Even after losing all-time great, Ricciardi, Rene have team hitting peak
The highly successful 2001-2002 high school basketball season had come to an end for Hudson Catholic, with the Hawks winning a surprising 18 games, and immediately, head coach Steve Ricciardi was already pointing toward the future.
Ricciardi had just completed his second year at Hudson, with the assistance of his associate head coach (and adopted son) Efrain Rene. Having successfully turned around the fortunes of the program, Ricciardi had to wonder what was going to happen next.
"To put it all in a nutshell, I turned to Efrain and said, ‘How are we going to replace 700 points and 400 rebounds?’ " Ricciardi said. "It wasn’t going to be easy."
The 700 points and 400 rebounds that Ricciardi was referring to belonged to standout Darlington Okerulu, the 6-3 workhorse who carried the Hawks to new heights a year ago, averaging 27 points and 15 rebounds per game. Okerulu, who is now a starting forward at St. Anselm’s College in New Hampshire, was the premier player in the HCIAA last year and earned First Team All-Hudson Reporter honors.
"Kids like Darlington just don’t come along every day," Ricciardi said. "We had to look at what we had coming back."
Ricciardi had a host of role players returning from a year ago, guys who performed lesser roles, taking a backseat to the all-everything star.
"They were role players last year, but they were going to have to step up this year," Ricciardi said. "We were hopeful, because a lot of these kids were on the freshman team that won 22 games two years ago and played in the county championship game. We played kids that were sophomores last year, but nobody heard of them, because we had Darlington."
One of those former role players is senior guard Ki-Ameer Johnson, who averaged about eight points per game last year for the Hawks. Ricciardi figured that Johnson would improve this year, but had no idea what would eventually take place.
"I really figured that Ki-Ameer would average around 14 or so per game," Ricciardi said. "But he’s really stepped up and taken the role of being the team’s leader."
The 6-1 Johnson has been brilliant thus far, averaging nearly 25 points per game.
"In fact, Ki-Ameer has become so much of a leader, he may be as good, if not better, than Darlington was last year," Ricciardi said. "He understands his role and makes everyone play harder and better. He has the ball in his hands most of the time. I have to give him credit, he’s played very well for us."
So has junior forward Danny Mihalinec, a silky smooth 6-2 small forward.
"Danny averaged about five points per game last year and he’s just about doubled that," Ricciardi said. "He’s also averaging around eight rebounds. With our offense, everyone gets involved. Danny is a good scorer who does well in our offense."
Tyrell Brown is a 6-2 junior forward who is the Hawks’ premier defensive performer.
"Tyrell is an athletic player and tough defender," Ricciardi said. "He does all the little things."
Junior guard Hugo Carvajal is a nice complement to Johnson in the backcourt. Carvajal is averaging about eight points per game.
The Hawks’ fifth starter is football standout Michael Clerk, a 6-1 senior forward.
"Michael didn’t play last year," Ricciardi said. "I wanted him to play, but he was convinced that he couldn’t play. But he’s come back this year and done a lot of nice things for us. He’s down to earth and has good character."
Ricciardi also counts on 5-10 sophomore point guard A.J. Morales to give quality minutes subbing for Johnson, as well as 5-9 junior Jaimel Paige, who was a transfer from Marist, but has been filling a reserve role for the Hawks. Senior Marquis Mainor and junior Tony Mejias round out the bench.
"We basically have a bunch of role guys fitting in well together," Ricciardi said. "As long as they continue to do that, we’ll be fine. I like their chemistry. They are playing like a group and you have to play that way to be successful."
The Hawks haven’t been just successful. They’ve been amazing. They proudly own a 10-1 record and sit atop the HCIAA Coviello Division race. The Hawks’ lone loss this far has been to Paramus Catholic at PC’s Christmas Tournament. That’s it. The Hawks won the Jersey City Catholic Schools Tip-Off Tournament and have been winning ever since.
"To be honest, I thought we would be like 4-5 right now," Ricciardi said. "If we played a better last five minutes against Paramus Catholic, we could actually be undefeated. If someone would have told me that before the season, I wouldn’t have believed it. I still don’t believe it."
But the Hawks are soaring. They might have lost their superstar from a year ago, but they actually have a better record now than they did with Okerulu. Go figure.
"I saw the county rankings in the (Newark) Star-Ledger the other day and it had St. Anthony as No. 1 and us as No. 2," Ricciardi said. "So maybe we do belong. The kids feel good about what they’re doing."
Ricciardi knows that the 10-1 record is nice for now, but it means nothing. The Hawks have tough games against Lincoln, Bayonne and Union Hill within the next week, as well as an independent game against state-ranked Bloomfield Tech.
"We’ve played a lot of close games so far and I think the chemistry is carrying us," Ricciardi said.
If it’s down to chemistry, then perhaps Ricciardi has a few elements and components that can produce a championship next month. It’s been a long time, nearly three decades, since Hudson Catholic captured the HCIAA Championship (the 1975 team that featured Mike O’Koren and Jim Spanarkel).
"I think it’s all about chemistry," Ricciardi said. "I think that’s what separates us from the other teams in the county. We play together as a team."
It’s working thus far.