Boys basketball: Mount Vernon's Bob Cimmino is Section 1's new career wins leader

MOUNT VERNON - Last season, Mount Vernon topped its 24-0 season with state championship hardware, a seemingly perfect ending to a dominant campaign for the Knights.

Even as they got to enjoy the title-winning fanfare and seniors got to end their careers on a high note, they felt there was one thing missing.

"Last year, one of my players, Justin Robinson, told me, 'Coach, I wish we had one more game,'" Cimmino said of his player alluding to the Section 1 all-time boys basketball wins record, which the longtime Mount Vernon coach tied Lou Panzanaro in the state finals victory. "I said, 'Justin, I don't care,' but he said, 'I care for you.' Lonnie Webb, our photographer extraordinaire, said, 'We care, we care!'"

The moment that separated Cimmino from the rest of Section 1 boy basketball finally came, approximately eight months later, as Mount Vernon defeated Arlington in its season opener, 86-40. The record-breaking win gave Cimmino his 577th of his career, surpassing Panzanaro's mark of 576.

"It's been so many good players, so many good assistant coaches over the years," said Cimmino, deferring the credit. "It's nice that I think I can say Mount Vernon has been the best program, so it's nice to be able to put a record with the Mount Vernon Knights."

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Following the final buzzer, Cimmino kept a low-key approach, quickly retreating to the locker room. There was no ceremony or announcement following his historic win, and he'd rather place the focus on another record, 1-0 — which is where the Knights stand this season following Saturday's win.

However, the accomplishment and its significance isn't lost on his players.

"We were aware of it since we won states last year," Mount Vernon senior Dylan Colon said. "If we won this game, he'd be the all-time leader in Section 1 coaching. Congrats to coach for that. Coach is big in the city of Mount Vernon, in general. He's the godfather of Mount Vernon, and I appreciate everything he did for Mount Vernon, for me and the team."

The Knights were eager to get the win for their coach, but also to begin their title defense on a positive note. Mount Vernon left little doubt in its season-opening win.

They raced out to a 26-7 lead after the first quarter, which ballooned into a 57-15 halftime edge. The lead was never in jeopardy from there, with the reserves maintaining the unrelenting pressure on both ends of the court once they entered the game.

"We just came in with the mentality to just win," Mount Vernon senior Elijah Morris said. "We had a lot of doubters because all the seniors left last year, but we're sticking in and we're doing good so far.

"Coach Cimmino means a lot. He's a great father figure, and we all just appreciate everything he's done for us and everything he continues to do for the team."

What it means

Cimmino, who is coaching his 28th season at Mount Vernon, is now 577-113 overall.

Looking at the other boys basketball coaches from Section 1, Panzanaro, the former longtime Peekskill coach, finished with 576 wins. John Volpe, who coached at Gorton for many years, had 529 career wins, but that total also includes his time at Sacred Heart. Mike Del Val is another member of Section 1's 500-win club, and he finished with 514 victories throughout his time at Hamilton, Woodlands and Rye.

Last season, Cimmino guided the program to its 12th state title. It was his eighth state championship with Mount Vernon.

"Tradition never graduates," said Cimmino of the reason he has spent 28 years coaching at Mount Vernon. "The kids pass down the learning. They believe in what they hear from their coaches and they go extremely hard, and they buy into almost everything we do. They're doing the teaching, I got great senior leadership in Dylan Colon and Elijah Morris. They're fun to be around and the young guys listen to them and hover on every word they say, and that's a beautiful thing."

Player of the game

Dylan Colon, Mount Vernon: He helped set the tone on both ends of the court, finishing with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and six steals.

By the numbers

Mount Vernon (1-0) — Elijah Morris was also impressive, knocking down five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 22 points. Jaden Fearon had 10 points. Tavien Tyler had eight points and four steals. Tyquise Jessamy-Elkins also had eight points, while Jerald Jato chipped in seven points. As a team, the Knights tallied 18 steals.

Arlington (0-1) — Jacob Jerome paced the Admirals with nine points and four rebounds.

They said it

"It was great last year, but I saw the fellas when we took some pictures and I said we got to put the rings away," Cimmino said. "Those rings are not going to help us now. They're pretty, they're nice, but this is a whole new year. We know some things, and I got a lot of players that I consider 'money in the bank' because they know our system so well, and they actually do a lot of the coaching and lead in the practices."

"We're all trying to get to know each other a little bit more," Morris said. "New group, (nine) seniors left, but we all just trying to get together and build communication. It's great to have the fans here, great to have everybody here watching us play again. We're just excited for this season."

Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Basketball: Mount Vernon's Cimmino is Section 1's new wins leader