That '98 Hurricane Bball Team

So I decided to bring it back a bit.. Back about 10 years as a tribute to those special teammates I played with on "that 98 team." Jermain Hollman, Dale Menendez, Jason Ritchie, Mike Ford, Jeremy Liggon and Dwayne Sanders. What an interesting journey it was. It basically began when I was a ninth grader in the winter of 1997. We were undefeated (20-0) and were playing the top team in Class B Amityville at Stony Brook for the Class B Championship. We were not expected to win as Amityville was a known powerhouse and was the favorite all year. However all game we hung close and even had the lead by 2 points with a minute to go in the game. We wound up losing the game and we were all heartbroken and in tears afterwards but it was the beginning of a year long dedication.

That summer we all played a ton of basketball together. Most of us played AAU that summer and went to respective basketball camps to hone our games but the most important thing is that we played together a ton..whether it was with summer league games playing other east end teams or just playing on a random day down at the elementary school at the outdoor courts. Our goal was simple: Never to feel the way we did when we lost to Amityville the prior year thus ending our then undefeated season.

When the 1997-1998 season began we were on a mission. We scrimmaged the best teams on the island and practices were very intense. I was now in my third season on the varsity and the great thing about practice was that everyone knew they had to bring that intensity day in and day out. We all did and as a result practice was never longer than an hour and a half. It was great! Throughout the season we bonded even more as a team, as a school and as a community. I will never forget when we were 24-0 and had just won the Long Island Class B championship over South Side at Hofstra University. The fans were standing and cheering for us for what seemed like an eternity and we were finally going upstate to play for the Public School Class B State Championship. First time that the Westhampton Beach boys basketball team was heading upstate!

The day we headed upstate I remember the big coach bus with TV's parked in front of the school. We were all amped up and excited. As we all got on the bus I remember all of the studends, faculty looking out of windows of the middle school and high school bidding us farewell. Then as we passed the elementary school the entire school was outside waving at the bus as it drove by...very touching moment I must say.

When we got upstate we blew out Penn Yan Academy. They were a decent team but could not handle our tenacious defense. The next day we were finally playing for the state public championship. I had never been more nervous before a game in my life. Because I couldn't fathom losing that last game for the state title. We were playing Westhill, the team that won the state title the year before. Long story short we won by 20 points! Our defense was amazing and all of us played like our lives were on the line(well they were, we had a Bobby Knight as a coach). We felt like we were on cloud nine. When our bus arrived back in Westhampton we were escorted by the fire/police department to the high school where there was a mass of people. There was a celebration in the gym and that week of school was soo hectic. From being congratulated non stop to having basketball practice (for the state federation championship the following week) life seemed surreal. We wound up winning the state federation championship as well, capping a perfect 28-0 season.

I will have to say that has been the most amazing time in my life to date. I finally realized that you can reach goals (no matter how lofty they may seem) if you work really hard. I remember when we were 11 or so and Jeremy and I would talk about winning a state title and how great it would be. To see that dream come true was priceless.

Fast forward to today and I still think of all those guys I play with. Getting to see Jermain and Jeremy on a pretty consistent basis brings back memories and makes me smile. And when I get to see Jason, Mike, Dale and Dwayne I sometimes think of how much we went through to achieve that common goal which will forever keep us all linked. And on a last note playing a rec summer bball game with Jermain the other day for the first time since high school was really nice even though neither of us are the players we used to be. :)

To view information on this historical season please go to the link below:
http://members.tripod.com/~jermain/