Sal Fabozzi wanted to transform his passion for basketball into athletic opportunities for young athletes with special needs. So, a handful of years ago, he created Because We Can Sports on Staten Island.

The organization offers children ages five to 18 the option to participate in basketball along with soccer, football and track and field in a judgement-free environment. The program explains the nuances of each sport, Fun, as in F-U-N, is the ultimate objective.

Sal’s plan does not advance children to the next level of athletic skill. The goal is to advance them in life. The program has a connection to the local Catholic Youth Organization (CYO). Sal created the concept based on his basketball clinics for special needs children. He and Anthony Passalacqua, who played CYO basketball and founded a local youth basketball program, are the program’s head coaches. They are supported by many volunteers.

Autistic children are among the participants. The program helps the children interact with their peers and this encourages them to foster relationships in their neighborhoods and at their schools. Success in the classroom also has been associated to the dynamics of program. One 14-year-old boy took his game to the next level, competing in the Special Olympics New York Winter Games.

If you are on Staten Island or know someone there, let them know about Sal and Anthony and Because We Can Sports. For information: https://bwcsports.com/

Krekor Ohanian, Jr., was from California. His parents were Armenian, with his father an attorney who represented many from the home country who had little money and barely spoke English.

Krekor became an avid basketball fan. He was a good player in high school. Teammates called him “Touch,” because he always liked to touch the ball. Upon graduation, Krekor enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Following the war, he attended the University of California at Los Angeles on the G.I. Bill and a basketball scholarship. He played for legendary coach John Wooden.

Though he had decided to attend law school and follow his farther into the profession, a basketball game caused him to change direction. Eventually, he landed in the Hollywood spotlight. Following one of UCLA’s games, Krekor was introduced to William A. Wellman. The film director liked the young man’s voice and his expressive face as he played the game. He encouraged Krekor to consider an acting career.

Placing law school on the bench for at least a while, Krekor explored the suggestion and found himself taking various roles in films and television programs. Eventually, he would star in a television series of his own, relying on his athletic ability to perform his own stunts despite breaking a wrist and dislocating a shoulder in the pilot episode. His character, “Joe,” was depicted as an Armenian-American. Krekor occasionally spoke Armenian in several episodes and sometimes he quoted Armenian proverbs.

By this time, he wasn’t Krekor Ohanian, Jr., the basketball player or future lawyer. Hollywood fans now knew him as Mike Connors, the star of the television program “Mannix.”

The fallout from COVID-19 has touched every one of us. Our health, finances, routines and lifestyles have been compromised and only time will heal us.

I am specifically heartbroken for our high school students, especially our seniors. In many instances, their lessons, events, spring sports and, likely, proms and graduations, have been erased from the calendars. In the athletic departments, many seniors will not enjoy their final seasons in such spring sports as baseball and lacrosse.

R.J. Davis, though, is one senior who was lucky to salvage his last hurrah at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains. He was named Mr. New York State Basketball for the past season by the Basketball Coaches Association of New York. R.J. averaged 26.5 points, eight rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game in leading the Crusaders to an 18-9 record and the Archdiocese of New York championship. He shot 87 percent from the free-throw line, 51 percent from two-point range and 34 percent from the three-point arc.

R.J.’s coach praised the guard as a leader for the program throughout his four years at the school. This year, R.J. embraced his senior role and became more vocal for his teammates in practice, during games and even off the court.

R.J. was selected to play in the 43rd McDonald’s All-American game in Houston but, unfortunately, the contest was canceled due to the health care crisis. Let’s hope that R.J. can get his college career started on time this fall at the University of North Carolina.

Everyone, according to R.J.’s coach, knows about his on-the-court ability, but more people need to know that this young man is an all-around student-athlete. He holds a 3.8 GPA, volunteers in his community and embraces public speaking opportunities.

R.J. is driven, a hard worker and seeks success. I’m confident success will find him.

Good luck, R.J.!

Sonia Citron is drawing a lot of attention for her work on and off the basketball court.

Sonia is a junior at The Ursuline School in New Rochelle. She has received numerous college athletic scholarship offers since she significantly contributed to the United States win at the 2019 International Basketball Federation’s U16 Americas Championship in Chile.

Oregon and Stanford made scholarship offers, following others by Maryland, Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Clemson, Texas and Michigan. Harvard and Princeton did not offer scholarships but each has recruited Sonia. She is ranked 17th overall and six among guards in the high school class of 2021 by ESPN.

