Boys Basketball: Lodico's hoops passion carries into coaching

Former Rochelle shooting guard enjoying first season on the bench

Russell Hodges
Posted 1/17/20

Tim Thompson’s coaching career with Rochelle has spanned over two decades. Thompson has coached hundreds of prep players during his tenure, but not many of them have shared the same passion for high school hoops as former Hub shooting guard Riley Lodico.

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Boys Basketball: Lodico's hoops passion carries into coaching

Former Rochelle shooting guard enjoying first season on the bench

Posted

Tim Thompson’s coaching career with Rochelle has spanned over two decades. Thompson has coached hundreds of prep players during his tenure, but not many of them have shared the same passion for high school hoops as former Hub shooting guard Riley Lodico.

Lodico grew up playing basketball in Rochelle, spending four seasons with the high school program and three seasons on Thompson’s varsity team. Lodico’s basketball fever never waned after graduating RTHS in 2018, and when Thompson offered him an opportunity to join the coaching staff, Lodico didn’t hesitate to take the chance.

“I helped coach the freshman baseball team this past season, and coach Thompson and I had some conversations back then about coaching basketball,” Lodico said. “I told him that I’d love the opportunity to spread my joy for the game to these kids… The experience has been better than I expected it to be because I didn’t know what to expect. I’m trying to learn more about the game, and I love working with the kids in practice and developing their skills.”

Lodico currently works as the sophomore assistant alongside head coach Josh Johnson, but he also sits on the bench with Thompson and his staff during varsity games. Rochelle’s sophomore players frequently practice with the varsity players, allowing Lodico to spend time with both teams and learn from multiple coaches. A recent graduate who played up on varsity as a sophomore, Lodico said he’s aiming to bring a new energy to the Hubs this season.

“The kids are very eager to learn more about the game,” Lodico said. “I was a senior when a couple of the varsity players were sophomores, so I want to support them and give coach Thompson and the players as much information as I can to help them out. I feel like I have a good connection with the kids because they know where I’m coming from as someone who’s been coached by all of these men in the past. I relate to them really well.”

Johnson and Lodico’s sophomore team has been very successful this winter, defeating Oregon on Thursday and improving to 12-4 overall after finishing fifth in the Plano Christmas Classic this past month. Rochelle currently rosters three sophomores on the varsity team including Ryan Simmons, Adam Kemp and Zach Sanford, and all three are in the team’s rotation. Lodico said his relationship with the coaching staff has greatly evolved since his playing days.

“Our team had a lot of success when I was in high school and I understand what it takes to be in this program,” Lodico said. “We expect a lot out of the kids offensively and defensively, and we know how their skills should translate from practices to games… The coaches and I have connected a lot more and we build off of each other’s ideas. We discuss different teams and scouting reports, and having more minds in the room has been really great.”

Lodico, who’s currently studying at Kishwaukee College and planning to further pursue physical education at Northern Illinois University, played for the Hubs when Rochelle went 20-8 and reached the IHSA Regional Finals during the 2016-17 campaign. He’ll be looking to help lead the program back there this season, and Thompson will be happy to have him along for the ride.

“I’ve had the blessing of coaching a lot of great kids and Riley is one of the best,” Thompson said. “He loves high school sports, and when he played for me, we would text each other all night about scores and how other teams were doing. He loves scouting and he wants to know what’s going on at all times… He’s been such a breath of fresh air to have on our staff.”