Colts Neck's Piccola earns 400th career win
Cougars are peaking as conference tourney gets under way
BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer
Whether it's turning Xaverian High School inBrooklyn into aNewYork City powerhouse or building a program from the ground floor at Colts Neck High School, Lou Piccola wins basketball games.

TheCougars'head coach recentlywon his 400th career game - a 48-43 victory over Freehold Township on Jan. 31.

"It means I've worked with a lot of good people," Piccola said of his landmark 400 wins.

Piccola coached Xaverian for 16 years, winning 274 games. In nine years at Colts Neck, the Cougars have won 127 games (he notched his 401st win on Feb. 4 againstMiddletown South, 50-49).

FromBrooklyn toColtsNeck, Piccola has adjusted to the talent of the players he has coached. However, his teams have all maintained the same principles: they will play hard and together, be unselfish on the offensive end, and get after you on defense.

Whether it's played in the inner city or suburbia, basketball requires the same fundamentals to win and all of Piccola's teams are well schooled in the fundamentals.

Among his stars at Xaverian was Chris Mullin, the future St. John's University All- American and College Player of the Year, NBA all-star and member of the 1992 Olympic DreamTeam.

There may be no one of Mullin's stature at Colts Neck, but the Cougars have had their share of stars (1,000-point scorersMike DeCorso and Brian Baker, for example) and Piccola hasmade Colts Neck a winning program. The Cougars have won a Shore Conference division title and played in the Central Jersey state sectional championship game. They won the CSA Tournament in Florida in December.

Piccola never doubted that Colts Neck could be fertile ground for a successful program.

"There were similarities to Brooklyn," he pointed out. "There was enthusiasmand interest in the town for the team."

Piccola is in nomood to reflect on his 400 career wins and retirement is the farthest thing fromhismind.

With five straight wins, the Cougars (15- 6) are playing their best ball of the year and a team that no one will want to play. The Cougars' victories over Freehold Township, Middletown South and Christian Brothers Academy (earlier in the season) are proof they can play and beat anyone in the Shore Conference. The Cougars are looking to do more than just make a token appearance in the postseason. In what is a wide open year for the conference tournament, the Cougars have to be considered serious contenders.