The Rye boys basketball team is in it now. No more grace period.
Any effects that may have lingered early this season, when a number of players transitioned immediately from winning a state football championship to the hardwood, are a thing of the past.
With their eighth win in the past nine games – a 55-24 victory Wednesday over a young John Jay team – the Garnets are starting to become the team they hoped they’d be. Coach Tom Proudian is pleased with the team’s trajectory.
“We started the season 1-2, we’re now 9-3, so I’m happy about where we are today,” Proudian said. “The Suffern loss earlier this month is still pretty fresh in all of our minds. That one hurt. But we’re better than what we showed that night. Our continuity as a team is really coming along now, and we’re getting great contributions across the board, particularly from our bench.”
It would be hard to imagine more continuity than Rye showed in this game, with 10 different Garnets contributing points against Class A opponent John Jay (5-9). Paced by senior Carson Miller’s 15 points, senior Henry Shoemaker’s 11 points – including his 12th two-handed breakaway dunk in as many games – and junior Sam Scully’s eight points off the bench, Proudian’s depth and team speed were on full display.
“Winning basketball starts for us with defense,” he said. “When we turn people over and capitalize on easy baskets in transition, we’re tough to beat. We’ve got a long way to go with many important games left before the playoffs. We want to be playing our best basketball in February – and possibly into March.”
Rye closes out its January schedule with a home game at 7 p.m. Friday against Woodlands (13-2), which currently holds the top spot in the Section 1 Class B standings.
