Elisha Boone was tired of being far from home.
The talented rising senior guard left Bishop Loughlin after his sophomore season to attended Quest Prep in Las Vegas along with fellow New York guard Ethan Telfair. The 6-foot-4 Boone could have opted to stay out west for another season, but transferred to Abraham Lincoln last May because he was homesick and missed the support system of his family nearby.
“Some people think going away from home is easier, a better path,” Boone said. “It’s not true. When your family is not there to support you it’s harder than it looks.”
Boone, a Springfield Gardens native, is excited to take the court again in the five boroughs this season. He will bolster a Railsplitters boy’s basketball team coming off a Public School Athletic League Class AA title last season, and he has no regrets.
“I’m glad I made that decision,” Boone said. “I’m glad to be home.”
He said it was tough watching his former Bishop Loughlin teammates make a run to the Catholic league’s city title game and lose to Christ the King. Boone had been part of the “Big Three” with classmates Khadeen Carrington and Mike Williams as a sophomore. It made him wonder how things would have gone if he was still around.
“I miss playing with Khadeen and Mike, but sometimes you have to make a decision that’s better for you,” he said.
Boone feels confident in the hunt for his own title this season, joining Isaiah Whitehead in the Lincoln backcourt and returning forward Desi Rodriguez. Boone understands the tradition and expectations he is walking into in Coney Island, and is looking forward to being a part of it.
In Boone, Lincoln gets a super-athletic wing who has college scholarship offers from Hofstra, Drexel and George Mason and interest from Quinnipiac, Portland State and Marist. He feels his experience at Quest will have him more than ready to take on Public School Athletic League competition.
Railsplitters coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton has been most impressed with how Boone has handled himself since coming to Lincoln. He has carried himself with very little ego and fit in easily with a team that sports plenty of talent and stars.
“He comes in with no real baggage with me,” Morton said. “He has a lot of experience. He knows the program has a tradition he wants to maintain.”
