Southampton Boys Basketball Will Face New Challenges This Season; Girls Will Begin Rebuild Process

The Southampton boys basketball team is coming off one of its most successful seasons in recent memory, having reached the New York State Class B Final Four — where it lost to Catholic Central. Prior to that loss, though, the Mariners were a juggernaut of a team last year, having won league, county, Long Island and regional titles, and were one win away from an overall Section XI Championship as well.

But each flip of the calendar brings new challenges.

With the state expanding from five to six classes, with a AAA class now for the largest schools in the state based on enrollment, Southampton is now a Class A school, at least for this season, which presents a different and larger cast of opponents.

The Mariners also lost arguably their best player to graduation in Derek Reed, who was not only an All-State First Team selection, but was selected to Newsday’s All-Long Island Team and was the Long Island Class B Player of the Year, on top of being All-County, All-Division and All-League. He’s now playing at Fredonia State. The Mariners also lost Edgar Franklin and Ayden Eleazer to graduation.

Things haven’t gotten off to a perfect start for Southampton either this year, with all three captains — sophomore Alex Franklin, junior Naevon Williams and senior and Westhampton Beach transfer Dominick White — all suffering from injuries early on. The injuries have mounted so much that reigning Long Island Class B Coach of the Year Herm Lamison canceled Monday’s scrimmage against St. John The Baptist.

“We’ve had injury after injury, to the point where we haven’t had a full complement of players aside from one, maybe two practices,” he explained. “When three of your leaders are taken off the floor, and you only have a team of about 10 to begin with, you have to get creative in your practicing. You’re just trying to get the other kids stronger while waiting to get those other kids back from injuries.”

Make no mistake, when Southampton is at full strength it should be able to compete among the best in the county, with a complement of players that got some meaningful minutes playing in some big games last season. Williams was named to the New York State All-Tournament Team last season, when he was named All-County, All-Conference, All-Division and All-League. Franklin, in his first year on varsity, was named to the All-Tournament Team, was also All-Conference, All-Division, All-League and League V Rookie of the Year. Tyler Blake, who was the hero in the Regional Final victory over Valhalla, is returning for his third year on varsity, while junior Tyson Reddick is another returning starter.

Also returning are seniors Declan Barbour, Noomie Williams and Nehemiah Mack, and juniors Nikai Pierson and Devon Palmore. Sophomore Devon White has transferred to Southampton along with his older brother Dominick.

Southampton will compete in League VI with fellow Class A schools Bayport-Blue Point, Center Moriches and Shoreham-Wading River and familiar Class B schools in Babylon, Mattituck, Port Jefferson and Pierson, which has moved up a class after being a ‘C’ school for years. The last time the Mariners found themselves as an ‘A’ school — in 2017-2018 — they still found success and Lamison is counting on that again this season.

“It’s a very tough league. Pierson is good, Bayport is good, Babylon has a lot of its players coming back, and Mattituck is always good,” he said. “And then a lot of the ‘A’ schools are tough — Wyandanch, Kings Park — there are some really good teams in the A’s. If we can get healthy and stay healthy, we’ll compete. If we’re not healthy, it’s going to be a challenge.

“Our goals never change,” Lamison added. “We take one step at a time. We want to win our league, then win our class, then from there just keep going. But our goals never change. Sometimes they’re more intense than other years, but we’re aiming for the stars every year.”

Southampton will have all of this week off from games and scrimmages to hopefully rest and recuperate from their early injuries before playing Port Washington in a nonleague game at Nassau Coliseum on Monday, December 11, at 5:30 p.m. The Mariners are also scheduled to scrimmage at Baldwin on December 16 at 1 p.m. before opening the league schedule at home on December 20 against Mattituck at 6 p.m.

Rebuild in Store
For Girls This Season

After graduating eight players at the conclusion of last season, the Southampton girls basketball team is rebuilding its program from within, and head coach Richard “Juni” Wingfield said it could be a struggle this winter. But within that struggle will be many teachable moments that the girls can learn from. The team’s motto this season is “Stay Humble. Stay Hopeful.”

The rebuild would explain how Southampton lost its first two games this season to Westhampton Beach and the Stony Brook School, each by 50 points or more. Wingfield said he likes what he currently has on the junior varsity level, but instead of calling up too many of the talented girls, he’s gong to let them play, for the most part, at that level, although freshman Domenica Davis did get the call-up to varsity on Sunday.

The varsity team will be led by its returning leading scorer in junior Daelyn Palmore. She and her older sister, senior Amadyah Palmore, as well as senior Annie Hattrick, will be captains of the team this season. Rounding out the team are seniors Emili McDermott, Kimberly Reyes, Vanessa Rubin, juniors Annabella and Mia Arnold, Tatiana Fernandes, Kenya Goree-Gumbs, and Mya Halsey, sophomores Haven Daley, Maggie Glanz and Riley Moredock, and freshman Marin Schwartz. Both Amadyah Palmore and Haven Daley have early injuries that forced Wingfield to call up Davis.

Like the boys, the girls are also a Class A team this season and will play in League VI, which is constructed a little differently than the boys league. Bayport-Blue Point, Center Moriches, Elwood-John Glenn, Hampton Bays, Mount Sinai and Shoreham-Wading River make up the rest of the league.

“It’s going to be a struggle, but again, we have great kids,” he said. “I have to tell them, oftentimes, that you have to understand the results you don’t get is from the work you didn’t do. And that’s not a criticism, it’s just the reality. I don’t have one girl, other than Daelyn, where basketball isn’t their first sport. But the kids attitudes are great and I’m only losing two players [to graduation].”

The girls were scheduled to play a nonleague game at Eastport-South Manor this Thursday, December 7, at 6:15 p.m. before returning home next Wednesday, December 13, to host Mattituck in another nonleague game at 6:15 p.m. The girls don’t get their league schedule started until the new year, January 3, when they play at Glenn at 4:45 p.m.