The Owen D. Young (Van Hornesville, N.Y.) boys basketball team is on a roll, winning two of its last five games.
Two victories may not seem like much, but until Jan. 11, the Wildcats had lost 96 consecutive games – believed to be a New York state record. On that historic night, they exorcised all of their demons with a 54-50 victory over visiting Oppenheim-Ephratah.
Ironically, 16 years earlier, Oppenheim-Ephratah had severed a 74-game losing streak with a 52-51 victory over Owen D. Young.
The national boys record is believed to be 138 consecutive losses by Friendship Academy (Friendsville, Tenn.) from 1967-73. The girls record, which just ended in the 2008-09 season, is 265 by Oliver Wolcott Tech in Torrington, Conn.
Don Van Valkenburgh instructs his players during a time out.
<center>Photo by Bruce Watson</center>
"People came from across the floor and hugged the players," first-year head coach Don Van Valkenburgh said of the initial victory. "A parent shook my hand and said, ‘My son hadn’t won a game since seventh grade.’ It was loud. Kids were hollering and screaming in the parking lot and blowing their horns.”
Athletic director Cory Pike, a former head coach who now tutors the JV team, added, “Their coach actually congratulated me on the victory. A lot of schools in our league are happy for us. The school spirit has lifted because it (losing) … starts to become a mind set after so many years.”
Pike was so proud of the Wildcats’ accomplishment that he left the scoreboard on (showing the final score) that night and the next day. He even had a picture taken for the yearbook so the thrill of victory wouldn’t soon be forgotten.
Owen D. Young, which had last tasted victory on Dec. 29, 2004, has had seven coaches in the past eight years. Van Valkenburgh, a 60-year-old retired businessman, not only is an Owen D. Young alumnus, but he also was a three-year starter and leading scorer on teams that never had a losing season. He has given the players a role model and a confidence boost.
“I got sick of watching them lose,” the 1968 graduate said. “Three other games they should have won (earlier). You could see it in their faces when we were down five or six points – it was like 50.”
The first-year coach scrapped the Class D Wildcats’ long-time zone in favor of a man-to-man defense.
“After two games,” he said, “a player told me, ‘We haven’t played man-to-man since seventh grade.’ I pat ‘em on the back, shake their hands and give them high-fives.”
Owen D. Young is one of the smallest schools in New York with 71 students in grades 9-12. Nineteen of the 36 boys are on either the varsity or JV basketball team.
The Wildcats must return to earth Friday night, however, because they will play host to the state’s No. 1 Class D team, New York Mills, which is 13-0 and has a towering frontline.
Hawkins scores 56 points
Goodyear Estrella senior guard Corey Hawkins (6-3) pumped in a school-record 56 points during a 122-84 rout of Buckeye and has a shot at Mike Bibby’s state career record of 3,002 points. The Arizona State-bound star is averaging 35.1 points, 11 rebounds, 4.9 steals and shooting 54 percent from the field.
* Two of the nation’s top seniors – and future Ohio State teammates – tangled Saturday night at their future home, Value City Arena, with Northland (Columbus, Ohio) defeating Bishop Luers (Fort Wayne, Ind.), 88-67, before a crowd estimated at 6,000. Jared Sullinger (6-9) paced the winners with 24 points, but Luers’ 6-7 Deshaun Thomas took game honors with 36.
* Dunbar (Fort Worth, Texas) senior Darius White – already ranked as one of the nation’s elite wide receivers – is earning elite status in basketball, too. He scored 36 points, including the winning free throws with two seconds left in overtime, during a sizzling 104-103 victory over Southwest.
* In Missouri, one of the nation’s top junior guards, Bradley Beal, erupted for 44 points as Chaminade defeated Vianney, 68-61.
* Mississippi transfer LaQuinton Ross, a 6-8 junior, is averaging 22 points and 12 rebounds following his first two games at Burlington Life Center Academy (N.J.).
* In Tennessee, Independence outlasted Centennial, 76-71, in a four-over thriller.
* North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) shot a blazing 77.5 percent (31-40) during a shocking 99-55 rout of four-time state champion Indianapolis Lawrence North. North Central had beaten North, 59-55, one week earlier. Purdue-bound guard Terone Johnson paced the winners with 32 points on 10-of-11 shooting.
* In another Hoosier headliner, Carmel defeated Pike, 64-50, as 6-11 sophomore A.J. Hammons had 14 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks. Pike’s super junior guard, Marquis Teague, was held to 11 points on 4-of-18 shooting.
