Bloomfield Native Lou Paradiso Named New Head Boys Basketball Coach at Passaic Valley High School – TAPinto.net
For over a decade, the Passaic Valley boys’ basketball program was one of the most consistent in Passaic County. It was led by coach Rob Carcich, from 2004-2016, during which time the Hornets had 11 straight winning seasons. The team won a state sectional championship while playing in two other sectional finals.
Carcich stepped down after the 2015-2016 season. He was succeeded by assistant coach Jim Holsworth, for the next four seasons, before Holsworth resigned following the 2019-2020 campaign.
Now, there’s a new coach in Lou Paradiso, and he’ll take over an improving team, in a somewhat different kind of season.
In a normal year, practice for high school basketball in NJ would have started in late November, or early December, scrimmages would follow, and the regular season usually commenced by Dec. 20.
This year, practice won’t begin until Jan. 11, there will be one scrimmage and the regular season starts in late January. There will be no more than 15 games, with most of the schedule a conference set up.
Passaic Valley opens the regular season, at home, on Jan. 26 against West Milford, starting at 4 p.m.
Paradiso announced his coaching staff will feature Randy Phal, Jesse Paradiso, Andrew Tomlin and Alex Iachetta.
Among the returning varsity players are Elliot Whitney, Brian Whitney, Angel Rodriquez, Zander Timothy and Nehemiah Reddin.
The new coach likes what he’s seen from his team during the off-season.
“The team has been working hard in the off-season, with good turnouts at the conditioning sessions. Juniors and sophomores make up most of the roster, and we have expectations that a few additional seniors will be contributors to the team.
“The players are excited and looking forward to our starting date of January 11, where we are expecting intense tryouts for the players to compete for a spot on the team.”
Intensity in basketball is something that Paradiso enjoyed. He played on a legendary high school team a generation ago.
Paradiso played at Bloomfield High, for legendary coach George Cella, and also played football for the Bengals.
Among his basketball teammates was Kelly Tripucka, who went on to star at the University of Notre Dame and played 10 years in the NBA, for three different franchises. Those Bloomfield teams, especially in 1976 and 1977, were outstanding.
The 1976-77 Bengals won a state sectional title before falling to North Bergen in a classic Group 4 semifinal. Bloomfield also appeared in back-to-back Essex County Tournament championship games. During Paradiso’s three years on the varsity, the Bengals were 65-15.
“They were great times,” said Paradiso. “I’ve always loved this game.”
Paradiso has over 30 years of coaching experience. He was an AAU head basketball coach, and also an assistant at Morris Catholic High. In addition, he was an assistant football coach for Chet Parlavecchio during his two tenures at PV, as well as at Bloomfield and Irvington High Schools.
After high school, Paradiso played collegiate football at Carson-Newman University, in Jefferson City, Tennessee, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Education. He would later earn a Master’s and Doctorate in Theology from Andersonville Theological Seminary. Paradiso has also served as an adjunct professor and guest professor at seminaries in Mexico, Peru and Korea.
He has served as a member of the Board of Directors at Logos Academy, in York, Pa., and is Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Bloomfield-based Brookdale Christian School.
Lou and his wife, Sonya, have six children and three grandchildren.