Local Hoops Alumni Turned Suffolk CCC Stars To Be Honored By Hall of Fame

By Brett Mauser

Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame finally opened its doors last October, 18 years after its first induction class, which included Bridgehampton’s Carl Yastrzemski. Photos by Brett Mauser

Patchogue - The nation would attest that for two years the Suffolk County Community College men's basketball team was darn near unbeatable. From 2002-2004, it won better than 50 consecutive games and captured two national championships. Behind all of it was a who's who of East End hoopsters and who translated their prep success into junior college immortality.

Richard Wrase, the Clippers' coach and former head
man at Westhampton Beach.

The 2003 and 2004 National Junior College Athletic Association Division III champions are now being recognized for their work. On May 7, the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame will honor the teams with the Special Recognition Award, which is given out each year to a group of outstanding athletes.

Richard Wrase, the Clippers' coach and former head man at Westhampton Beach and Eastport-South Manor, submitted his teams' credentials and was thrilled to have received the honor.

"When they called me, I jumped through the ceiling," said Clippers Head Coach Richard Wrase, "plus I want to see all the kids together again."

Wrase is working on rounding up all the former Clippers who made it happen for the induction ceremony, which will take place at the West Lake Inn in Patchogue, a stone's throw from the SSHOF site.

The 2003 team featured a starting lineup with three East Enders - Maurice Manning of Bridgehampton, Darrin Miller of Southampton, and Marcel Street, who grew up in the Bridgehampton system before moving to Mastic and playing at William Floyd. On top of that, Bridgehampton's Ronnie White, who is currently an assistant coach at his alma mater, was the Clippers' sixth man and captained the team with Manning. East Hampton's Jesse Shapiro was a sharpshooter off the bench.

Wrase said his ties to the Hamptons helped immensely in recruiting, which started with bringing in White. "I was very friendly with all those coaches, so when I first got the job, they really helped me out," Wrase said. "I thought that was one of the hey-days of the Hamptons. The late 1990s were was as good as the late 1960s."

Each sport is commemorated by a special display room.

East Hampton basketball coach Ed Petrie.

With Manning and White, Bridgehampton won Class D state championships from 1996 through 1998. Miller played winning basketball under Herm Lamison at Southampton, and Shapiro did the same with Ed Petrie pulling the strings for Bonac. Their tradition of success helped Suffolk march all the way to the finals, where it knocked off Chicago-based Dupage, 63-58, for the 2003 title.

"We were all superstars on our individual teams in high school, but we were able to become mature enough to set aside our egos and who we were to become what we needed to be," White said. "We worked together and realized that we can make something big of this."

Although they played on separate high school teams, White said that AAU and other travel teams brought them together often enough to have built a camaraderie between them all. The daily trek to Suffolk's Ammerman campus in Selden only bolstered that bond between the East End players.

"It was definitely a sacrifice," he said. "The dedication taught us commitment and taught us responsibility. If we wanted to continue that championship experience, we had to do it."

The Clippers had finished the 2002-2003 season on an 18-game winning streak. The following year, nobody could beat them. Wrase brought in another Bridgie, Antwon Foster, to join Manning and Street. The team averaged 98 points per game and racked up 100-or-more 13 times. Suffolk ultimately ran the streak to 52 games, going 34-0 and beating Texas-based Eastfield College 83-81 in overtime to win a second consecutive national championship. Wrase recalled Miller burying a massive three-pointer that upped the Clippers' OT lead to five from two, all but icing the victory.

Bridgehampton's golden son baseball legend Carl Yastrzemski.

He also recalled the weight of continuing the string of wins, which reached 55 the next year before being halted. "The win streak was draining," Wrase said. "The kids loved it but I hated it. There was constant pressure. They handled it better than me. That year, in practice, I thought when the second team scrimmaged our first team it was better than most of our games."

Wrase said Manning was simply magical that year. The Killer Bee alum slimmed down and almost doubled his point production from the previous season (14 to 27). Manning in turn garnered player of the year honors nationally and regionally. "To me, he probably was the most knowledgeable kid I ever saw play basketball. As a coach, you didn't have to say much to him. He understood it before I even said it."

By going in with the two Clipper teams, Wrase will be inducted into the Hall for the second time, having already been honored as an individual for his coaching resume. After a strong showing at Eastport-South Manor, he racked up a staggering record of 168-26 during his tenure at Westhampton Beach, picking up 10 league championships and four county championships along the way. Behind Dale Menendez, he led the Hurricanes to the hoops summit in 1998 - a New York State Federation championship as well as a Class B state title. He made the jump to Suffolk CCC in 2002, and has gone 194-42 in seven seasons. Heading into Friday's playoff match-up with Sullivan CCC, this year's Clipper club has compiled a 22-5 mark and is poised to delve deep in the NJCAA Tournament.

Other East End inductees include Wrase, East Hampton basketball coach Ed Petrie, Southampton hoops star Foots Walker and para-Olympian Dennis Oehler of East Hampton.

Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame finally opened its doors last October, 18 years after its first induction class, which included Bridgehampton's Carl Yastrzemski. Other East End inductees include Wrase, East Hampton basketball coach Ed Petrie, Southampton hoops star Foots Walker and para-Olympian Dennis Oehler of East Hampton.

The Hall of Fame has given out the Special Recognition Award every year since 2004. Past winners include the Patchogue Fire Department's Forty Thieves Racing Team, the PAL Sparklers Twirling Program, East Islip baseball, and the Bellport and William Floyd football programs.