[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 19, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H2461-H2462]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 BRIDGEHAMPTON KILLER BEES WIN NEW YORK STATE CLASS D BOYS BASKETBALL 
                              CHAMPIONSHIP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Forbes] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay a special tribute and to 
congratulate the championship Bridgehampton Killer Bees for winning the 
New York State Class D boys basketball championship. It is indeed a

[[Page H2462]]

momentous occasion for all of us on eastern Long Island. This is the 
sixth time in 19 years, Mr. Speaker, that our beloved Killer Bees of 
Bridgehampton High School are the New York State Class D boys varsity 
basketball champions.
  There is tremendous pride throughout eastern Long Island as we 
listened over eastern Long Island radio WLNG as the Killer Bees, led by 
their coach Carl Johnson, went on to victory. It is the same Carl 
Johnson, by the way, as coach but formerly as a player who himself 
participated in three State titles from 1979 until 1980 as a player in 
Bridgehampton. The Killer Bees earned the 1996 title by defeating West 
Canada Valley 51-37 last Saturday evening March 16 at the Glens Falls 
Civic Center in Glens Falls, NY.
  The six State championships are the most ever by a New York school, 
and coach Johnson is the only person in State history, Mr. Speaker, to 
win a scholastic basketball title as both a player and a coach. While 
all class D schools have small enrollments, Mr. Speaker, with just 43 
students, Bridgehampton High School is the smallest on Long Island and 
the third smallest in the State of New York. But they well may be the 
mightiest. But as coach Johnson proved, the only true measure is that 
of his players' heart and determination.
  Unlike larger schools with a larger pool of eager young athletes, to 
build his championship 15-player squad, coach Johnson drew from a 
talented pool of just 18 young men at Bridgehampton High School. The 
Killer Bees were led by seniors Terrell Hopson, Nick Thomas and 
Nathaniel Dent and juniors Fred Welch and Javed Khan. Among 
Bridgehampton's top underclassmen is sophomore Maurice Manning who is 
the team's top scorer and the most valuable player in the State Class D 
tournament.
  Other sophomores include Charles Furman, William Walker, Louis 
Myrick, Matthew White, and Marcos Harding. Freshman players are Ronald 
White, Kareem  Coffey, Daniel Muller and Jemille Charlton. Carl 
Johnson's top assistant coach is Bobby Hopson, and Bridgehamption's 
athletic director is Mary Anne Jules.

  Mr. Speaker, Bridgehamption finished the season with a 20-4 record. 
Besides the New York State title, the Killer Bees also earned the 
Suffolk County Class C-D championship. They went on to defeat Valhalla 
in Westchester County by 67-55 in the regional finals and then 
Bridgehampton went on to defeat Hermon-DeKalb 69-23 in the State 
semifinals. The top high school Class D boys basketball team in New 
York, our own Bridgehamption High School, was supported all season by a 
legion of truly loyal fans, just about the best basketball fans in the 
State.
  According to one news report, a contingent of 50 hometown boosters 
followed their team for the 6-hour journey 350 miles from Long Island's 
South fork to Glens Falls, home of this House's chairman of the House 
Committee on Rules, Jerry Solomon. At Glens Falls New York State's high 
school basketball tournament was held last Saturday evening. We got to 
listen over the radio as Bridgehamption was victorious.
  When the coaches and players returned home, Mr. Speaker, hundreds of 
their neighbors were waiting at the local high school to cheer their 
conquering heroes, and thousands, as I said, followed the action on 
local radio station WLNG. With multiple championships garnered on the 
basketball hardwood with only minimal resources, Bridgehamption High 
School's success has caught the attention of renowned academics John 
Katzenbach and Douglas Smith who profiled the Killer Bees in their 1992 
book, the Wisdom of Teams, published by Harvard Business School Press.
  Congratulations to all the Killer Bees. May you bring back many more 
State titles to our neighbors here on Eastern Long Island and 
throughout Suffolk County.

