Top 10 Riverside Church Hawks Players in the 1970’s

It was the start of greatness for Riverside who developed talent in the 70’s. Ernie Lorch RIP assemble a top notch group of players. The photo above is the Riverside team that travel to Russia. Approximately all these players were All-City and All Americans. 

1. Albert King – Albert King played at Ft Hamilton in which he was a Parade and McDonalds All American. Played at Maryland in which he was All-ACC and All-American. Played 8 seasons in the NBA with the Nets and Bullets.

2. Gary Springer – Gary was a beast in high school and college. He was first team All-City at Ben Franklin HS. Then an All American at Iona College in which he had 1,866 points and 1,021 rebounds in his four year career. 

3. Wayne McKoy – A star at Long Island Lutheran and played in the 1977 MvDonalds All-American game. Enrolled at St John’s in which he led the Redmen to the Elite 8 in 1979 NCAA Tournament. He was All Big East in 1981. Spend three seasons playing professional basketball in Spain. 

4. Rodney McCray – McCray was a star at Mt. Vernon HS and took his talents to Louisville. He was a part of the 1980 National Championship team. Played ten seasons with the Rockets, Kings, Bulls, and Mavericks. 

4. Reggie Carter – Reggie was a prolific scorer who attended Long Island Lutheran. He started at the University of Hawaii and transfer to St John’s in which he was an All-American. Then played with the Knickers for two seasons. 

5. Tony Price – Price was an All-City player at   Taft HS in 1976. Played at Penn and led the Quakers to the 1979 Final Four. He was Ivy League Player of the Year averaging 19.8 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game. Price had a brief stint with the Pistons and San Diego Clippers in the NBA.

6. Scooter McCray – Played with his brother Rodney at Riverside, Mt Vernon, and Louisville. The 6-foot-9 forward played five seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics.

7. Steve Burtt – A prolific scorer and first team All-City at Charles Evan Hughes HS. Played at Iona and was All-American averaging 17.1 point per game in his four seasons. He played in the NBA with the Warriors, Bullets, and Suns. In addition he played in France as well. 

8. Roosevelt Chapman – Chapman was an All-City player at Westinghouse HS in Brooklyn. Then went on to Dayton and led the Flyers to the elite eight in the 1984 championship game before losing to eventual champion Georgetown. Chapman became the university’s all-time leading scorer with 2,233 points.

9. Kelly Tripucka – The 6-foot-6 forward was a star at Bloomfield HS in New Jersey. He was an All American at Notre Dame and led the Irish to the NCAA Tournament all of his four seasons. Played in the NBA and had an outstanding career for several seasons with the Pistons, Jazz, and Hornets. 

10. Kevin Williams – Played with Steve Burtt at Charles Evans Hughes and was a tough guard. An outstanding passer and a excellent scorer. Became a key player for St John’s for four seasons. Played in the NBA for the Cavaliers, Seattle SuperSonics, New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, and Los Angeles Clippers.

1975 AAU National Championship Team

Honorable Mention:

Mike Moses – Mike Moses was a well skilled point guard to play the game. He carried Tolentine to the 1980 CHSAA City Championship. Started his college career at Florida before transferring to St. John’s. Moses contributed to St John’s final four run in 1985. 

Vernon Giscombe – Giscombe was an All-City player at Cardinal Hayes HS in the Bronx. Then was a Big East All-Rookie in 1980 at the University of Connecticut.

David Britton – Starred at John F. Kennedy High School in The Bronx. Took his talents to Texas A&M and was first-team all Southwest Conference in 1980. Had a brief stints with the Dallas Mavericks and Washington Bullets. 

Michael Pyatt – He was a standout for Riverside and played a key role. A good scorer and rebounder, played at the University of Massachusetts. 

Darryl “Dee Dee” Powell – Powell was a star at Clinton HS in which he led the team in scoring and rebounding. Then he attended Mesa Community College in Arizona and become the school’s all time leading scorer. Then transfer to Marist then averaged over 20 points and nine rebounds per game.

Gary Hooker – The 6-5 shooting guard played at Chelsea HS in Manhattan. Then started at Mississippi State and transfer to Murray State in which he averaged 15.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. 

Bill Sadler – He was a star player at Norman Thomas HS. Then spend a season at Santa Monica JC and transfer to Pepperdine. The 6-foot-6 forward averaged 13.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. 

Alex “Bobbie” Eldridge – Led Taft to the 1974 PSAL Championship. He was the Iron Horse Award winner and  Parade All-American. One of the best point guards to ever come out of the Bronx. He played college basketball at the University of

Massachusetts. 

A shout out to these players who miss the top ten and honorable mention. We still like to give them their honor as deserved. Tell us what you think in the comments and who we missed.