Among his fellow coaches, Floyd’s Sumpter was a friend and mentor

Darrell Sumpter had a heart big enough for his family, his players, his fellow coaches and his community.

The longtime youth basketball coach and William Floyd High School boys varsity assistant coach died in a car accident on Dec. 13, at age 51, leaving those who knew him feeling stunned and grieving the loss of the man everyone called “Coach D.”

“It was just a state of shock and disbelief,” Bellport High School assistant basketball coach and longtime friend Rich Brown said. “I’m grieving. He was such a good man, such a good man. I can’t lie to you, it’s been really rough.”

Floyd head basketball coach Will Slinkosky and Sumpter were in their fourth season together coaching the Colonials. In that time, the two became as close as brothers and even called each other “Brother,” Slinkosky said.

“I hate using the term ‘assistant’ because he was way more than an assistant coach,” Slinkosky said. Sumpter was also a sounding board, mentor, and a reassuring voice.

“I tend to be a perfectionist and overthink things a lot,” Slinkosky said. “Darrell was always that calming presence, to settle me down and let me know it’s not all on me.”

When things got stressful in a game, Sumpter, his eyeglasses resting on the edge of his nose, would offer a reassuring look and a few words of encouragement.

“We got this,” Sumpter would say. “Everything’s going to be OK.”

“He was definitely a father figure to me,” said Slinkosky, 34.

The Colonials didn’t practice for four days after Sumpter’s death. Getting back to the gym was hard on Slinkosky as well as on the players.

“Whenever I came into the gym, he was the first person I’d see, so not seeing him was very emotional,” Slinkosky said.
In the team’s first game back, the Colonials rallied for an emotional 66-57 win over Longwood that featured a pregame tribute to Sumpter.

Sumpter had many friends among basketball coaches from other high schools, including Half Hollow Hills East head coach Mike Marcelin.

The two schools are rivals and among the best teams in Suffolk County, but that didn’t stop the two coaches from becoming friends.

“We’ve always rooted for each other,” said Marcelin, who attended the Colonials’ game at Smithtown East on Dec. 5 and spoke with Sumpter by phone a few days later.

He called Sumpter’s death “an absolute tragedy.”

“He gave me a lot of advice and support,” Marcelin said. “He’s the heart and soul of the team. He’s a great coach and an even better dude.”

Brown, Bellport’s assistant varsity boys basketball coach, started a youth basketball program in Bellport around the time Sumpter helped start a youth basketball program in the William Floyd School District. The two teams would often play each other and the two coaches became close friends.

When Brown’s team was invited to play in a tournament at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in 2018 and Brown was asked to recommend an opponent, “Darrell was obviously my first call,” Brown said.

Brown said Sumpter, a William Floyd High School graduate, was especially proud of being part of the William Floyd community.

“He bled green,” Brown said. “It was ‘William Floyd pride.’ That was his phrase.”

“I’m so proud to have known him and to have shared great memories,” Brown said. “I’m sorry there won’t be more.”