Jose Torres had 26 points and 14 rebounds for Forest Hills. (Denis Gostev)
Every few minutes, Jose Torres looked back to the bench, hoping to see Ben Chobhpahand barking out instructions, even ripping into him for missing a layup or getting beat to a rebound.
Yet, that booming voice was nowhere to be found – Chobhaphand was at home serving the start of his one-year suspension for illegal recruiting.
“It was devastating to know I’ll never see him there again,” the Forest Hills forward said after the Rangers played their first game — which was technically a scrimmage — a hard-fought 69-63 loss to Wadleigh in the Rucker High School Invitational in Harlem, without the seventh-year coach. “He’s been my motivating factor since I came to Forest Hills.”
Monday night, Chobhaphand told his players the unfortunate news, that after an investigation the PSAL determined Chobhaphand recruited former Francis Lewis student Denzel Thomas who is now at Queens High School of Teaching. Tuesday, the school’s longtime soccer coach, Bob Sprance, took over on an interim basis for Chobhaphand. And Saturday, Forest Hills took the court for the first time without Chobhaphand, who has filed an appeal, assistant coach Anthony Dulin said.
Sprance didn’t do much coaching as Dulin called out plays and spoke with his players during timeouts. Unlike the emotional and hyperactive Chobhaphand who Torres said would kick over a chair after a bad half, Dulin is reserved. He doesn’t do much yelling; he prefers talking softly to players after a mistake.
“The game plan hasn’t changed – play hard, be intense,” Torres said.
“To me, it’s the same Forest Hills team, the only difference is there is a little less noise from the bench,” Wadleigh coach Mike Crump said.
He did notice a hangdog look on the Rangers faces after the final horn and said if he would’ve faced a similar fate, his team would be negatively affected, especially when it happens so late in the season.
“From the kids’ standpoint, that sucks,” he said.
Forest Hills (14-11) got off to a slow start without its coach, trailing 37-27 at halftime, but behind 26 points and 14 rebounds from the 6-foot-6 Torres and 15 points from Nick Padgett, played a solid second half. The Rangers were within two on a few occasions in the fourth quarter, before turnovers and missed free throws proved to be their undoing.
“Of course the kids wanted to get the win for [Chobhaphand], I wanted to get the win for him, but we have a bigger game coming up,” Dulin said.
Wadliegh’s dynamic backcourt didn’t help matters. Senior Trivante Bloodman pumped in a game-high 36 points while Basiley Harley scored six of his nine in the fourth quarter. With forward Lazaro Martinez still out, Bloodman filled his void. He hit three 3-pointers, scored in transition and converted offensive rebounds into baskets amid the trees.
“He’s been with me since the ninth grade and his numbers have steadily gone up,” Wadleigh coach Mike Crump said. “That’s a homegrown kid.”
Immediately after Chobhaphand told his players the sad news, Torres and his teammates dedicated the season to him. As a way to inspire them, Dulin said “there’s no one person bigger than the program – that means a player or a coach.”
“We instill in our kids we just work hard, we don’t make excuses,” the assistant said.
The season, indeed, goes on for the Rangers. After a full week of practice, they take the floor in the Kennedy Classic next Sunday before meeting Robeson in the second round of the PSAL Class AA playoffs. The one positive, Torres said, is they at least have two games and several practices to get used to life without Chobhaphand.
“We’ll learn from our mistakes,” Torres said. “We’re just gonna punish Robeson [a week from] Tuesday.”