Mike Sweetney, Former Knicks Player, Remembered for Impact on Yeshiva Basketball

Former New York Knicks first-round draft pick Mike Sweetney, who died at the age of 43, is being remembered for his profound impact on the Jewish and Yeshiva University basketball communities. Although his NBA career was short-lived and he later became an advocate for mental health, his time as an assistant coach at Yeshiva left an indelible mark on players and staff.

“He literally just was one of the guys,” Yeshiva head coach Elliot Steinmetz told The Post. “From the outside, I get it. It’s a different look when it’s a bunch of Jewish kids, and you have the [6-foot-8] former NBA African American guy in there. But he just he was just one of us.”

Steinmetz first met Sweetney in 2019 through Tamir Goodman, an Orthodox Jewish basketball player whom Sweetney knew from the high school circuit. When Sweetney relocated to New Jersey and sought to enter coaching, Goodman facilitated the introduction to Steinmetz. Sweetney remained with the program until 2022, when a full-time job necessitated his departure from the coaching staff.

Even after leaving the coaching staff, Sweetney maintained his connection to the program. “Every year beginning of season, [he’d text], ‘First game’s coming up, how’s it going? How’s the team looking? Wishing you guys a great season. Hope to get there for a couple of games.’ Just larger than life in terms of the way he cared about people,” Steinmetz recalled.

Sweetney's deep care for others was evident beyond his coaching role. Steinmetz recounted receiving the first text from Sweetney after the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Re’im on Oct. 7, 2023, as he was in Israel. Sweetney reached out multiple times to ensure Steinmetz's safety. Years later, Sweetney again checked in when Steinmetz's son was in Israel during an Iranian attack. "It wasn’t like he wasn’t checking boxes when he reached out to you. He genuinely cared... just larger than life in terms of the way he cared about people," Steinmetz said.

Sweetney's involvement with Jewish basketball began years earlier when he ran Tamir Goodman's basketball camp. He continued this engagement by running summer camps and training sessions at synagogues.

“I’ve gotten 1000s of texts today from people in the Jewish community who are just absolutely heartbroken,” Steinmetz shared. “He just was a part of our community, like to a point where I literally have had hundreds of people reach out today asking where they can give money for his family, send something.”

During Sweetney's three seasons on the staff, Yeshiva University's men's basketball team, the Maccabees, achieved a remarkable record of 61-5. The team reached the Division III Sweet 16 in 2020 before the tournament's cancellation due to COVID-19. They finished the 2020-21 season undefeated at 7-0 and secured another tournament berth in Sweetney's final year.

Steinmetz emphasized that Sweetney's personal qualities far outweighed his contributions on the court. “He spent the later part of his life really trying to help other people. It was something that was so key for our guys with everything going on in the world and everything around them. He was just somebody who had been through it that they could always talk to on a level of openness and comfort and trust, and he just was kind of that guy for everybody,” Steinmetz said. "The basketball part was irrelevant... he was so much bigger than that."