SCRANTON, Pa. — There is a passing of the torch this season at Dunmore. In 14 seasons under Ben O’Brien, the Lady Bucks won nearly 90% of their games, but with O’Brien now leading the Lady Royals at the University of Scranton, Dunmore turned to one of their own – Carrie Toomey.
"I think I just try to do the best I can and not be Ben (O’Brien) because I will never be Ben," Toomey said. "They’re big shoes. I feel it, but I started out as a Lady Buck. I feel like I’ve come full circle. This is my moment to kind of take the program to the next step."
An assistant coach the last three years, Toomey was a thousand-point scorer as a player at Dunmore. So was her daughter, Victoria, and so is her younger daughter Ciera – one of the best players in the country – who she’ll get to coach this season.
”It’s going to be amazing because she’s not going to be around for much longer," Carrier said of her daughter, who will leave for college next year. "She’s going to be moving on and we’ll get to spend even more time together.”
"Not many people get to experience this, especially at the high school level," Ciera Toomey said. "Like you said, she coached me through AAU and through biddy, but this is a different level of meaning.”
But that’s all on hold. The North Carolina commit is still recovering from an ACL injury she suffered in March in the district championship game. So, while she’s eager to play her senior season, she’s hopeful, yet realistic.
"I’d like to think I’m ahead right now, but at six months you always feel ready, but you’re not, and then UNC," the younger Toomey explained. "I’m not going to do anything without their trainers giving us the OK. From my understanding, I think they want me to play just because first game back being at the college level, that’s tough. So, probably around nine months, which would bring us to, I want to say, February. That’s kind of just a guestimate, but like I said, it would be really cool to play for my mom. So, that’s kind of in the back of my mind and I really just hope to come back when I’m feeling 110%. I don’t want to rush anything, I have a lot of basketball ahead of me.”