James "Jamie" McCormick, the first-year coach of the struggling Andover (Andover, N.Y.) girls basketball team in upstate’s Southern Tier, was found dead at his home on Wednesday. Investigators believe he took his own life.
State Police said McCormick, 48, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Allegany County coroner. There were no signs of foul play, investigators told the Wellsville Daily Reporter.
McCormick's Andover team fell to 0-17 the following day with a 34-28 loss to Friendship (Friendship, N.Y.). He had been suspended one game by schools Superintendent William Berg, who said the coach was being investigated for possible inappropriate comments.
The record, however, was highly misleading. McCormick had been a successful coach at both Andover and Jasper-Troupsburg in the past. He coached the Andover boys JVs for the past two seasons before Athletic Director Rich Gill asked him to rebuild a girls varsity that was coming off a 12-11 season and a trip to the Section V semifinals but would have no returning players this winter.
“He re-invented himself as a coach at every job he had,” Gill told the newspaper. “He won county championships with the boys, he had an amazing run at J-T, we brought him back to Andover to do the boys’ JV for two years and he gets a lot of credit for what these boys are doing on varsity today.”
McCormick was 74-6 as the boys JV coach at Andover in the mid-1980s and went on to coach the varsity boys before a 10-season run (145-74 record) with the Jasper-Troupsburg girls. He was named Section V Coach of the Year in 2004, when J-T went 24-1 and bowed to eventual champion Pine Valley Central (South Dayton, N.Y.) in the state quarterfinals.
He also officiated girls soccer, basketball and softball contests.
Gill recalled an instance when McCormick had worked all week at the New York State Department of Transportation, officiated games each night and officiated a full Saturday at a tournament. He was on his way back to Andover when referees for a junior-high game did not show up.
“He drove right to Andover and refereed a modified game — he would do anything for those kids,” Gill said.
More girls basketball: No ordinary rematch
* In mid-January, Averill Park (Averill Park, N.Y.) thrashed Colonie Central (Albany, N.Y.) by a score of 78-38. The Garnet Raiders got their revenge 27 days later by beating the state's top-ranked Class A team 63-62. Tehresa Coles (17 points) made two free throws with 21 seconds to go in the Suburban Council regular-season finale.
Coles followed up by forcing a turnover nine seconds later and then snaring an offensive rebound to deny Averill Park a final possession.
Freshman Sydnie Rosales led Colonie, ranked seventh in Class AA, with 19 points.
* If this is how the folks in the PSAL crunch numbers en route to seeding teams for the girls basketball tournament then we’re dying to see how they handle filing their tax returns.
Murry Bergtraum (New York, N.Y.), ranked No. 1 in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters is a consensus top seed, as you might expect of an 11-time defending champion with a perfect record this season. But the rationale behind seeding Bronx JFK and South Shore ahead of Francis Lewis needs an explanation.
Francis Lewis has three losses this season, all to state-ranked teams: St. Peter's, North Babylon and St. Michael's Academy. And the Patriots join Bergtraum as the PSAL’s only undefeated squads in league action.
Making the seeding decision even more questionable is the fact that Francis Lewis beat South Shore late last month and JFK in December. Francis Lewis also owns wins vs. over Mary Louis and Midwood, both of whom beat South Shore.
Seeding the Patriots fourth means they would have to face Bergtraum in the semifinals rather than the PSAL championship game.
Tavon Sledge, Half Hollow Hills West
Photo by Lonnie Webb
Half Hollow Hills West (Dix Hills, N.Y.) added a quality win to its resume over the weekend in the Primetime Shootout in Trenton, N.J., by beating Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) 73-69 in a possible preview of the Federation tournament in Glens Falls.
Tavon Sledge had 24 points and 12 assists for the Colts, ranked No. 2 by the New York State Sportswriters Association, and Tennessee recruit Tobias Harris shook off foul trouble to pile up 19 points, 14 rebounds and 11 blocked shots.
Omar Calhoun led Christ the King with 24 points.
* Injured guard Ron Canestro made a brief appearance Friday in a win vs. St. Francis, and the senior was back full-time for Buffalo Nichols' 60-58 loss to Oak Ridge (N.C.) Military Academy at the Primetime Shootout.
Canestro had 11 points in the loss, his first full game since surgery on a dislocated pinky finger six weeks ago. Virginia recruit Will Regan led Nichols with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Boys hockey: Lost weekend for Williamsville North
Williamsville North (Williamsville, N.Y.) will be riding the “down” elevator in the state rankings as the postseason begins.
Kenmore West (Buffalo, N.Y.) handed Williamsville North its first loss of the season, 3-2, in a game marred by a post-game fight that resulted in the suspension of three players and Spartans coach Bob Rosen.
Williamsville North was ranked second in the state in Division I by the NYSSWA.
Freshman Mike Coyne scored what proved to be the game-winner with 5:52 left at the Amherst Center.
The Buffalo News reported that separate scraps broke out after the final horn among players battling for the puck in the closing moments and again after the teams went through post-game handshakes.
Rosen and the coaches from both teams were on the ice trying to separate players when game officials penalized Rosen for verbally abusing them, resulting in an automatic two-game suspension from the league, witnesses told the paper.
"They attributed a quote a kid said to me and that was part of the problem," Rosen said. "I'm extremely disappointed. ... I'm out there in street shoes trying to break things up and do the referees' job. It's just disappointing."
The suspension commenced the following day as sixth-ranked Orchard Park beat the Spartans 5-4. Mark Trigilio scored twice and Dan Murphy connected for the eventual game-winner late in the second period.
Odds and ends
* Mike Soria of Kings Park (Kings Park, N.Y.) forfeited the 103-pound final to his twin brother Max at the Section XI wrestling championships to repay Max's gesture last season. The seniors, who have never wrestled each other in a competition, made news last year when Max forfeited to Mike in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association tournament. Mike went on to win the 96-pound title and Max placed third.
It's a virtual certainty that Mike Soria will receive a wildcard bid to this year's state tournament.
* Lancaster senior Melissa Kurzdorfer finally hit an elusive milestone, eclipsing the 50-foot barrier in the shot put and breaking her own state record at a meet at the Lancaster Fieldhouse. Her throw of 50 feet, 6 inches came on her final throw and is the top U.S. schoolgirl effort of the season.
* Rockville Centre South Side (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) forward Crystal Dunn has been selected Gatorade's New York state player of the year in girls soccer.
* Two-time NYSSWA player of the year Ryan Creighton, the former Greenport standout, left the Division II Franklin Pierce men's basketball team in early December after averaging 8.1 points in seven games, all starts. He began classes at Dowling College last month but won't return to the court until next season. He stands second to Lance Stephenson on the state's career scoring list.
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
