Stepinac basketball getting ready to hit the road with national ranking in hand

WHITE PLAINS – Stepinac is ready to go.

Literally.

The Crusaders are in the gym preparing for another basketball odyssey that includes four high-visibility events in the coming weeks. It’s part of the routine now. The goal is to win another CHSAA title. The hope is that each mile logged in December and January will pay a dividend.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to play a national schedule the last seven years,” Stepinac head coach Pat Massaroni said. “The team bonding that comes from these trips is truly invaluable. They become extremely close, we talk about the importance of family and they do become family.”

There’s educational value in the logistics of getting from Point A to Point B.

“I feel like it creates like a brotherhood,” senior forward Braylan Ritvo said. “It helps us bring us all together, makes us close and this is a great group.”

A change in the CHSAA structure and schedule allows for nine games outside the league.

The Crusaders open the season Dec. 1-2 at the Hoophall West High School Invitational in Scottsdale, Arizona, where they will face Perry (Arizona) and Corona Centennial (California). Next is a Dec. 8 visit to St. Frances (Maryland).

They will be in Fort Myers, Florida, Dec. 21-23 for the City of Palms Classic and on the other side of the Christmas break will make a short commute into the city Dec. 29 to play St. Rose (New Jersey) in the Jordan Brand Holiday Classic.

Stepinac concludes the run with a Hoophall Classic game on Jan. 14 against Don Bosco Prep (New Jersey) in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Kentucky bound: Inside the recruitment of basketball star Boogie Fland

Basketball is the primary focus, but there is often schoolwork to attend to on the road.

“It's exhausting, but we love to do it,” Ritvo added. “We think it's fun and challenging, but at the end of the day, we all just want to win the championship in March.”

There are lifetime memories to be collected along the way.

“During select meals we actually put our phones in a breadbasket, all of us, coaches, too,” Massaroni said. “You would be amazed at the conversations when everybody disengages from their phones for a couple of hours. All that time on the bus, in the airport, on the plane, at the hotel, the bonding allows us to stay cohesive as the year progresses.”

And the high level of competition gives this team experience under pressure that will help them against league rivals.

The cost for this experience is minimal as most of the high-profile tournaments foot the bill for travel, hotels and some of the food.

“We want everybody to play at the highest level, but not everybody gets there,” Massaroni added. “Knowing that, we want everyone to experience what first-class, college-level athletics is like. The real-life skills, how you behave and how you speak to others are part of this. They get to experience something not everyone gets to be a part of in high school and we remind our guys to enjoy it because you just don't know what the future holds.”

It's probably the most ambitious schedule in program history. Stepinac will be playing seven teams currently in at least one version of a national top 25.

The Crusaders’ home opener is Dec. 18 against Section 1 Class AA finalist Scarsdale.

Expectations for a team that got revenge against Cardinal Hayes in the CHSAA AA Intersectional title game last year are higher than ever, too. Boogie Fland is a five-star Kentucky commit who made the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Boys High School Player of the Year Watch List, but there are seven other players on the roster currently sitting on Division I offers.

“I would say we are keeping the same mentality we had last year, but this year we're the ones with the target on our back, so we're the ones that have to stay consistent and stay at the top of the Catholic league,” Ritvo said.

Based on the buzz, Stepinac is supposed to win 20-plus games again regardless of the schedule, which is why the Crusaders are opening the season ranked among the nation’s best high school teams.

‘It’s like almost every year for the program,” Ritvo added. “It's not much of a distraction, we don't look at the rankings as something we're aiming for. At the end of the day, we always want to come in and win, so it’s more like an added incentive for us.”

The Crusaders are ranked No. 16 in the ESPN High School Basketball Top 25 and No. 12 in the MaxPreps Top 100.

“I think it’s a schedule that provides a platform for the current guys to showcase their talents on a national level,” Massaroni said. “I believe the programs that challenge themselves are the programs that are successful, have winning records in the end and also see the least amount of transfers leaving their programs year in and year out.”

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Stepinac NY basketball non-league schedule, preseason ranking