Big-time scorers and prime-time performers have helped make Section 4 boys basketball something special.
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this summer and the USA TODAY Network recognizes top athletes from across the country, we are taking a look at the most impactful high school boys basketball players to come through the Southern Tier of New York.
Help us narrow down a list of 10 top performers to one who will earn the right to be known as the greatest boys basketball player in Section 4 history from at least our perspective. Or you can write in your own pick.
Selections are based primarily on high school achievements, records, and team contributions. College accomplishments are also considered.
Print readers can find the poll online at stargazette.com.
Our 10 picks, in alphabetical order.
Ernie Davis, Elmira Free Academy
Davis is known largely for his football talent, including winning the 1961 Heisman Trophy as a running back at Syracuse University. Less known is his dominance on the basketball court at Elmira Free Academy.
During his four seasons at EFA, Davis scored 1,648 points, which made him Section 4’s all-time leading scorer up to that point.
EFA compiled an 81-10 record during Davis’ career, including a 66-1 mark over his final three seasons. Academy was a three-time champion of the Southern Tier Conference and two-time Section 4 titlist with Davis leading the way.
Toby Foster, Candor
Foster ranks No. 2 on the Section 4 boys scoring list with 2,231 points accumulated at Candor from 1995 to 1999. He ended up seven points shy of the section record of 2,238 held by Tioga’s Jim Ryder.
Foster was a two-time first-team all-state pick by the New York State Sports Writers Association and as a senior was named Class C Player of the Year in New York. He led Candor to three straight Section 4 titles.
He was a four-year starter at Division I Canisius, where he scored 1,140 points and hit a program-record 264 3-pointers.
Charles Gelatt, Chenango Valley
When Gelatt graduated from Chenango Valley in 1993, he ranked No. 2 on Section 4’s career scoring list with 1,912 points. That total still puts him fifth and included a 24.2 scoring average his senior season. The 6-foot-8 center added 3.8 blocked shots per contest.
He was a three-time Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin All-Metro selection and went on to play one season at Syracuse University and two at DePaul.
Zubayr Griffin, Johnson City and Binghamton
Griffin played the bulk of his high school career at Johnson City before transferring to Binghamton High his senior year. He was named Co-Player of the Year in Class AA by the New York State Sports Writers Association as a senior in 2025.
Griffin ended up with 2,161 career points to rank No. 3 on Section 4’s all-time list, including an average of 28.7 points per game as a senior.
Most memorably, Griffin scored 40 points to lead Binghamton to a 75-61, double-overtime triumph over Niskayuna in the 2025 NYSPHSAA Class AA championship game.
Griffin chose to play at Monmouth for another former Binghamton star, King Rice.
Austin Grunder, Trumansburg
No. 6 on Section 4’s career scoring list is Grunder, who finished his days at Trumansburg with an even 1,900 points.
Grunder was a two-time first-team all-state pick for the Blue Raiders among numerous accolades. He averaged 32.3 points and 10.4 rebounds as a senior in 2017.
Grunder went on to star at SUNY Cortland, where as a senior he averaged 22.3 points per game and was SUNYAC Player of the Year in 2021-22, in addition to being named a third-team All-American by D3hoops.com.
Bob Lazor, Norwich
Norwich’s run to back-to-back state championships in 1993 and 1994 was led by Lazor, a 6-foot-9 forward who played two seasons at Syracuse University before closing his college career with two years at Arizona State.
Career point total for Lazor at Norwich was 1,444. Norwich went 56-2 over Lazor’s final two seasons, adding a Federation state title his junior season to the two public schools titles.
He averaged 22 points, 7.4 rebounds his senior season and was a two-time New York Class B Player of the Year as picked by the New York State Sports Writers Association.
Nolyn Proudfoot, Corning
Proudfoot is still active as a high school player, but it’s impossible to ignore the achievements of someone who had the highest point totals of a Section 4 freshman or sophomore boys player.
He increased his point total to 1,762 this past season after averaging 29.6 points and 9.5 rebounds as a sophomore while leading Class AAA Corning to its first appearance in the state semifinals.
While on target to become Section 4’s career scoring leader by a substantial margin, Proudfoot has announced he will continue his basketball career at Western Reserve Academy, a prep school in Ohio.
King Rice, Binghamton
Rice is perhaps the most decorated boys player in Section 4 history.
He was a McDonald’s All-American and New York’s Co-Mr. Basketball his senior season at Binghamton, then went on to help North Carolina to a Final Four while playing for Dean Smith.
Rice scored 1,374 points at Binghamton, but his impact at point guard was just as evident in his ability to set up teammates and lock up counterparts on the defensive end.
Rice, a 1987 graduate, led Binghamton to back-to-back New York State Public High School Athletic Association titles in 1985 and 1986.
He is now head men’s basketball coach at Monmouth University.
Brett Rumpel, Seton Catholic Central
Rumpel’s senior season in 2020-21 was essentially cut in half or more because of an abbreviated schedule caused by the pandemic. He still ended his Saints career with 1,588 points.
During that shortened senior season, Rumpel averaged 45.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and nearly 5 assists.
That followed a junior campaign in which Rumpel put up 34.9 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game while shooting 52% from the field. Rumpel scored 87 combined points in the Section 4 Class B semifinals and final in leading the Saints to a sectional championship.
Rumpel went on to play collegiately at St. Bonaventure and Manhattan.
Jim Ryder, Tioga
No boys player in Section 4 history has scored as many points as Ryder, who finished with 2,238 to go with nearly 600 assists.
His senior season, Ryder averaged 28.7 points and 9.7 assists for a 25-2 team.
Ryder played four college seasons at Siena.
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Who is the greatest boys basketball player in Section 4 history? Vote now
Reporting by Andrew Legare, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Andrew Legare, Elmira Star-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