At the Chile tournament, Sonia averaged 13.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 3.2 steals while playing almost 20 minutes per game. Team USA finished with a perfect 6-0 record and defeated all opponents by wide margins. Back at high school, Sonia led Ursuline to the Section 1 final this year (loosing to Ossining High School). She has scored more than 1,300 points in her varsity career and earned all-state honors the past three seasons from the New York State Sportswriters Association. She was a second-team all-state honoree in Class AA for 2019.

Among Sonia’s other accomplishments are her role on Ursuline’s soccer team and her academic average of nearly 96 as a member of the National Junior Honor Society. Sonia also cherishes her participation in the school’s Warm Hands, Warm Hearts program that provides meals to 100 clients at a community soup kitchen. Sometimes she is the chef and at other times she is the shopper. Everything Sonia touches – academics, basketball, soccer, community service and more — is accompanied by her warm and captive smile.

Ursuline encourages, empowers and inspires young women, and the school certainly has been a magnificent influence for Sonia’s success that is drawing a lot of attention.

He was athletic during his boyhood years, playing sandlot baseball and basketball. Then, during his late teens, he got into the ring under the promotional name of “Lou King.”

It is not known if the young man would have continued to pursue a successful boxing career. The plan unraveled soon after his Uncle Pete brought the boxer’s father to see “this new kid in the ring.” The next morning, the father waited for his son to arrive at the breakfast table. Then, he lowered his newspaper and greeted his son with “Good Morning, LOU KING!”

So, the young man concentrated on basketball. He loved the game and played on a semi-pro team in Paterson, New Jersey. During an exhibition game against the Boston Celtics, Lou defended against Nate Holman, later a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. He held Nate to a few points and outscored him.

Though he was small in size compared to the other players, many teammates recalled that Lou was fast on his feet and performed foot and basket-throwing maneuvers similar to players for the Harlem Globetrotters. He even won a 1926 shooting contest with 24 baskets out of 25 shots.

Years later, after he had moved away from sports to build a successful career in the entertainment field, Lou’s athletic talent was featured in hit films such as “Buck Privates,” “Here Come the Co-eds” and others. He was so skilled that the directors never substituted a stuntman for his boxing and basketball scenes. But, for “Co-eds,” Universal Studios did hire a renowned basketball star to stage a game for the cameras. This star also “coached” the gifted athlete in a condescending manner. The entertainer played along, asking, “How do I hold the ball?” and “Can’t I throw the ball from here?” The basketball star just smiled indulgently, then stared unbelievingly as the actor tossed a perfect shot into the basket!

According to “Co-Eds” writer Edmund Hartmann, “a little fat man is the last guy in the world you’d expect to be an athlete.”

That little fat man was comedian Lou Costello, who, by the way, made it all the way to Cooperstown with partner Bud Abbott and their hilarious routine about baseball.

The recent college basketball season at Hofstra was a fun run. We didn’t get to the big dance, but we continue to build a winning culture. As an alum, I am proud of the continued forward progress for the program.

Coach Joe Mihalich completed his sixth season with us. He said that the key to the team’s ongoing success goes beyond talent. The guys are close. They play together. They work together.

The Pride enjoyed a 16-game winning streak during the season, the longest active streak at NCAA Division I. Hofstra was near the top in team winning percentage for the season.

Coaching at Hofstra is fun for Joe, because the players love the game. Each player contributed with a positive attitude and the will to improve individual skills and the team concept. Competitiveness among the players is high and going higher.

So, we didn’t earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The last appearance was during 2001. The coach knows that next year’s team will need to put in more work. The coach is ready. The returning players are ready. Be assured that they will embrace the new players. Together, they will take that next step forward.

Aubrey Griffin, a senior at Ossining High School, is New York’s new queen of high school basketball. She was named Miss New York Basketball by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association of New York.

Aubrey isn’t the first Ossining player to receive the honor. Andra Espinoza-Hunter (Mississippi State) received the crown during 2017 and Saniya Chong (UConn and WNBA Dallas Wings) was honored during 2013. As you can tell, Ossining High School girls’ basketball is a state powerhouse. The school is just the second program to feature three honorees.

The latest honoree is the most accomplished girls’ basketball player from the Lower Hudson Valley. Aubrey is the only player named Section 1 player of the year, a McDonald’s All-American, WBCA All-American, Section 1 champion, state champion and Federation champion. She is committed to UConn.

At one point, Aubrey averaged 25.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 3.7 steals and 1.8 blocks per game. She scored at least 35 points in each game of the sectional final, regional semifinal and regional final.

Wow! Then there was more!

This season, Ossining captured its ninth consecutive Section 1 Class AA championship and moved on to its eighth straight state championship tournament appearance. The final game was an easy victory for Ossining – a 93-46 win over West Genesee. Aubrey earned tournament MVP honors after tallying 35 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the championship game. She set a New York State Public High School Athletic Association tournament record with 146 points.

