Herricks High School seniors Alison Ricchiuti and Andrew Fellus weren’t thinking about scoring 1,000 points when they began their varsity basketball careers.
Ricchiuti started playing CYO basketball as a third grader and joined the Herricks team as a freshman for the joy of playing. Fellus started playing basketball at age five and broke into the starting line-up on the high school team midway through his freshman year.
Fellus joined Ricchiuti in the 1,000-point club by scoring 19 points and leading the Highlanders over Bellemore Kennedy on Jan. 11. Fellus also set the school record by scoring 49 points in leading his team back from a 21-point deficit against Calhoun in January. Ricchiuti had reached the 1,000 point mark in a game against Great Neck in December.
“When I first started playing, I wasn’t sure what I was going to get out of it. I just played for the fun of it,” Ricchiuti said.
But by the end of their sophomore years, both basketball players had assumed significant roles on their teams as starting point guards, and they realized they had a chance to hit the 1,000-point mark.
“I never really knew what my points were. I had a feeling I would get it,” Ricchiuti said.
“After my sophomore year, I thought I’d be able to get it,” Fellus said.
He recalled his coach, Tom Kinsella, telling him at the start of that year, “This is your team.”
He had become the successor to his friend and teammate, Shaan Rahi and would eventually top Rahi’s Herricks scoring record of 976 points.
Ricchiuti has been a three-letter athlete through high school, playing soccer and lacrosse in addition to basketball. But she said basketball became her favorite sport in seventh and eighth grade, and in freshman year she realized she was maturing as a basketball player.
“Once I was in ninth grade, after the first two seasons, I realized I was getting better,” she said.
Each summer, Ricchiuti said she concentrated on improving particular court skills, dribbling one season, shooting the next. And in the summer before her senior year at Herricks, she focused on strength and conditioning “so I can be a little more physical,” she said.
This season, the 5-foot 8-inch point guard assumed a second role on the squad, posting up against the other team’s opposing center since Herricks had lost its starter at that spot to graduation. But her versatility on the court shines through, with an ability to pour in points from the outside or penetrate with strong inside moves to the basket.
She averaged 22.5 points per game on her way to passing the 1,000-point plateau this season, but she demonstrates court savvy as she directs her teammates on the floor and dishes off to them effectively.
“I always tried to pass it,” said Ricchiuti, who started playing point guard in eighth grade. “Scoring was never my main focus.”
She said she didn’t even realize she had scored her 1,000th point the night it happened against Great Neck South on Dec. 18. She doesn’t even remember how many points she scored that night – but she remembers the win. Achieving success with her teammates, not scoring points, has been her goal on the court.
“I love how it’s competitive. You get a rush when you’re coming down the court in a big game. It’s great to be part of a team,” Ricchiuti said.
Ricchiuti is now one of three Herricks basketball players to break 1,000 points. The first was Jackie Fertita, who finished her career with 1,095 points. This season she also shattered the single-season scoring mark, topping the previous record of 377 points by netting 392.
She’s been all-county twice and all-conference once. This season she’s hoping to lead the Lady Highlanders further than they’ve been in playoffs before, at least as far as the conference semifinals.
Herricks girls basketball coach Glenn Lavey praised her work ethic and the example she has set for her teammates.
“Besides just being a really good player, she’s a great practice player. She never complains. Her work ethic will be her legacy, not all the points she scores every day,” Lavey said.
Ricchiuti passed on scholarship offers from two Division II schools, St. Thomas Aquinas and the New York Institute of Technology. Next season, she expects to be playing NCAA Division III basketball upstate at either Ithaca College or Hartwicke College, where she’ll work on a degree in occupational therapy or physical therapy.
Fellus, who also stands 5-foot 8-inches, expects to be taking his 26-point scoring average to Colgate University, Adelphi University, the University of New Haven or Dominican College.
“I’m looking to be at a place where I’ll get minutes, but also a good education,” said Fellus, who plans to major in business administration and eventually start his own business.
Fellus, too, has worked on developing specific court skills, primarily ball handling and playing at a fast pace, to master his position as a point guard. He enjoys the challenge of constantly improving his game, and he enjoys the feeling he gets being on the court.
“Basketball is a way to express myself. When I get on the floor, it’s just the ball, the court and the basket. Everything else disappears,” he said.
He also focuses on his teammates, as he’s found it increasingly necessary to do this year, as teams have typically double-teamed him to stifle his scoring.
“A lot of teams focus on stopping me,” said Fellus, who likes dishing off to his teammates to “reward” them for playing good defense.
But Kinsella recalled Fellus scoring only 15 points against Mepham, but said his passing was the difference in that game.
“He gave the ball up and that’s why we won. Over the years, he’s developed as a guy who can handle the ball in addition to becoming a shooter,” said Kinsella, who called Fellus the best player he’s had in his 20 years of coaching.
Fellus was all-county last year and ranked as one of the top 100 basketball players in the state.
While Ricchuiti and Fellus have matured as basketball players, they both feel playing basketball has given them more than good court sense.
“You learn you have to be competitive and be a team player,” said Ricchuiti, who said she’s also learned leadership skills and respect for her coach and teammates.
Before a game against Long Beach that would determine whether Herricks made the playoffs Tuesday night, Fellus said, “I feel like basketball makes me a hardworking person,” adding, “Going off the court, I can be leader.”
