Matt Crockett was angry and it was easily apparent.
His Xavier boys basketball team had just lost a tough home game to Monsignor McClancy, 43-41, for the squad’s first CHSAA Class A league loss of the season. Crockett, a junior, poured in 20 points, but that didn’t matter to him afterward.
Kevin Crockett, a sophomore, smiled when asked about his brother’s demeanor after a loss. Matt, Kevin said, is exactly like their mother.
“They’re both very, very competitive,” Kevin said with a laugh.
Cathy Crockett was one of the most successful female coaches in New York City girls basketball history in her 23 years at Bishop Kearney. Her sons losing games now drives her crazy. At Kearney? Forget it.
“I could stay up for 24 hours,” Cathy Crockett said, smiling.
She stepped down following the 2008-09 season, a few months before Matt enrolled at Xavier, to be more active in her sons’ basketball lives. Now she’s a mainstay in the stands at Xavier games and thrilled that Matt and Kevin are playing together this year on varsity. Her oldest son, Ryan Woerner, is the top men’s basketball assistant coach at SUNY New Paltz. It’s a regular basketball family.
“They’re all junkies,” Xavier coach Joe McGrane said. “It’s great.”
McGrane says both Matt and Kevin have excellent basketball IQs and it’s easy to see why. Woerner was also McGrane’s assistant coach at Xavier before going on to intern with the Cornell men’s basketball team that went to the Sweet 16 in 2009-10. That hoops acumen was forged when they were infants.
“People always told me that my mom had me at every practice from when I was like months old,” Kevin said. “She made me sit in the corner during practice.”
Added Matt: “I guess I have a better knowledge of the game than kids who didn’t grow up with a basketball family. I was always around basketball since I was born.”
A 6-foot-3 swingman, Matt is one of Xavier’s stars, a versatile inside-outside threat who can stroke it from 3-point range as well as he can muscle someone inside. Kevin, a 6-foot-1 guard, is an excellent shooter, McGrane said, who is a great passer to go along with his strong court vision.
The two have helped lead Xavier to a 5-2 record, and the Knights are one of the top contenders in the ‘A’ league. They have a big game coming up Wednesday against fellow favorite Moore Catholic.
“I think we have a shot to win it all,” Matt said.
Cathy Crockett, a GCHSAA Hall of Famer, said she’ll always miss coaching high school basketball – she still does coach seventh grade girls at Blessed Trinity in Breezy Point – but she missed it whole lot less now that Matt and Kevin are playing together.
Kevin says all his mom talks about is basketball and school, but she’s constructive when it comes to her sons’ game.
“I watch the coach a lot, just so that when they get home sometimes I can explain to them what the coach is saying to them, so I can reiterate to them what the coach is saying,” Cathy Crockett said. “They’re playing for Coach McGrane. It’s his team, it’s his system and you have to adjust to whatever he’s doing. He’s an excellent coach.”
They have an excellent coach at home as well. And it’s clear that has helped shape them today.
“I never wanted them to play because of me,” Cathy Crockett said. “But I can tell they enjoy it.”
After rough start, Stepinac enjoys big weekend: Stepinac’s business trip to Massachusetts worked out perfectly. The Crusaders not only picked up their second and third wins of the season in the Catholic School Showcase, but gained invaluable chemistry over the weekend.
“It relaxed the guys a little bit,” Stepinac coach Tim Philp said. “You build some camaraderie and get some confidence. But more importantly, they had fun, they enjoyed it.”
The biggest difference between the Crusaders’ three losses, against All Hallows, St. Raymond and Harborfields, and two wins over the weekend in Massachusetts was simple: They scored more points. They did so by taking less jump shots, patiently waiting for the best shot to present itself and by getting to the free throw line more.
Stepinac also had plenty of balance. In a 65-44 win over Rhode Island power Bishop Hendricken, Naim Thomas scored 15 points and Tyler Iacuone had 13. The following day, in a 69-38 win over Cathedral (Mass.), Josh James poured in 18 points and Quarry Greenway had 10.
“It was a good weekend; we needed that,” Philp said. “We’re picking it up offensively, we’re getting our shooting percentage into the mid 40s. We’re shooting 45 percent, not 35 percent, and that’s a big difference. As long as we shoot the ball pretty good, we’ll be all right. We can’t do what we did the first couple of games, when we’re not shooting the ball well and we’re playing catch-up.”
Undefeated Fieldston excelling despite difficult schedule: Steve Bluth expressed confidence in his team with his early-season schedule. He scheduled PSAL Class AA foe Manhattan Center in the opener and CHSAA Class A program McClancy last weekend.
“It made a lot of sense at the start of the season to play as many tough teams or teams who we thought would be tough just to see how good we are,” the Fieldston coach said.
If December is any indication, Bluth has found out Fieldston is pretty good. The Eagles sit at 7-0 after winning the Sports Boosters Holiday Basketball Tournament behind junior guard Will Savage, who won MVP honors. They defeated Manhattan Center in overtime to start the year, which Bluth felt gave his team confidence, and trounced McClancy by 16 points in the tournament over the weekend.
“I’m not surprised, but it’s hard not to be really happy with how things are going,” he said. Bluth later added: “We’ve worked really hard the last few years to build up to this. Even in games where we’re not playing our best, we’re finding a way to win games and in the past we’ve lost some close games for a variety of reasons. This group is really believing right now.”
That’s not to say Fieldston is suddenly a favorite in the Ivy Prep League. Undefeated Collegiate (4-0), the four-time NYSAISAA and New York State Federation Class B champion, is in the Kreul Classic Publix Challenge finals while Riverdale and Poly Prep have also picked up some big victories in recent days.
“This year is gonna be a fun battle,” Bluth said.
Mount’s two-sport star: Omari Manhertz is known for his work as a linebacker on Mount St. Michael’s top-notch defense – he was named to The Post’s All-City football first team on Sunday. He also one heck of a presence on the hardwood.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound manchild had 16 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks in a loss Saturday to Bishop Loughlin. That performance continued a string of solid ones for Manhertz in Mount’s 5-1 start.
“Omari has been incredible since he came off the football field,” Mountaineers boys basketball coach Tom Fraher said. “He’s so physical out there. If he was three inches taller, he’d be in the Big East, because he can rebound with anybody. And he’s so strong and he’s smart and he guards the post well. He’s got terrific anticipation coming from the weak side to block shots.”