Johnny Mathis grimaced and shook his head, but it had nothing to do with the type-2 diabetes he feverishly still battles.
The John F. Kennedy boys basketball coach was asked what this inconsistent season has been like for him after so much success over more than two decades on the bench.
“We lost more league games [this season] than we lost in the last five years,” he said.
Thursday evening was more of the same.
Kennedy came out flat and sloppy, dug itself an insurmountable 30-point hole and though it rallied in the second half, fell 70-52 at Eagle Academy.
Just two years ago, the Knights (8-8, 5-5 Bronx AA) reached the PSAL Class AA title game. Last winter, led by then senior standouts Naquan Pierce and Jeffrey Short, they lost in the second round of the city playoffs, but won The Bronx AA regular-season crown for a third consecutive year.
“First few weeks it was difficult but I understand it’s part of this business and sometimes when you coach harder than your players play, it’s rough,” he said. “I see it in some of my players. They mean well, but they’re inexperienced. I don’t think they realize the intensity level they need to play at.”
Short and Pierce graduated, leaving the cupboard mostly devoid of experienced talent. Making matters worse, guards Anthony (Face) Givens, a Bishop Loughlin transfer, and Darius Ward have missed the entire season up to this point because of academic ineligibility.
Not having Givens, a heady senior point guard who helped Loughlin reach the CHSAA Class AA intersectional finals last March, has been particularly hampering. But so has the lack of inside muscle. Ahmed, a 6-foot-6 junior forward, has shined as a scoring forward. He’s averaging 14 points and 12 rebounds this year and scored 27 points against Eagle Academy.
“We’ve been disappointed,” leading scorer Muhammed Ahmed said. “We usually come out winning every game beginning of the season. Hopefully we get strong when everybody comes back. It would things things a lot.”
The 6-foot-2 Ward and Givens, Mathis said, are expected back soon as the new marking period nears, which the long time coach feels would bring an immediate boost of confidence. The addition of the two, in tandem with sharp-shooting junior guard David Hardy and forwards Badih McQueen and Ahmed, and suddenly Kennedy could be a factor come February.
“We get them kids, we got a chance to compete — legitimately compete,” Mathis said. “They bring agressiveness that this team doesn’t have. It would be a tremendous boost.”