Bobby Schwartz is West Babylon's rebounding machine

Bobby Schwartz is curious about one stat following West Babylon’s basketball games. And it isn’t how many points he just scored.

“After the game,” coach Tim Lynch said, “he just wants to know how many rebounds he had.”

The answer? A lot.

The lanky, 6-7, 180-pound senior center was averaging an eye-catching 18 rebounds for a team that stood 10-3 overall and 7-2 in Suffolk League III through Thursday’s play.

“He’s just relentless,” Lynch said. “His effort is just amazing. … He wants every rebound to be his. That’s all he really cares about.

“He can rebound defensively because he’s got long arms; he’s big. But offensively he gets a lot of rebounds just on effort.”  

The second-year starter has complemented two other key elements, senior guards Sean McGuire and Sean Ehrichs. Schwartz had five games with at least 20 rebounds, including two with his varsity-high total of 23.

“I take a lot of pride in it,” Schwartz said. "It’s just like my main role. I’ve always been a good rebounder, and I like doing it.”

He also was averaging 10.6 points. Schwartz had a 21-point, 23-rebound game against Newfield.

“His motor is nonstop,” Kings Park coach Chris Rube said.

Last season, Schwartz averaged about 12 points and 17 boards.

“I felt last year he was the best rebounder on Long Island,” Lynch said. “Obviously, I don’t see every kid. … He’s just gotten better this year. He’s just an amazing rebounder.”  

Schwartz, who was also averaging 3.5 blocks, has drawn D-II and D-III interest, including Farmingdale State and St. Joseph’s.

Wherever he goes, he can bring along the same philosophy about the art of rebounding.

“If you want it, you’ve got to go get it,” Schwartz said. “It’s basically all effort.”

East Meadow’s returnee

East Meadow had a new point guard in Muneer Ibrahem when the schedule turned to January. This was kind of like a pro team making a substantial acquisition for the stretch run.

Coach Tom Rottkamp could see the parallel, saying that “he comes in as our best player.”

The 5-11 senior was on the varsity as a sophomore, but that was a brief COVID-19 season. He moved on to two prep schools and didn’t find them to be good fits, according to Rottkamp. So around the holiday break, Ibrahem and his parents inquired about a return.

Ibrahem has made an immediate impact. The Jets (8-6, 5-3 in Nassau Conference AA-II through Thursday) went 4-2 in his first six games. He averaged 12 points, including 17 in an OT win over Port Washington, and totaled 16 threes.

“First and foremost, he’s bringing a confidence, a mental toughness, a basketball IQ and a maturity, all of these intangibles that we kind of needed,” Rottkamp said. “He’s a terrific shooter. … But now he has expanded his game.”

Rottkamp feels he has a Class AA contender with Ibrahem joining a core with three other seniors, forwards Frank Destefano and Manjot Singh and guard Jayden Henriquez.

“We were kind of good,” Rottkamp said, “but now we’re more definitely good.”