Legendary Plainfield basketball coach Rico Parenti remembered: 'It was about being tough'
Americo “Rico” Parenti devoted decades of life to his hometown, to kids he coached and taught at Plainfield High School, many of whom were children and grandchildren of families he knew from growing up in the city’s east end.
Plainfield lost Parenti, a bonafide Cardinals legend, Tuesday when he passed away at age 90.
He was a 1952 Plainfield High graduate, who played basketball at Plainfield and in college at Seattle University where he was a teammate of NBA Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor.
Parenti returned to Plainfield High in 1973 and became the school’s second winningest boys basketball coach with a 290-113 record that included two state titles, three sectional and 10 Watchung Conference crowns. The Plainfield gymnasium was renamed in his honor in 2007.
He was Plainfield’s coach between 1973 and 1985, then went to Immaculata as an assistant when his sons Angelo and Michael played for the Spartans. He returned to coach at Plainfield from 1993 to 1997.
Plainfield was 9-29 the previous two seasons before Parenti was hired the first time after coming over as coach from Union Catholic. He taught physical education at the high school.
His players recall Parenti stressing defense above everything else. He also made sure the Cardinals’ out-of-conference schedule was laced with strong opponents, most notably city schools.
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“He was constantly challenging us not to play ‘like a bunch of suburban ball clubs,’ that was his way of making sure that we would always be aggressive on the court,” said Lance Williams, a senior in 1975, who went on to play for Fairleigh Dickinson University.
In Parenti’s first season at Plainfield, the Cardinals finished 12-12. His second season the Cardinals won 25 straight games, captured the Union County Tournament crown and finished 25-1. The next season the Cardinals made the Group 4 state final for the first time and beat Neptune for the title.
Seven years later the Cardinals did it again, beating Trenton 80-66 in the Group 4 final after ousting the likes of Montclair, Irvington and Paterson Eastside to advance.
“Coach Parenti instilled a toughness in his players that became a hallmark of his teams,” said Williams, who played for longtime Fairleigh Dickinson coach Al LoBalbo. LoBalbo molded FDU into a national leader in defense and as an assistant coach taught defense for Bobby Knight at Army and Lou Carnesecca at St. John's.
Williams recalls LoBalbo picking Parenti’s brain for tips.
“To coach (Parenti) it was about being tough and not backing down and playing hard no matter who the opponent might be,” said Williams, who’s had a distinguished career in law enforcement.
Though he spent countless hours with his coaching staff and players, there was one team that was his No. 1 priority – his wife of 52 years, Nancy, and sons, Angelo and Michael, and grandchildren. Mrs. Parenti passed away in 2017.
“He had enough success that he could have gone anywhere, but he stayed coaching in his hometown at his alma mater and I think that just shows you that how much he believed in relationships,” said Martin Cox, president of the Plainfield High School Alumni Association.
Parenti’s viewing will be held Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Rossi Funeral Home in Scotch Plains. Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home followed by interment at St. Gertrude Cemetery in Colonia.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Plainfield High School basketball coach Rico Parenti remembered
