By Mike Zummo
Even though Nyah Williams and Jayden Romero will no longer play together on the Newburgh Free Academy girls’ basketball team, their shared basketball journey will continue in the Bronx.
Both will attend Lehman College in the Bronx. Williams plans to major in biology while Romero will study to become a physician’s assistant.
“I am looking forward to playing basketball on a higher level with a good friend that I have known for a few years now,” Williams said. “It’s comforting knowing I have someone on a and off the court to go to know that I am going to be in a new environment that I need to adjust to. I am excited to work and grow our game together and push each other to be our absolute best for the season and our new team.”
The last season has been a struggle for Lehman as they posted a 1-24 record under coach Eric Harrison, the winningest coach in Lehman history. He will begin his 23rd season in 2020-21.
Newburgh girls’ basketball coach Arturo Santana said Romero was recruited heavily and said she was considering going to Cazenovia College, but Harrison kept coming to Newburgh’s games, and Romero had a chance to go visit the school and loved it.
“It’s in an area where I grew up as a child and it’s still close to my family,” Romero said.
That’s when Harrison noticed Williams, who played for Santana for two years and developed into one of the team’s key outside scoring threats.
“When she’s able to get those shots, she’ll be successful,” Santana said. “You can discuss things with her and talk to her and she will think about what we’re saying to her.”
Williams eventually went on her own visit to Lehman, and it felt like a place she wanted to be.
“And I get to play basketball, which was most important to me,” Williams said.
Romero was the Goldbacks’ unsung hero. She didn’t always crack the scorebook and wasn’t one of the team’s offensive leaders, but she still made her presence felt inside, grabbing rebounds, and keeping her team in the game, or giving them additional offensive opportunities.
“Look at the numbers and scoring and she doesn’t get the accolades of being a scorer,” Santana said. “But she’s a rebounding machine. She’s a team player and she worked hard. She played like it was her last game every single time.”
Santana said he’s excited they will be playing together at Lehman.
“(Nyah and I) will take the chemistry we had together from this season and bring it to college in a way to help our future team,” Romero said.
Romero also brings a great deal of passion to the game and didn’t always make it easy on her coaches.
“Jayden is fiery,” Santana said. “We had it out a couple of times. She made me think and it was always done very respectfully. She was never disrespectful. She made me work and made me accountable.”
He’ll miss that fire when she’s off at Lehman. He’ll miss William’s work ethic. During her junior year, Santana told her he wasn’t sure how much she was going to play, but she forced her way onto the court.
“She worked hard to show us she can do anything,” Santana said. “She’s the girl that proved I was wrong.
She’s the comeback player. Without her (in 2018-2019), there was no way we could have made sectionals.”
They’ll both miss Newburgh and playing and growing with their friends, and Romero pointed out the bonds formed on the “amazing bus rides”, but they’re both looking forward to independence that comes with being a college freshman.
“When it comes down to it, they’re to be students,” Santana said. “They understand that. The parents of all these kids are very well involved and they expect them to do well. That makes my life easier. They know their ticket to college is definitely academics and basketball was second.”