WHITE PLAINS – They all heard the whispers. They all had options.
When the summer was over Jasiah Jervis, Hassan Koureissi, Dylan Perry and Adonis and Darius Ratliff were back in the gym at Stepinac where they started this journey four years ago.
They all had reasons for staying.
For better or worse, the high school basketball landscape has shifted in the last decade. It’s hard to hang on to four- and five-star talents. It’s no longer unusual to see headliners leave the CHSAA for prep schools or superpowers who populate the top 25 rankings.
So why did they hang around for one final season together?
We asked following a recent win over Holy Cross. The gym was packed on a Tuesday night, by the way. Here are five reasons why these five Division I recruits stuck it out:
1. There is history to be made
All five players enrolled as freshmen. Jervis, Koureissi and Perry were on the varsity getting minutes here and there. The 7-foot Ratliff twins played freshman ball this season. They saw what this group might become over time, and they have already been a part of three straight CHSAA AA Intersectional championships.
No team in the history of the league has won four in a row.
“You have to build that bond early,” said Darius Ratliff, a USC signee. “Coming in as freshmen, we all wanted to be here, and we all knew as seniors we could have a little super team. That’s what happened. We’ve had a dominant run. Having a chance to win four championships, it’s a blessing. That’s something no CHSAA team has done, so we’re trying to make history.”
2. Road trips!
The Crusaders flew to Las Vegas in October for a preseason tournament and in December went back to Virginia for a visit with Paul VI before heading to Florida where they made the championship game of the City of Palms Classic. They were again part of the Jordan Brand Classic in Brooklyn and this month took down IMG Academy (Fla.) at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts.
All those miles and hotel nights develop chemistry.
“We’ve bonded well off the court,” said Jervis, who is headed to Michigan State. “We play all over the place so traveling, being in hotels, that’s fun. It gives us time together to learn about each other from a different standpoint. We enjoy being with each other. It’s fun. On the court, though, it’s all business.”
3. Mom’s home cooking
A relatively normal high school experience is a selling point. So is sleeping in your own bed. There was no reason to pack up and go away. Stepinac coach Pat Massaroni has upgraded the schedule each season. The opportunity to go head-to-head with other nationally ranked teams and nationally renowned players is part of the draw, too.
“It’s a brotherhood,” said Koureissi, who has committed to Fordham. “On and off the court we’re friends, we’re cool. We talk a lot. There’s a lot of time spent in the gym together and we all compete, so everyone knew if we kept coming back this team was going to get better. There was no reason to go away for school and stay away from our families.”
4. Lifelong advocates
Stepinac head coach Pat Massaroni is all in all day. Crusaders assistants Rodney Swain, Allan Sheppard and Alex Nunez go stride for stride with the players, too. Stepinac is not a basketball factory. There are standards to maintain in the classroom and on the court.
It helps to have go-to mentors who have experience and perspective when there’s an issue and all nine seniors on the roster are good about holding each other accountable.
“This coaching staff, they really look out for us,” said Perry, who committed to Monmouth. “They truly want us to get better as players and truly care for us as people. Nobody here is looking to use us for our names or whatever. All of the seniors, we’re comfortable getting on each other because we’ve known each other for so long, some of us even more than four years. We’ve all stuck with this program and gone through some hard practices and tough stretches. We can say whatever somebody needs to hear.”
5. The network
Stepinac has enjoyed a fair amount of athletic success over the decades, but nothing rivals this run. The alumni have responded. Along with important wins, it takes some financial wherewithal to keep a team on a national stage. The support, moral and monetary, has continues to flow from all corners of the country.
Is there another team in the area with a two-tier, season-ticket package for home games?
“Knowing this season we were going to play one of the most difficult schedules in the country was part of it,” said Adonis Ratliff, who is also going to USC. “When you’re playing some of the best teams in the country, why do you need to go anywhere else. This has become a family. There’s a brotherhood here and that includes all the alumni. They are everywhere. You pull into a random gas station and they know who we are. It’s crazy how Stepinac is connected like that.”
Mike Dougherty covers high school boys basketball for The Journal News/lohud
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Five reasons the five Division I Stepinac basketball headliners stayed
Reporting by Mike Dougherty, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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