Rocco Sellitto sees Meaghan McGoorty as an in-between player and plans to use her that way. The first-year head coach is putting a lot of responsibility on the Bishop Kearney senior as he tries to build around and develop a strong core of juniors.
Sellitto, who took over for longtime and now retired coach Cathy Crockett, envisions McGoorty handling the ball early in the season to help the team break any kind of pressure until junior guard Jaclyn Grasso develops. McGoorty will then slip to one of the wings to be a main scorer, both inside and out like she was a year ago. Christina Hiltunen, last year’s floor general, is now at Scranton.
“Under pressure she will be handling the ball a little bit, once we run our offense, she is the type of player we can also get under the basket and post up against the other guards,” Sellitto said.
McGoorty, who can be a force on the boards despite being undersized, will be called on to lead a talented group of juniors that are the foundation of the program for this season and next. Sam Retas, Maureen O’Sullivan and Taylor Raccuglia were on the varsity last season. Grasso and Marianne Hanning are up from the JV.
“We are trying to lay the foundation for next year [also],” O’Sullivan said. “We want next year to be a very strong year.”
Retas is the jewel of the bunch. Her length, athleticism and scoring ability allow her to be able to control games by herself. She was the Tigers best player on the floor at times during a handful of games last season, but just wasn’t consistent enough. Sellitto believes that will change.
“She is really focused,” he said. “I can see she wants to make a difference. She has also improved her outside shooting.”
Sellitto will have the team in more of a motion offense than in the past to try to use its interchangeable parts and wants it to play a little more pressure defense. One thing the Tigers will certainly do better is shoot the ball, starting with O’Sullivan, who came on late last season to be a sniper from long range. She, along with Hanning, a versatile forward who has really caught the eyes of her teammates, will give them a perimeter game they sorely lacked a season ago, when they finished 12-15 and fourth in CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens.
“She really comes in and proves the point [that she can shoot] in the game and knocks down a lot of the shots that we need,” McGoorty said.
Raccuglia could be the sleeper of the junior class. She has a strong summer playing AAU for Sellitto and the Red Hook Lady Ravens. She has the ability to make shots, get in the passing lanes and get up and down the floor, but just needs to be better technically. Senior Jennifer Jamin and junior Erin Tacopina should also contribute.
“I think we are going to be pretty competitive,” Sellitto said. “But I think it is going to be the type of thing where we get more competitive as the season goes along as things fall into place.”