New Players Add Spark
Speed, Sharpshooting and the Slam Dunk
The Runnin' Colonials will have something this year they haven?t had in awhile ? reinforcements. While last season the team ended with an overall record of 9-17 and with only seven men on the roster, this year, coach Charlie Peck and assistant Pete Quinn have recruited 10 Colonial rookies, each capable of having standout seasons.
Coming from Midland, Texas, is 6-9 Will Smith (known as "Tex" to his teammates), who could compete for the starting center position. Smith played tight end in Texas football's highest division. Peck observes, ?He's going to help the team right away. He's a very athletic kid.?
One freshman who plays with the spark to be a crowd pleaser and the skill to win games is Leon Pursoo. ?He'll learn the confidence it takes to go out there and take charge. He may be our point guard of the future,? Peck praises. ?He has an easy, smooth style, but he?s one of those kids who can jump through the roof.? Standing at 6-2, Roosevelt native Pursoo demonstrated his vertical abilities at October?s Midnight Madness when he won a slam dunk contest. He resides in Sag Harbor, N.Y.
Another local addition to the team is David Robles, a 6-9 center nicknamed ?The Southampton Shaq.? He did not see a lot of playing time at Southampton High School, but Quinn feels, ?He's a big athletic kid with a type-A personality.?
Joaquin Smits, a 6-5 forward known as "Kino," comes from Brooklyn and was a standout at prestigious Xavier Prep. Peck says, "He probably can handle four different positions."
Another versatile New Yorker is 6-3 Wayne Inniss, who was highly recruited by several New York Collegiate Athletic Conference Schools. He averaged 13 points and nine rebounds a game at formidable Hillcrest High School in Queens where he gained experience at all five positions.
Lee Colucci, a 5-9 guard, comes from Aurora, Canada, where he played four years of ball for a top prep school. Quinn notes, ?He knows he has to come in here and work hard to get his minutes, but he has a great attitude and is always upbeat.?
DaMarr ?Skip? McBean is ?a kid who was overlooked by a lot of colleges, but has a good all-around game,? Peck said. This athletic 6-5 forward is from the Bronx.
Two other new faces on the team are transfers Tafare Berryman and Torre Banks. Berryman red-shirted at Division I Niagara last year, so he comes to the Colonials as an athletic freshman. ?He has a lot of raw talent and is a real scrapper. He'll be a big forward who can body up on people,? Quinn said. Banks is a notable transfer student and ?a basketball-smart veteran who will be an extension of [the] coaches on the court.? He won the coaches award at Dean Junior College and dives for loose balls with abandon.
These newcomers join Southampton veteran captains Jason Lewis, Curtis Small and Keith Bogad, as well as five other returning players, on the run for victory. If success is in numbers, then Southampton has the advantage with a full roster. If success lies in talent, then the Colonials still are on their way toward returning to the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference playoffs.