* In Kansas, Great Bend shot 55.6 percent to end Wichita Collegiate’s 37-game winning streak with a 58-53 victory in the championship game of the Bluestem Classic.
* Anthony Gonzalez, one of Pennsylvania’s leading two-sport athletes, will miss the remainder of Liberty’s basketball season due to a knee injury, according to the Harrisburg Patriot News. The 6-3 Gonzalez, who was averaging 11.2 points, will bid for playing time at quarterback next year at the University of Pittsburgh.
* DeLand (Fla.) defeated Daytona Beach Seabreeze, 63-54, to give John Zeoli his 500th coaching victory.
* Jim Fenerty posted his 400th coaching victory in Pennsylvania as Germantown Academy routed Episcopal Academy, 60-31.
Bob Redman leaves Male
Bob Redman, who had great success at Male (Louisville, Ky.), is moving across the Ohio River to take the head football coaching reins at Jeffersonville (Ind.). The 61-year-old coach has a 317-115-1 record and won three Class 4A state titles in 35 years at four Louisville schools. His son, Chris, is a quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons.
Redman, who actually will commute 15 minutes from his Louisville home, was retired from teaching, but will work full-time with at-risk students in his new job.
* In California, Harry Welch has taken the head coaching post at Santa Margarita. The 64-year-old Welch has a 222-49-2 record in 36 years and is the only coach to have won bowl championships with two different schools.
* In another major California move, Jon Mack has taken the head coaching position at Encino Crespi after three years at Ventura College. He compiled a 163-47-1 record during 17 very successful seasons at St. Bonaventure and is returning to his roots.
* Dick Basham has retired as the winningest football coach in Wisconsin history. The 66-year-old Basham won 350 games and nine state titles in 43 years, the last 38 at Milwaukee Marquette.
* West Palm Beach Dwyer running back/safety Matt Elam has been named Florida’s Mr. Football. Elam ran for 1,895 yards and 29 touchdowns and made 92 tackles for the Class 4A state champions. He already has enrolled at the University of Florida.
* Cherokee County quarterback Coty Blanchard has earned Mr. Football honors in Alabama. He passed for 2,916 yards and 35 touchdowns while running for 1,161 yards and 20 touchdowns for the Class 4A state champions. He will attend Jacksonville State.
* Quarterback Trevor Brown, who paced Timpview to Utah’s Class 4A state title, has made a commitment to Utah State. He had a total offense of 3,039 yards and 40 touchdowns.
* Maryland powerhouse Old Mill has boosted its stock for next fall with the transfer of Annapolis running back Demond Brown. The 5-8, 175-pounder ran for 1,345 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior.
Blair continues dominance
New Jersey powerhouse Blair Academy continued to uphold its national No. 1 ranking by Amateur Wrestling News by winning the National High School Coaches Association Final Four of High School Wrestling Tournament. Blair routed previously unbeaten Texas power Bishop Lynch, 47-15, in the title match.
* St. Paris Graham defeated Lakewood St. Edward by a surprising 39-20 margin during the biggest dual meet of the year in Ohio. Graham is ranked No. 3 in the nation and St. Edward No. 9.
* New Jersey wrestling legend Gene Barber picked up his 500th coaching victory as Absegami defeated Oakcrest, 44-12.
Potpourri
* California high school baseball lost one of its premier coaches recently with the death of John Stevenson at age 76 from an apparent heart attack. Stevenson coached at El Segundo where he won a state-record 1,059 games in 50 years and tutored such future major leaguers as George and Ken Brett and Scott McGregor as well as umpire Derryl Cousins.
* Woodland senior Courtney Strain is the first Alabama basketball player - girl or boy - to score 5,000 career points. The 5-8 Auburn signee now has 5,075 points for a 31.5 average. Strain, who once had 27 rebounds in a game, is a straight A student and a cheerleader for the boys games.
* Duke University-bound Tricia Liston scored 43 points as Fenwick (Oak Park, Ill.) defeated St. Joseph’s Academy (St. Louis, Mo.), 66-52.
* Morristown (N.J.) shot put star Nick Vena fired the iron ball 71 feet, 3.75 inches during the Morris County Championships for No. 3 all-time indoors. The national record is 74-11 by Brent Noon (Fallbrook, Calif.) in 1990.
* In Connecticut, Newington/Berlin hockey coach Dave Harackiewicz posted his 200th victory, 3-0, against Enfield.
