Rob Rizzo is no novice to challenging circumstances. Not by any stretch of the imagination. The former Section 1 Coach of the Year labored through adverse times when he helped resuscitate a once left-for-dead program at Gorton High.

Packed into the middle school gym at Emerson in Yonkers, a gym most modified teams would turn their noses at, Rizzo installed a new brand and enforced it. Rizzo was instrumental in the sheer development of a youthful core.

Spindly big men who entered the gym rough around the edges cultivated a post presence and packed on muscle. Guards who were a tad too wild became better ball handlers, passers, and shooters. The former downtrodden, dungeon dwelling team was beginning to swim with the sharks of the big Section 1 ocean. Rizzo built up the team’s strength and mental toughness, disciplining a core that was learning to win at a high level for the very first time.

“The goal (at Gorton) was to change the culture of the program and make it a place where the expectation was that kids would work hard at basketball and make it a 12-month program,” explained Rizzo, a social studies teacher in the Yonkers school district. “I wanted it to be an environment in which guys would be working hard at basketball but also pure student-athletes. I wanted to turn it into a Section 1 powerhouse and help put Yonkers right up there with New Rochelle, White Plains and Mount Vernon. The long term goal was really to build the program. I didn’t stay long enough to bring it to that point, but it was a great head coaching experience and the kids bought in right away."

Rizzo, a Fordham Prep product and disciple of longtime White Plains coach Spencer Mayfield, helped boost Gordon’s relevance. Their sudden emergence from also-ran to contender opened eyes.

There were plenty of obstacles Rizzo had to hurdle. The Yonkers school district budget crisis and the ongoing threat of sports being eliminated was one of them. The random placement of the kids was another. The amount of turnover, the player merry-go-round from year-to-year in a big city oversaturated with big high schools, can be taxing.

Now, in a Section 1 world of haves and have-nots (and Class A that seems stacked with Poughkeepsie, Peekskill, Byram Hills, Tappan Zee, Kennedy-Catholic and Pearl River), Rizzo hopes to establish a basketball culture at communal Sleepy Hollow.

Rizzo helped build significance to a program once mired in Class As lower percentile. Now, however, he faces the biggest challenge of his career on the sidelines.

The coach is pinned to the task of stabilizing and refreshing a Sleepy Hollow basketball program that’s been on a seesaw ride the last four years. Sleepy has been solid the past two years but they’ve been teetering on the fringe of mediocrity since their last County Center berth.

Last year, the scoring pace and wow-factor of bullish forward Jon Martin helped enhance their image. A frustrating first round flameout to Somers, however, was a reminder that there’s still work to be done. Since departed coach Tony Baxter did a commendable job turning the tide, but coaching has never been the issue at Sleepy Hollow.

The program hasn’t been able to sell homegrown talent on Headless Horsemen basketball. You can’t argue with history.

Tony Taylor, Jordon Bronner, Sandro Carissimo, Richard Riss, and other highly-touted players from the tight-knit village all took their games to greener pastures. There has been some sense of stardom, with high-profile players such as Pat Crean, Just Best, and the aforementioned Martin. Crean, the former sharpshooter who starred at Springfield College (Mass.), now plays professionally in Ireland.

Being close in proximity to prep programs such as Stepinac, Iona Prep, and Fordham Prep hasn’t helped much.

Still, tiny Sleepy Hollow has four basketball courts including a YMCA that’s always played host to some solid 5-on-5 runs. It is very much a basketball community. Former New York Knick David Lee has held Teaches Hoops camps at Sleepy Hollow the past three summers. A contingent of Knicks fans can be seen flooding the Tarrytown North train in January. Folks sidestep the cold winter weather by filing into the warm, red-and-white coated gym at 210 North Broadway.

When the Sleepy Hollow job opened up, Rizzo feasted his eyes on a new beginning.

