PEORIA — St. Joseph veteran coach Gene Pingatore rarely avoids missing an opportune time to deliver a teaching lesson to one of his players.
At the Class 3A state basketball tournament, which ended Saturday, March 19, Pingatore gave numerous educational talks to his players on the finer aspects of hoops. The Chargers lost both of their games at state to finish with a 25-10 record.
Pingatore found an ideal moment to talk to senior center Nick Rakocevic outside the entrance door to the postgame press conference following a 66-62 loss to Althoff Catholic (Belleville) in a state semifinal on Friday, March 18. He stressed the importance of gaining weight for college. The 6-foot-11, 200-pound Rakocevic struggled against the Crusaders’ strong frontcourt players, shooting 6-for-15 from the field for 17 points and 12 rebounds.
“I told Nick that when he gains 20 pounds more and becomes stronger that those shots will be going in,” Pingatore said. “He couldn’t muscle through those big, strong guys, and that was the difference.”
When St. Joseph’s press conference following Saturday’s 56-55 overtime loss to Manual (Peoria) in the third-place game ended, Pingatore stayed near the podium for a few extra minutes to talk to junior guard Jason Towers.
“Jason is going to be one of the players that we’re going to count on next season, especially with Nick gone,” Pingatore said.
Teaching moments were a key part of St. Joseph’s return trip to Peoria. For the second straight season, the Chargers will undergo a revamping of their roster next fall. Led by point guard Glynn Watson, a current freshman at Nebraska, the Chargers relied on their experience at the guard positions and the inside play of Rakocevic to win a state championship last March.
This season, after losing Watson, Joffery Brown, Jordan Ash and Jarviss Sutton, the Chargers finished fourth in state despite having only one senior on their roster. Marquise Walker, a freshman, started at point guard alongside sophomore guard Ahmad Muhammad.
“Nick had a great year for us, and he had to adjust to playing with all these young players with no experience,” Pingatore said.
The Chargers will be without a big piece in the middle next season. Known for showing emotion on the court, Rakocevic, the top unsigned senior in the state, was the heart and soul of the Chargers. Rakocevic finished with 43 points, 25 rebounds and nine blocks in the Chargers’ two games at state.
“It will be tough without Nick next season,” Walker said. “I’m going to miss him so much. Nick’s a big brother to me … but we have some talented players coming back and our goal is to come back to state.”
Rakocevic made a point of noting St. Joseph’s numerous highlights this season. The Chargers played three out-of-state teams, defeated rival Fenwick in the playoffs and earned back-to-back state trophies for the first time in Pingatore’s 47 seasons at St. Joseph.
“This senior year, I loved it,” Rakocevic said. “We had a great time this season. We played top teams in the nation. We went to Boston and St. Louis. It’s been so much fun.”
Walker, at 5-10, is one of the key building blocks for the Chargers. He cemented his status as one of the top freshmen in the state with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists against eventual state champion Althoff Catholic in the semifinals.
“(Marquise) will mature and make better decisions,” Pingatore said. “He did what we needed him to do. We needed a guard and he walked in the door, but he has to get better for us to be better next year.”
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @bobnarang
