Sports

NYC non-‘AA’ boys basketball honors

Collegiate's Ray Voelkel is The Post's non-'AA' boys basketball Coach of the Year.

Collegiate’s Ray Voelkel is The Post’s non-‘AA’ boys basketball Coach of the Year. (An Rong Xu)

It’s hard to argue with five straight New York State Federation Class B titles.

That’s the milestone that Collegiate reached this year, extending its own record. The previous benchmark was two, making this run one of the most historic in the history of New York boys basketball.

Brooklyn Collegiate had a great year, too, winning its first PSAL Class A championship. Pathways won the PSAL ‘B’ title. In the CHSAA, Iona Prep took home the ‘A’ crown and Nazareth, with its school facing closure, won the Class B city and state titles, the school’s first boys championship since 1989.

NYC non-‘AA’ boys basketball Player of the Year: Ryan Frankel, Collegiate

Horace Mann’s loss was Collegiate’s gain.

When Ryan Frankel left the Bronx private school for the Upper West Side institution the move didn’t shake the basketball community like a big-time CHSAA standout heading to a PSAL school, but it shaped the last three years for the Dutchmen.

“I’d be crazy to tell you I’m not happy he came to Collegiate,” Collegiate coach Ray Voelkel said. “I don’t know how many of the state titles we would’ve won without him.”

With Frankel running the point, scoring and creating, Collegiate was unbeatable. While the MIT-bound senior was at times overshadowed by teammate Connor Huff, Frankel’s value was never as critical as this winter.

Collegiate’s lone quality ball handler, he had a stellar season, averaging 16 points per game, shooting 40 percent from 3-point range and 87 percent from the free-throw line. He saved his best for last, earning MVP honors as Collegiate won a fifth straight New York State Federation Class B crown in Albany.

NYC non-‘AA’ boys basketball Coach of the Year: Ray Voelkel, Collegiate

It seems like every year, after the first day of the New York State Federation Class B tournament, officials and reporters wonder how Collegiate can possibly beat its opponent in the final. The foe tends to look invincible in the semifinals while the Dutchmen methodically knock off their opponent.

Then the final comes and Collegiate makes it look easy. Everyone wonders how.

We have the answer: Ray Voelkel.

Sure, he has talent – this year experienced seniors Connor Huff, Ryan Frankel and Willie Gwathmey – but year-in and year-out he turns more talented and gifted teams into mush. It’s rather simple, he always says. He exploits their weaknesses, whether it’s leaving open a weak link or forcing the star to do things he’s uncomfortable doing. His teams are always prepared, focused and ready. That was again the case this March, as Collegiate manhandled Bishop Ludden, who a day earlier had undressed Nazareth, the CHSAA Class B city and state champion, en route to its fifth straight Federation title.

While Collegiate is a long shot to win a sixth straight title with the graduation of Huff, Frankel and Gwathmey, we’re not betting against Voelkel. He’s proven others wrong far too often.

FIRST TEAM

F Connor Huff, Collegiate

Every year, the 6-foot-5 dynamo did a little more, from improving his perimeter jump shot to his ball handling to his playmaking abilities. The four-time NYSAISAA and New York State Federation Class B champion accomplished every imaginable goal at Collegiate and heads to Division III powerhouse Middlebury College an absolute winner. When asked how he plans to replace Huff, who averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds per game this year, next winter coach Ray Voelkel winced – there is no replacing the versatile forward, he said.

F Ervin Mitchell, Brooklyn Collegiate

The 6-foot-3 senior never forgot the pain of past playoff losses, using those setbacks as motivation from Day 1. He enjoyed a spectacular regular season number-wise, scoring 26 points (third most in the PSAL) and grabbing nine rebounds per game as Brooklyn Collegiate won Brooklyn A East. He turned it up in the playoffs, showing his younger teammates the way in difficult times. While his numbers fell his intensity rose at both ends of the floor, off the glass and the Lions followed his lead to the school’s first-ever city title, the PSAL Class A crown.

F Samson Usilo, Nazareth

The high-flying and incredibly athletic sophomore wing stormed onto the scene, becoming one of the top young players in New York City. The 6-foot-4 Nigeria native, who transferred from Mount Zion, led Nazareth to CHSAA Class B city and state titles with the school fighting to stay open.

G Shane Richards, York Prep

York Prep failed to get out of the NYSAISAA Class C quarterfinals, but it was no fault of Richards. He poured in 46 points in an overtime loss to Staten Island Academy, a performance emblematic of the Manhattan College-bound guard’s brilliant senior season. He averaged 29 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game while shooting a robust 54 percent from the field – flat-out startling numbers.

