Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim will be in good company when he joins the Upstate New York Basketball Hall of Fame on May 19.
Boeheim’s 2019 classmates will include City School District of Albany Hall of Famers Elander Lewis and Paul Lyons, along with longtime district employee Derek Johnson. Lewis and Johnson were teammates on Albany High’s renowned 1986 Section 2 championship team – the “High Slamma Jamma” Falcons, which Lyons coached.
The induction dinner will be May 19 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Troy, with a reception at 4 p.m. and dinner at 5 p.m. Tickets are $75. To RSVP, call (518) 877-5170. For more information, please visit the Upstate New York Basketball Hall of Fame website.
Lyons coached the 1986 team to one of his eight sectional championships in a 31-year career in which he accumulated 515 wins and a 75% winning percentage. He was a member of the district’s Hall of Fame Class of 2014.
Lewis was a member of the district’s Hall of Fame Class of 2018. A 1986 Albany High graduate, Lewis averaged 22 points as a senior and was one of the top basketball recruits in the country. He went on to play at St. John’s in the heyday of the Big East, and later at Virginia Commonwealth.
Johnson, also a 1986 graduate, averaged 19 points as a senior and joined Lewis as a first-team Capital Region all-star selection that season. His 16 points led the Falcons in their memorable sectional championship win over Shenendehowa.
Johnson serves as a home school coordinator at Giffen Memorial Elementary School, and also as the Albany Common Council representative from the Second Ward. He leads the popular Basketball 'N Books program on Saturday mornings at Giffen.
The mission of the City School District of Albany is to educate and prepare all students for college and career, citizenship and life, in partnership with our diverse community. The district serves approximately 9,300 students in 18 elementary, middle and high schools. In addition to neighborhood schools, the district includes several magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic opportunities for students, including four themed academies at Albany High School.
