HIGH SCHOOLS
It was only when Phyllip Jones asked about the basketball coaching job at the high school that had just hired him that he found out he would have a hard time getting it.
“They told me there was no team,” Jones said. “I couldn’t understand it. How could there be no team?”
He grew up just blocks from Prospect Heights and although he attended the academically superior A.P. Randolph in Manhattan, Jones knew about the tradition of the once-strong program where he has worked for nearly two years.
But Jones, now 26, didn’t know that the team had been disbanded after forfeiting nearly all of its games three years ago because of a lack of interest and failing grades. The program was completely dormant the year after that.
So the former player, who walked on at Florida A&M but didn’t get in any games, decided to bring the team back.
“It seemed like nobody seemed to care that we didn’t have a team,” said Jones, who brought it back to life a year ago. “But it’s different now.”
That difference will be seen Thursday, when the 14-5 Cardinals visit Environmental Studies in a second-round playoff game in the PSAL B division. After spending last year in the netherworld of the Developmental League, where there are no playoffs, Prospect Heights moved up this year and could advance to the A division next season.
“That’s what we want,” said junior Tyree Francis, who averages 34 points per game. “Last year was hard because we knew we had nothing to play for.”
Still, it was better than the year before that, when only the junior varsity team existed.
“If they hadn’t gotten the team back, I probably would have transferred,” Francis said. “Basketball is what I do.”
He has the chance to play largely because of Jones, who got his MBA from Florida A&M. Jones also coaches the JV team, the boys volleyball team in the spring and is starting up a girls basketball team for next year.
“There are a lot of obstacles here,” Jones said, referring to the fact that Prospect Heights is one of many schools in the city that is being phased out and replaced with several smaller schools within the same building. Right now, there are about 1,100 students among the five schools. “But our goal is still to bring this school back to the prominence it once had.”
*
Yesterday’s weather forced the change of this week’s playoff schedules. In the PSAL, the boys’ A second round now begins tomorrow at Hunter College, with Manhattan Center facing Bryant at 4:30, Springfield Gardens-FDA at 6:15 and Lincoln-LIC at 8. Thursday’s games at Elmcor begin at 4:30, with Curtis-JFK, followed by Cardozo-Grady at 6:15 and Bayside-Wadleigh at 8.
The CHSAA quarterfinals were also postponed. Christ the King vs. St. Raymond’s is still scheduled for 6 tomorrow at St. Francis Prep, with Xaverian-Farrell to follow. All Hallows-Loughlin has been moved to Thursday at Molloy at 6, followed by Rice-Holy Cross. The CHSAA A semis were switched from today to tomorrow at Mt. St. Michael, with LaSalle-Mount at 6 and Hayes-St. John’s Prep at 7:30.
*
Danny Almonte remains in Florida, but Monroe head coach Mike Turo said that the pitcher who helped the Eagles to the PSAL title remains ineligible at Hialeah outside of Miami.