GIRLS BASKETBALL: Year after year, the Falcons have clearly shown themselves to be the state’s best prep team.
By: Neil Hay
Within the remarkable run of five consecutive state Prep A Championships is the fact that each Peddie girls basketball team, in each season, should be looked at as a separate entity with its own chemistry and character that sets it aside from the team that came before it.
There is no doubt that a state dynasty is here at Peddie. Year after championship year, the Falcons have clearly shown themselves to be the state’s best prep team. And, when given the opportunity, the Falcons will compete (and usually win) against the top county and state public school teams.
There are always holdovers from one year who return the next to form the nucleus of the succeeding team. Without veterans Peddie’s string of successes might have been snapped somewhere along the way. Reloading, not rebuilding, is the phrase often used. And next year will be no different from this year or the years before. Five players will move on: postgraduates Yvette Rutherford and the injured Carolyn Morin, and seniors Christine Salinas, Lauren Zecca, and Kaitlyn McHugh. But four starters will be back, assuring all challengers that this team will be ready to seek its sixth state championship.
When the new basketball season rolls around, the group that begins training is a new team, seeking its own identity with its own set of goals and aspirations. Never do the players rest on their laurels or live off the reputation of their predecessors. It is always back to square one. And that is exactly how coach Sean Casey wants it to be.
"A lot of people thought last year’s team was the best in school history," said Casey, who just completed his eighth year on the Falcons’ bench. "This team tried to write their own story. They worked very hard to be a good team.
"I think the kids worked very hard and improved over the course of the season," continued Casey. "I can’t fault them for their effort or what they accomplished."
En route to winning another state Prep A Championship and the Mid-Atlantic Prep League crown, not to mention the Loomis-Chaffee and Haddonfield Christmas Tournaments, Peddie won 23 games (the most in school history) with only two losses. Did Casey ever think this squad would outdo last winter’s outstanding club?
"To be honest I was skeptical we’d win 23 games. A lot of quality kids graduated. I knew we’d have to come together as a team and this group did a very nice job."
This team was built to last. It was Falcon tough. To endure and survive and become the best, Casey assembled another challenging schedule that featured some of the best teams he could find in and out of the area. Said Casey, "We built a tough schedule for ourselves. We played a lot of tough teams. I thought the kids measured up pretty well."
What makes this team so good? It is more than talent and experience and basketball smarts. According to Casey, "Our kids want to challenge themselves to be the best, by measuring themselves against the best. We want to see where we stand."
Peddie’s two losses were to St. John Vianney and Germantown Academy. Said Casey, "I was disappointed how we played against St. John Vianney. We didn’t put forth our best effort of the season. That was the one that got away."
Casey was more understanding of the Falcons’ 75-65 loss to Germantown. In a dream matchup between two quality programs, the visitors from Pennsylvania showed they were deserving of their high (8th) national ranking.
"Going in I thought we’d have to play very well and we did. So did they. We are not big on moral victories, but we performed well at a national level."
In just about every other game Peddie was easily the better team on the floor. Even on the rare nights they did not play up to their high standard of excellence, they still had enough to win.
"When our kids played well they were pretty tough to beat."
Casey didn’t get excited about or exaggerate his team’s play during the course of the season. Casey continued to look at his team as an ongoing project. They got better, yes. But still not there. Regardless of the record at any given time. The way he (correctly) saw it, there was always an area to improve upon.
"We made incremental improvements during the year. Winning against Gloucester Catholic and Haddonfield. It was a progressive thing here, a work in progress. By February we were playing good basketball."
If Casey had a real worry, it was the occasional lapse of focus that prevented his team from 32 minutes of high intensity basketball.
"I wanted the kids to know there are areas to work on, both individually and team wise," Casey said.
As a prep school with no boundaries that would otherwise restrict a public school, Peddie can in theory recruit its athletes. But it does not work that way. Surely Peddie gets its share of student-athletes who come here from other places. And the program also attracts the occasional postgraduate. But Peddie does not go out and recruit.
"We have a policy. The kids have to inquire about the school first," said Casey. "With the success we’ve had over the years, and the academic track we have, kids think this is a place they want to go to school.
"We’ve been fortunate in that girls basketball here has a reputation that has drawn student-athletes to Peddie. Academic opportunities exist. (Potential student-athletes) say this might be a neat place to go to school."
Peddie’s string of success has its roots in the 1993-94 season, when Casey and his wife Jill came to Peddie right out of Hobart College. The two took over the girls’ basketball program, Sean as head coach and Jill as his assistant and jayvee coach. In the Caseys’ first year the Falcons’ were a modest 10-10. Then came successive years of 15-8, 13-6, 20-6, 19-5, 22-4, 22-3, and 23-2. That’s a collective 144-44, or a 76.6 winning percentage. Not too shabby. Jill Casey, incidentally, stepped aside before the 2000-01 season.
"We’ve been very fortunate," said the always humble Sean Casey. "We have a great school. The kids see academic and athletic opportunities here. Success breeds success. The kids have bought into what we are trying to do. And the kids, that’s the fun part. They enjoy each other’s company."