Photo courtesy of Dave’s Joint.
By David Cordova
If you’re ever in the East New York section of Brooklyn, there’s one place you can go to watch some great basketball during the winter. After getting off the 3 train on Pennsylvania Avenue, take a left turn one the aforementioned street until you see an old brick building that resembles a school.
That building is none other than Thomas Jefferson Educational Campus, a building which is the home to four different high schools. But for many who are from the community, it’s still known as Thomas Jefferson High School.
Once you get past the metal detectors and the NYPD School Safety agents, there’s a walkway leading to the gym. Once you get to the area of the gym, you see pictures on the wall of all of the boys basketball team’s past exploits and also drawings with blue & orange coloring.
On game day, you’re likely to see a concession stand with food, candy and plenty of beverages. Also on the walls are t-shirts, which are on sale to support the athletic programs at the school. Then alas, there is the gym, where all of the magic happens. It’s a very small gym this educational institution at 400 Pennsylvania Avenue. But if you put the right game in that venue, then it gets to rocking.
For many years, the Orange Wave has been the home of many basketball greats from various decades ago, such as Harry Boykoff, Tony Jackson, Jim McMillian, Phil Sellers, LeRoy Ellis and Sidney Green, all of whom were legendary figures in the New York City basketball scene and many of whose numbers are retired in the rafters of the gym.
But for a long period of time between the 1980’s and into the early 2000’s, the Orange Wave faded into a period of irrelevancy. And then in 2004, a change was made that would shake the scene of basketball in the borough of Brooklyn and later in New York City.
Enter Lawrence “Bud” Pollard, who has been the head coach of the program for more than 20 years and is arguably one of the best coaches in the PSAL and throughout the city. Once upon a time, he was a promising talent as well as a player. A native of Bed-Stuy, he was a 1990 graduate of Boys & Girls High School, a rival program in the PSAL Brooklyn 4A division. He also went on to play collegiate basketball at West Virginia University, where he graduated in the mid-90’s.
Since his appointment as head coach, he has helped build the program into one of the best in the city. Over the last 15+ years, he has produced players such as Keith Spellman (Midwestern State), David Coley (Stony Brook), Edson Avila (Southern Misssissippi), Jaquan Lynch (Arkansas-Pine Bluff), Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s), Rasheem Dunn (Robert Morris) and currently, Jaquan Carlos, who is now finishing his collegiate eligibility at Syracuse University after three seasons at Hofstra University.
During the 2015-16 season, the Orange Wave, which had the aforementioned Ponds and Dunn, as well as some other talented players, had an amazing season, as they finished the season with a 25-9 ranking and won both the PSAL “AA” city championship and the New York State Federation “AA” championship.
It would be the first and only state Federation title in school history before the tournament was discontinued after 2023, but it would be the school’s first PSAL championship in school history since 1954.
On Pollard’s coaching staff is a supporting cast of coaches that have been known amongst the city scene for their play on the court or from coaching on the sideline.
One coach of note is none other than Seldon Jefferson, a 1993 graduate of Bishop Loughlin High School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, who himself was an All-City standout and helped his alma mater win both the CHSAA city championship and the New York State Federation championship as a junior in 1991-92. He went on to play three seasons at West Virginia University, where he put up spectacular numbers in the Big East.
For many years, Jefferson has been Pollard’s right-hand man on the sidelines for the Orange Wave and also is the man behind the junior varsity program, which has been a powerhouse over the past several years, winning multiple championships and becoming a breeding ground for the program’s next top talent.
Along with a couple of other coaches, including Thaddeus Hall, a 2012 graduate of Thomas Jefferson Campus, the program has been thriving over the past couple of years and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
One thing about playing for the Orange Wave is that toughness is definitely a part of the DNA of the team. Without it, you may as well sit on the bench. Being soft is definitely not tolerated. To play for Pollard and his staff, you must be willing to put it all on the line for 32 minutes on game day and also be a great teammate.
When talking about Jefferson, there are two players that comes to everyone’s mind. The dynamic duo of junior forward Jah’da Swann and senior guard Connor Sprattley are two players that have been a force in the PSAL and throughout the city game.
One is an athlete with the ability to dominate and make eye-popping plays at the rim and can even block shots and hold his own in the post area. The other is a guard that is a scoring machine and is known for having big games in which he can shoot the lights out and also get to the basket at will. Simply put, both account for usually half of the team’s points and are the ones that are sought-after by many.
At the present time, Swann is definitely gaining the attention of plenty of Division I colleges and has one summer left of grassroots basketball to play to make his presence felt and garner more offers. Sprattley has few offers, but chances are there’s always a chance that a school will take a chance on him. But one thing is for sure. Both are hell-bent on delivering another championship to the Orange Wave.
However, they’re not the only players that have contributed to the success of the program. Other players to note are seniors Malachi Wilson, Nyqwan Morris, Jeremiah Michel and Tamir Harper and underclassmen such as junior guard Trevor Lewis and sophomore forward Tudor Tawase.
This crew of eight players has made plenty of noise this season, as they are currently 26-1 and ranked No. 2 in the New York State Sportswriter’s Association rankings, and went 14-0 in PSAL Brooklyn 4A league play.
Aside from league play, they held their own in their non-league schedule, losing only to Stranahan High School out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the Kreul Classic in Coral Springs, Florida back in December. They went undefeated at the Skip Flowers Classic out in Martinsburg, West Virginia, which was also in late December. Earlier in that month, they also swept the competition at the Stars & Stripes Classic out in Houston, Texas.
As far as local competition, they knocked off PSAL opponents such as the defending PSAL 3A division champions, Epic South, and also James Monroe Campus and also defeated perennial CHSAA powerhouse, Christ the King, in overtime, on Dec. 29th.
Throughout the regular season, they swept every opponent in their midst, and continued the same thing in the borough playoffs, knocking off Brooklyn College Academy in the quarterfinals, Abraham Lincoln in the semfinals, and in the PSAL Brooklyn borough title game at Queens College on Feb. 15th, engaged in a battle with their arch-rivals, Eagle Academy II, taking it to overtime and winning, 76-70.
Due to their strong record, the Orange Wave crew now the No. 1 seed in the impending PSAL 4A city playoffs, which begin this week. With the way the team has played thus far, they should definitely have a strong chance to win it all.
Chances are, if they win the city championship and win the PSAL vs. CHSAA Champions Challenge on March 23rd, they could definitely go down as the best team in school history, even topping the 2015-16 team.
But one thing is simple, the Orange Wave have definitely made their presence felt and have made their best case as New York City’s best team. That’s right, the best team in the five boroughs, bar none.
However, it’s a new season, it’s time to survive and advance on the floor. That’s just what the self-proclaimed “Belt Boys” plan to do, beginning on Feb. 28th in the second round. Whomever they play in the city playoffs, be on the lookout for the balanced attack. Jefferson is pulling no punches and taking no shorts. They’re a dangerous team and not to be taken lightly.
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