Senior-led Vikings eye playoffs

Ralph Rossetti enters his 40th season as Seaford’s boys basketball head coach looking to build off a successful shortened 2021 campaign.

While Seaford graduated some key pieces from last year’s abridged season due to the pandemic that finished at 4-4, Rossetti hopes an experienced senior group can lead the Vikings to a playoff spot. 

“We have 17 kids on the team with nine of them seniors and we feel we can be competitive,” said Rossetti, who has won 372 games in his four decades on the Seaford bench and captured a Nassau County title in 1998. “It’s a very cohesive team.”

Seniors Evan Block, Jack Murphy and Chris Navin provide veteran leadership as the team’s core returning players. Block, a reigning All-Conference selection, scored 16 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in Seaford’s 60-57 win at Wantagh last season. 

A number of other Seaford players are in line to contribute valuable minutes, including senior guards Cameron Connelly, Tom Koford and John Raucci. Sophomore center Devin O’Donnell and junior forward Nicholas Appollo could be key pieces to the Vikings’ inside game. 

Rossetti said he hopes to have a deep bench this season, but won’t truly know what his rotation will look like until the non-league schedule commences in December. 

“It’s hard to tell when you are playing against yourself,” Rossetti said. “You could look good in practice against your second team and then when you play another team that is more talented it’s a little bit different.” 

Seaford will compete in a challenging conference that includes Wantagh, Clarke, Island Trees, North Shore and Lawrence. The Vikings can earn a spot in the Nassau County Class A playoffs with a .500 or better league record. 

“I think we are going to be competitive in our conference,” Rossetti said.