Every time Ron Naclerio is asked how he plans to keep everyone on his loaded roster happy, there is a story he likes to tell.
It comes from last year’s pre-Final Four press conference with North Carolina coach Roy Williams. Williams was asked if he was worried about having too much talent, how his players would respond to extended time on the bench.
“They’ve got to keep me happy,” Williams told the reporters.
Naclerio likes to think he is in a similar position.
“Now maybe I can have a shorter leash with kids that get on my bad side,” he said. “I can ostracize the one or two cancers and we’ll still be good. We’re harping on, ‘it’s we, not me’ every day.”
Talent-wise, Naclerio thinks this is his best team in five years, the last time Cardozo made it to Madison Square Garden for the city final.
He has four players – returning starters Dwayne Brunson and Ryan Rhoomes, St. Raymond transfer Marquis Barnett and newcomer Victor Reid – 6-foot-7 or bigger. Naclerio returns his starting backcourt of Norfolk State-bound senior Reynaldo (Junior) Walters and Chris Gayot, his best shooter in Shelton Mickell, in addition to guards Shaquille Pearson, Terrence Carter and Nehemiah Kornegay and forwards Malcolm Brooks and Sam Watkins. Plus, junior Tyrel Hunt, who led the JV in scoring at 21 points per game, may be able to contribute.
“Some schools say they are two deep at each position, but are they really talented at each position?” asked Naclerio, entering his 29th season. “We are.”
But can all these talented players coexist and be happy with reduced roles? Cardozo’s greatest adversary could be itself.
Over the summer and fall, Naclerio split his team up into two teams for local tournaments. He was pleased to see the progress many had made. Now, however, sacrifices must be made. Rhoomes, a 6-foot-8 back-to-the-basket player, isn’t sure the Judges are ready for primetime.
“We have a strong group, we’re just not developed the way we should be,” said Rhoomes, who has received interest from several mid-to-high major Division I programs, and plans to prep at South Kent (Conn.) next year. The senior was referring to the “we” instead of “me” mentality Naclerio mentioned.
“It’s frustrating to sit on the bench – nobody really wants that,” Walters said. “But at the end of the day, you can’t be selfish.”
Walters, who spent the summer teaming with Rhoomes in the New York Panthers AAU program, said Cardozo has great intensity in spurts, but has trouble sustaining that edge.
Naclerio would like to see his players police themselves. Walters and Rhoomes have begun to take on that role somewhat.
“We have to understand there’s no time to play around,” Rhoomes said. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”
The frontcourt would appear to be the Queens powerhouse’s strength. The athletically gifted Brunson and 6-foot-8 Rhoomes combined to average 27 points and 23 rebounds last year. Adding Barnett, a shot-blocking and rebounding specialist, gives the Judges an edge in size, not to mention athleticism, over just about any front line in the city. He also allows Brunson to spend more time on the wing and along the baseline, where he thrives.
“We should be the top big men in the city,” Rhoomes said.
Expectations for the Bayside school are sky-high. For the first time in several years, Naclerio doesn’t have to worry about working in an entirely new core. He brought in just two transfers – Barnett and Reid. Of the 15-man roster, 10 are holdovers, seven of them seniors.
The Judges know what’s at stake. They are expected to get back to the Garden, to reclaim the Queens throne – Forest Hills upset them in the borough final last February – and get past the second round, where last season ended in crushing fashion to McKee/Staten Island Tech.
“If we don’t win the city championship, or at least get close to it, we didn’t accomplish nothing,” Rhoomes said.
“Madison Square Garden,” Walters said. “That’s what we want.”