By Jeff Vorva
Correspondent
Bruce Scaduto kept the family name going for a few more decades, but he is hanging it up after this season.
Scaduto, the Evergreen Park boys basketball coach from 1997 through 2011 and the Mustangs girls coach since 2011, has announced he will retire after this season.
“I feel that it’s time,” Scaduto stated in a press release. “I’ve been doing it for so many years that I feel it’s time to step down and let someone else have it.”
Scaduto is the Mustang girls all-time winningest coach, according to the IHSA, and is the second-winningest coach in Mustang boys basketball history, coming in only three wins shy of Tom O’Malley Sr.
His father, Len Scaduto, coached boys basketball at Oak Lawn from 1962 through 1991, during which his teams won 411 games, so the family has been huge in area coaching circles.
Bruce Scaduto remains in touch with the core players from a three-year regional title run during the 2010s: Megan Pfister, Nicole Larkin and Maddie Vojacek. Both Pfister and Vojacek have served as assistant coaches for Scaduto.
Kacey Gardner, a member of the 25-win 2017-18 Mustangs who now plays professional basketball in Portugal, credits Scaduto for much of her success on the court.
“’Duto’ always pushed me to play my best in every practice and every game,” Gardner stated in a press release. “I always knew he cared about my well-being outside of basketball, always making sure I had everything I needed to succeed in life and in basketball.”
Scaduto reflected on his career with enjoyment.
“The girls were more enjoyable to coach because they always give their full effort and appreciate everything,” he said. “It was fun to coach the boys, too. I enjoyed watching them get better and move on to the next level.”
The Mustangs were 7-10 entering this week and have recent wins over South Suburban Red rivals Argo and Eisenhower.
Prunckle steps down
Matt Prunckle, who helped turn St. Laurence into an area soccer power before taking his talents to Brother Rice, is stepping away from the pitch to spend more time with his family.
Prunckle coached the Vikings from 2014 to 2017 and has been at Brother Rice since the 2020 season. Last fall, the Crusaders won the Chicago Catholic League as well as their first regional championship since 2009 and first sectional title since 2003.
“Each year, we have tasked our players with leaving the jersey in a better place,” Prunckle wrote in a letter to Rice soccer supporters. “And every year, I challenge our freshmen to leave Brother Rice better than they found it.
“I hope I have done the same.”
Sports bits
• Moraine Valley Community College women’s basketball player Andrea Robertson was ranked first in the nation in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II category with 9.4 defensive rebounds per game. The 6-foot-1 sophomore forward is an Eisenhower grad.
• Morton College women’s basketball coach Jason Nichols picked up his 100th win recently, giving him an amazing 100-9 mark at the college level. Combined with his wins on the high school level, he has 690 victories.
• Sandburg’s Kate Roche, one of the state’s elite runners in the 800-meter, has committed to Creighton.
• The inaugural Chicagoland Christian Conference girls basketball championship will take place at 3:15 p.m. Feb. 3 at Chicago Christian. Bishop McNamara and St. Edward are the top two seeds.