So much for New York City’s reputation as an all-basketball, no-football town when it comes to churning out college recruits.
Doug Marrone’s first-year football staff at Syracuse University landed its third commitment of the year from a rising New York City senior and sixth overall from inside the state when Jeremiah “Juice” Kobena of Cardinal Hayes in the Bronx confirmed this week that he intended to play for the Orange in the fall of 2010.
Kobena plays wide receiver and running back. He finished fifth in the 100 meters at the state Federation track and field championships last month despite fighting off illnesses for much of the spring.
Earlier this month, Brooklyn Canarsie running back Steven Rene picked the Orange over a slew of other schools, including Boston College, Rutgers and Pittsburgh.
The third NYC recruit is safety Mario Tull of Xaverian High in Brooklyn.
Other New Yorkers opting for the Orange thus far are Syracuse CBA offensive lineman Macky MacPherson, Lawrence quarterback John Kinder and Riverhead linebacker Malcolm Cater.
Safety Jordan Thomas of Union-Endicott gave a commitment to Rutgers after attending a camp there at the end of June.
Among the other players to commit thus far are Poughkeepsie defensive end Reuben Frank to Connecticut, Johnson City defensive tackle DaQuan Jones to Penn State, Pittsford tight end Sean Fitzpatrick to Maryland and Rochester Bishop Kearney defensive end Jerome Lewis to Virginia Tech.
Jones' decision was a blow for Marrone, whose staff has done a thorough job downstate thus far but hasn’t had a meaningful win in upstate recruiting yet. Landing Jones could have been comparable to when Dick MacPherson (grandfather of Macky MacPherson, by the way) convinced Liverpool's Tim Green to stay home in the early 1980s at a time when the Syracuse program was still in shambles.
Of all the remaining New York prospects, none is getting more attention than another NYC player: Staten Island Curtis defensive end Dominique Easley. He has 18 Division I scholarship offers thus far, including Florida, Tennessee, Penn State, Michigan, Georgia and Miami.
Photo by Albert McCracken
Will Regan, Nichols
Basketball: Recruiting in full swing
* Buffalo Nichols standout Will Regan took the suspense out of what could have been a very intense fall recruiting season when he declared recently that he will continue his career at Virginia. The 6-foot-9 Regan was one of the most recruited Section VI players in recent memory and turned down Michigan, Providence, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Stanford and Maryland.
Regan, a second-team all-state pick in Class A, averaged 23.9 points on 60.5 percent shooting and 13.8 rebounds as a junior. With 1,401 career points, Regan is on pace to become the 13th Section VI player to reach 2,000.
* In girls basketball, 5-8 guard Taylor Palmer of Mount Vernon says she’ll enroll at West Virginia in the fall of 2010. Palmer was also getting interest from Boston College, Providence, Seton Hall, Princeton and Iona after averaging 16.2 points and 3.8 assists for the school's first sectional championship team in girls basketball since 1983.
* Abraham Lincoln grad Lance Stephenson put the uncertainty behind him Friday by pleading guilty to disorderly conduct involving charges of groping a 17-year-old Brooklyn girl. The development, four days ahead of the scheduled court date, will keep him out of jail.
Stephenson agreed to perform to three days of community service and seek counseling, The Daily News reported. He was facing up to six months in jail on a misdemeanor sexual harassment case, which would have put a crimp in his plan to attend the University of Cincinnati in the fall.
Baseball: Six seniors earn player of the year awards
Six seniors have been selected players of the year for the recently concluded baseball season, the New York State Sportswriters Association announced.
The players are Ward Melville pitcher/first baseman Steve Matz (Class AA), Rochester Aquinas second baseman Ben Bostick (A), Class B co-recipients J.J. Franco of Poly Prep and Kyle Hansen of St. Dominic's, Maple Hill pitcher/shortstop Jaime Schultz (Class C) and Arkport pitcher/shortstop Shawn Kerr (Class D).
Mike Chiapparelli of Mamaroneck was selected coach of the year in Class A for the second straight season. The other coaches of the year are Mark Magliocco (Aquinas, Class A), Matt Roventini (Poly Prep, B), Rico Frese (Maple Hill, C) and Joe LePage (Hamilton, D).
Only seven of the 240 players selected were repeat all-stars from a year ago, Patchogue-Medford shortstop/pitcher Marcus Stroman in Class AA; Maine-Endwell pitcher/first baseman Brian Ruby in Class A; Chenango Valley catcher Brian Stilson and St. Dominic’s pitcher Kyle Hansen in Class B; Keio pitcher Kenta Miyoshi and Candor pitcher Cody Rose in Class C; and Chapel Field pitcher Travis Renwick in Class D.
More Football: Pair of tragedies upstate
Two recent football standouts at small upstate schools died recently in separate automobile accidents.
Adam Wright, 20, a second-team all-state running back for Charles G. Finney School in 2006, died following a three-vehicle crash last weekend outside Rochester. Wright helped Finney reach the Section V Class D final as a senior with 1,464 yards and 15 touchdowns. He finished his career with 4,294 yards, which was the No. 4 total in Section V history at the time.
Walton three-sport athlete Cody Endress, a recent graduate of the school, died in a one-car crash. Endress, 18, played football, basketball and baseball. He was a three-year starter in football and part of the 2007 state champion as the tight end on what is regarded as one of the best Class D teams in state history.
Catching up on coaching and AD changes
* Washingtonville is bringing back Don Clark as football coach even though incumbent Tim Johnson applied to retain his position, The Times Herald-Record reported. Clark won the Section IX Class AA title there in 2003 and left to become an assistant at Marist and then Pace University. Johnson, who was on Clark's 2003 staff, will remain as an assistant coach.
* Nick Gentile was named football coach at Harpursville. Gentile, 67, whose 32-year coaching career includes stints as head coach at three schools (the last being at Groton from 1984-87), replaces Mike Curtis. The Hornets have not had a winning season since 1984. They were 4-5 last fall.
* Orlando DiBacco has been promoted to replace Rich Hurley, who stepped down as the Albany Bishop Maginn basketball coach to spend more time with his family and pursue an advanced degree.
* Liverpool AD George Mangicaro returned to work July 1 after being suspended with pay since September 2006. It was the latest development in a saga that ended with Mangicaro receiving a $60,000 settlement to drop a federal lawsuit, The Post-Standard reported. Mangicaro had maintained the district retaliated against him for blowing the whistle on financial mismanagement.
* Assistant principal Barbara Gardner has been appointed as the AD at Gates Chili. The 28-year veteran of the district replaces Chris Hodge, who resigned under pressure earlier this year.
* Former Lansing AD Ed Redmond now has that title at Ithaca High. The former Lansing football and baseball coach was an associate principal at Ithaca last year while also coaching football and will retain that title in addition to his new duties.
* Defensive coordinator Al McNall has been promoted to head football coach at Lansingburgh. He replaces Pete Porcelli, who left after nine years to take over at Albany High. McNall was an assistant for 10 years seasons at Lansingbugh, which slumped to 4-5 last fall after playing in the 2007 NYSPHSAA Class A final.
* Niagara-Wheatfield has named former pro player David Hack as its football coach. The five-time all-star for the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League replaces Al Pogel, who stepped down this spring.
John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.