F Jordan Washington, Pathways

He has almost singlehandedly turned Pathways into a mini-dynasty, guiding the Queens school to consecutive PSAL Class B titles. The 6-foot-7 man-child with multiple high Division I offers averaged 23 points and 13 rebounds in five dominant playoff contests. If he comes back to Pathways – he’s considering prep school – the Trailblazers ought to move up to PSAL Class A, it’s unfair to the rest of the ‘B’ to contend with someone of Washington’s size, strength and skill.

SECOND TEAM

G Matt Crockett, Xavier

The versatile, 6-foot-3 junior emerged as Xavier’s top player as it advanced to the CHSAA Class A semifinals. The son of legendary Bishop Kearney girls basketball coach Cathy Crockett, his basketball IQ, athleticism, shooting ability and strength were all vital for the Knights in their run.

G Mark Fiorello, Moore Catholic

The senior sniper came up big late in games when Moore needed him most. Fiorello hit huge 3-pointers in regulation and overtime to defeat Iona Prep in the regular season and did the same to lead the Mavericks over Bishop Ford in the CHSAA Class A quarterfinals.

F Hakeem Grant, Mott Haven

The John F. Kennedy transfer was a godsend. At the season’s outset, expectations were low at Mott Haven as it returned just one starter. But the versatile 6-foot-5 Grant quickly changed that, averaging 21 points and six rebounds per game as the Mavericks won Bronx A East and reached the PSAL Class A finals with the senior leading the way.

G Gelvis Solano, Health Professions

He dominated PSAL Class B, averaging 29 points, 13 rebounds and five assists per game in leading Health Professions to the Manhattan B-2 division title and the PSAL Class B semifinals, then showed he belonged with a stellar showing in the Mayor’s Cup, comprised of the top PSAL seniors. The 6-foot-2 combo guard is a Division I talent and will be playing at that level, either next year or the year after if he chooses to attend prep school.

G Matt O’Neill, St. Edmund Prep

With his team fighting for its season and facing a large deficit against Xavier in the fourth quarter, O’Neill three 3-pointers to get St. Edmund Prep back into the game in the CHSAA Class A semifinals. The Eagles ended up winning in dramatic fashion and making the final after being chosen to finish last in their division duringthe preseason.

THIRD TEAM

G Brian Lissak, Columbia Prep

Virtually automatic from beyond the arc when his feet were set, Lissak enjoyed a brilliant four-year career at Columbia Prep and capped it off memorably. He guided the Lions to the NYCAL regular-season and postseason crowns and nearly shot them to an upset of Poly Prep in the NYSAISAA Class B quarterfinals, dropping 47 points in a one-point loss.

F Zuri Pavlin, Calhoun

The do-everything 6-foot-6 forward could play for any team in the city and be a useful part. If that sounds like a stretch, ask the coaches at national prep powerhouse Brewster Academy, where Pavlin will do a postgraduate year. Look for him to find a solid Division I school from there. In four years at Calhoun, he was the program’s top rebounder, shot-blocker, playmaker, scorer and perimeter threat. He will be irreplaceable.

G Anthony Reyes, Poly Prep

The lone senior on the youngest team in coach Bill McNally’s 17 years at Poly Prep, Reyes produced on the court and off. He was the team’s glue as its leader scorer and its leader. There was no better example than the NYSAISAA Class B semifinals when the Haverford-bound guard scored 20 0f his 27 points in the second half of a thrilling, come-from-behind victory at Fieldston.

G Dupree McBrayer, Springfield Gardens

New York City is loaded with talented sophomores, from Lincoln’s Isaiah Whitehead to Bishop Loughlin’s Khadeen Carrington and Archbishop Molloy’s C.J. Davis. McBrayer, a 6-foot-3 southpaw who can play on and off the ball, doesn’t have the name of the others, but he’s on his way. The underclassmen led Springfield Gardens to its best season since the days of Charles Jenkins, to a Queens A East division title and PSAL Class A quarterfinal berth. Look for big things out of him this summer on the AAU circuit.

F Romaine Thomas, Evander Childs

One of the city’s hidden gems, the 6-foot-6 swingman can shoot the lights out as well as finish with a fury in the paint. His coming-out party came after the season, when he scored 24 points in the Mayor’s Cup, an all-star game featuring the PSAL’s top seniors. After two years of junior college, look for Thomas to make an impact on the Division I level.

HONORABLE MENTION

F Josh Blagrove, Bishop Ford

G Brian Cavaluzzo, Regis

G Ethan Feldman, Packer Collegiate

G Taquan Givens, Mott Haven

F Tyshawn Myles, WHEELS

F Dimencio Vaughn, St. Agnes

G Shammgod Wells, LaSalle

G Jamiek Riviere, August Martin

F Scott Schaefer, Moore Catholic

F Cristian Zapata, Newcomers

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