'Emotional' ending for special Baldwin group
Hassan Keita of Baldwin consoles team mate Mykeil Tzul after their team's loss to Aquinas Institute at the NYSPHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament. (March 17, 2012) Credit: Pat Orr
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. -- After receiving his swag in a midcourt ceremony following yesterday's semifinal loss to Aquinas, Baldwin senior guard Mykeil Tzul was staring straight ahead but seeing nothing.
"I'm emotional right now. I really didn't want this to end," said Tzul, who matched Kirk Staine with a team-high 10 points as the Bruins (19-3) shot poorly (27.2 percent) but stayed close until the final five minutes of a 50-41 loss.
"We're all really close on this team," said Tzul, who played at Baldwin as a freshman and sophomore, left last year for Upper Room, but returned to his friends for his senior year. "Brandon [Williams]and Kyle [Richardson] are my best friends, but everyone on the team is like my brother. We have a great chemistry on and off the court."
Maybe that's why coach Darius Burton choked up a bit when he called this team, which is comprised of 10 seniors, "a special group. It's tough right now. I'm disappointed. I know they're disappointed."
But Baldwin's 2011-12 season will be remembered for more than a loss in the state Class AA semifinals. There was a stirring victory over previously unbeaten rival Uniondale in the Nassau County title game and an impressive win over Suffolk champ Floyd for the Long Island championship.
Then came a trip to Glens Falls and a chance to continue bonding. The bus ride Friday wasn't over-the-top frivolity -- "we treated it like a business trip," Tzul said -- but it had its lighter moments.
Most schools select an inspirational basketball movie to watch on the drive north of Albany, with "Glory Road" and "Coach Carter" perennial favorites. The Bruins selected "Coach Burton." When asked about the team's DVD choice, Tzul's face finally brightened.
"It was Coach Burton highlights," he said, unable to suppress the spreading grin. "It was pretty funny."
Burton said he compiled a highlights video of his high school days as a star soccer forward at Baldwin and his basketball days as a starting guard at Hofstra. "I still lace 'em up sometimes and play with them in practice, and they just think I'm old," Burton said. "I like to show them I could play. It showed my Hofstra days and my high school soccer days when I had a flat-top. They got a kick out of that. I think it loosened them up."
The Bruins weren't tight yesterday, just off-target and, at the end, just plain sad.
