Gamble takes job as Bayonne head basketball coach

Well, there is some very good news about Ben Gamble taking the position of head boys’ basketball coach at Bayonne High School.

At least this time, the school isn’t about to close.

Gamble spent two decades as Bob Hurley’s right-hand man as the assistant coach to the legendary Hall of Famer at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City. But that school eventually closed.

Gamble was also the head coach at Cardinal McCarrick High School in South Amboy, but that school permanently shut its doors. 

Then Gamble went to Mater Dei in Middletown, turning that program into a Monmouth County powerhouse, winning the school’s first-ever Shore Conference Tournament title in 2016 and won again in 2017. He reached the Shore Conference Tournament championship in all three years at the school.

Gamble then returned to his roots in Hudson County, taking the head coaching job at Marist. In two seasons with the Royal Knights, winning 20 games the first year and 22 the next, reaching the finals of the Hudson County Tournament each time.

But sure enough, Marist permanently closed its doors in June, leaving Gamble without a coaching home once again..

“I started to think that I might have to sit out a year,” Gamble said. “When McCarrick closed, I received about four or five calls right away. But this time, when the announcement was made to close Marist (in January), I was not thinking at all about me. I was worried about how I would keep everyone focused on the season. I wasn’t worried about me. I was worried about whether a 15, 16, or 17-year-old kid could concentrate on basketball, when everyone was asking them about where they were going next year.”

The Royal Knights lost to St. Peter’s Prep in the Hudson County Tournament final in late February, then lost to Roselle Catholic in the second round of the NJSIAA Non-Public Group 2 state tournament, ending the season at 22-4.

“Once the pandemic came, right after the Roselle Catholic game, everything was shut down,” Gamble said. “I then had the time to look and think about what I wanted to do.”

Gamble then saw on the Bayonne website that the Board of Education was looking for a new boys’ basketball coach, when Steve Russell stepped down after a 7-19 season.

“I applied on my own,” Gamble said. “I knew Bayonne well from over the years. I always knew the town had talent.”

Gamble mentioned three homegrown Bayonne natives in Paul Mulcahy (Rutgers), Corey Stokes (Villanova) and Ronald Roberts (St. Joseph’s of Philadelphia) that played NCAA Division I basketball, but did not attend Bayonne High.

“One of the biggest misconceptions that parents have is that their kids can only get exposure in the Catholic schools,” Gamble said. “You get exposure when your team is good, not because a team comes from a public or a Catholic school. That’s what I want to establish. I want to establish an identity that kids can go to college from Bayonne. I think I already have an advantage in that department.”

Gamble said that since he’s been a head coach, he’s sent as many as 12 players to big-time college basketball.

“I can give our players the avenue to still succeed if they stay home,” Gamble said.

Incredibly, Gamble’s Marist teams did not face Bayonne over the last two years, but he did watch Bayonne play Memorial as his Royal Knights prepared to face the winner in the Hudson County Tournament.

“I’m confident that I can give kids confidence and steer them in the right direction,” said Gamble, who was a fine basketball and baseball player at St. Anthony in the late 1970s-early 1980s. “I can make sure that they are succeeding both academically and athletically. We sent 12 kids to college for free and one went to Princeton. These are things I can refer to. Our teams have been in a lot of good events.”

Gamble said that he’s already geared up to take on the challenges of his new job.

“I’m excited,” said Gamble, a retired corrections officer. “I have my adrenaline flowing. I think I can get this done. I’m proud of what I’ve done before. I think I can get this done. I’m excited about the challenge. I’m excited about the challenge. I’m excited to still be in the area. I’m still standing. I’m not going to be an overnight success, but we will be successful.”

And with his track record, how could anyone doubt Ben Gamble?

A profile of Hudson County's top female scholar athletes

Recently, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association issued awards to the top student/athletes in the state, one from each participating school. We have decided to feature the recipients from Hudson County. Today, it will be about the female winners. Later this week, we’ll have the male honorees.

Anna Prilutsky, McNair Academic

Anna Prilutsky was about nine years old, when she decided she wanted to take up fencing.

“There’s a simple answer to that question,” Prilutsky said. “The club (Cobra Fencing Club) was five minutes from my house. The club is very unique. It’s an interesting community. We have members that range in age. It helps the older generation feel younger. I liked that it was an individual sport, one that requires athleticism, but also requires a lot of thinking. You always have to be reflecting on what you just did. It’s just a different kind of mentality.”

Prilutsky has the distinction of being the first fencer/volleyball player to ever be honored with the award. She is also part of the first-ever fencing team at McNair. Since she had been mastering the foil since she was in third grade, Prilutsky was enjoying an excellent first season with the Cougars, but then disaster struck. She came down with an emergency appendectomy after she qualified for the NJSIAA state tournament.

“By the time I was cleared to come back, I was very out of shape,” Prilutsky said. “It was a bit weird, but I was thrilled to come back (in February). It would have been nice to have an ending to the season (that was halted due to the coronavirus), but we were close to the top.”

