Photos courtesy of La Salle Academy
High school hoops got an upgrade on Second Street last week, as La Salle Academy unveiled the Dan Buckley Memorial Gymnasium and its standout feature: the first NBA-designed court in a high school.
At 94 feet from baseline to baseline, the new floor matches NBA and NCAA dimensions ... making it 10 feet longer than a typical high school court.
How does this come to be?
NBA executive Christopher Arena designed the court, with the league's own court-maintenance crew handling the build and paintwork. The project was underwritten and donated by Salvatore LaRocca, the NBA's president of Global Partnerships and La Salle's board chair.
The unveiling took place on Dec. 1, ahead of La Salle's game against Msgr. McClancy in Queens. (Unfortunately, the Cardinals fell 50-31.)
This is turning out to be a big school year for La Salle. The all-boys Catholic prep school moved back to its Second Street campus near Second Avenue in September after operating out of nearby St. George Academy on Sixth Street since 2010. (Fun fact about La Salle's address at 44 E. Second St. Novelist Washington Irving owned the property before La Salle arrived in 1856, per school materials.)
The decision to return follows years of financial restructuring after the 2008 economic downturn, when La Salle began sharing facilities with St. George while maintaining its own identity. At the same time, leasing its East Village property helped the school stabilize and retire debt, school officials have said.
The gym is named for Hall-of-Fame high school coach Dan Buckley, who won a title as a La Salle player. In college, he played for both St. John's and Duke, where he served as a team captain. Buckley led La Salle to 462 victories and four city championships between 1950 and 1973.
Eight NBA players got their start playing for La Salle, including Knicks great Dick McGuire.
At the ribbon-cutting, Buckley's daughter, Lauren Buckley Donadio, joined LaRocca and school president Candace Hammonds...
"He may be gone, but he will definitely not be forgotten," Donadio said of her father, who passed away in 2024 at age 78.
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