The gym at Xaverian is still being used. The school hasn’t sold its basketballs or gotten rid of its uniforms. And head coach Jack Alesi is still conducting practice.
Over the summer, a year after Zamal Nixon left Xaverian for Boys & Girls, the Clippers lost four potential returning starters to Boys & Girls and Lincoln, and some looked at it as a crisis situation at the Brooklyn school which won the CHSAA title in 2005. But after getting over the initial shock, Alesi has recovered.
“I’m actually enjoying this year more than I have in a while,” said Alesi, whose team opens its season on Sunday against Wings Academy in the Big Apple Basketball Catholic League vs. Public League Challenge which begins tomorrow at Baruch College. “Last year wasn’t fun. I had to sit kids. It was hard for me to get them to do what I wanted them to.”
That’s a big part of the reason why the likes of Pat Jackson and Brandon Romain (Boys & Girls) and Vincent Council, James Padgett and Reggie Davis (Lincoln) aren’t there anymore.
“I didn’t think after I left, so many other guys would leave,” said Nixon, now a freshman at Houston. “I never told anyone they should, but they had to do what’s best for them. But I still talk to Coach Alesi. He still helps me out.”
Rasheem King, who also thought of leaving when he realized an exodus was apparently under way, is the lone returning starter.
“I was surprised,” King said. “I’m still friends with them, but it’s a little awkward. Everyone said it was about getting into college, but to me, this is the perfect place to get into college.”
Indeed, Xaverian’s recent history of getting players into college far surpasses virtually every PSAL School.
Despite the departure of his former teammates, King hasn’t lost hope for this season.
“We’re a work in progress,” the 6-4 junior swingman said. “I’m not going to say we’re going to win the city championship. We’re a year away. But we’ll be all right.”
Alesi believes that’s true and isn’t all that concerned with the team’s record.
“I’ve never measured the success of a season by how many wins we’ve had,” Alesi said. “These kids all want to be here and I’m keeping all the focus on them.”
It seems to be working.
“This year, he’s smiling a lot more,” King said. “He’s a lot more mellow. Last year, he was yelling and kicking guys out of practice because there were so many problems. It’s different now.”
We’ll see what happens when the season starts, but Alesi’s not looking back.
“If anything I did is considered a mistake, then it’s a mistake worth making,” Alesi said.