Call it two steps forward and one step back for basketball in New York City.
Just days after the PSAL made a statement that it's treating the issue of poaching players seriously, a showcase event in New York City turned into an embarrassment when the coaches of two of the best teams in the five boroughs benched their starting lineups.
First, you need to know a little background on how New York City basketball operates. With fall sports such as football and soccer typically not a huge deal at many PSAL schools — and there's virtually no overlap of players from fall and winter sports — basketball season tends to start a bit earlier there and it's not unusual for teams to complete a 24-game regular season by early February while upstate is stretching out 18 games from Thanksgiving to Valentines Day.
Some coaches hold a game or two in reserve for the middle of the month in order to play tune-ups in between the recently completed borough championship tournament and the overall city tournament, which doesn't really crank up for another week.
The Kennedy Classic this coming weekend is one example. The Rucker Invitational, a one-day event featuring four games, was supposed to be another this past weekend with Cardozo, the best team in Queens, taking on Wings Academy, the best of the Bronx to conclude the Saturday festivities.
Wings won, 55-46, but it was the sort of game in which you couldn't tell the players without a scorecard. In fact, you could barely tell the players with a scorecard.
Wings coach Billy Turnage said he was resting injured players and Cardozo's Ron Naclerio said he wanted to give his reserves a chance, so neither of them used any of their starters. Once it became apparent to the crowd what was happening, a fair number of spectators left the building.
It turns out that the original schedule called for Wings to play Xaverian, a very good CHSAA squad, and Cardozo to go up against Bronx JFK. In fact, Turnage had even scouted Xaverian twice recently to prepare for the game.
But according to The New York Post, Wadleigh coach Mike Crump, the event organizer for the last seven years, switched matchups after learning that Xaverian standout Brian Bernardi was out due to a shoulder injury. Turnage and Naclerio told the paper they were not informed of the switch in a timely fashion. So they spoke two nights before tip-off and agreed to sit their starters rather than show up less than fully prepared for a game between teams that are undeniably among the 10 best in the whole state when at full strength.
Fans weren't happy about not being able to watch the starters on the court, and certainly Crump had to be upset, too. But it would be considered mind-boggling anywhere in New York other than within the borders of the five boroughs for opponents to be switched on such short notice. So while Turnage and Naclerio can be faulted a bit for not making the best of a bad situation, it's hard to be critical of them in general.
On the other hand, the PSAL has been a media and fan punching bag for years because of the way players suddenly transfer out of one school, show up at another and slide right into the starting lineup. It's an issue that hasn't been limited to just basketball, though that's certainly the most visible sport.
So what happened last week was an undeniable message to coaches and administrators that the organization is cracking down.
Steve Mandl, who coached George Washington to an amazing 25 straight baseball division titles beginning in 1984 and has sent numerous players (including Manny Ramirez) into the professional and college ranks, was suspended immediately, as was Forest Hills boys basketball coach Ben Chobhaphand.
They're banned from coaching for one year following a determination that they broke the league's recruiting rules according to New York media reports.
Bob Sprance, the longtime soccer coach at Forest Hills, was named the interim basketball coach at Forest Hills as the team prepares for a round of 16 game March 1 vs. Paul Robeson in the city's Class AA tournament. Sprance coached the basketball team this winter at Clara Barton, which played in the Brooklyn West 'B' division.
The investigation apparently began after Francis Lewis coach Perry Dortch complained to the PSAL over the summer that 6-foot-5 Denzel Thomas, who played on the JV squad last season, had left his program and resurfaced at Forest Hills, The Daily News reported. Thomas subsequently transferred again and landed at Queens High School of Teaching but did not play this season.
The stiff penalty should start the conversation reminding everyone that the schools are in the business of education, not the business of sports. But the PSAL still has a ways to go to straighten out the bigger mess.
One unidentified Queens coach explained it thusly to the newspaper: "The same crime in Queens and the Bronx gets you in the Garden in Brooklyn," he said, referring to the PSAL championship game.
By the way, the off-the-court drama is not limited to the PSAL nor to just boys teams.
Apache Paschall, coach of the nationally ranked Nazareth girls basketball team in Brooklyn, was suspended by his school's principal for a week after speaking on the record at length to a local reporter about another controversy.
The CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens principals committee investigating allegations of improper recruiting by Paschall met last week and tabled discussion a day after the interview — in which the coach discussed the allegations against him at length — appeared online.
It's not clear whether Paschall's comments influenced the investigators or contributed to the decision to not decide, but Providencia Quiles, the Nazareth principal, handed down the penalty against her coach for violating a gag order.
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 john.schiano@maxpreps.com.