The Girls Varsity Basketball team has had years of successful seasons. On top of that, the team has now produced alumni who have gone on to play college basketball. This year, college freshman and recent THHS graduate Ioanna Giannopoulou (known as Io) began playing for the Stony Brook University Women’s Basketball team as a guard. According to Coach Lauren Caiaccia, Io is the first player she’s coached on the THHS Girls Basketball team to go on to be a Division 1 athlete in college. Along with Io, The Classic also spoke to Kimberly Lau, who graduated from THHS in 2019, about her college basketball career and what it takes to play at the NCAA level.
This year, Kimberly played her final season for the women’s basketball team at Hunter College. Kimberly is currently in graduate school at Hunter. She began playing with the team during the 2019-2020 season and was able to play this year as a graduate student because she could not play during one year of her undergraduate career due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kimberly said, “This year [we] finished 13-1 in the regular conference season, being top seed in the conference playoffs.” They competed in (but ultimately lost) the CUNYAC (City University of New York Athletic Conference) championship.
Kimberly played as point guard for the Townsend Harris Girls’ Varsity Basketball team. She said she was inspired to play by her older sister in middle school, and though she struggled in the beginning as she was shorter than others, she never gave up.
“High school was when my intelligence of the game grew under Ms. Caiaccia’s coaching, because I figured if I wasn’t going to be the biggest then I was going to work towards being the smartest,” she said.
Upon joining collegiate division three basketball, Kimberly said, “It was a mix of emotions. The year before I joined the Hunter College women’s basketball team, I watched them win the CUNYAC championship. So I was definitely nervous as a freshman to be on the court with such high level athletes. However, I was also very excited to have the opportunity to continue playing a sport that I love and learning from my teammates and coaches.”
After playing on the team for many seasons, she said she realized how crucial her time on her high school team led her to become the basketball player she is now.
She said, “Collegiate level basketball requires a lot more out of you. Being on Townsend Harris girl’s basketball as well as other sports really prepared me in terms of physical endurance. But I think one of the biggest takeaways from high school basketball, specifically at Townsend Harris, is that it helped me to manage my time well.”
As for Io’s team, Stony Brook has had intense games in the NCAA with many ending in overtime. The team made it to the first rounds of the playoffs this season.
Io also said that high school shaped her into the player and person she is today.
“The time and commitment I put into basketball during my high school years is why I get the opportunity to play at the college level,” she said. “As a collegiate basketball player, you are always being watched. People know who you are and you always have to be on your best behavior.”
Io started playing in third grade. As she became more passionate about the sport, she began playing within her Greek community, participating in many camps, and joining AAU (Amatear Athletic Union) teams. She said, “As I thought [playing basketball] would end at my high school career [until] I was offered a tryout from the Stony Brook University Women’s Basketball coaching staff.”
Current members of the THHS team remember Io as a player and captain. Senior and captain Amala Madukbo said, “Io has influenced me with her unmatched guidance and skills. Her positive energy radiated throughout the room and could pick me up whenever I was feeling down. She believed in my potential and believed that I could always do good.”
Even people outside of the basketball team recognized Io’s potential. History teacher Francis McCaughey said, “I attended a girls’ basketball game and there was one player who really stood out. She was all over the court offensively and defensively and I kept hearing the same name over and over again: Io.”
Coach Caiaccia, a coach to both Io and Kimberly, said, “I was truly blessed for both of them […] Anyone who has watched us play knows that our point guard is our thermometer [as goes the point, so goes the game].”
Aside from their basketball career, Kimberly is currently in Hunter College graduate school for physical therapy, and Io wants to pursue a career in psychology. She said, “I want to help people understand their own challenges, and I hope to guide them toward healing and personal growth.”
Coach Caiaccia said she sees them coaching because she knows that basketball brings them joy.
Like Io and Kimberly, current Girls Varsity Basketball Assistant Coach Debra Chan is a THHS alumna who played for CCNY (The City College of New York), another one of Coach Caiaccia’s players who went from THHS to college level basketball.
“I am proud to say that many players continue [playing] basketball beyond college in various adult leagues as well,” Coach Caiaccia said. “I am always amazed by their talent, energy, and enthusiasm when they come back to play in our annual alumni games.”
