It’s taken half of the regular season, but the Uniondale boys’ basketball team is finally whole — and it’s showing on the court.
Senior Dion Morris, a 6-foot-2 guard, returned to the team after missing three weeks mourning the death of his mother, and Darren Brown, a 6-5 junior, was off the court for a month with a health scare.
Both players returned to the Knights lineup this week, which coincided with back-to-back victories over Freeport and Hicksville.
“They were the in-between pieces we needed around our freshmen because our team is pretty much dominated by underclassmen,” Uniondale head coach Jaaz Styles said. “I think we’re starting to peak at the right time. We’ve had our best defensive performances league-wise since those two have returned.”
The Knights are second in Nassau AAA, averaging 46.4 points against per game. Port Washington leads the division at 41.3.
With one of the longest teams in the county, Uniondale’s calling card is on the defensive side of the court this season.
“We’ve got a lot of size and using that size and length, I think has catapulted what you’ve seen in the numbers, especially Darren,” Styles said. “He’s at the top of all of our presses. He just causes so many problems with his length, speed, and athleticism. He gets a lot of steals, and deflections for dunks.”
Styles, though, isn’t content with those impressive defensive numbers.
“My message to the guys is even though we’re at 46, we want it between 35 and 40,” he said. “In the last two games, we’ve done that.”
With Morris and Brown back in the lineup, Uniondale has utilized a suffocating press to go along with a multitude of defensive looks, including an especially effective 1-2-1 zone.
Against Freeport, Uniondale only gave up 36 points in a 15-point win with the Red Devils scoring eight points in each of the first two quarters.
In a 38-point win over Hicksville last Friday, the Knights held the Comets to six points combined in the second and third quarters.
Jayden Barrows, a 6-foot-7 forward — one of four freshmen on the team — has been a menace defensively.
“He’s so long and athletic that he changes so many shots at the rim and blocks so many shots at the rim, which puts us in transition and it allows [Dylan] Hickman to get those transition threes that he’s been getting,” Styles said.
Hickman, a 6-1 sophomore guard, has guided Uniondale (6-5, 4-1 Nassau League 1-AAA) offensively with his unlimited range. He knocked down three three-pointers to go along with an old-fashioned three-point play to score all 12 of his points in a decisive second quarter that gave the Knights a 21-point halftime lead.
“The way he stretches the floor, it’s like a Steph Curry gravity effect,” Styles said. “The way they guard him is super similar because of the way he stretches the floor, and we give him the green light to shoot it as far as he wants. He’s got elbow room, a God-given gift to knock down shots.”
With a complete roster, Uniondale is considered a contender to win the county title.
“I think realistically the potential is we can get to the Nassau championship game,” Styles said. “That’s totally possible, but it's also possible we can lose the first round due to the low experience.”