INSIDE CHSAA/PRIVATE BOYS HOOPS: CK's Adonis filling void in the middle

There was one glaring weakness Christ the King had in an early season loss to Boys & Girls. It had nothing to do with the perimeter, where UConn-bound Omar Calhoun and top talents Isaiah Lewis and Jon Severe roam. No, the Kangaroos simply outclassed the Royals on the boards.

Christ the King’s struggles inside, though, have seemingly ended.

Sophomore post Adonis Delarosa, a 6-foot-10 behemoth, had a monster weekend in victories over St. Raymond on Friday night and Cardinal Hayes on Saturday. He had 12 points going up against Temple-bound Daniel Dingle on Friday and nine more Saturday versus Fairfield-bound Amadou Sidibe. In both games, he played well defensively and held his own on the boards.

Denis Gostev

Christ the King's Adonis Delarosa had a big weekend against two of the best teams in the city.

“I know I’m a sophomore and everything and these guys are good and all of that, but I want to show the world and I want to show people that I’m good enough to play at that level as well,” Delarosa said.

He has the pedigree. Delarosa’s older brother, Joey, plays for former Knicks president and coach Isiah Thomas at Florida International. Like his kid brother, Joey is a big boy – almost 7 feet tall. The older Delarosa played at St. Raymond before transferring, making Friday’s game a big one emotionally for Adonis.

“It meant a lot,” Delarosa said. “My brother actually transferred out and me being from The Bronx, I wanted to come in here and beat these guys. I make a big effort to get up every day at 5:45 in the morning and go to Christ the King.”

Christ the King coach Joe Arbitello says Delarosa is coming along. The big man says he’s lost between 15 and 20 pounds since last season and he arrives in the weightroom 90 minutes before practice every day to run on the treadmill and lift with assistant coach Khalid Reeves, a former NBA player. As a result, his conditioning is markedly improved.

“If he plays the way he’s supposed to, it could really make us difficult to beat,” Arbitello said. “He is 6-10, legit. He’s got great hands. He’s getting a little more aggressive. He’s not getting worn down during the game anymore.”

Hayes coach Joe Lods joked that all a 6-foot-10 kid has to do is “stand there and breathe,” but he was impressed by the job Delarosa did against Sidibe and Jalen Jenkins.

“He’s not just big,” Lods said of the oversized 10th grader. “He’s skilled, he has good footwork. He’s a good player.”

And perhaps the key to Christ the King becoming the first team since Tolentine in the early 1980s to win three straight CHSAA Class AA city titles.

St. Peter’s sharpshooter coming up big: Charlie Driscoll can’t help but gush about his star player. Andrew Cannon isn’t just extremely versatile and skilled on the court, he’s a better kid off it. Without the senior, the Eagles would be in trouble.