Rich Gilooly is back in the high school game.
The former Schalmont and Catholic Central varsity boys’ basketball coach recently accepted the same position at Bishop Maginn after the departure of Orlando DiBacco.
Bishop Maginn reached the Section II Class AA championship game last season before a loss to fellow Big 10 member Christian Brothers Academy.
“It’s been a few years since I’ve been in the nitty gritty of high school basketball,” said the
33-year-old Gilooly. “It’s going to be fun coaching again and trying to build a program. I’m looking forward to figuring out how to win some games and do some things. Going in, I think it’s going to be a good thing.”
Although Gilooly hasn’t coached at the high school level since the 2003-04 season with Catholic Central, he’s been active in the sport. Gilooly has since served as an assistant coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and with the Albany Legends of the International Basketball League, and also led the Adirondack open men’s team at the Empire State Games.
He began his coaching career as an assistant at Hudson Valley Community College before going to Schalmont.
“I’ve been at Bishop Maginn for 10 years,” said Gilooly, a social studies teacher at the school and its dean of students. “It’s always been work in the day and then off to coach somewhere else. Now, I’m right upstairs from the gym. I can walk from the classroom to the gym.”
He’ll find many players there that helped the Golden Griffins put together a superb playoff run last season after the team went just 5-13 beforehand. The mostly-underclassmen group beat Bethlehem, Big 10 runner-up Troy and Suburban Council North Division champ Shenendehowa before losing to CBA.
“There’s a good group coming back. There’s some talent,” said Gilooly. “I’m hoping that having the run they did will give them the confidence and hunger to build off that. They’ve had that taste.”
Gilooly said he’ll stress defense, a specialty of his as a player at Catholic Central and Union College, and as a coach.
“I was a good defensive player. That got me a chance to play in college, and at RPI, I ran the defense. We were one of the best in the country,” he said. “To be compet-itive and put yourself in a position to win, which is what we want to do, you’ve got to play defense. I hope the guys buy into it like they did when I was at Schalmont.”
Gilooly’s two season at Schalmont from 2001-03 saw the Sabres win three games and then 12. He then led Catholic Central to 10 wins in his one season there.
DiBacco led the Bishop Maginn varsity for two seasons, and is heading to Watervliet to replace Walter Bowden. DiBacco played at Watervliet for Section II’s all-time wins leader, George Mardigan.
plainsmen no. 1
Shenendehowa’s baseball team placed first in the spring portion of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association-sponsored Scholar/Athlete Team Award program.
The Plainsmen won their state championship with a 95.375 classroom average, beating out teams from Jerico (95.290), Aquinas (95.237), Batavia (94.554) and Colonie (94.533). Shenendehowa also had success on the field as this season’s Suburban Council North Division titlist.
Colonie had a pair of top-10 teams, with its boys’ track and field group placing fifth (97.637). The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake girls’ track and field team placed fourth (98.337) state-wide.
Section II had 166 scholar/athlete spring teams, each with an average over 90 in the classroom. Other Section II leaders were Christian Brothers Academy in boys’ lacrosse (94.100), Albany in boys’ tennis (96.386), Shenendehowa in girls’ lacrosse (95.756) and Chatham in softball (94.778).
smith connects
Ryan Smith of Guilderland added one last touchdown pass to his scholastic resume, and provided one of the few highlights for his team, at the June 5 Upstate/Downstate Football Classic at the Syracuse
Carrier Dome.
The Colgate-bound quarterback fired a 74-yard scoring strike to Kevin Amparo of Fowler in the second quarter as the Upstate team pulled into a 7-7 tie late in the first quarter in an eventual 41-7 loss at the second annual showcase.
Smith was selected a Daily Gazette All-Area first-team star and was named the Class AA Empire Division Offensive Player of the Year after setting Guilderland
records with 19 touchdown passes and 1,672 yards during his senior season.
The Upstate roster also included Shaquille Parker of Schenectady, Evan Nusbaum of Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Chris Ohnsman of Ballston Spa and Bronson Greene of Shenendehowa. Troy coach Jack Burger and a staff from Section II directed the team.
The Downstate team also prevailed in the 2010 game, 36-7.
plante nysphsaa champ
For the second year in a row, Colonie junior Kyle Plante was best among all New York State Public High School Athletic Association competitors in a Division 1 girls’ race at the state track and field championship meet.
Plante clocked a 54.67 in the 400-meter run Friday at Caledonia-Mumford High School for NYSPHSAA honors. Sandrae Fargiharson of Medgar Evers, a Public Schools Athletic League institution, ran a 54.51 to cross the finish line just ahead of the Colonie star.
In the Saturday’s Federation race, Fargiharson (53.83) again had a better time than Plante (54.32).
Plante won the NYSPHSAA 400 hurdles title as a sophomore.
lacrosse all-americans
Niskayuna junior midfielders Kayla Treanor and Ritchie Assini, and Shaker senior attack Adrianne Devine, have been named U.S. Lacrosse All-Americans.
Treanor, a member of the national 18-and-under team, and Devine earned the prestigious honor for the second year in a row. Seniors Lexi Brannigan of Colonie, Charlotte Rehfuss of Shaker and Erin Mossop of Guilderland are Section II’s honorable mention All-Americans.
Treanor scored five goals, including the game-winner, when Niskayuna edged Guilderland, 15-14, for the Section II championship. Assini scored four goals in that game and tied it before Treanor sent the Silver Warriors to their first Class A sectional title and fifth area championship in as many years.
Treanor had 45 goals and 37
assists, and Assini had 46 goals and 11 assist. Devine, who’ll play at Georgetown, totaled 52 goals and 33 assists.
aau SHOWCASE
Fourteen girls’ teams from the Capital Region will compete Saturday and Sunday in the Albany GymRat Challenge AAU basketball tournament at Union College, Siena College and the University at Albany.
Over 200 teams and 2,000 players from 12 states and Canada will participate in 16-and-under,
15-and-under, 14-and-under and
13-and-under age brackets. The Saratoga Sparks won the 14-and-under division last year and the Albany Capitals placed second in the 15-and-under division.
Categories: High School Sports
