Chevannes ‘Humbled’ to Succeed Boyle at St. Pat’s

Chris Chevannes is a humble and soft-spoken man who is still coming to grips with the fact that he is succeeding a larger-than-life personality as head coach of the No. 2 boys basketball team in the nation.

Chevannes, the Vice Principal at Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick, learned on Thursday that he had become the interim coach at St. Patrick after Kevin Boyle announced he was moving on to Montverde (Fla.) Academy outside Orlando.

“We’ve been very good friends and he brought me here,” Chevannes, speaking to SNY.tv in his first interview since taking over, said of Boyle. “I’ve basically been under his tutelage for all these years. Without question, how could you not be [honored and humbled] with the success that he’s had here and the development that he’s done over the years here?”

Kevin Boyle Leaves St. Pat’s for Montverde Academy

Kevin Boyle, the fiery Irishman who over the course of more than 20 years turned Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick into a perennial national powerhouse and produced numerous high-Division 1 standouts and several NBA players, is leaving to become head coach at Montverde (Fla.) Academy.

“It’s a beautiful, beautiful campus,” Boyle told The Daily News. “Montverde Academy strives to be the best in whatever it does and that’s the same for the basketball program. I’m looking forward to the challenge but at the same time, leaving St. Patrick with a heavy heart. I’ve made a lot of good friends along the way.”

The job includes a $130,000 annual salary plus a car and a four-bedroom home, multiple sources said. Florida has no state income tax and the cost of living is cheaper than in New Jersey.

Boyle’s 15-year-old son, Brendan, will also enroll in the school and play for his father.