Mike Gattus is entering his sophomore season as Kennedy’s boys head coach, but that’s not all that’s weighing his mind. Between a 1-19 season and an eight-year playoff drought, Gattus is ready for the Cougars to flip the script.
“Last year was my first year as the head coach, I was the assistant [coach] for 9 years prior to that, so we’re looking to improve on that record and really compete in the league and non-league schedule,” he said.
With plenty of returners and a mostly upperclassman roster, he’s excited for the Cougars to execute on the hardwood. They face Great Neck South, Calhoun, MacArthur, Jericho, Long Beach and New Hyde Park in conference play.
Most of the starters are known amongst his coaching staff: senior Luca Kaplan, sophomore Jack Hand and junior guard Aaron Jacobs. All three players, Gattus said, had a lot of minutes last season and are expected to step up in their roles.
Kaplan averaged 6 points and 5 rebounds per game last season and is expected to take those numbers up a notch. “Luca is a tremendous leader,” Gattus said. “He’s always encouraging teammates and is incredibly accepting of coaching.”
One of the top returnees is Nico Santiagos, so Gattus is expecting the same production plus defensive work from the senior guard. Santiagos can create turnovers and turn them into points.
There’s also seniors Lukas Oberst and Jared Cohen off the bench that contributed last winter, so Gattus expressed that he’s anticipating continued progress on and off the court from those two. “They are four-year program members who will provide leadership and see solid minutes,” Gattus said.
A relatively fresh face this season is Bryan Gorman, coming up from the JV.
So far, there’s plenty of competitive spirit to go around, and that’s just the way Gattus likes it.
“Everybody is competing for playing time,” he said. “Practice has been very competitive so far, we’re hoping to keep that going and compete as a team and win as a team.”
After a 5-7 season, the Kennedy girls are ready to hit the court, no matter the obstacles.
“We’re definitely very young,” said head coach Mallory Freely. “We’re rebuilding this year but we are looking pretty good in my eyes.”
The Cougars are moving up to AA1 from AA3, so Freely is anticipating everything including the kitchen sink to be thrown at them.
“We’re in a new conference this year so very hard to predict what will happen but I think it will be a competitive one,” she said. “A lot of teams that we haven’t ever really faced, a few non-league [competitors] that we’re pretty competitive with. We’re coming together nicely.”
Freely is excited for three key returnees, starting with junior forward Katelyn Kuhl, who she said looks tremendous in practice. There’s also senior shooting guard Jordana Wohlleben, a four-year varsity player.
Freshman point guard Valentina Alfieri has been on the varsity since last year as a “first off the bench,” subbing in for the starting point guard when she was an eighth grader. Now she’s the floor general, entrusted with the tall task because of her defense-reading skills.
Kuhl averaged 12 rebounds, 6 blocks and almost 8 points per game last season, while Wohlleben contributed 5.7 ppg, 5 steals and 4 assists.
That core unit are the three legs of the tripod the coach expects the team will stand on.
Kennedy also has Isabella Ryan coming up from JV to be the small forward and bring her multi-sport athleticism to the court.
Freely also expects a sister duo, Sydney and Remi Watstein, seventh and 10th grade respectively, to pack a punch. Remi is planned to maneuver as a shooting guard, while Sydney is foreseen as the sixth man off the bench.
“[Sydney] is really tall as well, so having another tall and physical body is super helpful,” Freely said. “She’s very defensive, has a great wingspan, we’re excited about them two, especially to play together, it’s a fun dynamic.”
Dec. 13: @ G.N. South, 11:45 a.m.
Dec. 16: @ Calhoun, 6:45 p.m.
Dec. 19: MacArthur, 6:45 p.m.
Jan. 5: @ Jericho, 7:00 p.m.
Jan. 14: Long Beach, 6:45 p.m.
Jan. 17: @ New Hyde Park, 12:00 p.m.
Jan. 23: G.N. South, 6:45 p.m.
Jan. 27: Calhoun, 6:45 p.m.
Jan. 30: @ MacArthur, 7:00 p.m.
Feb. 2: Jericho, 6:45 p.m.
Feb. 11: @ Long Beach, 6:45 p.m.
Feb. 14: New Hyde Park, 11:45 a.m.
Dec. 13: G.N. South, 11:45 a.m.
Dec. 16: Calhoun, 6:45 p.m.
Dec. 19: @ MacArthur, 7:00 p.m.
Jan. 5: Jericho, 6:45 p.m.
Jan. 14: @ Long Beach, 6:45 p.m.
Jan. 17: New Hyde Park, 11:45 a.m.
Jan. 23: @ G.N. South, 6:45 p.m.
Jan. 27: @ Calhoun, 6:45 p.m.
Jan. 30: MacArthur, 6:45 p.m.
Feb. 2: @ Jericho, 6:45 p.m.
Feb. 11: Long Beach, 6:45 p.m.
Feb. 14: @ New Hyde Park, 2:00 p.m.
