By Dylan Butler
Kyrk Peponakis can check off another need on his recruiting wish list since two weeks after signing Cathedral Prep standout Bradd Wierzbicki, the Queens College men’s basketball coach received a commitment from Uniondale’s Marvin Lawrence.
Lawrence, an explosive 6-foot-4 forward, will fill the void at small forward left by graduating Dave Trani.
“From what I heard, it’s a good academic school and it’s a pretty good basketball program,” Lawrence said. “They’re losing a lot of guys, which is another reason I chose Queens. I think I can get some minutes right away.”
Lawrence, who selected Queens over New York Collegiate Athletic Conference rivals Adelphi and New Haven, averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks per game for Uniondale, guiding the Knights to a second consecutive Nassau Class A championship.
After playing as more of a frontcourt player at Uniondale, Lawrence, who was named first team All-Long Island, will have to adjust to a new position at Queens.
“At Uniondale I was the tallest player, so I played a lot of forward positions,” said Lawrence, who plays small forward on the Queens Cobras AAU team. “It’s going to be different going from the ‘4’ to the ‘3’.”
“He’s only been playing organized basketball for three years, and his work ethic is unparalleled from any kid I’ve seen,” said Uniondale coach Tom Diana. “He’s a tremendous basketball player and I think he can play right away.”
Lawrence is the second Uniondale standout to play at Queens College. He follows in the footsteps of Alex McLean, a 6-foot-6 forward who is also graduating.
“He wanted to go to a good academic school first, and talking to Alex helped along the way,” Diana said. “I think he made a great choice because in the end it matters where you get your degree from, not where you played basketball.”
If Charlie Villanueva plays college basketball next year, and that’s a big if, he’ll do it at the University of Connecticut, as the former Newtown standout committed to play for Jim Calhoun’s Huskies Sunday.
The 6-foot-10 forward from Woodhaven, whose brother Rob plays at Queens College, hasn’t decided if he’ll attend college in the fall or go directly to the NBA. He’s projected to be a late first-round or early second-round pick.
Should Villanueva go to UConn, it only strengthens a team already considered by some the preseason No. 1 team in the country. A frontcourt of Villanueva, Emeka Okafor and Marcus White is downright scary for the rest of the Big East.
Villanueva, considered one of the top five high school players in the country, chose UConn over Kansas. He originally verbally committed to Illinois in November, but when Bill Self left the Illini to take the Kansas job, Villanueva changed his mind.
Ellen Sarosy may have put softball behind her, but the accolades continue to rain on the Howard Beach native as the former Fairfield standout was named to the All-ECAC second team. Sarosy, who is also an NFCA All-Northeast player, finished her senior season with team-highs for batting average (.377) and stolen bases (26).
The former Mary Louis standout was also perfect in the field, cleanly handling all 50 chances (43 putouts, 7 assists). Sarosy placed 26th in the nation with 0.49 stolen bases per game and holds several school records, including career hits (252) and stolen bases (112).
The centerfielder was named the MAAC Player of the Year for the second straight season, and was selected to the All-MAAC first team for the third time.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