             [From the Newsday, Long Island March 18, 1996]

                              Hail, Bees!

                  (By Samson Mulugeta and Jordan Rau)

       Marian Ashman had seen them all. For 63 years, she'd 
     followed the Bridgehampton Killer Bees. She'd seen the best 
     players on five championship teams. But on Saturday night 
     after traveling 350 miles to upstate Glens Falls, she saw her 
     team win the state championship for the first time.
       As the buzzer sounded with the score of 51-37, Ashman 
     jumped from her seat screaming, her left arm shooting into 
     the air.
       ``When I think about the whole New York state, I start 
     thinking about it and I start crying,'' said Ashman, 71, as 
     she watched the players pile off the bus yesterday for a 
     victory celebration at the high school.
       The team, which captured its record sixth state Class D 
     title, arrived in the East End village escorted by a honking 
     procession of fire trucks and cars.
       As they turned into the high school parking lot, team 
     members were greeted by hundreds of cheering fans, who had 
     been waiting most of the afternoon for their arrival.
       Senior Nick Thomas, the first off the bus, held the plaque 
     over his head, Stanley Cup-style. As the players stepped off 
     the bus they were engulfed by the chanting crowd and were 
     hugged by family and friends.
       Thomas said the team wasn't sure what would await them. 
     ``We didn't really know it was going to happen,'' he said at 
     a reception in the school, where the community feasted on 
     chicken, macaroni salad, cakes and soft drinks. ``Being that 
     our fans are who they are, we knew they would show some kind 
     of appreciation. It's a great feeling to experience.''
       Younger fans played pickup games in the school gym while 
     waiting for the champions to arrive. Some said they looked 
     forward to having their chance to play for the school.
       ``This is so exciting, they hadn't done it in 10 years,'' 
     said Chris Ranum, a 12-year-old on the junior high basketball 
     team. ``I just want to play on the team, we can take it every 
     year up to the state championship.''
       The Killer Bees captured the championship by defeating West 
     Canada Valley of Newport, 51-37, to win the title for schools 
     with enrollments of less than 200. Bridgehampton, the third 
     smallest high school in the state, has an enrollment of 43, 
     and 15 of the 18 boys in the school are on the team.
       It was the team's first trip to the state tournament since 
     1991. The team won three straight state titles from 1978 to 
     1980, and earned its previous state championship in 1986.
       Despite its status as the Little School That Could--or 
     maybe because of its small size--the Killer Bees had devoted 
     fans. Forty-nine of them boarded a bus in the village 
     Saturday morning for the six-hour trip upstate.
       Paul Fishburne, 46, said he had to be there to cheer on the 
     boys.
       ``You've got to be crazy to go on this trip but it's worth 
     it,'' he said.
       For Lamont Avery, who turned 43 Saturday, it was a birthday 
     trip.
       ``I haven't been off Long Island for two years,'' he said.
       For Curtis Ellis, the Bridgehampton basketball tradition is 
     a family affair. Ellis played on championship teams in the 
     early 1970s. Now his son, Terrell Hopson, is repeating the 
     cycle.
       ``From generation to generation, it goes on,'' said Ellis, 
     42. ``You could say the Bridgehampton Child Care Center is 
     our farm system. Every kid who goes there starts playing as 
     soon as they can walk and they grow up listening about the 
     legends.''
       The Killer Bees perform so consistently well with minimal 
     resources that management gurus John Katzenbach and Douglas 
     Smith profiled them in their 1992 book, ``The Wisdom of 
     Teams,'' published by Harvard Business School Press.
       ``Here's a team whose members very seldom reach 6 feet and 
     for the most part has no superstar players,'' said Henry 
     Letcher, a teacher at Bridgehampton High School who helped 
     organize the bus trip.
       ``But they defy expectations just because they play 
     unselfishly,'' Letcher said. ``They work so hard and are so 
     focused on their goals.''

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