Two Of A Kind

The night of their most demoralizing defeat, in the PSAL Class A final, Stephon Hodges and Allan Thomas got over the loss by talking about it - with each other.
Edison’s backcourt was having a hard time handling the defeat against Transit Tech, and knew no other way to cope with the shock by going over the loss on the phone. Naturally, they helped one another deal with it.
“We just talked about what went wrong that game, to make it better for the next time,” said the 5-foot-9 Hodges, a rising junior who led Queens A-West in assists with 5.25 per game last year. “We both gave it our all; put our heart in that game. So to have someone to talk to was good.”
“It really helped,” Thomas, a soon-to-be senior from South Jamaica, said. “We talked about game situations, how we could’ve done better. We were both upset; we really wanted the game, we really wanted to go to Glens Falls, to do something for Edison. But stuff happens.”
Just two days later, they were working out together, and the following weekend, combined to lead their AAU program, NYC Finest, to a big win.
Since meeting two years ago on the school’s playground, the two have become particularly close. They were as big a reason as any for the Inventors’ breakout season, one that included the Queens A-West division title, and first Queens borough championship in school history. They have continued their upward climb this summer, playing together for NYC Finest, and were each included in the Real Scout High Major Classic last week at Fordham University’s Rose Hill gym.
“We’re like brothers now,” Thomas said. “Our families know each other. Whenever we need each other, we’re always there no matter what.”
“It’s a huge plus,” NYC Finest Coach Roberto Diaz said. “In the sense of them building chemistry, not only as players but as people. They work very hard and went through a lot of obstacles together.”
Their games complement each other’s well. Thomas, a 6-foot-3 guard, is the pure scorer, as exemplified by his 16 points per game last year that led Edison. Hodges is a true point guard with extraordinary court vision.
Neither was on any school’s radar last summer, but their presence among the city’s top prospects was surely a sign they each will play college basketball at some level. After last season, and the strides they are making on the AAU circuit this summer, schools are starting to notice. They are each receiving recruiting letters, which will only intensify as the upcoming season nears.
The big brother in the relationship, Thomas can offer Hodges advice on the recruitment process. But it works both ways - they always offer pointers to one another, ways to improve their game, or weaknesses in an opponent.
“What he’s better at he helps me with, and what I’m better at, I help him with,” said Hodges, a Flushing resident. “All the time, every day, we play with each other. We both love the game of basketball and we take it very seriously.”