Top Queens Hoops Coaches Compete For City Title

Jason Curry, a former All-Queens selection in high school, is president of Big Apple Basketball. Photo courtesy of Jr. Knicks.

By David Brand

Two top youth basketball coaches from Queens are in the running for the Jr. Knicks Coach of the Year Award presented by Hospital for Special Surgery.

JoAnn Pinnock and Jason Curry are among the five finalists for the annual prize, which awards a New York City hoops coach who lead on and off the court.

Pinnock is in her 29th year of coaching, a tenure that began when she took over a her local parish team in Queens Village when she was 19. Pinnock founded the nonprofit Positive Direction in 1991. The organization combines basketball with educational enrichment opportunities based on the motto “Books Before Ball.”

Curry, a former standout guard at Archbishop Molloy and Hillcrest High, is in his 15th year as president of Big Apple Basketball, where he runs daily operations and coaches the program’s Pro Summer Team.

He starred as point guard at Mt. Saint Michael’s College in Vermont and has served as a reporter for various news and sports networks.