CUNYAC Winner Takes All: P.E. Major Jean-Baptiste’s Prediction Born Out
3/5/2009
Last year, the Brooklyn Bridges’ basketball forward Richard Jean-Baptiste predicted that his team could bring the CUNY Athletic Conference title to Brooklyn College – a feat last attained in 1973. Last Friday, the second-seeded Bridges (22-5, 11-2 CUNYAC) needed to defeat top-seeded Baruch College (24-4, 13-0 CUNYAC) to win the title. And win they did.
After a 37-year drought, the Bridges won the 2009 CUNYAC / Con Edison Men’s Basketball Championship.
A six-foot-4-inch player who can rebound and block shots with the better post players in the conference, Jean-Baptiste separated his game by having a tremendous 2008 season from long distance range. He converted 60 of 138 points from three-point range on the season.
Though he was held scoreless in the first half, the two time player of the year, scored all of his 23 points in the second half to spur a 31-8 run over the last 9:19 minutes that cemented the game for the Bridges. But Jean-Baptiste’s enjoys being part of a team that has grown significantly under Coach Steve Podias.
"We have great chemistry," Jean-Baptiste said about his team. "We just don’t go to practice and go home. We all hang out. We’ve grown close as a family, which helped a lot."
Asked about the formula for his and his team’s success, he answered:
"Hard work; discipline; knowing your goals. Coach Podias would always tell us that even thought we could be down, we’re not out; and if you know what you want, you can easily get it."
But he also appreciates the team’s supporters.
"There’s a lot of games when I really feel the BC community’s support," he said, adding that the crowd can get so loud that he can feel the floor shake. "It feels good."
Born in Brooklyn and reared in Queens, Jean-Baptiste is majoring in physical education and hopes to become a teacher. Last year, he was named Division III Player of the Year by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association. But today, he and his team have advanced to the Division III NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1982. And while they’d like to relish their season’s victories, the game just goes on.
"I’m just happy to be part of history," he said.
