South Xtra: Keystone Oaks, senior star enjoying memorable season
-
Thomas Jefferson's Chase Winovich, left, guards Keystone Oaks' Rocco Contristano in a Section 4-AAA game last week. Keystone Oaks leads the section standings and Contristano is among the WPIAL's top scorers.
Share with others:
It was the fourth quarter of a game Keystone Oaks was in total control of, when standout guard Rocco Contristano -- visibly frustrated because he had just missed his third free throw of the game -- walked over to coach Gene Mecuri.
Never mind the 10 free throws Contristano had made and the career-high 34 points he would soon finish with. It just wasn't good enough for him.
Mercuri tried to put things in perspective when the two spoke.
"I said, 'I'd rather have you on my team than anyone else in this world,'" Mercuri said.
"And I mean it," Mercuri added. "He's a gamer."
The gamer has helped the Golden Eagles win game after game this season.
It's a special time for Keystone Oaks, which is off to one of the best starts in school history. The Golden Eagles are 11-2 overall and sit atop WPIAL Class AAA Section 4 with a 6-0 record. They are eagerly seeking the program's first section title since 2003.
Under the guidance of Mercuri, who is in his first season as coach of the boys team (he coached the girls team last season), the Golden Eagles are a talented bunch with several impressive scorers who can put the team on their backs at any given moment. But one of those players is the undisputed go-to guy. That player is Contristano.
A 6-foot-3 senior guard, Contristano averages 25 points per game, the third-best mark in the WPIAL according to the most recent statistics compiled by the Post-Gazette. Contristano scored at least 23 points in all but one of his first 11 games, and has netted more than 30 points twice (34 against Thomas Jefferson; 33 against Washington).
Big things were expected this season from Contristano, who, as a junior, averaged 20.2 points per game, which topped the section.
He has not disappointed.
Watch the Golden Eagles play and you will notice they share the ball well and do an excellent job of executing their dribble-drive offense.
Contristano plays within that system and does not force many shots. In general, he does not take a lot of shots. He took only 14 -- making 11 of them -- when he set his career high against Thomas Jefferson.
Contristano doesn't have jaw-dropping athletic ability, but he's athletic enough and has great body control. He can be a sniper from the perimeter, but is at his best when slashing to the basket.
"He's a great player," Mercuri said. "He does so many great things for us."
Contristano is aided by the fact that he does not have to carry Keystone Oaks all by himself. He gets plenty of help from a supporting cast that includes junior Cory Sevacko and sophomore Ricky Rogers, both of whom have double-figure scoring averages. Sevacko's season high is 28 points, while Rogers has scored 26.
Sevacko and Rogers, much like Contristano, thrive when penetrating to the basket.
"We like to get to the rim," said Mercuri.
Other major contributors have been junior Jared Skolnicki and senior Matt Buckley -- both starters -- and sophomore reserve Taylor Lehman.
"We just have so many guys who can score," said Contristano. "It makes it hard to match up with us."
The Golden Eagles indeed have had little difficulty scoring. They average 76.8 points per game, ranking them as the third most prolific scoring team in the WPIAL behind New Castle (79.1) and Vincentian (77.3). They scored 99 points in a win against Brashear. Since 2003, the Golden Eagles had not scored more than 93 in a game.
Contristano and his cohorts are playing a style of basketball that has not been seen at Keystone Oaks in recent years, and winning has become routine.
Even if he misses a free throw here and there, Contristano expects big things from his team.
"We want to win the section [title], then make a run in the [WPIAL] playoffs and make it to states," he said. "We believe this team can go really far."
First Published January 19, 2012 12:00 am
