All in the families

Mike Sciacca

The surnames you hear projected from the public address system on

game night at the Marina High gymnasium have traveled these airwaves

in years past, giving one the impression that, when it comes to

Vikings boys’ basketball, some things never change.

Brown. Diecidue. Hung. Rivera.

For those who have followed the program closely over the past six

years, these names are quite familiar.

Only, the faces in the lineup are different.

Brett Brown, Dan Diecidue and Richard Hung are all seniors, and

Jeff Rivera is a junior on coach Roger Holmes’ 2002-03 varsity team.

The Marina foursome is carrying on a tradition, as each has had a

brother or two play recently in the program: for Jeff Rivera, it was

his brother, Scott, a four-year varsity starter; for Dan Diecidue, it

was his brother Jim; for Richard Hung, it was his brother, Jeff, who

played on the same team as Scott Rivera; and for Brett Brown, it was

his brother, Beau.

Their older brothers may have earned all-league status and led the

team in statistical categories, but this foursome has become a key

component of the program in its own right.

“These four guys don’t score the most points or get the most

headlines, but they all make the puzzle fit,” Holmes said. “They

learned not only basketball from watching their brothers play but

learned that it takes a class individual to play varsity basketball

at Marina.”

Diecidue said he’s learned more than basketball during his time in

the program.

“It’s about more than just playing the game,” he said. “Coach

Holmes really tries to make you a better person, to make you more

conscious of how you act, on and away from the court. What’s great

about this program is that it’s like we are one, big family.”

The Diecidue family knows a thing or two about Marina basketball:

In addition to brother Jim, Dan Diecidue’s had another brother, Paul,

play in the Marina program, and his younger brother, Tommy, along

with Holmes’ son, Brendan, is a Marina ball boy.

Diecidue’s father, Frank, is a Marina graduate.

Diecidue and Jeff Rivera first met and got a taste for the

basketball program when the two were Marina ball boys.

Rivera also played on the same National Junior Basketball team as

Brett Brown, and all four got better acquainted by attending various

Marina basketball camps.

“We’ve all become really good friends and got our start with

Marina basketball at around the same time,” said Jeff Rivera, who saw

all the big games and traveled with the team as a ball boy. “I always

thought it would be a pretty big deal to play varsity basketball at

Marina. I remember I couldn’t wait for the day. I’ve worked hard, and

now I’m here. I’m having a blast in the program.”

Holmes said that Rivera plays tough defense and is a team player,

“through and through.” He states that Diecidue, his sixth man, gives

us “so much off the bench and being the class act that he is, is

thriving in his role. He gives us an incredible lift with his hustle,

great defense and smart play.”

Hung, he says, is a great shooter with an uncanny ability to hit

the three-point shot -- “a threat every time he is on the floor and

his contributions are huge.”

He calls Brown a “tremendous shooter who has found his groove,”

adding that Brown “understands what the coaches want and sets a great

example for all of the kids in the program.”

“These four guys have been a tremendous asset to our program,”

Holmes said. “We have a great group of guys on our team. These 12

kids are so great to be around and to work with.

“I feel very fortunate that my son, Brendan, at the age of 11, can

be around guys with this much class and character,” he said.

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at [email protected].