The famed crooner Frank Sinatra once stated that orange is his favorite color. In fact, he said that orange is the “happiest” color. Well, there’s a diocesan basketball star who would indeed agree with that sentiment.
Josie Pinnock, the standout senior point guard on the Christ the King H.S., Middle Village, girls’ varsity basketball team, announced that she will continue her hoops career at Syracuse University — home of the Orange.
With a strong handful of possible suitors, the 17-year-old Pinnock said it’s a relief to have made the decision. In addition to Syracuse, the final possible destinations included Stony Brook University, Hofstra University, and Seton Hall University.
“All the coaches that recruited me were really good people, and they genuinely cared about me as a person, not just as a basketball player,” said Pinnock, the reigning CHSAA ‘AAA’ girls’ varsity basketball MVP. “It definitely was tough to pick between those four schools.”
Pinnock, a native of Springfield Gardens, played Catholic Youth Organization basketball at St. Clare in Rosedale, and now plays for the Positive Direction Amateur Athletic Union team outside of Christ the King.
Her coach is her mother, JoAnn Pinnock, the former head varsity hoops coach at The Mary Louis Academy in Jamaica Estates, and the current chairperson of CHSAA girls’ basketball.
Pinnock has played on the Royals varsity team since she was a freshman. Right away, she experienced Christ the King’s winning tradition as the team captured the diocesan, city, and state championship her first season.
Last season as a junior, the team co-captain averaged 16.5 points and 6.2 assists per game. She’s been named a Tablet All-Star in all three of her high school seasons.
After countless official visits throughout the country, Pinnock chose Syracuse, a member of the NCAA’s Division I Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). One of the major factors in her decision was that she would get to play for head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, a former All-American at Syracuse who has guided the Orange to an impressive 80-49 record over four seasons.
“She’s a legend in women’s college basketball,” Pinnock said. “I felt like that was the place for me as soon as I set foot on campus.”
In addition to basketball, Pinnock was drawn to Syracuse’s academic reputation and its campus life. It’s also still close enough to New York City — the heart of the local basketball scene.
In the CHSAA, every league game is a rivalry game. The same is true in ACC conference play, so Pinnock’s background has prepared her well for the next level. Christ the King often travels for tournaments, which will also prove to be a valuable experience for a high school player transitioning to the college game.
“Josie proved that if you put in the work and you stay grounded, you get exactly what you want,” said Joe DeLuca, second-year head coach of the Royals girls’ varsity basketball team and a 2004 Christ the King graduate. “She never chased anybody’s approval; she just kept playing the game. Josie’s basketball IQ is what’s going to help her on the court.”
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Pinnock is no stranger to playing on basketball’s biggest stage. In 2024, when she was 14, she was one of only 10 girls from around the world to qualify for the finals of the Jordan Brand 1v1 basketball tournament in Paris. Before the competition, she was featured in three different billboard photos outside Madison Square Garden and had her picture in The New York Times for the tournament’s promotional ad campaign.
Now that her college decision is behind her, Pinnock can focus on her senior season with the Royals. Her goal: repeat the trifecta of diocesan, city, and state championships that Christ the King won her freshman year.
“I want to have the greatest high school experience I can, and winning all three titles and definitely having fun with it are my goals since this is my last year of high school,” she said. “It’s definitely been a great four years here.”
In total, the Christ the King girls’ varsity basketball program has won 31 diocesan, 31 city, and 17 state championships. That’s in addition to producing some of the greatest women’s professional players in history, including Sue Bird, Tina Charles, and Chamique Holdsclaw.
Pinnock has a chance to be mentioned in the conversation with these hoops legends someday. For right now, though, the focus is on Royals basketball before then joining the Orange next year.
The journey continues as Christ the King is set to open up its season at the prestigious Art Turner Memorial Tournament in Chantilly, Virginia, from Dec. 4 to 6.
If Pinnock’s favorite color wasn’t orange before, it probably is now.