LoHud.com Top 10, Week 1
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- November
- 30
Hey everyone. I’m going to give you a quick-hit Top 10, considering there’s not much more than the Briarcliff-Ossining game to work off of. I’ll elaborate more next week when everyone’s played.
1. Mount Vernon
2. Ursuline: I’ve heard good things off the Koalas’ scrimmages.
3. Our Lady of Lourdes
4. Albertus Magnus
5. North Rockland
6.. Beacon
7. Briarcliff: The most encouraging part out of yesterday’s win over Ossining is that the Bears saw their supporting cast win this game for them.
8. Ossining: Conversely, this was not an encouraging performance for Ossining. Still, I wouldn’t abandon them yet. They started last season miserably, then recovered in time to give Scarsdale a scare in the Class AA quarters.
9. Lakeland
10. Horace Greeley: Good day for the Quakers. Why? “Their school was one of U.S. News and World Report’s top 100.”: Greeley holds the very prestigious honor of being the only school included in that Top 100 and this Top 10. Something tells me one list is more important than the other.
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Sorry I didn’t have any further thoughts on the game last night. It’s been a busy time of year for me.
Basically, Briarcliff won a game over a quality Class AA team, despite getting eight combined points from its stars, Maggie Blair and Shelby Coon, although Blair played an excellent floor game before leaving in the fourth quarter with leg cramps and Coon did a terrific job rebounding.
The freshman, Kasey Heyda, played an excellent game, running up and down the court for easy hoops. Heyda and Taylor Pescetti each scored a game-high 15 points, and Heyda had eight of those in the fourth quarter after Ossining had embarked on a 13-0 run to end the third quarter. Ossining played great defense to come back but that same defense got burned for 21 points in the fourth.
Not a great opener for Ossining,which basically returned six of its top seven players from last season, including the very productive Kelsey Vallach*and *Brittany Garrett combination. That combo wasn’t so productive last night, and Vallach was clearly shaken up after banging her head on the court in the third quarter. Vallach returned later in the game but was never quite the same.
Ossining will have games where it shoots much better from 3. Also, there were a ton of fouls called yesterday and it took the O out of its helter-skelter rhythm. Still, the rhythm must’ve taken its toll on Briarcliff, which was able to overcome serious foul trouble to win.
Just so you know, I have a personal matter to attend to this weekend. We will have someone else at the Scarsdale game tonight and the championship tomorrow. I’ll try to have the reporters e-mail me thoughts on the game. Please play nice…
This entry was posted
on Friday, November 30th, 2007 at 3:56 pm by Josh Thomson. 
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Josh Thomson has done some of everything since joining The Journal News in March 2003. He began working for the Gannett weeklies during the winter of 2002 as a freelance writer. He joined the daily staff soon after and has since covered various high school and pro sports. Away from sportswriting, Josh lives in Westchester and spends his free time either with his fiancee, Sarah, or expertly managing his various championship-winning fantasy sports teams. He's visited 21 major-league baseball stadiums and insists that Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are the best by far. Josh graduated from Carmel High School in 1998, then went to Boston University, where, in 2002, he received a degree in communications with a minor in history.
The number of fouls was borderline obscene. Evidenced by the fact that the game took almost two hours to play. More than 50 fouls with Ossining in the double bonus with more than 2 minutes to go in the first QUARTER. Hope the other refs will let the girls play. a good win for Briarcliff despite first game jitters and poor ball handling, which can only get better. Ossining did not show its best either but it is a long season
I went to see the Scarsdale-Ossining game today because I live nearby and like to support the teams. I was shocked at the behavior of the two head coaches.
The Scarsdale coach, although not nearly as vocal as the Ossining coach, consistently berated his players as they approached the bench. This was done loudly enough for the fans to hear. He did this at least a dozen times.
The Ossining coach, although he did not berate his players in the same fashion, did not stop yelling and screaming until he got kicked out of the game (and the gym, for two technicals). He yelled at the refs, he yelled to the players, he just did not stop yelling. He would walk the length of the floor during a timeout to challenge the refs on calls they made. Plus, when he got kicked out of the gym, he hung out by the door, looking through the glass, while one of his assistants ran from the bench to the door to get instructions about what plays to run and what substitutions to make.