As a junior Prilutsky was able to compete as an individual in the NJSIAA state tournament, where she took seventh overall in the foil weapon.

When Prilutsky attended the prestigious Hudson School in Hoboken, she was not able to participate in team sports, because the school doesn’t offer them.

“So when I came to McNair, I knew I just wanted to be on a team,” Prilutsky said. “My older brother David played volleyball at McNair, so I joined volleyball. On the first day of school, I went to see if I could be on the volleyball team. I had a general understanding of the rules, but the strategy involved and teamwork aspect was completely new to me. Being on a team makes you think about your teammates first. What you do always affects the team, so that was a little bit of an adjustment.”

Prilutsky played every position over her four-year stint with the Cougars. She thought her best position was as a setter, but she also liked being a defensive specialist.

As a fencer, Prilutsky once finished third in the North American Cup tournament for foil fencers, helping the Cobra team place second.

Here’s Anna’s biggest achievement. She was the valedictorian for the McNair Class of 2020, graduating with a grade point average over 4.0 and scoring an astounding 1570 out of 1600 in the Scholastic Aptitude Tests. So it isn’t any wonder that she’s headed to Princeton University in a few months to study computer science.

Needless to say, Prilutsky had a brilliant high school career, capped by earning the NJSIAA Scholar/Athlete award.

“I really enjoyed my time at McNair,” said Prilutsky, the first-ever volleyball/fencing recipient.

Jy’Nese Spivey, Ferris

Jy’Nese Spivey never participated in competitive track and field until she was a sophomore at Ferris High School.

“My cousin ran track and her coach was really close to our family,” Spivey said. “I just decided to join the track team. When I first joined, I noticed that everyone else was really good and I felt out of place. The others had been running for years. I didn’t have the experience.”

Spivey, who transferred to Ferris from Union Township a little more than three years ago, didn’t know what would be her best event.

“I started off running sprints,” Spivey said. “I then learned about distances. A friend of mine on the team was supposed to run the 800 (meter run), but didn’t feel well. So I told her that I would run it for her. Once I did that for my friend, I fell in love with it.”

Spivey then became a regular in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs.

“My first 800 was so bad,” Spivey said. “But once I started training, I got better.”

Spivey has only one regret.

“I feel like if I started off earlier, like in eighth grade, I would have been more prepared for high school,” Spivey said. “I should have started sooner.”

Spivey learned of her award during Ferris’ virtual graduation two weeks ago.

“During the virtual graduation, it said my name and I was a little shocked,” Spivey said. “My friend in Union got the same award, so I knew that was pretty good. I just figure that anything is possible if you work hard at it. If you put your mind to it, you can do it.”

Spivey is headed to Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, where she plans on majoring in biomedical engineering with the hope of one day attending medical school. She graduated from Ferris with a 3.4 grade point average.

Alicia Campbell, Snyder

Campbell, who rewrote the record books during her days as Hudson County’s most decorated track and field participant the last three years, also was an excellent student during her days at Snyder.

Receiving an award for being the top scholar/athlete at her school meant a lot to Campbell.

“As student/athletes, sometimes we don’t get recognized,” Campbell said. “At least I got recognized for being an athlete.”

Campbell had no idea that she was receiving the NJSIAA Scholar/Athlete award until it arrived in the mail.

“I just got the package and opened it,” Campbell said. “I didn’t even know. I had no idea that there was such a thing. Immediately, I called my coach and he didn’t know either. So it came as a big surprise. I’ve always said that schoolwork comes first. Even if sports didn’t work out, I could always have my schoolwork to fall back on.”

Campbell maintained a 3.4 grade point average and scored 1050 on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests. She will attend Rutgers University in New Brunswick in the fall on a track and field scholarship package. She will major in Kinesiology, which is the scientific study of body movement.

“I want to stay in the field of sports medicine,” Campbell said. “I always want to do something with sports and with medicine.”

Campbell knows about sports medicine from firsthand basis. She suffered a severely broken ankle competing in the NJSIAA state sectional championships last year, but she has since recovered. She stood to win four gold medals in the Hudson County championships for a second straight year if not for the coronavirus pandemic that put an abrupt end to the spring sports season.

Erin Murphy, St. Dominic Academy

Murphy was one of the busiest athletes at SDA, so earning the nod as being the top scholar/athlete is a remarkable feat considering her hectic schedule.

In the fall, Murphy was the goalkeeper for the Blue Devils’ soccer squad. In the winter, Murphy was a four-year starter for the SDA basketball squad, leading the Blue Devils’ to berths in the state and county playoffs. In the spring, she was a standout slugger for the softball squad, so to maintain a 3.78 grade point average in the classroom is no small feat.

“I always made sure I kept my grades up,” said Murphy, an honor student throughout her four years at SDA. “I always had to keep my academics in line. Even before athletics, I had to maintain good grades. I really didn’t have time for much else. I was always trying to keep track of the sports. I had some time after school to finish all of my work.”

