On a sweltering night in July, scenic Hudson Park in Irvington was abuzz with local hoopers testing their mettle under the lights in the long-running O’Hara Summer Basketball League. For decades now, ‘The O’Hara’ has served not only as a staple summer activity but also a place for high school teams to get valuable off-season work in. Even though the varsity season might be months away, programs have been using the summer league to evaluate talent and foster a sense of on-court chemistry between players.

On July 25, the Rye Neck basketball team was one of several clubs in action, taking on host Irvington in the first round of the playoff tournament that concludes the months-long summer season. And while the Panthers were pleased with a 46-45 that helped them keep their run alive, the focus is more on building for the winter season. 

Rising Rye Neck senior RJ Hutt—who led the Panthers in scoring for the 2021-22 season— noted that the success Rye Neck had last year seems to have lit a fire under the team’s returning players. Rye Neck finished last season with an 18-4 record in a stacked Class B and are hoping to improve upon the strides the team made last year.

Though the team graduated a few important cogs on last years team, they are working on retooling for the upcoming campaign with a few new faces, including younger players looking to break into the varsity ranks and transfers like senior point guard Ethan Lithgow, who is returning to Rye Neck from a year at Monsignor Scanlan High School.

“We are missing some guys, we lost some guys who graduated, but we’re working hard to get better,” said Hutt. “We’re working to get better every day.”

The Panthers aren’t the only ones who have had that idea either; the O’Hara Summer Basketball league features 16 teams total—eight boys teams and eight girls teams—including squads from Rye and Eastchester High School. The chance to compete against other high school programs—and work on in-game scenarios that will likely pop up during the year—has been invaluable, explained Hutt. 

On Monday night, the Panthers found themselves defending a small lead with time running out, allowing them to work on late-game strategy against motivated opponents.

“It’s important to work on those situations because we’re going to see them during the year,” said Hutt. “It’s just preparation for what we’re trying to do.”

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