Schenectady High School to name basketball court after Przybylo

PHOTOGRAPHER: Photo Provided

Walt Przybylo (left) is shown with Pat Riley. Schenectady plans to rename its basketball court after Przybylo.

SCHENECTADY — Basketball games at Schenectady High School will remain in the Pat Riley Sports Complex, but soon will be played on Walt Przybylo Court.

During the school district’s Board of Education meeting Wednesday, a resolution to name the facility’s main court after another one of the city’s basketball legends is expected to pass.

Walt Przybylo, a Mont Pleasant graduate, coached varsity boys’ basketball at Nott Terrace and Linton for decades, amassing a record of 270-96. A pair of his teams went undefeated, and Przybylo’s program once won 46 consecutive games.

A member of the Schenectady City School District Athletic Hall of Fame’s inaugural class, Przybylo died in 1973.

“There’s always been a fondness for him,” Schenectady athletic director Steve Boynton said of the decision to name the school’s main court after Przybylo, “and [people] wanted to do something.”

Przybylo, who taught physical education within the district, also coached baseball and golf.

Boynton said it’s expected the court will be altered during winter break to include reference to its new name. After that work is complete, Boynton said the school expects to officially unveil the freshly-detailed court before its Jan. 9 varsity boys’ basketball game against Colonie, the squad that eliminated the Patriots in last season’s sectional semifinals.

Boynton said district officials had reached out to Pat Riley during the process to make sure he was OK with the change. “Absolutely,” was Riley’s answer to potentially adorning the court with his Linton coach’s name.

“He was excited about it,” Boynton said. “He thought it was well-deserved.”