WASHINGTON, D.C. – One of the biggest reasons that Bob Daggett took a coaching position at Curtis, he told The Post, was because he could keep as many former St. Peter’s junior varsity players together as possible at the St. George school.
That fact was not lost on Jessica Rosalbo, who will be a junior guard next year for the Warriors after playing for the Eagles JV last season.
“It’s really appreciated,” she said Sunday after a game at the USJN/Nike National Championships at American University. “He’s a great guy and I’m glad he did that for us. It’s kind of like family.”
Rosalbo, her sister Geena, Gabby Daddario and Kristen Olsen, who came up to the St. Peter’s varsity late last season, are all future Curtis players competing this summer for the New York City Heat Flaherty travel team. Now that Daggett’s presence on the bench for the Warriors is official, they are enthusiastic about the possibility of starting fresh at a new school though sad that things ended the way they did at St. Peter’s, which closed its doors for good in June, citing financial difficulties.
“I’m excited, but nervous,” said Olsen, who became a contributor right away on varsity in the winter. “It’s a big school compared to St. Peter’s. … I was happy that he chose it. I knew I would end up going there. Following him would be a better thing for me.”
The quartet, which will also add two other former St. Peter’s JV players at Curtis, are gaining valuable experience playing together with the Heat. Rosalbo, who was initially at St. John Villa joined her younger sister Geena, a rising sophomore, at St. Peter’s this past season. The only former St. Peter’s player on the Heat that isn’t going with Daggett to Curtis is Victoria Crea, who will enroll at Moore Catholic because she didn’t want to go to a public school.
“They’re going to win their league,” Heat coach Huey Flaherty said of Curtis. “You watch. They’re all good players.”
Olsen and Rosalbo are both 5-foot-5 guards. Olsen is more of a shooter and Rosalbo is a slasher. Geena Rosalbo, who is 5-foot-2, can do a little of both and Daddario, at 5-foot-8, has more size than the other three. Their chemistry has only grown this summer.
“It helps us a lot,” Jessica Rosalbo said. “We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We play well as a team together.”
