When Nick Mariniello was hired to become the new boys’ basketball coach at Hudson Catholic High School last year, he knew that it might take a few years for the Hawks to reach the level of success Mariniello was accustomed to when he was coaching at Bloomfield Tech.
Well, Mariniello went a surprising 13-12 in his first season with the Hawks, and it looks as if the Hawks are poised to be a much improved team this time around.
Some preseason prognosticators have put the Hawks among the top 10 teams in the state. Mariniello doesn’t think his team is at that level just yet, but the Hawks are certainly getting there.
“We have our core players back,” Mariniello said. “It’s basically our whole team back. And we have two kids who came to us when Paterson Catholic closed, so they’re going to help us. They’re both going to play right away.”
The two transfers from Paterson Catholic are both sophomores and both top-flight talents. Reggie Cameron is a 6-7 swingman with a world of potential. Kavon Stewart is a 5-10 left-handed point guard who has the ability to both shoot and break down defenses. They are welcome additions to the Hawk roster. They are already getting major college consideration and they are just sophomores.
The Hawks welcome back sophomore forward Rakwan Kelly, who was a Hudson Reporter All-Area honoree last season. The 6-5 Kelly averaged 16 points and eight rebounds per game last season, establishing himself as the Hawks’ leader, even though he was just a freshman.
“He was our captain last year and he is again this year,” Mariniello said. “He’s just a hard-working guy who has been working on his game, looking to improve. We put a lot of responsibility on his shoulders and he’s handled it. He’s our captain and even the older guys look up to him.”
Mariniello pointed out that Kelly is also an honor student at the school.
“He’s just an all-around good kid,” Mariniello said.
Another key returnee is sophomore point guard Travis Flagg. The 5-10 Flagg averaged eight points per game last season and became much improved as the season went on, leading the Hawks to some big upset wins over Bayonne and Dickinson down the stretch.
Junior forward Michael Allford had a great off-season for the Hawks and in Mariniello’s eyes, might have been the Hawks’ best player during the summer and fall.
Junior forward Mark Wilson is another top returnee. The 6-3 Wilson averaged 10 points and seven rebounds per game last year.
“With the new guys, Mark has done a nice job of understanding his role,” Mariniello said. “All those guys played a lot of minutes last year. They’re very experienced. We don’t have to ask these guys to do a lot of things. We’re just asking them to do different things.”
Senior center Danny Liming is the lone senior on the Hawk roster. The 6-8 Liming lost 20 pounds over the summer and was ready for practice in good shape.
Mariniello likes the way his squad has shown dramatic improvement.
“It’s all very new to them,” Mariniello said. “They really had a solid summer and fall playing against good competition. With the two new kids, we’ve gone from being the hunter to the hunted very quickly. But I guess that’s expected with the team we have back and the new kids. It certainly makes things interesting, but by no means do I think that we’re among the top five teams in the state, like some people have us. I don’t buy into that until we prove it. Potentially, we can be among the best teams in the state, but we’re not there yet. Reputation can do a lot of great things for teams.”
Added Mariniello, “We have an opportunity to be very good, but we’re still very young.”
The Hawks open their 2010-11 season against Bayonne, then face Neptune as part of the Hoop Group Challenge at Seton Hall’s Walsh Gym on Sunday. They then play host to Hoboken next Wednesday.
“The administration here has made a commitment to basketball and so far, the product has been very good,” Mariniello said. “A lot of the alumni are getting involved.”
Mariniello pointed out that a recent fundraiser brought back the school’s two most famous alumni, namely former NBA players Jim Spanarkel and Mike O’Koren.
“We had a great turnout for the beefsteak dinner and it was almost like ‘Back to the Future,’ having those two guys here,” Mariniello said. “We got the foundation that originally built the program. They’ve both been great. Mike has been at a few of our practices and he told me he’s impressed with the efficiency of our practices. I feel comfortable bouncing ideas off him and he’s been fantastic with his input.”
Now, if O’Koren can only help with returning the glory of the mid-1970s that Hudson Catholic enjoyed when he donned the Hawk black and gold. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.