledge
Chris Boothe, Sachem East
Henry Brooks, Pierson
Colin Cassara, Newfield
Jalen Celestine, LuHi
Thomas Cirrito, Miller Place
Marvel Chambers, Farmingdale
Malachi Coleman, Bay Shore
Andre Curbelo, LuHi
Jaden DeJesus, Knox School
Jarrett Dingle, Academy Charter
Kieran Dorney, Chaminade
Lucas Quigley-Dunning, Shelter Island
Malik Edmead, Deer Park
Josh Fenner, John Glenn
Will Ford, St. Dominic
Jack Garside, Kings Park
Zed Key, LuHi
Brett Karkus, Hewlett
Teddy Mangiarotti, Locust Valley
Ty-Shon Pannell, Central Islip
Jahmir Primer, Portledge
Mike Sixsmith, Holy Trinity
Andre Snoody, St. Anthony’s
Nick Spinosa, Kellenberg
Sean Walsh, Northport
Nae'jon Ward, Center Moriches*
Michael Warren Jr., Malverne
Brandon Weiss, Jericho
2016-17 All-Long Island Freshmen
Trayvon Alexander, Friends
Ahkee Anderson, Greenport
Marvel Chambers, Farmingdale
Malik Edmead, Deer Park
Bryce Harris, Brentwood
Zed Key, Brentwood
Kenny Lazo, Brentwood
Michael O'Connell, Chaminade
Ty-Shon Pannell, Central Islip
David Sabzehroo, Great Neck South
Jevon Santos, Elmont
Bora Soybas, Bethpage
Jake Tavroff, Oceanside
Jaylen Trent, Bellport
Nae'jon Ward, Bridgehampton
Brandon Weiss, Jericho
HOFSTRA 64 CANISIUS 57
HOFSTRA 91 HOLY CROSS 69
After dropping the last game of their otherwise successful West Coast swing, the Pride went right back on the road and picked up two good wins at the Boca Raton Beach Classic. RECAP GAME 1, RECAP GAME 2. Up next, the road trip continues with a 12/7 date at St. Bonaventure, and then on December 10th, finally home against Stony Brook for the Long Island D1 Championship Game!
Hofstra 2-0 On West Coast!
Hostra continued their west coast trip, building on their signature win over UCLA with a resounding 79-57 victory over Cal State-Fullrerton. The final stop on their trip is at San Diego on Wednesday before coming home for Thanksgiving. STORY
HOFSTRA UPSETS UCLA!
STATS OF NOTE
Newfield's returning All-New York State player Colin Cassara already has 20 three pointers this season!
GAMES OF WEDNESDAY 12/4
Uniondale 83 Bellport 52
Defending Section 8 Class AA Champion Uniondale took on Section 11 Class AA Semifinalist Bellport and dominated the Clippers from the opening tip. BOX SCORE
LuHi 74 St. Dominic 41
The LuHi staff tells us they have trouble getting Long Island teams to play them, and we can see why. A solid St. Dominic team was never in it. BOX SCORE
GAMES OF TUESDAY 12/3
Center Moriches 89 Miller Place 82
CM held off a late rally. STORY
Deer Park 71 Longwood 59
Deer Park confirmed their contender status. STORY
Northport 58 North Babylon 45
Watch out for Northport this season! STORY
THANKSGIVING WEEKEND GAMES
Portledge 89 Hills East 57
The Panthers, who feature a guard dominated attack, suffocating defense, and excellent ball movement, raced out to a blistering 26-6 first quarter lead behind 9 points from Dante Brooks, 6 from Zaire Baines, and 5 from Aazayah Ross and never looked back. Baines finished with a game high 27 points and Christian Daily added 19. Xavier Lewis led the young Thunderbirds with 17.
Chaminade 83 Campus Magnet 17
The very impressive Flyers, playing without their starting point guard, completely dominated the PSAL Class AA squad from Queens.
Hills West 90 John Glenn 79
Hills West established themselves as a strong contender in Section 11 Class A with a convincing win over a good John Glenn squad. Brent Bland led the way with 26 points and Yvan Fills-Aime added 23. Glenn's All-New York State guard Josh Fenner led all scorers with 36.
