Last year, the Old Westbury Panthers men’s basketball team ended the 2024 season with little success. The team finished 2-23 and were 3-21 the year before. Things weren’t looking bright for the team this season as impactful seniors would be on their way out and much of the team wouldn’t be returning. There were little expectations for the team going into the 2025 season. Old Westbury’s team looked very different this time around with freshmen and transfers joining the team. 

As their season began it became apparent that this team was nothing like last years. The Panthers quickly passed their win total last year in the beginning of the season starting off 3-1. With the addition of freshman players Kellen Leake, Zion Williams, and Joel Ofori the team began to collect wins. 

Kellen Leake is a great 3-point shooter who is currently 2nd in the skyline conference shooting 39.8% from 3 on 103 attempts. The spacing his shooting created for the team made the offense a lot smoother as the threat of his shooting loomed behind the defenders minds. 

Zion Williams is a skillful point guard who currently leads the skyline conference in assists per game with 4.7. His playmaking has made the ball movement on the team much more organized as his decision making resulted in less turnovers. 

Lastly, Joel Ofori has helped the Panthers defense a lot with his length. He is 5th in the skyline conference with 1.3 blocks a game making teams think twice before going for layups.

These freshmen are just beginning their collegiate journey and still have room to grow but they have played like experienced players on the Old Westbury team.