Graduation Sport Type

1977 Basketball Athlete

Daymon Yizar, an incredibly skilled basketball player, graduated from Rye Neck High School as a member of the Class of 1977. Arguably one of the most talented basketball players to ever play at Rye Neck, Yizar is often mentioned in the same conversation as Ed Petrie as one of the best to ever play for the Panthers. When on the court, Yizar sported the number 20. During his career, Daymon not only broke multiple school records, but during his senior campaign he also managed to help lead the Rye Neck Panthers to a State Championship in 1977. 1977 was a big year for Yizar, a player who had ample playoff experience by the end of his high school basketball career. In 1977, Yizar led the Panthers to and secured the 1977 NYS Class B and C Championship Titles. During the 1977 Class C Championship game against Pleasantville High School, Yizar scored 36 points and secured 22 rebounds. In the 1977 NYS Class B Championship game versus Schuylerville, which was played in the Nassau Coliseum, Yizar put up 34 points and 31 rebounds. Leading up to these Championship runs in 1977, Yizar assisted the Panthers in the preceding seasons in becoming Section 1 Class B Finalists in 1975 and Section 1 Class C Finalists in 1976.

Yizar holds the school record for career rebounds, 1,134; career points, 1,337; and points in a single season, 665. Among these records he broke, Yizar also received various other prestigious accolades as well including going All-League, All-County, and All-State in both the 1976 and 1977 seasons during his junior and senior seasons. In 1977, he was named a High School All-American player. During his senior year, he was voted the 1977 Rye Neck High School Outstanding Male Athlete award. Yizar not only set the bar for Rye Neck Basketball, he also set the bar for the county. In 1976 he led Westchester County in rebounds, averaging 18 rebounds per game and in 1977 he led Westchester County in scoring, averaging 28 points per game, and rebounding, averaging 22 rebounds per game. His performance grabbed the attention of local media outlets and Yizar became a two time Daily News All Star for Westchester County, being named to their 3rd Team in 1976 and 1st Team in 1977. During his senior year, Yizar was the Rye Neck High School Newspaper’s Sports Editor. Two of the most prestigious accolades and honors that Yizar received during his playing career at Rye Neck were being a Con Ed Award winner in 1977 and being named a 1977 NYS Small School Co-Player of the Year, a title that he shares with James Robinson of Woodlands High School. Prior to graduation, Yizar enrolled and was selected as an American Field Service Summer Foreign Exchange Student to Paraguay. To serve in this role, Yizar missed his Rye Neck High School graduation and spent the Summer of 1977 in Paraguay serving the local community before returning home to attend college.

After graduating from Rye Neck High School, Yizar accepted a Division I scholarship to Wagner College in Staten Island, NY to play Division I Basketball. During Yizar’s four years playing for Wagner, he was coached by the legendary P.J. Carlesimo, a well known college coach who would go on to become the Head Coach of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and later become an NBA sports commentator. Yizar played for the Wagner Seahawks from 1977-1981. In 1979, Yizar helped Wagner get to their first ever postseason appearance for Basketball and played in the 1979 NIT Tournament. In 1981, Yizar was named to the 3rd Team All ECAC Metro Selection. Yizar graduated from Wagner College in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in Education and was later inducted into the Wagner College Athletic Hall of Fame. Yizar continued his academic career and went on to attend the College of New Rochelle, where he graduated with a Master of Science in Education with the class of 1999. 

Yizar has remained a lifelong resident of Westchester County and has devoted his life to serving the local community. During his career, Yizar has served as a Police Detective for the Town of Greenburgh and a High School Administrator for Woodlands High School in the Greenburgh Central School District, both of which he is retired from. Currently, Yizar serves as a Fire Commissioner for the Fairview Fire Department in the Town of Greenburgh and in his spare time also is a basketball official in Westchester County. Yizar and his brother Keith have also sponsored the Section I Boys Basketball Class B Championship Gold Ball in recent years. 

His superb basketball career and professional career of service has rightfully landed Yizar a spot in the Rye Neck High School Athletic Hall of Fame, to be recognized for his outstanding accomplishments on the hardwood for generations to come.