West 50th Street Campus went 5-10 last year, in its first season in Manhattan AA. To compound matters, the Seahawks graduated five integral seniors, including leading scorer Javier McKenzie.
As a result, coach Leroy Middleton wasn’t sure what this season had in store.
“That team,” he said, “was more talented than this team.”
But his current ensemble has enjoyed a breakout season and finds itself in the Manhattan borough final after knocking off No. 6 Murry Bergtraum, 60-48, Thursday night. The Seahawks will meet longtime Harlem power Wadleigh Sunday morning at 11 a.m. with a shot at their first borough crown.
Craig Anderson scored a team-high 24 points, Yunus Hopkinson added 11 points, Dayquan Holmes had 10 points, 11 blocks and 14 rebounds and Chris Fernandez had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the second-seeded Seahawks.
West 50th Street (13-8) got off to a flying start, racing out to a 4-0 league record. During that stretch was an 83-71 victory over Wadleigh, highlighted by Hopkinson going off for 39.
“After we got a couple of wins under our belt, especially after the Wadleigh win, we realized we could play with anybody,” said Middleton, who credited the successful season to the close-knit group’s relentless work ethic. The Seahawks spent July and August in summer-league tournaments instead of sandy beaches.
The speedy, although undersized, Seahawks did hit a rough patch when they dropped five of six midway through the year. That was, in part, because they were shorthanded.
Hopkinson missed two games for disciplinary reasons while Robinson and Holmes were each out for a month nursing injuries. The two recently returned and have been phenomenal. The 6-foot-1 Anderson, in fact, scored a career-high 51 points in Tuesday’s opening-round 89-44 victory over Bayard Rustin while the 6-foot-6 Holmes is an integral component for the smallish Seahawks.
“Everybody is getting back on the same page, we’re playing well right now,” Middleton said. “Now we’re rounding into form and I think it’s gonna be a pretty competitive game come Sunday.”
Wadleigh coach Mike Crump agrees. In the Tigers’ 89-54 victory over West 50th Street Jan. 12, Anderson was out with a twisted ankle and Holmes was still working his way back from a foot injury. His return takes pressure off of Hopkinson, enabling the multi-talented junior to run the point instead of forcing shots.
“They got three guys that can score and they got another three guys that play hard, they just don’t go very deep,” Crump said. “Very talented, very structured, very disciplined. The fact is they are a perimeter team and we have guards that don’t defend well.”
No matter Sunday’s result, West 50th will receive a good seed when the citywide playoffs’ pairings are decided. Clearly, with Middleton at the helm, the program is headed in the right direction.
“I’m very pleased with what I’ve seen,” Middleton said. “This team was a surprise to me.”
