Kramer (right) shaking hands with fellow first-team All-American Art Heyman after Duke defeated NYU 81-76 in the 1963 NCAA tournament

Something that has a special place in my heart is the game of basketball. I enjoyed playing as a child, love watching basketball of all levels in person or on television, and love watching my own children play. Our community lost one of the greatest basketball players to ever come out of the area last week with the passing of Barry Kramer. Barry Kramer grew up playing basketball at the JCC at its former location on Germania Avenue in Schenectady and went on to have an amazing basketball career at Linton High School, NYU, and with three NBA teams. Kramer was not just a basketball player, he was also an accomplished lawyer and judge serving for over 50 years and as his obituary states, he was dedicated "to the fair and equitable distribution of law." On behalf of everyone at the JCC, I share that we mourn the loss of Barry Kramer and may his memory be a blessing.

Since Barry Kramer spent his youth playing basketball at the JCC, I thought I would share two other stories about youth who participate in basketball at the JCC. The JCC's 9th-10th grade division basketball team is off to a great start as they won their most recent game 56-37, bringing them to 6-1 for the year. Congratulations to Coach Chris Heller and all the great players! I will continue to keep everyone updated on how the season goes.

I also want to share the success that Daniel Smalls is having on the Niskayuna boys basketball team. Daniel is a Junior on the Niskayuna team and is closing in on setting the school record for most career points by a boys basketball player. He is a JCC member and can always be found working on his game, practicing 6-7 mornings a week, putting in extra work outside of his regular school practices. Additionally, he is a dedicated student and a great role model to all the youth in the Niskayuna basketball program, including my own son. Daniel is just 23 points away from beating the school record and I want to wish good luck to Daniel and all his teammates on their second half of the season.

In 2009, Kramer was selected by the Capital District Basketball Hall of Fame as the premier area basketball player over the past 50 years. He was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.

Kramer became an attorney after graduating from Albany Law School in 1968; he finished second in his class. He was appointed to a Surrogate Court judgeship in Schenectady, New York by Gov. Mario Cuomo in 1993, was elected to the post later that year, and was re-elected in 2003. In November 2009, Kramer was elected as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court-a trial-level court-in New York's Fourth Judicial District. After reaching the mandatory retirement age for New York judges in 2012, Kramer continued to serve on the court through a certification process available to retired judges.Kramer joined the law firm of McNamee Lochner P.C. in 2019.