Date: Fri 22-Mar-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KIMH

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

McKenzie-Calandruccio

Full Text:

TJ McKenzie and JP Calandruccio at St. Joe's

B Y T.W YATT

In the winter of 1991, Hank Gellert and Steve Wasko began a sixth-grade travel

basketball team in Newtown for young players to gain the experience of playing

against some of the state's best competition at an early age. The team played

together for three years and was successful from the start. This group, it was

certain, would have a chance to be of state champion caliber by the time it

reached the high school level. . .

The date was Saturday, March 16, 1996. The scene was the Central Connecticut

State University gymnasium at Kayser Hall. Newtown's TJ McKenzie and JP

Calandruccio had just taken their turns climbing a six-foot step ladder to cut

down a piece of the nylon basketball net. The two, immersed in the sheer

elation that lies at the end of the rainbow, then joined the rest of their

teammates in celebration.

But it wasn't Newtown High School doing the celebrating. It was St Joseph's of

Trumbull. The two high school juniors, members of that Newtown travelling

all-star team, opted, three years ago, for private school and the perennial

high school basketball dynasty that is St Joe's.

" They're two of the nicest kids we've ever had, " said St Joe's coach Vito

Montelli who's 1996 state championship was his eighth in 13 appearances in the

title game. " They have great attitudes, they work hard, and they listen and

do anything the coaches tell them to do. They've both improved quite a bit

since they've been here, and have been great assets to our program. "

McKenzie, who was over six-and-a-half feet tall and still growing heading into

his freshman year, received the most fanfare when he chose to attend St Joe's

in the fall of 1993.

TJ's opportunity to cut down the state championship nets, Saturday, was part

of the dividend he sought when making that decision.

" That was a lot of it, " he admitted, " and I just wanted to try a new

school. It was tough to lose my friends and go meet all new people, but it

worked out better for me. Jon Paul [Calandruccio] was the only guy I knew in

the whole school when we started, but we've made a lot of new friends

together. "

Currently at 6-10 and 225 pounds, TJ has blossomed into one of the biggest,

and best, centers in the state.

This season, despite missing six games with a foot injury, McKenzie averaged

15 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocked shots per game. During a game against

Wilton earlier this winter, TJ broke a school record when be swatted eleven

shots. In the first half of the state title game against Torrington, who had

incidentally knocked off Newtown in the state quarterfinals, McKenzie led his

team with seven first-half points.

During the third quarter, with St Joe's trailing 32-27, TJ put together a

sequence that ignited an overwhelming Cadets' charge.

TJ assisted a hoop to cut his team's deficit to 32-29 and then blocked a shot

on the other end that led to a game-tying three pointer.

Ahead 38-36 at the end of three quarters, McKenzie pulled another big rebound

which led to a St Joe's three-point play. With his team's lead at five points,

McKenzie then electrified the crowd when he ripped an offensive rebound and

then rocked the boards with a two-handed dunk in traffic.

At 43-36, the rout was on. St Joseph's went on to win, 67-47.

TJ finished his workman-like day with eleven points, ten rebounds, four

assists, three steals, and three blocked shots. It was just another day at the

office. " TJ has made great strides in his time with us, " coach Montelli

said. " The sad thing is that he's missed so much time. He would have made

even greater strides if he hadn't been injured last year and then again this

year. If you put all that together, and see the progress he's made, you can

only surmise that he'd be that much further ahead if he hadn't been hurt.

There's no question; by next year, TJ McKenzie could become one of the highest

recruited kids we've ever had. "

TJ's short career at St Joe's has been plagued by injuries. After a full

freshman year in which he played the freshman game and the jayvee game each

night and then suited up for varsity, he broke his ankle causing him to miss

the majority of his sophomore year before injuring his foot and missing

several games as a junior this season.