Both coaches totally embarassed themselves, their teams and their schools. When will they learn that it is not about them? Are they too dense to realize that such antics don’t inspire high school girls to play better? Do they think that yelling and screaming the entire game, berating players, constantly arguing calls and calling in plays from outside the gym after they’ve been kicked out is actually what high school basketball should be about?
To the Ossining and Scarsdale coaches—-grow up, before you make even bigger asses out of yourselves.
Those 2 coaches looked like fools!
A. Briarcliff v. Ossining re: 50+ fouls – tell the teams to stop fouling and clean up their acts. It’s not the refs fault – if they don’t call it, you bitch, if they do call it, you bitch – pick a side. maybe you should tell the coaches to teach that oyu cant play defense with your hands.
B. Scarsdale v. Ossining. No denying the refs were awful – particularly the older one who couldn’t get up and down the court and made some very questionable calls. However, they did not decide the game and if anything, brought some integrity to it by ejecting the Ossining coach. Both coaches were way out of line – one with their players, the other with their player and the refs. A fine example they set. As bad as the refs might have been, the players didnt play all that well either. Bottom line – the players put the ball in the basket, not the refs.
C.
These two coaches are highly competitive and perhaps two of the best coaches in Section 1 girls hoops. If they behaved the way some of are describing but were coaching a Boys team instead, no one would give a hoot. Leave them alone and lets focus on the positives!
The Refs have a very difficult time at any level of play. For the most part, they also try their best game in and game out.
Re: The Fan – overall I agree with you. They are 2 of the best coaches in section 1. However, I think the coaches of boys games look like idiots as well. They set just as bad of an example as the girls coaches.
I also attended Saturday’s basketball game between Scarsdale and Ossining and respectfully I disagree with the picture being painted by the previous bloggers. I have been peripherally involved in girl’s basketball, both high school and AAU, for almost 10 years now. Both of my daughters have played for and have been coached by Mr. Vacarro and Mr. Ricci. It is true that both of these gentlemen coach with a high level of emotion and passion but it would be incorrect to insinuate that either of them thinks that it is about themselves and not about the children. You refer to them as “fools” and embarassments, but what you don’t know is that out of the spotlight (afternoons, evenings, weekends) when nobody is watching, both if these men have uncounted hours of their own time and personal finances, to help innumerable children reach for their potential as basketball players and as young adults. To watch one basketball game and to pass judgement on two men whose entire body of work has taken ten, fifteen or twenty years to build is not fair to them, nor does it draw an accurate depiction of who they are, or what they stand for. You may not agree with their style or all that they do and say but I know that my children are better people, not just better athletes, for having known and played for these two men.
I think that these mean men Coach Vaccaro and Coach Ricci need to stop picking on the little girls who play basketball for them. When these girls play in college the coaches there aren’t mean at all. They pamper them with all of the niceties they don’t receive in high school. When they graduate college and go out into the world all of their bosses will already know what wonderful people they are and they will have whatever job they want at a salary of their choosing. They won’t ever have to deal with temperamental bosses or unbalanced co-workers.
The college coaches make personal wake-up calls bringing with them fresh baked croissants and an assortment of teas and juices. They help them with their homework and rub their feet when they get tired. At night they read them a bedtime story and kiss them ever so gently on the forehead before they go to sleep. Of course all the mommies and daddies of Section I players want their little girls to play in college and I can sure see why. When will Coach Vaccaro and Coach Ricci get with the program and understand that in order for the girls to possibly one day play in college or possibly one day compete in a dog eat dog world all they have to do is be gentle and tell them how wonderful they are? Come on guys!
What is a poo poo bandit?
A very astute person…
Yeah right astute
That’s astute not asstute!
The coach’s job is to motivate. The parent’s job is to support the child and to get them to practice on time. That’s It! The last thing these coaches want is to draw attention to themselves. They want to bring out the best in all the girls. Winning builds character as does losing. It is all about building character. Many parents or outsiders have a hard time comprehending this. Parents interfere with this procees when they create a comfort zone for their child. Life is a struggle and is all about solving problems. These coaches have dealt with hundreds maybe thousands of girls. Everyone of them with a differnt personality. The coaches know what works and how to use it. Let the girls grow up and let the coaches do their job. Try to remember the girls are out their playing and the coaches are out their coaching. Not us!
POO POO BANDIT…...You are brilliant….
Reality, the parents job is to live vicariously through their daughters not to prepare them for life’s travails. Everyone knows that!