Boys basketball spotlight: Mt. Sinai's Ryan McNeely is a chip off the coaching block
Mount Sinai coach Ryan McNeely got his 200th win on Jan. 11. His father, Bob, who does stats for Ryan, had 220 at Centereach and Islip. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Ryan McNeely knew it was coming. His father had put him on alert.
“He was kind of periodically asking me, 'Where are you at? How close are you?’ ” McNeely said. “ . . . So I had a running count in my head where I was at.”
The Mount Sinai boys basketball coach was at a milestone when the Mustangs won at Hampton Bays on Jan. 11 — varsity victory No. 200. He had 70 from 11 years at Centereach and 130 amid this 12th season leading the Mustangs.
His dad, Bob, who now keeps stats for Ryan at Mount Sinai games, also hit 200 and ultimately won 220 times across 22 years coaching the varsity at Centereach and Islip.
Like father, like son.
“For me, it’s kind of cool,” McNeely said. “But I know (my father) was pretty excited, being that he had 200 wins. I think he was looking forward to me getting the same milestone.”
McNeely was up to 204 through Thursday’s play. The Mustangs were 13-2 overall and led Suffolk VI at 9-0.
The program has never won a county title.
“I think we pass the ball really well,” McNeely said. “We have a lot of experience. We have scoring. We have size. We have guards. So I think we have the team that can compete for a county championship. But obviously there are some really good teams that are in that Class A as well.”
Four starters returned from a Mount Sinai team that went one-and-out in the postseason, including 6-6 junior forward Brian Vales, a player McNeely labeled as one of Suffolk’s top big men, and standout 6-2 senior guard Dominic Pennzello. The four-year varsity starter was averaging 20.2 points.
“He gets a lot of defensive attention from other teams,” McNeely said. “ . . . He’s an incredible three-point shooter. He gets into the paint as well. He’s been rebounding for us a lot this year, too. So he’s just really a great overall player and mostly as a scorer.”
There’s also a new McNeely in the mix — the coach’s son. Andrew McNeely, who’s a 5-7 freshman, is generally the first guard off the bench.
“He’s shooting about 40% from three,” Ryan McNeely said. “He handles the ball. He’s a little undersized. He’s only 14. But he’s been a good addition to the team this year.”
The 1,000 club
There have been several additions to the 1,000-point club this month.
Bayport-Blue Point’s Dylan Craig, Valley Stream South’s Brady DelValle, Farmingdale’s Jake Mangio, Floyd’s Jawuan Smith, Baldwin’s Chase Timberlake, Wyandanch’s Jerimiah Webb and Bay Shore’s Carter Wilson reached the magic mark.
“It meant a lot,” Webb said. “A lot of people doubted me.”
DelValle joined the club in last Friday’s home loss to Wantagh, only the second in program history to achieve the feat. The game ball will be a forever souvenir for the senior shooting guard and fourth-year starter.
“It just shows all the hard work I’ve put in and the dedication I’ve had to the program and the school,” DelValle said. “ . . . It was really satisfying.”
Let’s play two!
Last weekend’s winter storm threw a wrench in plans for some, but it presented an opportunity for Lawrence Woodmere Academy White.
The Tigers, in Springfield, Massachusetts, for the Hoophall Invitational, were scheduled to play Section III’s Rome Free Academy at the Rebecca M. Johnson School at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday. It was then moved up to 12:30 p.m. because of the storm warning.
Lincoln-Sudbury (Sudbury, Mass.) had its opponent drop out of a 2 p.m. game at the Springfield High School of Science and Technology, 1.1 miles from the Johnson School. The tournament director approached LWA coach Hank Williams about filling in. With a young team and unique experience ahead, he happily accepted.
The Tigers, needing no warm-up, made it for an eventual 3 p.m. start. They lost both games, but the extremely rare hoops doubleheader — akin to an AAU tournament — was invaluable.
