Former Knights Return For Annual Alumni Game

SJCS Varsity boys basketball coach Paul Assinesi calls it his "favorite time of year."

Every year on the night before Thanksgiving, Coach Paul, now in his 17th season leading the Knights, invites his former players to gather at St. Joe's for the alumni game.

"Our season just started, and my players get to watch all the former SJCS players learn how to become a Knight for life," he said. "Plus, I get to see parents I haven't seen in years, or even decades in some cases. It brings back so many memories, which I love. Then the next day is Thanksgiving. How can you beat that?"

This year, 23 former players returned for the reunion, including three members of Coach Paul's first team at St. Joe's, the 2009-2010 squad (son Kelly Assinesi, Ian Okinaga and Roger Clinkscales), as well as Elizabeth Bannio Clinkscales ('14), now married to Roger and a former member of the Varsity girls team.

"It's like I told my wife. We played Monday and Tuesday, and getting all this set up is a lot," Coach Paul said. "But when I got home, I told her, 'It's the best.' "

2025 ALUMNI GAME

2010: Roger Clinkscales, Ian Okinaga; 2011: Kelly Assinesi; 2014: Landry Assinesi, Gene Langan; 2016: Nick Trocha; 2017: Luke Erbrecht; 2018: Emilio Trocha; 2019: Connor Bailey, Colin Burns, Miles Murray, Walker Pace; 2020: Brendan Dunlavey, Josh Masters, Joseph Poole, Adam Rogers; 2021: Ben Saunders; 2022: Sandon Brown, Jalen Gibson; 2023: Josh Burns, Alex Gillespie, Davis Satterfield; 2025: Bryson Smith.

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