New faces for boys and girls’ teams

By Mike Zummo
Posted 12/8/22

There is going to be a lot of change on the Newburgh Free Academy basketball court this season.

Gone is standout Jah’likai King, who led the Goldbacks to two straight Section 9 Class AA …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

New faces for boys and girls’ teams

Posted

There is going to be a lot of change on the Newburgh Free Academy basketball court this season.

Gone is standout Jah’likai King, who led the Goldbacks to two straight Section 9 Class AA championships. They’ll also have a new head coach – Jason McAllister, Jr. – a former Goldback, who takes over for Frank Dinnocenzio, who retired as the program’s coach after the Goldbacks were eliminated from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships.

In addition, the Goldbacks also lost Andre Crosby.

“There are going to be many new faces, new roles and new expectations from this group,” McAllister said. “We have a mixture of veteran leadership and players figuring out new roles. We are excited for this season because we have goals we want to accomplish.”

The other half of the Goldbacks’ previous 1-2 punch returns in the form of 6-foot-8 inch, Deondre Johnson, who will enter his senior season. Also returning are Aidan Brown, Elnathan Johnson, Tajir Walker and Collin De Freitas. They’ll be joined by newcomers Naeshawn Moody, James Thorpe and Jakari Lamb.

These new Goldbacks won’t be dwelling on past accomplishments and their immediate goal is to win the day.

“We cannot focus on yesterday or the future,” McAllister said. “We can only worry about competing and getting better each day individually and as a collective unit. Our long-term goal is to compete for a championship.”

Girls Basketball
The girls’ team is coming off an 11-10 season in 2021-22 that saw them reach the Section 9 Class AA semifinals under 11th year coach Arturo Santana.

But there will be a lot of new faces on the Goldbacks this year as they have lost three seniors – Daysha Simmons, Ingrid Murga and A’mya Brock – to graduation. Janeah Forbes has moved to Texas, and junior Isabella Suero transferred to Storm King.

The Goldbacks will return freshman Terri’nashjae (TT) Burden and senior Valerie Churns. They’ll be joined by newcomers Serenity Robinson, a senior who will be graduating early and sophomore Amelia Turner.

With a young team, the Goldbacks’ goal will as normal: to make the Section 9 Class AA tournament, and to get better every day.

“This is definitely a rebuilding year for our team,” Santana said. The girls are currently working hard and are excited about the season. Our team is young but has lots of potential.”