Paterson Catholic Closing Its Doors
Myles Mack is the No. 114
Myles Mack is the No. 114
Roshown McLeod didn’t lose much during his high school career under Bob Hurley at St. Anthony.
And he doesn’t plan on losing much after replacing Dan Hurley at St. Benedict’s.
“If we can put the right team together, we can make a run. I lost three games in high school and I don’t plan on losing now,” McLeod, the former St. Anthony and Duke standout, said after becoming the new coach at the Newark school.
Before leaving to take the Wagner College job, Dan Hurley went 223-21 in nine seasons at St. Benedict’s. He coached four McDonald’s All-Americans and sent numerous players on to the Division I ranks, including Lance Thomas (Duke), Eugene Harvey (Seton Hall), Corey Stokes (Villanova), Samardo Samuels (Louisville), Greg Echenique (Creighton) and Rashad Bishop (Cincinnati).
St. Ben’s loses five seniors, including Aaron Brown (Temple), Gilvydas Biruta and Mike Poole, but 6-9 Arizona-bound junior forward Sidiki Johnson and 6-3 Texas-bound junior guard Myck Kabongo remain on the roster.
Rutgers is targeting Fran Fraschilla, Eddie Jordan and Jim O’Brien to replace Fred Hill, multiple sources with knowledge said.
“I believe they’ve reached out to all three,” a source close to the program said.
The source said Fraschilla, the former St. John’s and Manhattan head coach who now serves as an ESPN analyst, remained the No. 1 choice.
The question is whether Fraschilla, like St. John’s coach Steve Lavin before him, would leave ESPN for a Big East rebuilding project.
Fraschilla politely declined comment when reached Tuesday via text.
“I think what it’s gonna take is a commitment from the university,” the source said. “They have to prove to him that there’s a commitment to the program and if there isn’t then he’s not gonna take the job.”
Paterson (N.J.) Catholic High School will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday and the school could be on the brink of closing in June, multiple sources said Tuesday night.
“It’s a tough situation. It’s sad. If they are closing, it’s a sad situation,” said former PC and current Clifton High School basketball coach Tommie Patterson. “If Paterson Public Schools takes that building over, we need a technical school in this city.”
Messages left at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson were not immediately returned Tuesday night.
Roshown McLeod is coming home.
McLeod, 34, a native of Jersey City, was named Tuesday by Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s Headmaster Fr. Edwin Leahy as the new basketball coach for the Gray Bees.
The former NBA player, who played for the legendary Mike Krzyzewski at Duke and Bob Hurley Sr. at St. Anthony, will succeed Dan Hurley, who stepped down as St. Benedict’s coach after nine seasons to assume the coaching duties at Wagner College.
“We had the privilege of talking to some really outstanding candidates, but I believe we have a guy in Roshown who knows what it means to be successful and who seems to have a great heart and is ready to be part of our community,” said Fr. Edwin. “He’s been associated with some great leaders and coaches throughout his career and I expect him to continue our tradition of helping players become quality young men.”
As first reported Monday on my Twitter, Louisville sophomore forward Samardo Samuels will test the NBA waters but will not hire an agent.
“After lengthy conversations with Samardo and his family, they would like to have him test the waters with the NBA draft,” Louisville Coach Rick Pitino said. “He will not hire an agent and I will orchestrate his NBA visits from my office. I have reviewed the status where Samardo stands at this time and all aspects of the process with his family. I respect his family’s wishes to test the waters and support them 100 percent.”
Underclassmen can withdraw by May 8 if they don’t hire an agent.
In this video interview from the Jordan