“Going to Sleepy Hollow presented an opportunity to build a program in a one high school community,” explained Rizzo. “I felt like there’s great facilities, there’s great people working here, it’s a real melting pot. I felt like if I put my time in, over the course of time we can really build a consistent program where I work with kids from the early stages and as time goes on, we can make it into a really strong basketball community from the grassroots level on up. We can make the program that something that kids in the community aspire to be a part of.”

What about the allure of nearby Stepinac, Salesian, Fordham Prep, and Iona Prep?

“There’s always going to be kids that choose catholic school over public school for whatever reason,” Rizzo said. “I want to make that decision (between Sleepy Hollow and prep) a very hard one. Let’s face it. In this economy, the kids that you’re going to give a $15,000 scholarship to, those kids are probably going to take that and go. The kids that are going to have to pay the $15,000 to go there, I want to make it a decision for him to stay home — where he can get a better program at Sleepy Hollow High School and get a better education. There’s something to be said for a public school education. It’s more real world, it’s a better feel of what the world is like. It’s dealing with people of all nationalities, different sexes, beliefs and customs.”

Rizzo and Sleepy Hollow have been decimated by a spate of injuries. While it’s given Rizzo a chance to give some younger kids meaningful minutes and develop his bench, he admits not having two-guard Harley Falasca and guard/forward L.J. Garrant has been exasperating.

Falasca was a key piece of Sleepy Hollow’s perimeter game last season. He’s added on to his all-around game, playing above the rim, navigating the driving lanes, and developing into an efficient passer. Garrant, a high-end Division-I football prospect (His grades are so strong that Ivy League caliber schools have been inquiring), is a freakishly athletic player and stout on-the-ball defender.

“Harley better be our best offensive player, otherwise we’re going to be in for a long year,” said Rizzo of his senior sniper, a returning starter. “Harley understands offensive basketball. I think he can be our most complete player. The one knock on Harley has always been ‘he only plays offense.’ Well, people are going to be very surprised this season. He’s gotten to be a much better defensive player. I think I’m going to even be surprised. I think he can be a very effective player for us.”

Garrant’s sheer athleticism should provide an immediate boost for the Horsemen.

“L.J. is an incredible athlete,” said Rizzo. “He has a presence about him that I think the other kids eat off of. When he’s back playing, he’ll give us a little more of a personality as a team. He can make athletic plays he can make easy plays that we haven’t gotten before.”

Rizzo continued, “While the games are going on, it's very frustrating not to have (Falasca and Garrant) in the lineup for the 32 minutes. It's very frustrating as a coach, considering they are returning players and they've got a lot of varsity experience under their belt.”

The frustration is temporary. Falasca and Garrant return this week, right in time for a 4:30 home game against Yonkers-based Lincoln on Wednesday.

There have been some silver linings for Sleepy, which fell to 1-2 following a 62-40 hammering by John Jay-Cross River.

Jack Centra, who played sparingly last season, has proven he belongs. Centra paced the Horsemen with 12 points against John Jay.

The senior has been shooting the rock with consistency, operating offense and playing a cerebral brand of ball. Zeek Sierra, an immensely strong forward who is still grasping the game’s niceties and Tom Fahey has provided manpower on the interior.

Christian Berenguer has provided a spark offensively. Ronniel Munoz, who played J.V. last season, is beginning to flower. Munoz is explosive off the dribble and puts the clamps on defensively. Dionel Infante has also been a key ingredient to Sleepy’s defensive-minded unit.

The re-arrival of Falasca and Garrant allows Sleepy Hollow to steady the ship while simultaneously upgrading the boat.

On Wednesday, Sleepy Hollow gets its full basketball team back. Given a league schedule consisting of Pelham, Eastchester, Lincoln, Saunders, Roosevelt, and Ardsley, Sleepy Hollow has the chance to make up for a sluggish start.

The Headless Horsemen have the chance of building their name and bringing a basketball community together. They have the unique opportunity to bring Sleepy Hollow basketball back to relevance.

Just what their coach wants.