The Herald, Sharon, PA Published Wednesday, March 4, 1998
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    Kennedy's Jamie CiCuto scrambles for a loose ball in the Disrtict 10 Class A championship game against Conneaut Lake. (Clem Marion/Herald)

    ATHLETE OF THE MONTH: Jamie Cicuto, Kennedy Christian
    Lady Eagles' pivot ringing up big numbers

    By Ed Farrell
    Herald Sports Writer

    There was a time when Jamie Cicuto wanted to sit at the back of her mathematics classroom at Kennedy Christian High School, so Father Rick Tomasone, who doubles as teacher and basketball coach, struck a deal with her.

    ``I make all my basketball players sit up front, and when she was a freshman and sophomore, she kept begging me to sit in the back,'' Father Tomasone recalled.

    ``So I told her, `If you go through an entire practice or game and make all of your layups, you can move to the back.'

    ``But,'' Father Tomasone said with a chuckle, ``she's still up front, and I don't think she's ever gotten used to the fact she's never been able to move to the back of the classroom.''

    The irony is that Cicuto _ The Herald Sports Extra's Female Player of the Month for February _ has moved to the head of the class in Kennedy's storiedcage program, currently standing in third place in the school's career scoring list _ and she's only a junior.

    ``If she has a really good summer working on her skills, she'll write her own ticket,'' Father Tomasone said, noting college coaches _ from afar, owing to NCAA regulations _ already are coveting her talents.

    For the second straight season, her team-leading scoring and rebounding has keyed Kennedy to a District 10 Class A championship, and she and the Lady Golden Eagles are hoping last year's trip to the Western Regional finals can be taken a step or two further.

    A product of St. Joseph's fine parochial program, Cicuto began gaining playoff experience as an eighth-grader so, as Father Tomasone noted, ``Post-season playoff experience is not a new thing to her.''

    Cicuto entered last weekend's D-10 title tilt against Conneaut Lake averaging 15.6 points _ on 59.2 percent marksmanship _ and 12.4 rebounds, along with 2.6 steals per game.

    The 5-foot-11 stalwart then went out and posted a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double, as Kennedy (23-3) rallied from a 6-point halftime deficit to claim a 43-33 triumph.

    Some coaches can see a player's potential at a relatively young age, but Father Tomasone and Cicuto go back further than most.

    ``She started coming to my camps when she was in the first grade,'' Father Tomasone, now in his 13th season at Kennedy's helm, recalled. ``I can remember the first time she came to camp, I was a little hesitant to let her play with some of the older kids and, sure enough, she ended up at the bottom of a pile. But she came up and was ready to go right back at it,'' he said, laughing at the recollection.

    ``I have watched her grow up, coming through the basketball program,'' Father Tomasone noted, ``and for a coach, that's a really neat thing to see, since I have no children of my own. To be able to watch kids that long grow up is a nice thing to have happen.''

    And Father Tomasone takes a certain parental pride in his protege.

    ``First of all, she's a very good student, a straight-A student,'' he emphasized. ``And she's a very caring individual. She really has a lot of feel for the other kids on the team, plus her other classmates. She gets along real well with everybody. It's really hard to find somebody who doesn't like her.

    ``She's a real pleasure to be around. Personally, I do enjoy being around her,'' Father Tomasone related. ``I like to think we have a very good rapport, but that's my side of it,'' he said laughing, while adding, ``But she's a kid you can tease; she has a fine sense of humor.

    ``And as a basketball player,'' Father Tomasone continued, ``she's a very naturally-talented individual. She runs well, jumps well, and has got very good hands.

    ``But she has not tapped that part of her potential yet,'' Father Tomasone said in reference to Cicuto's work-ethic. ``I believe, if she develops a 15-foot game _ because she has a tremendous first step, we just don't see her use it (perimeter) _ but when she catches the ball on the wing, she can take the ball to the hoop very effectively.

    ``I don't think she works as hard as she can,'' Father Tomasone admitted. ``She has so many attributes and talents, she's never been forced to work as hard as somebody else who's less talented, because its always come rather easily to her.''

    Freak injuries the past two summers _ a broken thumb and torn ankle ligaments _ have limited Cicuto's off-season development.

    She was forced to miss the club's participation in the University of North Carolina team camp last summer, but two years ago, Father Tomasone said Cicuto ``more than held her own,'' against some of the country's best talent, including the likes of perennial USA Today Top 25 staple Pickerington, Ohio.

    Currently, Cicuto stands in third place in all-time Kennedy career scoring annals with 1,055 points, trailing only Andrea Fridley (1,454) and Monica Grexa (1,129).

    ``If she stays healthy, she'll probably set the scoring record at Kennedy,'' Father Tomasone acknowledged, noting. ``I don't have many freshmen that letter, and she is one that did letter. And has played a very integral role in our team all three years that she's played for me.

    ``Obviously, she's one of most gifted athletes that I've coached in the Kennedy program,'' Father Tomasone concluded.

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