Staff file photo / Preston Byers. Cardinal Mooney’s Nico Genova takes a jump shot during a Cardinals’ game last season

YOUNGSTOWN — In recent years, the Cardinal Mooney boys basketball program has developed into one of the best in the Mahoning Valley.

The Cardinals are a threat in the district round of the playoffs, making it to the district championship four straight years. And last year was no different.

Mooney defeated South Range 84-59 to capture the program’s third district crown in four years. The Cardinals beat Canton Central Catholic before falling to Lutheran East in the regional final.

But it’s a high school sport. Every year the roster changes, and it’s overhauled after every four seasons.

Cardinal Mooney head coach Carey Palermo has an inexperienced squad this year. He has a number of seniors and juniors, but they are all stepping into new roles.

And even Palermo doesn’t know how things will turn out this year.

“I think this group can do it, I just don’t know when it’s gonna be,” Palermo said. “It might not be until Christmas when we start looking like a team that can compete for a district championship. … It might not. We might not get it, but there’s enough talent, we have a good enough culture, enough kids have seen it where we can definitely get back to where we were last year.”

Even the seniors have some questions. Palermo is confident in upperclassmen like Nico Genova and Marvin Dubos, but Genova was the only senior who saw playing time last year.

Palermo is certain about the physical traits his boys have this year. He said this year’s team is bigger than any he’s had during his tenure on Youngstown’s South Side.

“Size-wise, this is the biggest team we ever had,” Palermo said. “We have five players over 6-foot-4.”

Combining the physical talent with the inexperience, Palermo said his group will lean on the defense this year. He wants to see his boys turn defense into offense, at least in the early stages of the season when they’re trying to find their footing.

“Rebounding, pressure defense and our press, that’s what we do really well,” Palermo said. “Rebounding is something that’s different because we’re usually undersized. What has been our best offense in scrimmage? Shooting the ball and rebounding.”

Dante Turner, Dom Letlow, Kingston Powell and Genova all had great summers, according to their coach. Palermo will lean on those players and he expects help from Dennis Clark, Ford Stacy, Keith Rhodes, Grayson Dubos and Marvin Dubos.

“Obviously I can’t have nine impact players. Honestly, we’ve had three scrimmages, all have had their moments,” Palermo said. “We’re gonna take the first five, six, seven games and see where we’re at and go from there.”

Palermo doesn’t see this winter as a rebuilding year, just a year with some questions. The Cardinals will look back on the last four years and the winning culture built under Palermo to help power through some of the early-season struggles.

And if the right pieces fall into place, they want to get another shot at another district title.

“They understand the process,” Palermo said. “They understand that winning on Tuesday and Friday nights means winning in November, winning in the summer, winning on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday night in practice. They get that aspect. They understand that no matter what our record is at the end of December, it doesn’t matter heading into February going into the tournament. Them understanding that process is big for us, because we don’t know where we’re gonna be, how we’re gonna look.

“These kids understand it’s how we’re going at the end of February, having a chance to hang one of those banners up there in the ceiling.”