SPORTS STANDOUTS
Sports writer Zach Braziller highlights the schools that year-in and year-out field some of the city’s best teams
FOOTBALL
Lincoln HS
The Coney Island school, under coach Shawn O’Connor, is known for developing raw talent and producing All-Americans. Lincoln won the city championship last year, defeating Tottenville at Yankee Stadium.
Gran Street Camp s
An up-and-coming powerhouse, the Brooklyn campus reached the city semifinals last year, and has become a popular destination for the top local prospects.
Erasm s Hall
Under coach Danny Landberg, Erasmus has become a championship contender each fall, producing Ohio State sophomore running back Curtis Samuel, among other talented Division I players.
BASKETBALL
Lincoln HS
The onetime home of Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair and Lance Stephenson, Lincoln is an annual title contender, a factory for college basketball prospects.
Benjamin Car ozo HS
The Queens school won the city championships two years ago under under intense coach Ron Naclerio, a caring and zany basketball lifer who puts his kids first and everything else second. Naclerio, with 721 victories, is two wins shy of tying Charles Granby’s publicschool record of 723.
Wings Aca emy
The reigning city and state champion sent two kids to Division I this year — Jessie Govan (Georgetown) and Desure Buie (Hofstra) — and likely will remain the cream of The Bronx for years to come.
Thomas Jefferson HS
Home to the best player in the city this year, talented guard Shamorie Ponds, Jefferson is the favorite to win it all at the Garden this year. The Brooklyn school, coached by Lawrence Pollard, lures some of the area’s best players each year.
BASEBALL
George Washington HS
Manny Ramirez’s alma mater, based in Washington Heights, is a contender for the city championship every year — it won it all last June — and frequently produces Major League draft picks.
James Monroe HS
Baseball is the sport of choice in The Bronx, and Monroe, led by coach Mike Toro, is the borough’s premier program. Competition to make the team is
demanding.
Tottenville HS
They play crisp, fundamentally sound baseball in southern Staten Island, the kind of baseball that often leads to long playoff runs. Last year’s city runner-up is always a factor and full of college-bound scholarship athletes.