St. Mary's 61 Salesian 53
The buzz is that St. Mary's will be a contender in the Long Island CHSAA this season, and they picked up a nice road win to open up. Nick Cham led the Gaels with 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, Sal Saputo finished with 13 points and 3 assists, and Jovanye Walters added a double-double with 10 poinst, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
Miller Place 66 Kings Park 42
Miller Place also looks like another strong contender in Section 11 Class A, rolling over a good Kings Park team on the road with a balanced attack led by Dan Berrios, who scored 17 points, returning All-New York State player Thomas Cirrito, who had 16, Tim Hirdt, who rang up 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Matt Frank, who logged 13 points and 13 rebounds. Returning All-New York State player Jack Garside led all scorers with 21 points for Kings Park.
***********************
KINGS PARK TOURNAMENT
Great match-up between two good teams in the Championship Game of the Kings Park Chamber Of Commerce Tournament, with the host Kingsmen rallying for a 57-54 victory over Commack.
All-Tournament Team
Spencer Malloy (Commack)
Jaden Martinez (Comsewogue)
Adrian Brooks (Huntington)
Matt Wolf (King Park)
MVP-Jack Garside (Kings Park)
2019-20 SEASON: WE'RE OFF!
The high school season is off and running, with two Section 11 games at the Islip Tournament featured. In game one, Matt Behrens hit an amazing 19 free throws to lead Smithtown West over Walt Whitman 75-63, West coach Mike Agostino's 100th career victory. Host Islip took it on the chin in the nightcap, falling to Pat-Med 76-51. Joe Harrison was red hot with 6 threes for the Raiders in the first half and the Buccaneers never recovered from the onslaught. Portledge kicked things off for the private schools on Wednesday, defeating Browning from NYC 87-67 behind 28 points from L.I.'s leading returning scorer, Zaire Baines. 11/22
BIG GAMES IN NOVEMBER!
If you love high school basketball, its going to be easy to get used to a longer regular season and big games in November, and we’ve had a bunch of them, with contenders facing off and returning All-New York State players flexing their muscles.
Bay Shore 67 Central Islip 62 OT
These two contenders were in the same league for years, so a big game atmosphere and a great game was almost inevitable, and the visiting Marauders outlasted the host Musketeers in OT. Kevin Lowe hit the decisive three pointer in OT to ice it. Returning All-New York State player Malachi Coleman led Bay Shore with 25 points and 4 assists, while fellow Al-New York State performer and Team Long Island selection Ty-Shon Pannell finished with 20 points. 11/26
John Glenn 79 Harborfields 68
Two perennial Class A contenders and next door neighbors faced off, again in a big game atmosphere, and returning All-New York State player Josh Fenner exploded for 44 points, 10 rebounds and four assists to lead Glenn to the win. Looks like Joe Desimone is stepping up for the Tornadoes this season, knocking down 7 threes on his way to a career-high 30 points. 11/26
GAMES OF TUESDAY 12/10
Central Islip 71 Deer Park 67 2OT
It looked like the Falcons had it won in regulation, rallying to take the lead, but Larry Fuller sent it to OT with two free throws and then Davien Atkinson's layup in the second OT proved to be the game-winner. Deer Park drops to 1-2 while CI improves to 3-1. BOX
Copiague 61 Riverhead 52
Fantastic freshman Malachi Moore finished with 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists to help hand Riverhead its first loss of the season. The Blue Wave opened the season with 4 straight wins. Copiague improves to 4-1 - their only loss on the road at Central Islip. BOX
Smithtown West 61 Elmont 59
Anther Agostino family rivalry game, and it was a good one! Coach Mike's team held off AD Chris' team for a big intersectional win. BOX
Jericho 62 Wantagh 53
Two Class A contenders met, and the visiting Jayhawks picked up a convincing win, remaining unbeaten and handing Wantagh their first loss. BOX
THE UPS AND DOWNS OF MINOR LEAGUE BASKETBALL
The Long Island Nets are coming off a very good season which saw them reach the G-League Finals, yet this season, they are off to a 1-8 start and to be honest, it's no surprise. Why? The primary purpose of a minor league team is to develop major league talent, and after a season like last year, Long Island's best players were in demand and left for NBA tryouts and overseas pro leagues. That left this year's roster without a single player from last season! It takes time to develop the team work and chemistry a good team has, so this year's team may yet prove to be a contender, but it's not looking good so far.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7TH
at Uniondale High School
GAME 1
Pine Bush (SEC 9 AA) 59 Elmont 48
GAME 2
St. Anthony's 54 New Paltz (SEC 9 A) 40
GAME 3
Salesian (CHSAA B) 63 Amityville 59 OT
GAME 4
NFA (SEC 9 AA) 64 Baldwin 58 OT
GAME 5
Kingston (SEC 9 AA) 70 Uniondale 68
GAMES OF WEDNESDAY 12/11
LUHI 67 CHAMINADE 55
Hugo Bergstrom had a great game for the Crusaders, knocking down 6 timely threes, but Zed Key was the difference in this one, matching Bergstrom’s 18 points while dominating the boards and the paint on both ends. Matt Coletti sparked Chaminade with his high energy game, keeping them in it in the first half and finishing with 17 points, and Team Long Island selection Kieran Dorney had a big second half when the Flyers rallied and challenged for the lead. He also finished with 17.
