All-Bronx Boys’ Basketball Honors

The Bronx continued to roll out some of the city’s top boys’ basketball talent.

Cardinals Hayes took home the CHSAA Archdiocesan title before seeing one of the best season’s in program history ended in the city semifinals at the hands of eventual state champions Christ the King. Wings Academy came into the season with high hopes. It won the Bronx borough title, but fell in the city quarterfinals. Riverdale made an unexpected run as a No. 6 seed to the NYSAISAA final. Kennedy, Eagle, Scanlan and St. Raymond also enjoyed strong season.

Here are the players dubbed best in the borough:

All-Bronx Player
of the Year:

Shavar Newkirk,

Cardinal Hayes

The St. Joseph’s University-bound guard is one of the city’s top competitors. Newkirk shared the wealth with a supporting cast ready to blossom. Hayes finished the year 26–2 and won the school’s first CHSAA Archdiocesan title since 1977. He orchestrated a high-powered Cardinals attack and averaged 15.7 points a game. Newirk scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half in a regular season win over Loughlin and put the Cardinals ahead in the closing seconds of an eventual second straight city semifinal loss to Christ the King

All-Bronx Coach
of the Year

Joe Lods

Cardinal Hayes

Lods has grown the Cardinal Hayes program each year since taking over for Tom Murray in 2009. This year was another small step toward finally claiming the school’s first CHSAA Class AA intersectional title since 1990. The senior-laden Cardinals went 26-2, won the Archdiocesan title by avenging a regular season loss to St. Peter’s and were 32.6 seconds away from a trip to the city title game.

ALL-BRONX
FIRST TEAM

G Desure Buie

Wings Academy

The junior point guard took his game to another level. Buie proved to be a more dynamic scorer and became more adept at running an offense. He averaged 16 points, 10.4 assists and 4.13 rebounds per game for the Wings in league play and led them to a PSAL Bronx borough title.

F Nathan Ekwu

Cardinal Hayes

The powerful senior forward made quite an impact in his only season in a Cardinal Hayes uniform. Ekwu gave the Cardinals a dynamic forward they missed last season. He could step out and hit jumper, score inside, rebound and change opponents shots on drives around the basket.

C Jessie Govan

Wings Academy

Govan made an immediate impact in the PSAL after transferring from St. Mary’s. The junior was one of the city’s most dominant big men. He averaged 21 points and 13.18 rebounds per contest during the regular season. Govan had 26 points and 10 boards in Wings’ Bronx borough final win over Kennedy.

F Mustafa Jones

Cardinal Hayes

The Central Connecticut-bound Jones meant more to the Cardinals than the box scored showed. The senior forward’s length and athleticism made the Cardinals a better defensive team and it’s hard to find a better finisher on transition in New York City. Jones averaged 12.1 points a contest for a Hayes team that was one of the best in the city.

C Luis Santos,

St. Raymond

His weight continued to drop and the production continued to improve for slimmed down Santos. The junior improved off a strong sophomore year and continued to be one of New York City’s best big men. Santos averaged 12.9 points a game even with the bulk of defense’s attention placed on him.

SECOND TEAM

G Juwan Chapman

Eagle Academy

Chapman’s ability to do it all on the basketball court allowed Wings to remain one of the top teams in Bronx AA. The senior guard averaged 13.7 points, 6.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds per contest. Eagle will miss him next season.

F Jonathan Nwankwo

Monsignor Scanlan

The 6-foot-10 junior was a dominant force in the paint for the Crusaders as they moved up to the CHSAA Class A division. Nwankwo’s strength and athletic ability make him a tough cover in the paint and he relentlessly challenges shots at the rim.

G Tory Ferguson

St. Raymond

The senior guard excelled after his move from shooting guard to point guard. Ferguson learned how to balance scoring and making his teammates better. He scored 12.3 points per game and connected on the game-winner against Wings.

G Chris Robinson

Cardinal Hayes

Robinson’s silky smooth jumper is one of the city’s best. The Sacred Heart-bound guard, who averaged 12.4 points per game, is also a superb defender. He often drew a matchup defending an opponents star player.

G Foday Sankaray

Wings Academy

Much of the talk around Wings was about Jessie Govan and Desure Buie, but Sankaray was their x-factor and a blue-collar player. The senior guard averaged 19.7 points in four playoff games and 14.4 points and 5.5 boards during the regular season.