After being granted a waiver from the NCAA for one more year of eligibility, former CHSAA basketball star Travis Atson is back in the diocese after signing with St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights.
The 6-foot, 5-inch guard/forward helped lead Christ the King H.S., Middle Village, to two Catholic state championships and was named league MVP in 2014.
He arrives at St. Francis as a graduate student transfer from Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Conn.
Longtime basketball scout Tom Konchalski has announced his retirement from putting together his renowned High School Basketball Illustrated newsletter.
The Archbishop Molloy H.S., Briarwood, graduate started the newsletter in 1979, and since then it has been a valuable resource to college basketball coaches nationwide – given its detailed analysis of high school student-athletes up and down the East Coast.
“Going to the games is the fun part. Writing the report is the work,” Konchalski told The Tablet during his induction into the Basketball Old-Timers of America Hall of Fame in 2013.
“When I grew up in New York City, it was hard not to fall in love with this game,” he said. “Basketball is a game of surpassing grace and beauty. It’s played by the best athletes in the world, and it’s been an absolute joy to follow this game.
“When it’s played as a team game, I think it’s something absolutely beautiful, where it’s people helping other people and it’s a microcosm of life.”
ESPN ranked Christ the King H.S., Middle Village, as the No. 1 high school in the country for girls’ basketball.
The school’s all-time roster features three No. 1 overall picks in the WNBA draft: Sue Bird, Chamique Holdsclaw and Tina Charles. Combined, these players racked up seven Olympics gold medals, seven NCAA championships, three WNBA championships and 24 WNBA All-Star Game appearances.
To quote ESPN: “There’s no question the Royals are No. 1 on this list.”
Other notable alumnae include Debbie Hemery, Darlene Saar, Nakia Hill, Clare Droesch, Lorin Dixon, Ariel Edwards, Kollyns Scarbrough, Dominique Toussaint and Shay Doron.
The other schools rounding out the top-five were Mater Dei H.S., Santa Ana, Calif.; La Jolla Country Day School, La Jolla, Calif.; Duncanville H.S., Duncanville, Texas; and Riverdale Baptist School, Upper Marlboro, Md.