Newsday's All-Long Island boys basketball first team 2024
Newsday's All-Long Island boys basketball team 2024. Top row, from left: Christian Smiley of Bay Shore, Marquese Dennis of Brentwood, Dominick White of Southampton, Jawuan Smith of Floyd. Bottom row, from left: Coach Ken Parham of Bay Shore, Trevor Amalfitano of Port Washington, Carter Wilson of Bay Shore, Cassius Moore of Elmont and coach Ryan Straub of Elmont. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Newsday Player of the Year: VJ Edgecombe, Long Island Lutheran, G, 6-5, Sr.
Edgecombe leaves LuHi with a solidified and profound legacy.
“Sometimes you think what’s the next level that’s raised the bar for future players and for our staff to strive for excellence,” Crusaders coach John Buck said of his star guard.
“. . . You have to step back and say, ‘Wow, what a career.’ ”
Edgecombe, a Baylor commit, is the back-to-back Newsday Player of the Year following a massive senior season that helped elevate LuHi to new heights. Competing against some of the nation’s best players in 12 EYBL Scholastic conference games, Edgecombe averaged 15.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.4 steals. In 25 total regular-season games, he averaged 17.3 points, six rebounds, four assists, 2.2 steals and a block.
V.J. Edgecombe brings the ball upcourt during the first quarter of the McDonald's All-American boys basketball game April 2 in Houston. Credit: AP/Kevin M. Cox
The Bahamas native was named the repeat Gatorade New York Player of the Year and one of three finalists for the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award. He is LuHi’s first boys McDonald’s All-American since Vassil Evtimov in 1996. He is a consensus five-star recruit and the No. 4 player in the class of 2024, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
After going 21-4 in the regular season, LuHi competed at Chipotle Nationals (formerly GEICO Nationals) for the second straight year.
“It’s hard to be one of the best in the country without some of the best players in the country,” Buck said. “And VJ has certainly proven himself to be among the elite, and he’s definitely helped take the program to an even new level in the past two years.”
Suffolk Player of the Year: Carter Wilson, Bay Shore, G, 6-0, Jr.
Carter Wilson of Bay Shore. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Bay Shore didn’t lose for the first time until the last time it played this season, falling against Green Tech for the Class AAA state championship. But the Marauders likely wouldn’t have been in Glens Falls and standing at 25-0 in the first place without Wilson.
“He gets us in the right situation,” coach Ken Parham said of his point guard. “He always reads things well. … He really is a very selfless player that makes everybody better. And he’s a consummate leader on and off the court. He’s very important to what we do.”
Wilson averaged 15.2 points, 6.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals in this first season with the team. He helped Bay Shore advance to the state final with 10 assists vs. Niagara Falls.
“I’m always getting my teammates involved,” Wilson said, “always like being a coach on the floor.”
He had transferred from St. John the Baptist after his sophomore year.
“I think I made a good decision,” Wilson said. “… It was just time for a change.”
So what can he do in a Bay Shore encore?
“He’s a really good player, but as all kids in basketball, they can get better,” Parham said. “So there are some areas that we want to get him better. As you get older, you get bigger and you get stronger. His role on our team next year might be a little more offensive. We’re probably going to need him to score some more points for us next year.”
FIRST TEAM
Trevor Amalfitano, Port Washington, G, 6-2, Sr.
Amalfitano, an All-Long Island second-teamer last season, averaged 22 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals in the Vikings’ run to the Nassau Class AAA title game. Coach Sean Dooley called him their "go-to guy” and praised his scoring ability at all three levels, his leadership and his attitude as “the hardest worker and most competitive kid in our program.”
Marquese Dennis, Brentwood, F, 6-5, Sr.
Dennis is a two-time All-Long Island pick, moving up from the 2023 second team. He averaged 17.9 points and 10.7 rebounds to end his high school career. He scored 53 points against Central Islip on Jan. 30, breaking Mitch Kupchak’s 52-year-old program record for points in a game.
Nigel James, Long Island Lutheran, G, 6-0, Jr.
Long Island Lutheran's Nigel James. Credit: Hans Pennink
James averaged 11.1 points and a team-leading 4.5 assists in 25 regular-season games and 11.9 points in 12 EYBL Scholastic games. The Huntington native played his first season at LuHi after transferring from Cushing Academy (Massachusetts). “He did a really, really strong job in stepping into a lead guard role,” coach John Buck said. “Jumping to the highest level in high school basketball with a program that’s seen success – not easy.”
Kayden Mingo, Long Island Lutheran, G, 6-3, Jr.
Kayden Mingo of Long Island Lutheran. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Mingo, a Farmingdale native, averaged 14.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists and shot 44% from three in 12 EYBL Scholastic games. He averaged 13.2 points in 25 regular-season games. “He just stepped up in leadership,” coach John Buck said. “... He doesn’t get really high or low; he’s so steady.”
Cassius Moore, Elmont, G, 6-0, Sr.
Moore was a force for the Spartans in their run to the Class AA state title, averaging 19.4 points and making 17 three-pointers over seven postseason games and averaging 17.3 points and making 67 threes overall. Coach Ryan Straub called Moore, who also averaged 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.1 steals overall, “a truly dynamic player.”
Christian Smiley, Bay Shore, F, 6-6, Sr.
Smiley topped the Marauders at 16.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game and averaged 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals in a 25-1 run that ended in the Class AAA state final. Coach Ken Parham praised Smiley, who transferred from Amityville after his junior year, for his leadership and unselfishness, and said, “He could shoot the three. He could get to the rim. He could finish with his left, his right. His athletic ability is off the charts.”
Jawuan Smith, Floyd, F, 6-5, Jr.
Smith played a crucial part in Floyd’s undefeated regular season, averaging 14.9 points and 11.8 rebounds. He had three games with at least 15 points and 15 rebounds, including a 30-point, 20-rebound showing at Smithtown East on Dec. 27. Coach Will Slinkosky loved his inside-out ability and said he was a “dominant force on the boards.”
Dominick White, Southampton, G, 6-3, Sr.
White averaged 22.3 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his first season at Southampton. A dislocated thumb kept him out for most of the Mariners’ non-league slate, but White posted six 25-point games en route to Southampton’s Suffolk Class A title.
Nassau Coach of the Year: Ryan Straub, Elmont
Straub led the Spartans to a 23-4 record, the Nassau Conference AA-IV championship and Class AA county, Long Island and state titles. Elmont’s win over West Genesee gave the program its first state crown since 2016.
Suffolk Coach of the Year: Ken Parham, Bay Shore
Parham guided the Marauders to a 25-1 record, with the lone loss coming in the Class AAA state championship game against Green Tech. They won the Suffolk League II title, then claimed the program’s first county crown since 2004 and first Long Island championship since 1981.
NSCHSAA/Private Schools Coach of the Year: Dan Feeney, Chaminade
Feeney’s Flyers three-peated in the NSCHSAA during the regular season, then repeated as the league’s tournament champs for the first time since 1994. They followed that by rallying from eight points down with four minutes left to beat Bishop Timon-St. Jude in double overtime for the CHSAA Class A state title, the program’s first state crown since 2003. Chaminade finished at 20-7.