By RICH FISHER
Contributing Editor
One week after the current players began another season of Mercer County CYO basketball, the organization honored several of its greats from the past at the biennial 10th Hall of Fame Awards Dinner.
The event took place Nov. 15 at the Nottingham Ballroom in Hamilton, and honored former players Katie Casey, Lisa Cesaro, Tom Keefe, Tim Kramer, Dorthy Mayer-Scranton, Cornell Nelson, Nola Occhipinti-DeRita and the late Ed Fireall. Coaching inductees were Olix V. Heredia Jr., Brian K. Sirak and the late Khaliq Lewis. The referees were also honored as IAABO Board 193 was inducted.
Here is a closer look at each honoree:
KATIE CASEY, Blessed Sacrament Parish (now part of Sacred Heart Parish), Trenton
Casey played for her dad, the legendary Hank Casey, and was point guard for her undefeated 1974 Blessed Sacrament team that won the league championship. At Notre Dame High, Lawrenceville, she earned first-team all-county honors before playing for a Big 10 championship team at Northwestern University.
Katie Casey, originally from Blessed Sacrament Parish, began her lifelong love affair with basketball playing in the CYO. Photo by Amanda Ruch
CYO hoops laid the groundwork for what came after.
“Saturday mornings at the CYO Center started my lifelong love affair with basketball,” Casey said. “The CYO taught us how to compete fairly, be a good teammate and represent our school with pride and grace. I’m grateful for the services and experiences they provide, they are difference makers.”
LISA CESARO, Our Lady of Sorrows School, Hamilton
Cesaro played seven seasons in CYO and was league MVP in eighth grade. At Steinert High, Hamilton, Lisa was a four-year varsity starter and was the first female in school history to score 1,000 points. At The College of New Jersey, Ewing, she won a conference title in basketball and two national titles in soccer.
Currently a professional trainer, Cesaro credited the CYO with teaching her to be a good teammate and learning good sportsmanship, and “how powerful a community can be when it comes together.”
She also learned the value of prayer.
“Of every team and program I was part of, CYO was the only place where we paused and prayed before we played,” she said. “We took time to center ourselves in gratitude and purpose. We thanked God for the opportunity to play and for our skill. We prayed for the courage to fight hard if we were losing.
“We even prayed for good calls from the refs,” she quipped.
“I carried that ritual with me into high school and college, and continued to pray before games and keep God in my game. That grounded me and anchored me. Prayer made a difference in how I showed up when I competed. I now teach that same ritual to my athletes.”
ED FIREALL (posthumous), St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral School, Trenton
After excelling in the CYO under Hall of Fame coach Jim Dill, Fireall graduated from Notre Dame with 1,410 points, which was a county record at the time. Ed was teammates with fellow inductee Tom Keefe, who said “He changed the way ND basketball was played in the late 1970s – conservative play to a more running game.”
As an adult Fireall sponsored a Back to School Basketball League in Trenton, giving local youth an opportunity to stay connected to athletics each fall.
OLIX V. HEREDIA JR., St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral
The long-time volunteer coach first organized the Our Lady of Mount Carmel team before that school merged with Cathedral in 1977. Heredia, along with Jim and Shawn Dill, guided Cathedral to the 1987-88 league championship. Olix was also part of numerous civic organizations that led to his winning several awards.
IAABO BOARD 193
Board 193 does not just officiate Mercer County high school games. It also assigns between 25 to 30 officials to cover the CYO season. The board consists of 206 members with a combined officiating experience of over 2,900 years (including NCAA and NBA games). It has helped establish and sponsor the CYO High School All Star games and ran the CYO Summer High School League. There are 14 IAABO members in the CYO Hall of Fame.
TOM KEEFE, Our Lady of Sorrows School
After leading OLS to the 1976-77 CYO title, Keefe went on to score 1,311 points at Notre Dame and was a first-team All-County pick. At Washington College in Chestertown, Md., Tom was a first-team All-MAC performer for three straight years and scored 1,100 career points while reaching the NCAA Tournament.
