By Dylan Butler
It may have only been one early season game in November, but a 10-point win over Queens powerhouse Bryant may speak volumes of how well the Bayside boys’ basketball team will do this season.
Back from a knee injury is 6-foot senior guard Lance Hazel, who had 16 points, six assists, six rebounds and six steals in the win over the Owls. According to second-year coach Joe Capuana, Hazel, who has an 88 academic average and is the captain of the team, is one of the best kept secrets in Queens.
“He’s kind of underrated and I think he’s been overlooked, which has been a big motivating factor,” said Capuana, whose team was 9-11 last year and missed out on the playoffs by one game. “He’s definitely a Division I basketball player.”
Joining Hazel in the backcourt is senior C.J. Okogeri, who averaged 20 points per game last year and has some Division I schools taking a look at Bayside’s two-sport standout. Okogeri was also Mr. Do-it-all for the football team, also coached by Capuana.
Another gridiron standout, Kenny Johnson, will be the team’s center. But the junior defensive tackle is only 6-foot-3 and is the tallest player on Capuana’s roster.
Junior Zanu Simpson, the Commodores starting quarterback, had eight points and six assists in the Bryant win and Capuana also thinks 6-foot-1 freshman Calvin Rhoden, who scored 12 points off the bench against the Owls, has tremendous potential.
But while Bayside should take advantage of what is expected to be a down year for league foes Jamaica, Edison, Hillcrest and Francis Lewis, the Commodores need only look across the neighborhood at Cardozo to find what should be its toughest competition in Queens II-A.
Coach Ron Naclerio has once again assembled what should be the most talented team in Queens this year, but with the exception of 6-foot-4 senior Danny Philips, the Judges will be very young this year.
The potential, Naclerio said, is there, but the Judges, who were 20-7 last year, may still be year away from competing for the PSAL championship.
John Forbes (5-foot-10) and Duane Johnson (5-foot-8) each gained valuable experience last year as freshman guards playing behind all-city point guard Daryl Hill.
Cameron Tyler, a 5-foot-11 guard who transferred from Catholic powerhouse Rice midway through last year, should be one of the top juniors in the city.
“He goes to the basket like [former Seton Hall standout Shaheen] Holloway,” Naclerio said. “His jump shot is impressive, but his consistent basketball IQ has to get better.”
Skyler Khaleel is a 6-foot-4 sophomore forward who reminds Naclerio a bit of former Cardozo standout Ryan Williams, and Vic Morris, a 5-foot-10 freshman guard, could be the best of them all.
“He will be able to score more easily as a ninth-grader than Daryl and Rafer,” Naclerio said, referring to Hill and playground legend and current Milwaukee Bucks backup point guard Rafer Alston. “He’s in that category. As a junior, Vic should be averaging 30 points per game. He’s that good.”
The key to Francis Lewis’ success this year is not even on the court, it’s in the classroom.
“It all depends on grades,” said Patriots head coach Randy James, whose team went 12-11 last year and missed the playoffs. “If we maintain everyone eligible, we could win 60 percent of our games. If not and we don’t jell, we will be a .500 team.”
Chris Lemieszemski, a 6-foot-5 junior forward/center, is the team’s captain. Other standouts include 6-foot-1 junior Francisco Alvarez, a transfer from Holy Cross, senior point guard Gonzalo Manzano, 6-foot-5 junior forward Robbie Alexis, 6-foot-2 guard Brennan Miller and 6-foot-4 junior forward Alex Valerio.
Townsend Harris had a banner season last year, finishing 20-5 in the ‘B’ division, as the Hawks made the playoffs for the first time in school history.
The bad news for head coach Howie Furman is that despite losing four starters and 75 percent of its scoring from last year, Townsend Harris has been promoted to the ‘A’ division.
“We lost our top players last year and now we’re in the ‘A’ league,” Furman said. “The combination of the two things will make this a tough season.”
Jamar Banks, a 6-foot-4 senior, is the only returning starter from last year. Kenny Yu will be asked to run the team as a sophomore and 6-foot-4 Robert Ciborowski is the team’s leading rebounder in its first three games this season.
John Tsapelas faces a similar situation at John Bowne, a team that went 15-10 last year in the ‘B’ division. The Wildcats also lost four starters from last year and have only three returning from last season.
Danny Cardanes, a 6-foot-1 power forward, Richard Hall, a 6-foot-1 small forward who missed half of last season with a broken wrist, and 6-foot-1 Vinicio Feliz are the team’s only seniors. Tsapelas expects 5-foot-11 junior shooting guard Anthony Guitterez to join Hall as Bowne’s top two scorers.
Queens II-A lost a pair of veteran coaches as Ken Gershon, who coached at Hillcrest, and former Edison head coach Floyd Bank — who have a combined 75 years of experience between them — are both gone, Gershon to retirement and Bank to an assistant coaching position at Division II New York Tech. Craig Fagan takes over the reins at Hillcrest while Guy Venezia is the new coach at Edison.
Jamaica, coached by DeWitt Thompson, rounds out the division and is expected to struggle this year.
For Van Buren head coach Perry Dortch, the luxury is over. Gone are the easy days of running a team with Josh Puello at the point. With Puello at Sage Community College and Darryl France, another leader on a VeeBees team that went 20-5 and lost to DeWitt Clinton in the playoffs, at CCNY, Dortch’s job just got a lot tougher.
“We’re living with a lot of mistakes. Hopefully we’ll be able to get better as the season goes on,” Dortch said. “But we look a bit rag-tag in the beginning.”
In addition to having to adjust to life without Puello, Dortch has to get used to a new division, as the VeeBees were moved to Queens III-A because of its geographic closeness to the division’s other teams, August Martin, Springfield Gardens, Campus Magnet, John Adams, Beach Channel and Far Rockaway.
Dortch said he is impressed with sophomore William Egwu, a muscular 6-foot-5 forward in the “Ryan Williams mold, who can jump to the moon, but just needs a little tender loving care from coach Dortch,” Dortch said.
Also back are Jerome Burnett, Ian Hastings and Melvin Jackson. If senior DeShawn Newtown remains academically eligible, he should help a young VeeBees backcourt.
Flushing also had a successful year in the ‘B’ division last year, as the Red Devils finished 16-8. But as is the case with many of the teams making the leap into the ‘A’ division, Charles Richardson lost a bulk of the talent from last year.
Gone are point guard Lamel Gooding, power forward Wayne Taylor, Marinko Djokic and Kaleek Gibbs, who combined for 53 points.
“It’s a tough situation because we had to start over,” Richardson said. “But I welcome the challenge.”
Flushing will compete in Queens I-A, which features borough powerhouses Newtown and Bryant, as well as Forest Hills, Grover Cleveland, Long Island City, Aviation and Franklin K. Lane.
Back for the Red Devils is 6-foot-4 senior center Sahil Kapoor, who averaged eight points and 10 rebounds, senior power forward Tamelle Harris and junior shooting guard Mario Nunez. Sophomore Lequan Mejia and freshman Vernon Teel will split time at point guard while sophomore Phil Murphy, a 6-foot-4 small forward, is the team’s top newcomer.
Murphy, a legitimate Division I prospect, had 16 rebounds in his first game, but what impresses Richardson most is Murphy’s desire to defend.
“We still want to run, it’s more prevalent now to get out and get easy baskets,” Richardson said. “We’re still trying to figure out our defensive strength.”
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
