New Jersey celebrates its basketball history with inaugural 'The Basketball Reunion'
NEWARK – Doug Edert of St. Peter’s shook the most hands and posed for the most photos, while Rutgers’ Ronald Harper Jr. kept busy schmoozing with former players and coaches.
Edert and Harper hit the floor and joined a lineup of New Jersey hoops legends at the inaugural “The Basketball Reunion” Monday night at the Prudential Center.
A roster of more than 500 guests included Phil Sellers, who led Rutgers to the 1976 Final Four, and John Morton, who spearheaded Seton Hall’s drive to the 1989 NCAA final and one debatable whistle from the title.
“It’s great to be here, around all of them, and have a lot of great conversations,” said Harper, who last month helped Rutgers reach the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year. “It’s a privilege to be here, and I’m honored to be here.”
Honoring New Jersey’s all-time high school and college greats was the game plan of The Basketball Reunion, the brainchild of Fred Hill Jr., a native son who has coached at five Garden State colleges: Montclair State, Rider, Fairleigh Dickinson, Rutgers, and two stints at Seton Hall.
“The tradition and history of New Jersey basketball is second to none,” said an emotional Hill, “and I want to honor all of those people for all of the things they’ve done for so many kids, mentors to so many.”
Awards at the banquet were presented in categories such as “Made in Jersey” and "Coaching Legends." The ceremony featured video highlights of memorable moments, including Harper’s 40-foot hoist in December to beat Purdue, 70-68 – the program’s first win over a No. 1 team. It also served as a fundraiser for inner-city youth.
“To see the history, and to see so many people back together, was just so much fun,” said Phyllis Mangina, who starred at Seton Hall and coached the Pirates for 25 years. “There’s just so many great memories in Jersey, and seeing the coaches and all the players back together, and just celebrate what people have accomplished one more time, is really fun.”
New Jersey's March Madness
Edert and St. Peter’s gave New Jersey something to celebrate this March Madness as the first No. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight. Edert’s mustache and shooting made him a memorable part of the Peacocks’ run and a fan favorite at Prudential Center.
“I’m happy that we put St. Peter’s on the map, the whole state of New Jersey was rooting for us, and it was just amazing to be part of it, and to have all of this love and support from everybody here,” said Edert, who in high school helped Bergen Catholic win a state title.
TRANSFERS: Edert part of Saint Peter's basketball trio in transfer portal
Long before Edert was born, Morton and Seton Hall were making an improbable run to the NCAA final. The Pirates beat Indiana, UNLV and Duke by double digits before losing to Michigan, 80-79. Morton scored a game-high 35 points in the final.
“It was a long time ago, and people have stopped me on the street every year for the last 30 years to appreciate what we have done for the state of New Jersey,” Morton said.
That Seton Hall squad was among four college teams honored for reaching the Final Four. Also honored: Princeton’s 1964-65 team, featuring future Knicks’ forward Bill Bradley; the Rutgers’ 1975-76 team, which also included Eddie Jordan, a future NBA player and college and NBA coach; and Montclair State’s 1977-78 women’s team, led by Carol Blazejowski.
The event offered guests the chance to get reacquainted with old friends, and Sellers made sure to thank Ron Kornegay, Monmouth’s all-time scorer, for his guidance in the 1970s.
“He doesn’t know how much he was a mentor to me when we used to play down at the Jersey Shore,” said Sellers, who played in the NBA for the Pistons and was an assistant at Rutgers for several seasons. “Out of respect, I said, ‘Ron, I couldn’t tell you how much it meant to me that you were like a mentor.’”
Putting together the Reunion
Hill is among New Jersey’s most prolific recruiters – he’s probably driven to more gyms than any coach in Jersey history – and he put together The Basketball Reunion in about 90 days.
The awards ceremony, hosted by longtime TV sports anchor Bruce Beck, flowed well without any soppy speeches. The event began at 6:30 p.m. and the awards segment lasted about 70 minutes, from a little after 7:30 p.m. to about 8:40 p.m., and guests were invited to watch the NCAA final which culminated with Kansas’ historic comeback win over North Carolina, 72-69.
During the ceremony, there were a few well-placed, taped video presentations from former coaches, including P.J. Carlesimo, who led Seton Hall from 1982-94 and coached in the NBA for more than a dozen years.
The most memorable video presentation came from Hubie Brown, whose coaching career spanned 50 years and included high school stops at Fair Lawn and Cranford and NBA head coaching stints with the Hawks, Knicks and Grizzlies. Brown, 88, currently a TV analyst, received the Coaching Tree award, as 10 of his NBA assistants became head coaches.
“I think the manner in which the program was displayed was great, as far as the video stuff,” said Caldwell coach Mark Corino, New Jersey’s all-time winningest college men’s coach with 606 victories.
There were plenty of cell-phone photos taken, and Morton and several Seton Hall teammates set a record for group pics that will be tough to top in coming years. He kept having to step away from his interview as someone yelled for one more.
There will be more than just one The Basketball Reunion, according to everyone interviewed, including Hill’s former teammate at Montclair State, John Ziemba.
“If he’s got 450 to 500 people here, next year he’ll have 1,000, because it was just getting off the ground,” said Ziemba, a high school boys basketball coach in North Jersey since the 1980s.
“New Jersey basketball is a big part of basketball in general, and I hope we keep our ties,” said Harper, who helped Don Bosco Prep win two state titles. “I hope we keep close, and New Jersey needs basketball, and this event is proof of that.”
Greg Mattura is a sports reporter for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your phone, sign up for our newsletter and download our app.
Email: mattura@northjersey.com
Twitter: @gregmattura
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ basketball greats come together for first 'Basketball Reunion'
