1st League Championship In 11 Years For William Floyd Colonials' Boys Basketball Team

MASTIC BEACH, NY — William Floyd High School boys’ varsity basketball team defeated Sachem North 46-49 to secure their first league championship in 11 years, school district officials stated in a news release.

The Colonials have established themselves as one of the top teams in Suffolk, including a 74-48 victory over Riverhead to close out their regular season and an impressive 14-2 divisional record (15-5 overall) under the leadership of head coach William Slinkosky, according to school district officials.

Slinkosky said that ever since the team was in middle school, "they had their sights set on a league championship."

“It is special because they wanted to bring the winning mentality back to William Floyd, not just for themselves but for the community," he said.

The players do not take this tremendous season lightly, he said, adding that they are extremely honored to be mentioned alongside William Floyd basketball greats like Rob Hodgson, Rich Sinclair, Brian Babst, and Anthony White, all of whom were part of a league championship team.

“The highest honor for the team is being mentioned alongside the late, great coach Bob Hodgson, one of the best basketball coaches in Long Island history," Slinkosky said.

The team has practiced up to three times per week, including strength and conditioning, honing their skills, and going over drills were all vital in their development as a team, even in the off-season, according to school district officials.

The team has played together since they were between seven and nine years old,” Slinkosky adding, “That is how long they have been training for this moment.”

The 2022-23 varsity roster includes Corey Bazemore, Kyle Eckstine, Knowledge Jones, Jermaine King, Joey McLaurin, Alex Meyer, Phillip Mitchell, Dahmorian Moses, A.J. Piazza, Daved Richardson, Darnell Smith, Mikey Smith, Jake Yourison and Jayson Yourison.

Assistant coaches include Darrell Sumpter and Thomas Stines.

The team lost two of their first three non-league games, but Slinkosky said, “It helped the boys gets to an entirely different level in practice."