The Summit Academy girls’ basketball team, which advanced all the way to the PSAL city semifinals last season when they lost to perennial power Murray Bergtraum 65-51 at St. Francis College, is back practicing with hopes of an even more successful season.
On Saturday September 22, at the Summit Academy Charter School gym, girls’ basketball head coach and athletic director Dytanya Mixson organized an open gym in front of college coaches. There was also a similar event the day before.
Many more coaches attended this event than last year. Coaches came from Division 1 and Division 3 schools.
“Last year we only had two,” Mixson added. “This year we have had nine. Our little building in Red Hook is growing. I’m proud to say it is happening in Red Hook.”
Last season produced the first athletic scholarship recipient in school history in Analeza Edore, who is at Division 2 Queens College. This year’s senior class of four already has a girl committed to Division 1 Morgan State with others having interest from many other schools.
There were two Division Three coaches who came to Summit during the two-day event and they were from College of New Rochelle (Saturday), who left early on Saturday, and Brooklyn College (Friday).
“New Rochelle actually made an offer to one of our players,” Mixson said. “They asked her to come to the school, so that is excellent.”
“The head coach from St. Peter’s was here today,” Mixson said. “The assistant coach liked someone so much that the head coach showed up the next day. He really loves 6-2 center Sky Castro, a junior.”
On Friday, coaches from Division One Morgan State, Wagner, St. Peter’s and LIU Brooklyn came to the open gym. On Saturday, there were also assistant coaches from Fairfield and St. Bonaventure in the Summit gym to watch the practice.
During the team’s one of four scrimmages, that lasted eight minutes each, the assistant coach said, “the more you make each other work the better you will be because no team has 10 good players like this.”
The former Boys and Girls coach led the team through drills that were aimed at developing the team in many different ways.
They did a full court drill where they dribbled sideways and looked at the hoop at the opposite end of the court, which transitioned into a passing drill.
Next up was a drill where they focused on doing a jump stop dribble and shot fake where they were told not to rush the process. This was followed by receiving the ball from a coach at the 3-point line and taking a lay-up on the right side, middle and left side.
After the scrimmages, the open gym wrapped up with pressurized free throws and the players were told that if they missed they had to run.
The goal as expressed by the head coach and seniors on the team is to win the city championship this year. This would mean impressively advancing beyond the PSAL semifinals and winning the championship game.
“We should take it all,” Mixson said. “We have all the tools to win everything. We can win the PSAL city championship, we have all the tools.”
Seniors Daysiah Smith, who lives in Red Hook, and Charity Barnes, who lives in East Flatbush and will be going to Division One Morgan State next year, agreed that the goal is to win the championship this season. The team fell just short in the 2017-2018 campaign.
They both said the opponent that they are most looking forward to playing against is South Shore High in Canarsie. Last season the team was able to get the win at home against last year’s PSAL champions at Summit but lost when they played at South Shore.
Smith added that a goal that she has for the team is to talk more and have more communication. She also thought the drills that the former Boys and Girls coach had them do will help in the long run.
“I think the practice went much better than yesterday because we were more prepared,” Smith added after the open gym. “I think the drills actually helped, and every time we do new drills it helps. It all makes sense when we play in a game.”
Barnes, who is a 6’0” small forward, has been a student at Summit since 9th grade and Smith, who is a 5’5” point guard has been attending Summit Academy since 8th grade.
Summit Academy (27 Huntington Street) has players on their team from all over Brooklyn, Queens and even Staten Island.
Freshman 5’10” guard Kyanna Evans comes every morning all the way from Staten Island via public transportation and Mixson described her as the next in line of very good players on the team.
“The freshman picked our little school out of all the schools in Staten Island and all the schools around Brooklyn, she picked our school,” Mixson said.
Mixson saw Evans playing basketball when she was in 7th grade. After Evans researched and checked out the school after Mixson suggested that she do so, she decided to come for high school.
“It has more opportunities for me both basketball wise and education wise,” Evans said about why she came to Summit. “I’m looking forward to a better education, getting better school wise and winning the championship.
She previously attended Michael J. Petrides MS in Staten Island.
The Lady Eagles will play their first game of the season at Boys and Girls High in Bedford Stuyvesant on December 5 at 5:00 pm.
