Murry Bergtraum has received notoriety for its powerhouse girls basketball program, which has won the last 11 PSAL city titles and has claimed five state Federation crowns.
But the boys are quietly making a name for themselves this winter.
Under first-year coach Derrick Lawson, the Blazers (12-4) won Manhattan A Southwest and on Tuesday were the lone Class A program to prevail in the borough quarterfinals, beating No. 3 Manhattan Center, 69-68.
In its current format, the borough playoffs, which pits the best eight teams regardless of classification in their respective borough, has crowned just one ‘A’ champion: Thomas Edison in 2007.
“I try to tell my kids, ‘A’ or ‘AA,’ it doesn’t matter,” said Lawson, who has coached NBA players Nate Robinson, Marcus Williams and Brandon Jennings in New York City’s summer streetball leagues. “Within the school community at Bergtraum, they are making noise and feeling good about themselves.”
Seeded sixth, Bergtraum received 15 points apiece from James Gantt Jr. and Kenneth Kemble in rallying from a 13-point deficit. The Lower Manhattan school faces No. 2 West 50th Street Campus on Thursday in the Manhattan borough semifinals at 6 p.m. No. 1 Wadleigh faces No. 4 Thurgood Marshall in the other semifinal.
“Everybody always tells us the girls did this, the girls did that, but we’re trying to prove it’s not always about the girls, it’s about the boys, too,” said senior Lance Walker, who scored 12 points in Tuesday’s victory. “We’re trying to go far and let people know who we are.”
When Lawson took the job he knew it would be a challenge. The Blazers have made the playoffs each of the last three years, but were basically swallowed by Ed Grezinsky’s girls program, which is ranked seventh in the country by USA Today. One of the first things he told his players was to look to make their own legacy.
“Make your own mark,” he told them. This is also Lawson’s first varsity head-coaching job. Leading grown men, many of them professionals, in the summer time is far different than teenagers. “I’m trying to nurture them, help them make proper decisions, to help them out now and later in life.”
Bergtraum lacks that one superstar, but what it does have is balance and depth. Kemble, Joseph Butler, Walker, and Leonel Alvarez all average between 10 and 12 points per game while Gantt tallies eight per game. The Blazers rely on pressing the opposition and excelling in transition.
“I tried to let them play to their strengths, which is press and run,” he said. “Whey they saw success with that, it just built their confidence to a greater level.”
After winning the division and knocking off Manhattan Center, Bergtraum thinks anything is possible. Thursday’s opponent – high-scoring West 50th Street and standout guard Yunus Hopkinson – may be the prohibitive favorite, but the Blazers are riding high.
“I think we can make it all the way to Sunday, I really do,” Walker, the senior, said, referring to the borough final at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. “We can win a city championship.”
Bergtraum isn’t the only unique story in tomorrow’s semifinals. Despite returning just three players without any prior basketball experience, No. 4 Beach Channel finished fourth in Queens AA and meets top-seeded Cardozo after its 77-75 overtime victory over No. 5 Thomas Edison. Also in Queens, No. 3 Martin Van Buren visits No. 2 Forest Hills at 6 p.m.
Second-seeded Thomas Jefferson and No. 3 Lincoln meet for third time – a rematch of the Orange Wave’s 58-53 victory in Coney Island Feb. 4 – in East New York at 5 p.m. The Railsplitters have won the borough the last four years, but have never been seeded so low. Top-seeded Boys & Girls hosts No. 5 Robeson in the other pairing in Brooklyn.
In The Bronx, No. 1 John F. Kennedy hosts No. 5 James Monroe and third-seeded Eagle Academy visits No. 2 Wings Academy.