Ithaca High boys basketball aims to shine under new coaches

The Ithaca High School boys basketball team has had its fair share of setbacks over the last couple of years. Since winning the STAC title in 2023, the Little Red has gone 6-34 and missed out on the postseason for two straight years. With an injection of talent from the junior varsity squad and a new-look coaching staff, there’s a strong sense of excitement permeating throughout the program.

Rahmel Mack takes over as head coach following an outstanding two-year stint leading the junior varsity team. Under his tenure, the Little Red posted a 36-4 record and won the STAC title last season. Mack aims to translate that level of success to the varsity program.

“I want to see Ithaca shine,” Mack said. “Any time I have an opportunity to help do that and bring other people with me, I’m definitely excited about it. It made the decision a lot easier.”

Mack is part of a revamped coaching staff from top to bottom that’s full of familiar faces from the local basketball scene. Assisting Mack at the varsity level are Mike Nembhard, who previously coached at Newfield and led the Trojans to the 2022 Class C state title, and Jordanny Marte, who graduated from IHS in 2018 as the all-time leading scorer in program history and went on to play at Mohawk Valley Community College.

Lester McNair returns to the program as the new junior varsity head coach. Another Little Red alum, McNair previously coached the varsity team for a couple years. Mike McCoy and Kevin “KP” McClain—two more IHS alumni—are the two modified coaches, while former varsity head coach Mac Knight will help out at all levels.

“It’s a nice little super team of basketball in this community,” Mack said. “[I] see everyone excited and energized to give back… We’re trying to turn this into a full-on program where we’re feeding ourselves. We’re not just asking people to be good and arrive at us good in general. We’re going to create what we say, and we want to create what we want to see. So everyone’s working now as a dream team to make sure we mold and develop guys to where they should be.”

Not only has there been plenty of coaching changes, there are also a plethora of newcomers to the varsity squad. The Little Red lost six out of twelve players from last season’s team and added nine players, most of whom are from the standout JV team. Mack is not worried about their adjustment to the varsity level from a basketball standpoint. The focus instead is on the mental side of the game.

“What I’m trying to teach them at the varsity level now is you got to be able to maintain and sustain your style of play, how you design yourself to play,” Mack said. “You can be imaginative and invent things and do all that, but you have to not break down. You can’t walk at the varsity level. You can’t quit on a play. You can’t do all the stuff you can get away with at the JV level, because the varsity level also has coaches that are going to expose those guys that are not doing what they’re supposed to do.”

There are quite a few varsity debutants who are primed to make a significant impact. Sophomores Israel Mack and Jasmir Robbins were two of the Little Red’s stars at the JV level, while sophomore Cole Charsky and junior Oscar Sachs are also expected to contribute right from the get-go.

As for the returning players, seniors Julius Abreu, Boden Baier, Emmanuel McBean and Ahmeen Shepherd along with junior Vaughn Bailey are poised to step up and elevate a younger team.

“If I do my job, all of those guys should make some kind of a dramatic impact,” Mack said. “Watching them in that first practice, how I structured it towards the end, they were put on front street to have to showcase versus all the youth in the room, and they stepped up. And that was just the first practice, so [I hope] everything continues to evolve like that.”

The combination of a ‘dream team’ of coaches and a roster flushed with young talent and veteran hunger, that could very well be the recipe for success to rejuvenate Ithaca boys basketball.

“The ultimate fun in sports is actually winning. I understand that,” Mack said. “But at the end of the day, I want to compete. I have no plans on being a loser, but I just want them to understand that if they compete and you fight tooth and nail and you lose at the buzzer, you can work from that. When you compete and win, it feels so good. I want it to be a rewarding year, a fun year, and a memorable year for every young man on that team.”

The Little Red opens up the season on December 8 at Horseheads. Their first home game will be December 16 against Vestal.