St. Mary’s Stanberry comes from a different breed of teenager
Tom Lalicato has been the head boys’ basketball coach at St. Mary’s of Jersey City for the last 18 years and has been coaching at the school for a quarter century. Lalicato has seen his fair share of teenagers come and go and realizes that Devon Stanberry, his current senior point guard, is not like any other.
"He makes my job so much easier," Lalicato said. "He comes every day to practice, to games, with high expectations, not just of himself, but the rest of the team. It rubs off on everyone. He expects everyone to work hard. He makes me work harder as a coach. He has an incredible work ethic and a very high sense of discipline."
In Stanberry’s eyes, he had no choice in living a strict and regimented lifestyle. His father, Ernest, is a veteran of the United States Air Force, and his father’s military background easily rubbed off on Stanberry since he was a youngster.
"My father was a big influence on me since I was small," Stanberry said. "I grew up around that discipline, being strict and stuff. My father knows what I have to do and what I’m supposed to do. I know I don’t want to let my family down."
Stanberry averaged 14 points per game last year for the Ramblers, but in his eyes, the performance wasn’t good enough.
So Stanberry put that work ethic to the test during the summer months, doing anything and everything to improve his game.
"He did a lot of lifting and running," Lalicato said. "Of course, he played basketball. He was very serious about his conditioning and weightlifting. He’s just a very disciplined young man. And he did this all on his own. Many times, he was all by himself. I would be doing work in the school and he was there in the weight room, all alone. That’s very rare these days. You don’t find that every day."
"I wanted to make sure that the next time someone played me, they knew who they were playing," Stanberry said. "I knew that I was going to play a bigger role this year. I already had a good work ethic, but once Coach [Lalicato] told me that, it drove me and motivated me even more."
Lalicato said that he spent many hours talking with Stanberry over the summer.
"We talked a lot and I told him that he had the ability to take it as far as he wanted to go with it," Lalicato said. "I knew that Devon would not abuse that directive, that it would motivate him. Plus, he wants to win more than anything."
From the beginning of the season, Stanberry has been determined to make sure that the Ramblers do not lose much this season, especially since they joined the HCIAA Seglio Division.
Stanberry has been doing a little bit of everything for the Ramblers, averaging 25 points, five assists and three steals per game.
In the past week, Stanberry had 28 points, six assists and five steals in a win over St. Aloysius, scored 20 points, had five assists and four steals in a win over Hoboken and scored a season-best 32 points in a win over Hudson County Prep.
For his efforts, Stanberry has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
Lalicato will never get tired of singing the praises of his talented point guard.
"He’s the rare combination of the athlete who gives everything equal value, meaning school, life, family and basketball," Lalicato said. "He respects everything he does and respects everyone. He doesn’t slight anyone."
Added Lalicato, "As a player, he gets a lot of points off transition. He scores a lot of baskets, creating offense with his defense. His transition ability and his ability for penetration are very good."
Stanberry said that he has been working on his perimeter game as well.
"As a point guard, I have to be able to knock down open shots," Stanberry said. "So I worked on that. I also have been better on my decision making. I have to treat every possession like it’s gold."
Lalicato also credits Stanberry’s ability as a leader.
"He’s a natural born vocal leader," Lalicato said. "He has the ability to motivate his teammates and motivates through his actions first. He brings intensity to every game that rubs off on everybody."
Although he’s only 5-foot-9, Lalicato firmly believes that Stanberry could play college basketball.
"I think he has the ability to go on," said Lalicato, who said that several college coaches have inquired about Stanberry’s availability. "He’s getting interest. I just hope he gets the chance."
"Playing college basketball has always been a big goal of mine," Stanberry said. "But I really want to focus on the season right now. I feel good about the way I’ve been playing, and the team is doing well. I think the hard work I put in is beginning to pay off, but there’s always room for improvement. I’m just going to keep working until there’s nothing more to work on."
Spoken like a true disciplinarian. – Jim Hague