Mancino returning as Kennedy Catholic boys basketball coach

Sep. 20—Kennedy Catholic High School announced Monday that Rick Mancino is returning as boys basketball coach.

Mancino, former KC basketball standout that led the Golden Eagles to four straight PIAA titles as a coach, stepped down following the 2020 season.

The following press release was sent out by KCHS on Monday:

"Peter Iacino, Kennedy Catholic CEO, announced today that Rick Mancino, the Kennedy Boys basketball coach from the 2009-10 through 2019-2020 seasons will return to the bench at Kennedy.

"A 1986 graduate of Kennedy, and a member of that year's state championship team, Mancino's teams won four PIAA state championships during his previous time as a coach.

"I'm happy to have Rick back as coach," stated Iacino. "I hired him in 2009 and during his years here he provided stability to the program. I'm looking forward to that stability again," he added.

"It kind of came quick," said Mancino. "I wasn't planning on it. If you had asked me two months ago about it, I would've said 'what are you talking about?' But it's exciting. My phone has been ringing off the hook. I've gotten a lot of phone calls from ex-players and other people. It really feels good."

"I haven't met any players yet. That will probably happen in a couple of days. I'm excited. Hopefully we can continue like when I was there previously. I hope the kids are excited too. Kennedy is a great place to coach. It really is."

The Golden Eagles went 218-66 (76.7 percent) during Mancino's 11-year tenure. He guided his Golden Eagles' teams to four consecutive commonwealth crowns — the last, 2019, in Class 6A.

Mancino played on the first (1985-86) of the program's 10 state championship teams, scoring a game-high 25 points in a 55-44 win over Bristol at old Hersheypark Arena. Overall, KC has 14 PIAA championship game appearances.

In the 2020 season, the injury-riddled Golden Eagles went 13-10 and fell to Erie in the District 10 championship game. That snapped a 5-year reign (including four straight in Class 1A).

KC captured its 27 District 10 championships in 2019. This past winter, the Golden Eagles won their 29th D-10 crown.

Ken Madison coached Kennedy last season. The Golden Eagles finished the season 24-5 and reached the PIAA western finals for the 24th time. KC lost in the state semifinals to powerhouse Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, which went on to win the state title for its 68th straight win.

"There's a lot of tradition at Kennedy," said Mancino. "When I left, I think our school had the most state championships in the state. I'm not sure if that still holds, maybe Imhotep or Neumann-Gorretti passed us, but we are still near the top.

"I have a lot of great memories and hopefully we can build some more. We're going to have run and keep it rolling.

"I have people asking me about the four state championships — those aren't going anywhere. This will be a whole new group of kids and I'm hoping over the next several years they will make their own legacy.

"I've always said about Kennedy Catholic that it's a family affair. Everybody supports everybody. The runs the coaches had before me were unbelievable and a lot of great players have went through Kennedy. And the Kennedy community is very supportive.

"I think a little bit of the talk over the summer was negative, but I think people realize that Kennedy is doing very well right now. Hopefully we add more excitement. It's going to be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it."

During Mancino's previous coaching tenure at KC, he coached Sagaba Konate, who is playing basketball in Germany, and Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe, who captured the prestigious Naismith and Wooden awards last season and was named The Associated Press Player of the Year.