Scholastic Roundup: It’s time for the PSAL to wake up

March 4, 2022 Andy Furman

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Rick Kosik, Student-Athlete Advocate only wants the best for local high school athletes, and he’s not too happy with the PSAL’s basketball playoff announcement.

“All they show on their website,” said Kosik, “are opening games at the Home Court of the higher seeded teams, and the second round.”

Playoff activity started this week – Wednesday – and continues through May 4th.

“There is no date or location for the Quarter Finals, Semi Finals or if a City Championship game will be played at Madison Square Garden or at the Barclay Center,” Kosik added.

In past years, the Quarter Final rounds have been played at college sites – Hunter, Queens, Kingsborough – which gave those games a big-time feel.

“They were more motivating venues,” Kosik said, “and enabled more family and friends to attend the games.”

Traditionally, St. John’s University was the annual site for the PSAL Final Four, with winners moving on to Madison Square Garden or the Barclay Center.

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Not having venues, dates and times certainly isn’t the best look for the PSAL – which once was the top scholastic league in the country.

“Additionally,” Kosik said, “having the venues, dates and times on advance allows college coaches and scouts advance time for travel to evaluate and — hopefully offer seniors full or partial scholarships.”

The 2018-19 pre-pandemic season was a perfect example. “High schools in the playoffs didn’t know where the quarter finals and semis would be,” Kosik said, “until less than a week before the games. The site for the Finals – Madison Square Garden – wasn’t announced until a week and a day before the event.”

With no – or very little – pre-planning, the AA PSAL Championship had its lowest attendance in years.

The CHSAA has had their playoff schedule and venues in place for months.

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On the PSAL hardwood, Jackson Katz, a 6-1 senior leads the Brooklyn Tech Engineers in scoring – and rebounding with a 16.8 ppg and 6.2 rpg…Boys and Girls High School has a soph leading in scoring – 6-3 Scotty Lee is averaging 9.2 ppg…South Shore has won 21 of their first 23 ballgames – and was a perfect 14-0 in league at last look….Kyron Alexander, a 6-3 senior leads the Vikes with a 16 ppg average.

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Pratt Institute’s men’s basketball team (5-18) fell in the first round of the C2C Tournament, 80-48 to Santa Cruz last week. Patrick O’Gorman led Pratt with 20 points and six rebounds. Cameron Hatcher added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Daniel Golub finished with four points and four rebounds.

Hatcher and O’Gorman earned Coast-To-Coast end of season awards. In his first season as a Cannoneer, Hatcher was named C2C Rookie of the Year. He averaged 13.3 ppg, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.4 blocks-per-game. The 2.4 steals were tops in the C2C while the rebounds and blocks-per-game mark were second.

Pratt’s head coach Chris Thompson said, “We are elated for Cam. A first-year student athlete, he has been integral to everything that we have done.”
O’Gorman was named to the C2C Second Team – he led the conference with a 17.7 ppg average. He scored a career-high in the season opener with 44 points in a 128-117 loss against Hunter College.

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Brooklyn College’s women’s basketball team capped a perfect 14-0 season with a City University of New York championship – for the second consecutive season. They topped No. 2 seed John Jay, 59-51 for the title last week. Chanel Jemmott earned her third CUNYAC Championship MVP and led all scorers with 18 in the title game.

Jemmott was named CUNYAC Player of the Year – for the second time – and Brooklyn head coach Alex Lang was named CUNYAC Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year for consecutive seasons.

Junior guards, Ericka James and Gianna Gotti were first-team CUNYAC All-Stars, and junior guard Nancy Pham was named to the conference’s Sportsmanship Team.

By surpassing 1,485 points on February 1st in a conference win over John Jay at the West Quad Center, Chanel Jemmott becomes Brooklyn’s all-time leading scorer.

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Three program records fell as Pratt Institute’s track and field teams competed in their final indoor meet at the Fastrack Last Chance Invite at the Armory Track & Field Center last week.

Christina Sancho-Spore set the women’s program record in the mile with a time of 5:44.5. In the 60-meter hurdles, Mia Wong set the new mark with a time of 12.02.

In the 400-meter, Ava Hunwick set the record in 1:10.13; Giovanna Lisa won her heat in the 1,000 meters and took eighth place overall with a time of 3:33.85.

On the men’s side, Asa Brandyberry set the program mark in the shot pit, finishing in 11th place, with a distance of 11.47 meters. In the mile, Bruce Westgate won his heat and finished with a time of 4:50.97. In the same race, Thomas Perrone, Dominic Paolini and Daniel Bhopaul all set personal bests. The outdoor season debuts March 19th.

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LIU’s women’s water polo team took down Austin College, 19-4 and 23rd-ranked CSUN, 11-4 to complete a perfect run (4-0) at the Tina Finali Invitational in Thousand Oaks, Calif., last weekend. With their win against CSUN, the Sharks have now defeated four opponents this season either ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes.

The Sharks’ softball team had a split in their FAU Strikeout Cancer tournament, falling to 12th-ranked Kentucky in their first game, 10-2 before beating local rival Columbia, 7-2 in game two last weekend.

The LIU bowling team was sitting atop of the standings on day two of the Monmouth (NJ) Invitational. The Sharks opened the day with a loss to Adelphi, 911-801, and fell later in the day to Wilmington, 902-845. They bounced back with a win over Wagner, 966-919, led by a 210 from freshman Sydney Binkley. Senior Francesca Rossi also bowled a 200.

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St. Francis College Terriers’ basketball team closed out their home season at the Daniel Lynch gym with a 72-52 loss to Merrimack, last Saturday. The game was the last to be played at the Lynch Gymnasium on Remsen Street, as the college will move come fall.

At that time, plans are to continue the Division I basketball program – however the new facility will lack a gymnasium.

Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] Twitter: @AndyFurmanFSR