The Class of 2024 for the Bronx Basketball Hall of Fame will be honored at the third annual awards dinner on Thursday, November 7th from 7 PM to 11 PM at Villa Barone Manor, 737 Throggs Neck Expressway in the Bronx.
The Bronx Basketball Hall of Fame was created over two years ago “to establish and preserve a historical narrative of organized basketball from its inception to the current day and preserve the legacy of our local players, coaches, community leader and other contributors.”
The 16 inductees who make up the Class of 2024 made their mark and their impact on the sport of basketball with their roots in New York City and the Bronx.
This year’s inductees:
Ed Pinckney came out of the James Monroe Houses of the South Bronx to become a high school and NCAA champion. Pinckney won the city championship with Stevenson High School and then went to Villanova where he led the Wildcats to one of the greatest upsets in NCAA Tournament history when they beat Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas. Pinckney, who was voted the Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four, was a two-time First Team All-Big East player and Parade All American. Pinckney was the 10th overall pick of the Phoenix Suns in the 1985 NBA Draft. The Bronx native had a 12-year NBA career with seven teams and is currenty a coach with the Houston Rockets.
Tom “Satch” Sanders played for NYU at the Bronx campus and was the 8th overall pick of the Boston Celtics in the 1960 NBA draft. Sanders played his entire 13-year career with the Celtics, where he won 8 championships. He is one of three NBA players who had a record of 8-0 in the NBA Finals. Sanders served as the head basketball coach at Harvard and was the Celtics head coach in 1978 for 62 games. In 2011, Sanders was inducted into the Naismith Basketball HOF as a contributor.
Chris Gallagher was a standout player on the 1964 and 1965 Monsignor Scanlan High School basketball teams. At the time, Gallagher was ranked the second best player in the New York Metropolitan Area after Power Memorial’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (nee: Lew Alcindor). Gallagher, who attended Harvard University where he was an All Ivy and All New England basketball player, was inducted into the Harvard and New England Hall of Fame. Gallagher played pro ball in Switzerland and had a try out with the Philadelphia 76ers. Gallagher has dedicated his life to helping others in education and basketball. He practically single handedly raised the money for Msr. Scanlan High School’s doors to remain open when it was set to close by the Archdiocese in 2009.
Frank McLaughlin was a staple of Fordham University for nearly six decades as a student-athlete, coach and administrator. McLaughlin was born in the Bronx and played at Fordham Prep where he was first team All-City in 1965. McLaughlin also played guard for the Fordham Rams and was drafted by the New York Knicks in the 10th round of the 1969 NBA Draft. McLaughlin, who is a member of five Halls of Fame including the Fordham Hall of Fame, was Fordham’s Athletic Director from 1985-2012. He has also worked as an Associate Vice President of student affairs for athletic alumni relations and external affairs. In 2022, Fordham dedicated the floor at the Rose Hill Gym as the Frank McLaughlin Family Court in his honor.
Felipe Lopez was a star at Rice High School in the early 1990s and was one of the most highly touted recruits in U.S. high school history. Lopez went to St John’s and in 1998, he won the prestigious Haggerty Award as the top men’s basketball player from a Division 1 school in the NY metropolitan area. Lopez was chosen by the San Antonio Spurs with the 24 th overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft and was immediately traded to Vancouver. Lopez also played with Washington and Minnesota.
William “Bill” Modeste is one of the most respected basketball officials that ever worked an NCAA game. In 1968, Modeste joined SUBOA, an organization of referees and was certified in 1970. Modeste is also know for tutoring and counseling the youth at Forest Neighborhood House in the Bronx and was an academic and career counselor at the Percy Sutton Seek Program at Queens College.
Lawanda Greene starred at Stevenson High School in the Bronx where she averaged 38 PPG in her senior year and is the girls all time leading scorer with 2,401 points. Greene, who went on to play for Ohio State and St. Peter’s, is the Boys Basketball Coach at Brooklyn Community Arts and Media. In 2014, she led the team to a 30-0 record and PSAL B Division Championship.
