Thanks guys.. I didn't read the box score but it looks like Monmouth won big again. Not sure how many hammonds got.
But after I read my post I thought back on Lefone R my player that Reggie was after at Erie JC in Buffalo. I think it was Erie CC.. Lefone in my 23 years coaching HS was in my top 5 of favorite players. Maybe in the top 15 as most talented. he was a 6'2 gd that had a handle of the ball,could shoot the 3 and stop on a dime and had the quickest 1st step .. He was exactly a smaller version of Latrell Sprewell of the Knicks . If Lefone was 6'5 or 6'6 he would of been a 5 star recruit. He is what we call " tweeners". He could jump out of the gym and when inside he had unreal hang time. He would go up inside with the ball and so would the defended.. But the defender would be on his way down and Lefone was still airborne. I am dating my self but Elgin Baylor of the Lakers had that " hang time".
But in the finals of the Sectionals at West Point when we "boxed " Avebe the 3rd leading scorer in NY state avg 33 pts a game and held him to 9 pts with 2 minutes left Lefone had 34 points and everyone really took notice of him.Reggie and about 20 coaches where there scouting Avebe . Lefone was being recruited by other schools but he was a classified Sp ed player so the juco's were after him . We were up by 20 and I called the "box: off with a few minutes left. Avebe did get a basket in garbage time when i got to empty my bench. Lefone was named MVP of the Sectionals and the TV ,Radio and sports writers were doing post game interviews. To show you how crazy my kids were when we went into the West Point visiting locker room after the game as our fans and teachers came down on the court. I noticed m&m's all over the floor in the locker room . As lefone and I were doing post game interviews my star player M who had maybe 18 points but was so upset that Lefone out shined him and was getting on TV etc. knocked over a big bag on m&m's a teacher had put at the entrance to the locker room as a reward and snack . my asst coach told me what happened . So here I am,we upset a team that was 21-1 ,held the no 3 player in the state to 11 points and now are in the quarter finals of the NY state HS tournament and I have 500 m&m's all over the floor . Most of the players are so happy and celebrating. We have teachers and parents coming into our locker room cheering.
M is sitting by himself pouting. I ask everybody to leave the room but M. I ask him if he threw the bag of m&m's. He said he did . I told him we wouldn't be here tonight if it wasn't for him. You have made the headlines all year. The other team was so concerned with you on offense that Lefone was unstoppable. I told him I under stand your disappointment but we are a team and because Lefone gets the headlines a part of growing up is accepting and sharing. Now I am going to find an Army custodian and ask for a broom. You need to sweep up every m&m on the floor an empty it in the garbage . We will all wait in the hallway for you. M did sweep up every single colored m&m because if he didn't we would be playing w/o him in our next regional game . Thank god he did.
We won our next 2 games and lost in the state finals by 5 pts M had 25 points
2 years ago I get a call from Garret T who was the cobra of the box. He informed me Lefone was shot and killed in NYC on an outdoor basketball court in Brooklyn. It was on Mothers day. He was buried in New Jersey and last year went to his grave maker . he was just 22 years old. He had been killed a few years before anyone knew. A teacher finally got a hold of his mother who moved to North Carolina and told us where he was buried. I put the basketball net of that game on his grave. What a waste of a life. anyway Reggie Witherspoon the coach of Cansius made me think of Lefone. Sorry for the boring story but I still see lefone driving to the basket with his hang time and hitting a glass swish off the backboard only now he is doing it with clouds around him
