2/12/2019 basketball Edit

New coach creates winning culture at Scarsdale

New Scarsdale varsity head coach Joe Amelio (Jon Thaler)

Maurice Wingate • NYCHoops

Publisher

Scarsdale took a loss on Monday against Mount Vernon but it would take double overtime for the legendary powerhouse to overtake the upstart Raiders. With the addition of new head coach Joe Amelio and some budding talent, the Westchester high school is suddenly better than ever.

“We have really embraced the idea of being the underdog all season long,” said Amelio. “Mount Vernon simply made one more shot than us down the stretch. They made a great drive and kick for a corner three [pointer]. We both traded baskets and got huge stops defensively. Unfortunately, someone had to come out with a win.”

This season, the Raiders have been primarily powered by two players according to Coach Amelio. 6'0" point guard Jayshen Saigel ’20 sets the table with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. 6'2" guard Cole Kattan ‘19 is averaging 21 points, 8.5 rebounds and is spearheading Scarsdale's offense. Kattan's play earned the senior all-conference and all-section 1 honors this season.

Jayshen Saigel & Cole Kattan (Jon Thaler)

The Scarsdale Raiders have had an impressive season thus far with a league record of 10 – 4 but that wasn't the the immediate goal. "As a whole, our regular season was a success,” said Coach Amelio who previously was an assistant coach at St. Raymond in the Bronx, NY. “Success was never in the record for me in my first year. I simply wanted to get the best out of our team each and every day and build a culture.” Unexpectedly for even the rookie head coach that winning culture already overflowed the Petri dish.

In a tough league that includes Mt. Vernon, Mamaroneck and New Rochelle, the Raiders began the season as one of the hottest teams around but cooled off a bit as the grueling regular season wound down. Amelio, however, takes solace in the emerging culture that has prevailed. “One thing always remains constant. Our perseverance. We took some punches but have always bounced back.”

Mt. Vernon bested Scarsdale, 63 – 60 in double OT led by Charles Lovett who netted 20 points but Scarsdale gave as good as they got until the very end with Kattan scoring a game high 25 points to go with 7 rebounds. Coach Amelio believes his squad has already made a statement. “I think we have proven we are for real and a prime contender for a deep playoff run.”