Mary Hayes Haas played four years for the Fordham University Girls Basketball team, where she led the Lady Rams to three straight AIWA NYS and Eastern Regional Tournaments and the 1978 AIAW Small College National Championship Tournament. Hayes Haas holds several Fordham records including most assists in a game (17), most in a season (305 in 1977-78) and most steals (100 in 1977-1978). In 1988, Hayes was inducted into the Fordham University Athletics Hall of Fame.
Lou D’Almeida is the founder of the internationally recognized New York Gauchos, a non profit AAU basketball program and gym located in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. More than 25 alumni of the program have played in the NBA and hundreds more have been accepted to elite colleges. An elite list of New York City basketball stars have played with the Gauchos, including Mark Jackson, Albert King, Jamal Mashburn, Stephon Marbury, Chris Mullin and Dwayne “Pearl” Washington.
Ron Behagen was an All-City player at DeWitt Clinton high school in the Bronx. Behagen was a teammate of Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield at the University of Minnesota in the 1970s. In 1973, Behagen was drafted by the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA and a first round pick of the Kansas City Kings in the NBA Draft. Behagen played for eight teams (including the New York Knicks in 1979) over seven NBA seasons and was named to the NBA All Rookie team in 1974.
Shannon Bobbitt led Murray Bergtraum High School to two PSAL and NYS Championships with a 30-0 season in her junior year and a 29-1 mark in her senior season. Bobbitt was part of a two time National Championship team at the University of Tennessee. In 2009, the 5’2” Bobbitt was drafted by the LA Sparks, where she played with Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie and is the shortest player in WNBA history. Bobbitt has also played for the Indiana Fever and Washington Mystics.
Malik Sealy became a McDonald’s and Parade All American after he led Tolentine High School in the Bronx to a 30-1 mark and a state championship during his senior year in 1988. Sealy played four years at St. John’s where he was a two time Haggerty Award winner and All Big-East selection. Sealy was the 14th overall pick of the Indiana Pacers in the 1992 NBA Draft. He also played for the LA Clippers, Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves. On May 20, 2000, Sealy was tragically killed when his SUV was hit by a drunk driver who was traveling the wrong way on a divided highway. Prior to the home opener on November 4, 2000, Sealy’s #2 was retired by Minnesota.
Angel “Monchito” Cruz came out of the Patterson Projects in the Bronx to become a New York City playground legend. Cruz played for All Hallows and DeWitt Clinton High Schools and was revered for his jumping ability. Despite being only 5’9”, the Puerto Rican-American routinely dunked over much taller rivals. Cruz played professionally and won championships in Puerto Rico. In 1988, Cruz helped the Puerto Rican team qualify for the Summer Olympic games in Korea, ending a 12-year drought. Cruz hit the buzzer beating shot to knock off the eventual silver medalist winning Yugoslavian team that featured Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic. In 1998, Cruz mysteriously disappeared while visting family in Puerto Rico and has not been seen or heard from since.
Richard “Skinny” Reed was an impactful contributor to the early history of Bronx basketball as a coach, mentor, community leader and role model. Reed was instrumental in creating SUBOA, the non profit basketball officiating organization that was founded in 1967. The organization, which offciates NCAA, JUCO, high school and amateur basketball games, is considered to be the top co-ed referee development and training program in the country.
Jim Couch was coaching and training players in the New York City area since 1956. Coach started the Dyckman Basketball Program and the heralded Dyckman Basketball Tournament and is credited with teaching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (nee: Lew Alcindor) his famous “Sky Hook” shot. In 1992, he started the Jim Couch Foundation for basketball training, education, counseling and lifestyle training. Couch, who has been honored with service awards from the President of the United States and the Mayor of New York City, is a member of the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame and the Rucker Professionals Hall of Fame.
Jack Powers was a star basketball player, a winning head coach and athletic director at Manhattan College. In 1958, Powers scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Manhattan to an 89-84 upset of Jerry West and West Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Madison Square Garden. Beginning in 1968, Powers was the head basketball coach at Manhattan where he posted a 142-114 record. Powers served nine years as the athletic director before becoming the Executive Director of the NIT from 1988 until 2005 when the NCAA took over the tournament. On February 26, 2016, Powers became the first Manhattan Jasper to have his number retired when his number 34 was raised to the rafters at Draddy Gymnasium. Powers was inducted into the Manhattan College Hall of Fame and this past September, he was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024.