SVC BOYS BASKETBALL Three, three-year lettermen at core of Mooney's team

Five seniors and junior Rich Solak are six returnees for the Cards.
By JOHN BASSETTI
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
Remove the stuffing from a turkey and what's left?
The meat.
Essentially, that's what the big-bird basketball team called the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals have since four-year letterman Curtis Ingram graduated.
The return of three, three-year lettermen Dave Zidian, Jeff Hehr and Ron Stoops will keep Mooney cooking, but it needs someone to dish it out.
Not only did the Cardinals lose 21 points per game from the lineup, but some intangibles from the point guard, too.
More to it
"It's what he did with the ball that the other three guys didn't have to worry about," coach Nick Bellino said of Mooney's delivery system last season with Ingram.
Before he bid the Cards farewell, the two-time All-Steel Valley Conference player helped direct Mooney to a second-place finish in the SVC at 5-3 and 16-5 overall. The Cardinals handed champion Warren Harding its only loss in eight conference games.
The 6-foot-3 Ingram, a third-team All-Ohioan, received a scholarship to Wofford College in South Carolina.
What's left on the table now are three players who are the mouth in need of a spoon.
Just fed them the ball and the rest should fall in place.
Finding that utensil for Zidian, a 6-51/2 forward; Stoops, a 6-31/2 forward and Hehr, a 6-1 guard, is critical, Bellino said.
Hehr averaged 11.0 points, Zidian 10.0 and Stoops 9.0, but the coach isn't worried about the points.
"Our priority is dealing with the point guard's responsibility. That's the key ingredient. Filling the role left by our starting point the last four years will determine how competitive we'll be."
Zidian was the SVC's second-best rebounder with seven a game. Fitch's Greg Mayes was No. 1.
Stoops and Zidian made second-team All-SVC.
The rest
Completing the team's five-senior contingent are Patsy Daltorio (6-1 guard) and Jonathan Freaney (6-2 guard/forward).
Juniors Dom Daltorio (5-9 guard), Kiki Willis (5-11 guard) and Rich Solak (6-41/2 forward) and sophomore Desmond Marrow (6-2 guard) round out the top nine.
Marrow, a nephew of former Mooney football/basketball standout Vince Marrow, has plenty of potential.
The five seniors and Solak are six of the top eight returnees.
The Cardinals needn't wait for Mr. Right anymore because Freaney has emerged as Ingram's replacement.
His backup will be Valentino Singer, a 5-9 senior. Patsy Daltorio is the off guard.
Bellino, who begins his 13th year with a 150-127 career record, is relying on Zidian, Stoops and Hehr.
"It's rare to have three three-year lettermen," Bellino said.
The coach may have had three two-year lettermen in the past, but, to the best of his recollection, Rob Venrose and Asim Pleas were two three-year lettermen on the 1994-95 team.
Aside from the talent, other assets of the team are intelligence, experience and chemistry.
"They've got game sense," Bellino said of Zidian, Stoops and Hehr. "They've played together since the fifth-grade at St. Charles. "That could overcome a lot of things."
Strength, weakness
Mooney won't have a multi-purpose player like Ingram, with a steady output of points, rebounds, steals and assists, but it will have experience and a new point guard.
The only thing lacking, for now, is consistency at that position.
Slow-cooking or microwave, Bellino hopes that the team's new stuffing is the right stuff.
bassetti@vindy.com