By Murphy Foss and Ryan Vespi
Staff Writers
This season the Jamesville-DeWitt boys basketball team made a phenomenal run, making it all the way to the New York State High School Boys Basketball Semifinals. Along the way, they
won both their sectional and regional championships, led by coach Jeff Ike.
After the season, Coach Ike was proud to be named CNY Boys Basketball Coach of the Year for Section III, and to hear that junior player Buddy Boeheim was named CNY Player of the Year
Behind every winning team is often a great coach; that was the case this year for the J-D boys basketball team and coach Ike. “It was definitely well deserved, he put in a lot of work day in and day out to help the team be successful,” said Junior Captain Buddy Boeheim.
Just last year, Ike became the head coach of the team after former head coach Bob McKenney left and took a job at Bishop Grimes. Over the past two seasons under Ike, the team has found a great deal of success. “His leadership and great coaching ability has lead them to their great record and nearly a state championship,” said sophomore Tyson Echols. “Two years in and he’s already got [Coach of the Year,] I think he’s doing a great job with the program,” said sophomore player Pat Murad.
“I thought it was a great honor, and I was very happy when I got the phone call,” said Ike. He was also thankful for his his team. “The players and the success we had this year, that’s the biggest thing, and it definitely made an impact.” Many students also agreed with coach Ike, “One of the main reasons they did so well was Buddy [Boeheim], Terrence [Echols], and Matt Carlin,” said sophomore Carter Kowalczyk. “Buddy Boeheim played a big part,” said Murad.
Among his players coach Ike is known as a guy whose goal is always to win, “It’s high school basketball, but he treats every game like it’s the NBA, he just wants to win,” said Boeheim, “I think that’s the best quality a coach can have.” He is also known for being very loud on and off the court, “his halftime speeches get you hype for sure,” said Murad.
After this season, one thing is for sure: J-D basketball is back on the rise with a strong leader at the helm. “Ike is an animal,” said sophomore Shane Wright. It is also safe to say that students and players are excited to see what the team will be capable of next year.
