The new Coug: Cardinal Mooney girls basketball finds its next coach

For all the success Cardinal Mooney High's athletic programs have had in recent seasons, the girls basketball team has struggled.

Actually, “struggled” might be putting it mildly. After compiling a 7-38 record over the last two seasons, under two coaches, the Cougars will now turn to a third to reverse the trend. The difference? This coach believes he has what it takes.

Cardinal Mooney athletics director Bill Donivan announced Rico Antonio as the new coach on March 20. He comes to the Cougars after a year of assistant coaching at Sarasota High, but also holds five years of high school coaching experience in Pittsburgh. Part of the reason he’s confident is personal knowledge of how it feels to be an underdog on the court.

“I’m a 5-foot-8 white guy,” Antonio said, laughing. “I had to know the game to play and be successful. I want to translate that knowledge to my players.”

Antonio played college ball at NCAA Division III Bethany College, then jumped straight into coaching.

For Antonio, the Cardinal Mooney program has stakes beyond “I want to do my job well.” His two daughters, sixth-grader Francesca and third-grader Carmella, play basketball, and will someday play for the Cougars, Antonio said. He dreams about getting to coach them for four of the most important years of their lives, and he wants a foundation to already be built when they arrive.

That foundation is coming. Antonio said he’s excited by the incoming freshman class, including Madison Smithers, the daughter of Riverview High football coach Josh Smithers, and Natalie Mercadante. The duo currently plays for St. Martha Catholic School, where Antonio’s daughters go. He’s familiar with their games, and combined with the Cougars’ returnees, believes the potential for something great — eventually — is there. His most immediate goal is to change the culture, he said. It’s difficult to develop a winning mentality after expecting to lose for so long. Antonio said he’s going to push his players harder than (he believes) they have been in the past. His offense is an up-tempo, get-out-and-run one, so he also promises players and fans some fun if they buy what he’s selling.

“We want to challenge for districts every year,” Antonio said. “Then we want to compete in regionals and reach a state championship. But it’s one step at a time.”

The school has done a phenomenal job of competing in different sports despite its small size. I don’t see why, with the right coach in place, girls basketball has to be any different. The coach has to be patient and stick around a while, though, and Antonio isn’t going anywhere with his daughters on the way. He’s in the profession for the right reasons: He loves watching players develop over the course of a year, he said. When a team works hard all season, then wins a big game with clutch play? Man, there’s nothing better. It’s a priceless feeling, he said.

Victories will come in time. Until they do, Cougar fans can rest knowing the team will at least look different next season.

“When they (opponents) see Cardinal Mooney on the schedule, they’ll know it’s going to be a tough game,” Antonio said. “We’re going to represent the school like we should.”