For Aubrey, it has been success upon success. It all started for her during freshman year when she helped lead Ossining to its fourth consecutive state title at the time and its first ever Federation title. Aubrey then accomplished so much more, on the court and in the classroom, in the succeeding three years. Now, it is time to for Aubrey to move on to her new challenges at UConn.

Maggie Timoney was a star basketball player at Iona College. A four-year standout for the Lady Gaels and a member of Iona’s Goal Club Hall of Fame, Maggie still ranks as the team’s all-time leading scorer with 1,894 career points.

As a freshman, Maggie was the 1986 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year. She then led the team in scoring in each of her next three years, averaging a program-best 16.6 points per game throughout her career. As a sophomore, she was named to the All-MAAC First Team after averaging 19.9 points a game. She also earned a spot on the conference’s Second Team during her junior year and ranks among the top five all-time in the Iona record book in half a dozen offensive categories, including ranking first in three-point field goal percentage and successful free throws.

After earning her undergraduate degree and then a master’s in business administration at Iona, Maggie entered the business world. She held sales positions, then strategic planning jobs and also distribution assignments for Heineken Ireland. She continuously moved higher within the company and, eventually, she was named CEO. She also has served as the managing director of Heineken Canada.

Maggie returned home last month when she was named CEO of Heineken USA in White Plains. She is the first woman CEO of a major U.S. beer company. According to the company’s president for its Americas region, Maggie understands the challenges and opportunities and she has the right mix of strategic vision, people leadership and grit to ignite future growth in the U.S. market.

Bet you a beer that all her skills can be traced to her basketball (and classroom) days at Iona.

Bob Cimmino is a high school basketball legend in Westchester County. Just a few weeks ago, his coaching legacy grew even larger when his Mount Vernon team defeated Scarsdale. That victory was his 500th win as Mount Vernon’s coach.

Bob has led the team for 24 seasons. He is just the fourth boys basketball coach in the county to reach the 500-win milestone, and he did it in the fewest games (593) than all the others. He is about 70 victories behind Section 1’s all-time coaching wins leader.

The total number of wins, however, is not important to Bob. The team win always is the achievement. Rather than add up his individual wins as a coach, Bob prefers, as a team, to win the section each season. Already, under his leadership, Mount Vernon has won 16 Section 1 titles and a record seven state championships. Team wins and coaching wins, though, kind of go hand-in-hand.

In anticipation of the milestone, Bob’s assistant coach organized a gathering of friends and former players. Though the game was played at Scarsdale High School, the rival made sure that the bleachers behind the Mount Vernon bench were pulled out fully so that everyone could sit and cheer for the team and Bob.

The game was a close one, with a harrowing fourth quarter. The final score was 72-68. The victory was considered a Bob Cimmino community win and that was exactly the way the coach wanted it.

Bob was in a bad mood for a while during the game but he finally smiled at the buzzer. He later joked that he and his coaches were heading to the best steakhouse in Manhattan to celebrate. Actually, though, he preferred to be surrounded by his players. No different than any other time during the last 24 years.

He doesn’t recall their names. But, he does remember the impact they had on his life.

David Simon attended Herricks High School in New Hyde Park during the 1980s. For 10th grade, though, he had to attend Robert Louis Stevenson High School in Manhattan. He was sent there after he became rebellious following the breakup of his family and when his father walked out of his life.

David had played several sports as a kid. But, after the family dissolved, he spent more time with other kids were who directionless. The consequences sometimes were catastrophic. One kid was stabbed to death. Another, who was drunk, was killed by a train. Another died from an overdose.

One day, as David explained it, two black kids invited him, a white dude, to play pickup basketball at the playground near Stevenson. Their praise made him think. After they saw him play, they told him “you’ve got game.” That’s when David realized that he had a choice – continue on the road he was traveling or apply the brakes.

Though just a kid, David thought about having his own family one day. He thought that he wanted to be a great father, but first he had to change a few things.

Back at Herricks for his junior year, David played JV basketball. He also worked on his game outside of school and refused to let the street control his life. He played varsity during his senior year, leading the division in rebounds.

Basketball became David’s sanctuary. He played a year in college before joining the family business. He enrolled in night classes to obtain a diploma. He continued to play basketball, earning a contract with a team in the International Basketball Association. He touched it and then moved on. He now has four children who have been successful in sports and have made many good friends along the way.

Looking back, David feels life is more than just sports. Life is all about community. It’s also about the will to succeed by creating a plan and developing a work ethic. He often wonders what would have been different in his life had those two guys not invited him to play basketball at the playground. David also wonders if their lives have turned out as well.