" It's really tough when you put in all that work and then get injured, " said

McKenzie, who plays basketball with an AAU program in the spring and then

plays summer leagues. " All you can do is work to stay in shape. The first few

games back, this year, it was still a little bit painful, but after about

three weeks I didn't have any more troubles with it. I'm healthy again. "

McKenzie was certainly healthy enough to dominate Torrington's talented center

Justin Leftkowski, Saturday, as he helped St Joe's to one of it's more

gratifying state championship titles.

" We really didn't expect this at all, " said coach Montelli, who's Cadets

were seeded sixth in the tournament after a 15-5 regular season. " We lost six

out of our first seven players from last year including all five starters.

Looking at what we had at the start of the season we were hoping to break 500

and make the state tournament. "

And while McKenzie called the victory one of the most special basketball

moments of his lifetime, he admitted that it would have been that much more

special if his team had the chance to face his old friends from Newtown in

that contest.

" I was really wondering if we'd meet up with them, " he said. " I was

following along and hoping. That would have been a good game. "

JP Calandruccio

While he wasn't touted as highly as his friend, TJ, Jon Paul Calandruccio, who

had starred alongside of McKenzie in eighth grade with the Newtown Middle

School team, ended up in that same state-championship lineup.

" I didn't come to St Joe's to play basketball, " Calandruccio said. "

Everybody thinks that, but that wasn't it at all. I wanted to go to a Catholic

School and saw that TJ was going to St Joe's and I thought that it would be a

good idea. "

But it didn't take the 6-foot-3 shooting guard long to catch the fever.

Calandruccio played with TJ on the freshman team before being called up to

jayvee at the season's halfway point. As a sophomore he stared the year at the

jayvee level and then earned another promotion.

This year, as a junior, JP earned himself a starting position in December and

started 13 of his team's 20 games, averaging nearly seven points per contest

before being benched in favor of a senior.

" The only reason we went with Max Gomez at the end of the year was because he

was a senior and had been giving us great minutes off the bench, " explained

coach Montelli. " Jon Paul accepted his role as the sixth man and did an

outstanding job for us. He's going to be a fine player here. I think Jon's

best attribute is shooting the ball. He's an excellent shooter and will get a

chance to show that a bit more next year. "

In the state final, Calandruccio played nearly the entire first quarter and

scored his team's first bucket. He finished the game with three points and two

steals. Also like his classmate, McKenzie, Calandruccio has spent his off

seasons playing AAU and summer league basketball in preparation for the high

school season.

As seniors next winter, the sky's the limit for St Joe's Newtown connection.

" We've got a number of juniors on our team, " coach Montelli said. " If they

dedicate themselves I think they'll both be very important to us next year. "

Over at Newtown High School they're still talking about what it would be like

to see TJ McKenzie and JP Calandruccio out there on the same floor with

Patrick Reilly, Andrew Gellert, Sean Pond, and Company.

It nearly happened this winter.

Maybe next.

CIAC Class L Championships

ST JOSEPH (67) - TJ McKenzie 4 3-4 11, JP Calandruccio 1 1-2 3, Tim Owens 6

4-5 16, Chris Schrade 2 4-4 8, Jimmy Driggs 5 6-6 19, Max Gomez 1 3-5 5,

Vernon Thompson 1 0-0 2, Ken Nappi 0 0-0 0, Jason Manning 0 1-2 1, John Hayes

0 2-2 2, Rob Benedetto 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 24-30 67.

TORRINGTON (47) - Adriano Calabrese 4 0-1 8, Justin Lefkowski 5 1-2 11,

Clayton Demine 1 0-0 2, Marcus Werner 6 0-0 13, Jason Conrad 2 0-0 4, Mike

Crausz 2 0-0 5, Jimmy Erace 0 1-2 1, Joel Chamberlin 1 0-0 3. Totals 21 2-4

47.

St Joseph's 12 13 13 29 - 67

Torrington 17 9 10 11 - 47

Halftime: Torrington 26, St Joe's 25.

Three-point field goals: Driggs (SJ) 3, Chamberlin (T), Werner (T), Crausz

(T).