Boys basketball spotlight: Malverne's Darrol Lopez reaches 350 wins

Malverne beat Seaford by 41 Friday night, but this wasn’t just another win to add to the pile on the path to the postseason. This one came with postgame photos inside the Mules’ gym.

Darrol Lopez had a good reason for a happy pose. He reached a milestone at Malverne. This marked win No. 350 for him as its varsity boys basketball coach, an accomplishment that includes 13 Nassau titles, six Long Island championships and one state crown.

He thought about the man for whom he once played and ultimately replaced, the late longtime Mules coach, Hank Williams.

“I always say it’s about the kids,” said Lopez, a 60-year-old native and resident of Lakeview, who saw his “kids” go 13-7 overall and 10-2 in Nassau A-VII in the just-completed regular season. “The kids had a very good game. It just happened to be my 350th.

“But the first thing that came to mind was Hank Williams would be very proud of me getting to this point in my career, since he passed in 2000, because he gave me my first shot to coach. So everything I do is thankful to him, giving me a shot.”

Another man also would have felt immense pride about the achievement.

Darrol’s late dad, Hector Lopez, made his name in another game, batting .269 across 12 major-league seasons through 1966. That included the final seven-plus with the Yankees after being traded from the Kansas City A's in May of 1959.

The previous season, he launched three homers in a game against the Washington Senators. The infielder/outfielder became a part-time player with the Yankees and contributed on two championship teams.

“The other biggest thing in my life is that my dad saw me coach,” Darrol said. “Back then, Dad played for the Yankees, but I always admired the championships and the camaraderie that he had with his teammates.

“He never complained about being a part-time player because he was on so many great teams with Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford and all those great players.”

Hector Lopez died at 93 in 2022.

“We talked so much basketball even though he didn’t play basketball,” Darrol said. “We talked about coaching . . . He was very proud.

“He used to say, ‘You yell too much, Darrol,’ ” Lopez added, laughing.

Darrol, whose daughter, Tatiana, is one of his assistant coaches, worked 35 years for the Town of Hempstead — the last 25 as the deputy commissioner of the highway department — before retiring in 2020.

The former Malverne guard from the Class of 1983 began as an assistant under Williams in 1991. Lopez was eventually the JV coach for a few seasons before going back to being a varsity assistant.

Then Williams became ill. Lopez filled in for the final two games of the 1998-1999 season and started the following season in his place.

“We lost the first four or five games that year, and then he called me to his home and he read me the riot act,” Lopez said.

“Darrol, it’s your team,” Williams said. “I’m not coming back. Now get out of my house and run the team the way you would want to run it.”

Lopez did, and a very successful run was in motion.

Abrahams excels for Portledge

Portledge took a 6-17 mark into the PSAA postseason. But the rebuilding Panthers have good young talent, topped by eighth-grade point guard Carter Abrahams and sophomore forward Lorcan Bailey Morrow.

Abrahams has been especially impressive, hitting 61 threes and averaging 14.6 points.

“Carter is going to be special,” coach A.J. Allen said. “There’s no denying that.

“I don’t think you’ll see many eighth-graders in the country do what he’s doing, let alone in Long Island.”