Brentwood 70 Farmingdale 63
Brentwood’s depth was on display in this one. The Indians played without All-New York State guard Jordan Riley, who was home with the flu, and still came away with a win over a good Farmingdale team. Point guard Kenny Lazo stepped up his scoring, putting 21 points in the book to go along with 9 rebounds and 7 assists, Team Long Island selection Zatai Townsend, who missed last season with an injury, added 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, and big man Alan Houston had his best game of the season, registering 14 points and 10 rebounds. Marvel Chambers led all scorers with 33 points for Farmingdale and Luis Smikle Jr. had 17.
Kellenberg 73 East Meadow 57
The Firebirds are 4-0 and big man Nick Spinoso, a Team Long Island selection, is off to a torrid start too. He had 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 blocks in this one and is averaging 25.5 points and 16.8 rebounds per game so far. Jay Cosgrove had a good game too, finishing with 18 points and 6 assists. Devin Meyers and Nelo Williams both had 16 for East Meadow.
Calhoun 73 Hempstead 57
The Colts put an end to Hempstead’s winning streak, jumping out to an early lead and holding off the Tigers from there to improve to 3-0. Calhoun featured a balanced attack led by Chris Stokel with 16 points and Finley Sheridan with 14. Hempstead’s Donovan Leviner led all scorers with 25.
GAMES OF FRIDAY 12/6
Jericho 62 Syosset 52
A Team Long Island selection since he was an All-Long Island Freshman, Brandon Weiss is a senior this year and his Jericho team has improved every year under his leadership. Weiss finished with 23 points in this big win and his Jayhawks look like serious contenders in Section 8 Class A this season. BOX
Wantagh 64 Roslyn 54
Wantagh finished 4-15 last year and they are off to a 3-0 start this season in large part because of Team Long Island forward Brandon Goldberg, who had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocks in this game and is averaging 18.3 points and 13.6 rebounds so far. BOX
BRENTWOOD 58 NORTHPORT 46
Defending Long Island Class AA Champion and New York State Finalist Brentwood opened its season on the road against a good Northport team, and although the Tigers tested them, the Indians took their first step towards returning upstate to avenge their loss in the NYSPHSAA State Championship Game. STORY
HOFSTRA DOWNS STONY BROOK
71-63 FOR LONG ISLAND D1 TITLE
It was a great back and forth game and the host Pride pulled away down the stretch to defeat rival Stony Brook and claim the title of Long Island's best college basketball team. STORY1 STORY2
SEAWOLVES ROUT MANHATTAN
Stony Brook built a 15 point first half lead and rolled to a 65-47 home win over the Jaspers. STORY There were FOUR Long Islanders in the game: Former Baldwin Bruin and Team Long Island member Tavin Pierre-Philippe had 5 points for the Seawolves, former Elmont Spartan Pauly Paulicap 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks and for the Jaspers and former LuHi Crusader Tykei Greene 5 points and 8 rebounds also for Manhattan. Another former LuHi player, Tyler Stephenson-Moore from Port Washington, played for Stony Brook but did not score.
BIG GAMES THIS WEEK
Thursday 12/12
4:30 PM Portledge @ Stony Brook
5:45 PM Copiague @ Smithtown West
Friday 12/13
6:00 PM Bishop Kearney @ St. Mary's
Saturday 12/14
12:00 PM Bishop Kearney @ Portledge
12:00 PM Center Moriches @ Deer Park
1:00 PM Uniondale @ Copiague
4:00 PM Thomas Jefferson @ LuHi
ELMONT TOURNAMENT
1:00 PM Malverne vs St. Anthony’s
3:00 PM Chaminade @ Elmont