Tom Keefe, graduate of Our Lady of Sorrows School, Hamilton, felt it was a privilege to be able to play CYO basketball as it allowed him to interact with a special group of people. Photo by Amanda Ruch
Tom’s most lasting memories were his weekend basketball games at the CYO Center.
“The entire CYO experience shaped my life as a player due to the fact that it inspired me to go on to study and play basketball at a Catholic high school,” Keefe said. “The sense of family and community carried over from the CYO experience to my high school years and allowed me to succeed in a lot of different areas I never thought I could as a young man. I went on to a non-denominational college and for me, the CYO/ND track helped me grow as a player and solid student in college.
“I considered (the CYO experience) a privilege and a place to interact with so many different people. One of the presenters at the dinner said it best. He said, “The experience of CYO is something special. Unless you were involved and played, no one can truly understand fully how it can shape you and how special it really is.’ This is what it meant to me.”
TIM KRAMER, St. Raphael School, Hamilton
Kramer starred in the CYO’s early days, playing from 1960-63 and compiling some impressive statistics. He went on to St. Anthony’s, Hamilton (now Thrive Charter) and became the first Iron Mike player to reach 1,000 points. He scored 57 in one game and moved on to the University of Pennsylvania.
KHALIQ LEWIS (posthumous), Trenton Catholic Academy, Hamilton
An esteemed CYO coach, Lewis guided a powerhouse Trenton Catholic Academy girls program in the mid-2000s, producing several undefeated teams and league champions. He also coached the TCA High School team (now Thrive Charter), leading the Iron Mikes to several Mercer County Tournament titles, five NJSIAA Non-Public B championships and one Tournament of Champions crown. Khaliq coached county icons La’Keisha Sutton, who starred at University of South Carolina, and Briyona Canty, who excelled at Rutgers.
DOROTHY MAYER SCRANTON, St. Anthony, Hamilton
Playing for iconic Hall of Fame coach Joe O’Gorman, Scranton powered St. Anthony’s to CYO championships in 1982 and 1983, as well as the Knights of Columbus title. Dorothy was an AAU Junior Olympic star from 1982-87 and, while playing for McCorristin (now Thrive Charter), she led the Iron Mikes to the CVC Valley Division, Mercer County Tournament and South Jersey B sectional titles.
CORNELL NELSON, St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral
A star from 1982-84, “Nelly” led Cathedral to the 1984 league championship and was named MVP of the Holy Cross Christmas Tournament. He starred at McCorristin when the Iron Mikes dominated Mercer County in the late 1980s and went on to help Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey) reach the 1989 NCAA Division III championship game along with future NBA player Greg Grant.
Cornell Nelson, who played for Cathedral, feels the value of teamwork, sportsmanship and competition that he learned in CYO basketball served him for the rest of his life. Photo by Amanda Ruch
“I’m incredibly honored and humbled to achieve this honor,” Nelson said. “Playing in the CYO was always a highlight of my early basketball career. It’s where I learned the value of teamwork, sportsmanship and competition. These values carried me through the rest of my basketball career and into my professional career. I cherish the memories and relationships formed playing in the CYO and I’m thankful for the foundation it provided.”
NOLA OCCHIPINTI-DERITA, Immaculate Conception (now merged with Holy Angels Parish), Trenton
Playing for Hall of Fame coach Bob Bucchi, Nola was a CYO all-star, MVP of two tournaments and a free throw champion at the St. Raphael’s/Knights of Columbus event. She excelled for McCorristin in basketball and softball and was the school’s Athlete and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Kiwanis Club Scholar Athlete, and NJSIAA Scholar-Athlete. Nola played softball at Mount St. Mary’s in Maryland, and returned to Immaculate as an assistant in 1997 when it won the league title.
BRIAN K. SIRAK, Holy Cross Academy, Delran, and Trenton Catholic Academy
In 41 seasons split nearly evenly between Holy Cross and TCA Sirak coached 20 teams to league championships and seven to undefeated seasons. He had seven Players of the Year; coached over 1,000 games and helped found the league’s Freshman Division. His coaching impacted countless lives and created lifelong CYO friendships among players, parents, coaches, officials and administrators.