Ron Naclerio finds himself standing alone in the New York high school basketball history books yet again.
Naclerio, the longtime head coach of the boy’s basketball program at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in Queens, captured his 973rd victory on Friday with a 69-46 win over Julia Richman, making him the winningest high school coach in New York state history.
Naclerio, 68, finds himself above legendary head coach Jack Curran of Archbishop Molloy, who racked up 972 career wins over his five-decade tenure.
Along with high school basketball, Naclerio also became the most victorious head coach in New York City basketball history across all levels of play, including the NBA.
Even before Friday’s game began, Naclerio knew that something different was in the air, noting that the atmosphere was a “Cardozo basketball lovefest” despite being an away game for them.
“I knew it was special,” Naclerio told The Post via phone following the win. “Because when you look in the crowd and you see 30 or 40 former players, and you see the media.”
Cardozo got off to a commanding lead to start the game, with Naclerio having the chance to get all of his players on the court for the win.
“At halftime I realized unless an atomic bomb hit the place, 16 basketball minutes would put me on a basketball Mount Rushmore myself,” Naclerio laughed.
Then, with a minute left in the game, the milestone of standing alone in New York City basketball history started to set in, with Naclerio noting the weight of being discussed in the same sentence as legendary Knicks coach Red Holzman.
“To even be considered in the same sentence as the only Knick coach to win two NBA championships, a Hall of Famer … I’m going to enjoy this,” he said.
As expected, celebration ensued following the win, with Naclerio noting the many people in the NYC basketball world who reached out and gave their congratulations.
“It’s nice to see on the phone Rick Pitino texting you, Kenny Anderson texting you, Kenny Smith texting you, it’s definitely a ‘Wow,’ ” he added.
The Bayside native’s milestone also comes after he was almost sidelined from coaching after city investigators accused him of improperly recruiting students from surrounding schools to join his team.
Naclerio ultimately scored a legal win, but higher-ups at Cardozo gave the legendary coach a two-game suspension in December.
Naclerio, who has coached at Cardozo for 51 years, has won two city titles — 1999 and 2014 — and produced four NBA players: Rafer Alston, Royal Ivey, Duane Causwell and James Southerland.
Despite five decades of coaching, Naclerio doesn’t think he’s done just yet, saying that, in basketball terms, he’s in the fourth quarter of his career.
“I know I’m in the fourth quarter,” Naclerio said. “Am I in the beginning of the fourth quarter? Am I in the middle of the fourth quarter? Am I late in the fourth quarter? Or am I in overtime? I don’t know.
“All great things come to an end, and I know when the day will come. The day is not here yet,” he added.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