Murphy found out about receiving the Scholar/Athlete award during her viral graduation.

“My name was announced and my name popped up on the screen,” Murphy said. “Until I saw my name on the screen, I had no idea. No one was expecting anything like that.”

If there’s one regret, it’s that the spring softball season would have marked a new chapter in Murphy’s athletic life, because her father, Brian, was set to be the head coach at SDA, and her older brother, Thomas, was going to be an assistant coach.

“That definitely would have been an experience,” Erin Murphy said. “My Dad has always been my biggest supporter.”

Murphy is headed to Loyola University in Baltimore, where she will major in psychology. She hopes to someday be either a psychiatrist or a teacher.

Murphy says that she leaves high school with mixed emotions.

“I put in a lot of time in high school and made a lot of friends there,” Murphy said. “So I’m sad about leaving. But I’m excited about the challenges of college.”

Emily Schroeder, Hoboken

Schroeder was first involved with the indoor track team at Hoboken High when she wondered about trying something different. It was a sport that was totally new to the school – namely girls’ lacrosse.

“Because I did track, I knew that lacrosse needed a lot of running,” Schroeder said. “So I thought I could do that. It was a little difficult, catching the ball with the lacrosse stick. That was definitely difficult. I kept pushing myself to do it. I didn’t give up. I got better after practices. I had older players on the team that helped me.”

Schroder also took a large amount of pride in her grades, even though she was juggling attempts at track and volleyball.

“I always took AP (advanced placement) honors classes,” Schroeder said. “I always found a way to do well in both. No matter what, I did my best. I always got good grades. My family also pushed me to do my best.”

Schroeder also didn’t know she was receiving the NJSIAA Scholar/Athlete award.

“I was honestly in shock,” Schroeder said. “I found out online. It was great to get recognized for all the determination that I had. But I definitely didn’t expect this. It was a surprise.”

Schroeder graduated with a 4.0 grade point average. She is headed to Felician University to study nursing and eventually go for her Master’s degree in nursing.

“My dream is to work at Hackensack (University Medical Center),” Schroeder said. “I always wanted to be there.”

Schroeder said that she was floored to receive the Scholar/Athlete award.

“I am really happy to represent my school,” Schroeder said. “To be able to get recognized like this is a remarkable achievement and I’m thankful for that.”

Angelina Moncrieffe, Secaucus

Better known as the lovable Angie, Moncrieffe was a four-year member of the Secaucus swim team, competing in the 100-meter backstroke, 100-meter freestyle, the 200-meter medley relay and the 400-meter freestyle relay.

Angie also swims for a private swim team, known as the Jersey Flyers Aquatic Club, an organization she has been a member with for 10 years. She was also the captain of the Secaucus swim team. She was also a member of the National Honor Society and volunteered feeding the homeless.

“I do love being in the pool,” Moncrieffe said. “I swim for three hours a day, six days a week. I’m able to juggle my work in school and work in the pool. I really could spend all day in the pool.”

Moncrieffe is headed to Bates College in Maine, where she plans on majoring in neurology in the school’s five-year STEM program. She will be on a pre-med track at Bates.

Angie said that she was also shocked by receiving the NJSIAA award.

“I was surprised and excited,” Moncrieffe said. “But I have to admit. I did a little research. I looked into it and found out I was getting it. It definitely means a lot.”

Angie was disappointed that there was no graduation ceremony.

“I’m an only child,” Moncrieffe said. “I didn’t get the chance to walk across the stage to get my diploma. I also didn’t get to take pictures for my prom. So that really stunk.”

Moncrieffe said that she will be part of the swim team at Bates.

“I know it’s going to be cold in Maine getting up at 5 a.m.,” Moncrieffe said. “I’m a little nervous, but I’m extremely excited to begin the next chapter of my life. I like to thank all the people in Secaucus who supported me, especially Mr. (Charlie) Voorhees (the school athletic director), who always made sure the swim team was funded. Anything we asked for, we got.”

Moncrieffe graduated from Secaucus with a 4.35 grade point average and a score of 1300 in the SATs. Obviously, Angie left her mark at Secaucus.

Later this week, the Hudson County boys’ top scholar/athletes

Hudson Catholic's White, Lincoln's Wilson sign with AIC

Former Hudson Catholic running back Jaheir White

Jaheir White was getting to be a bit of a troubled soul. The talented Hudson Catholic do-everything running back was heading into the summer months without having a true college offer to consider.

“I was a little worried,” White said. “It came to a point where I said I didn’t want to play football anymore. But I sat down with my Mom and my coaches and they told me to sit and wait, that doors would eventually open.”

Meanwhile, Lincoln High School product Norian Wilson was also getting concerned about his college football options.

“My coach (Robert Hampton) knew that things would eventually go in my direction,” said Wilson, a standout two-way lineman for the Lions. “He promised me and I believed in him.”

Enter Dan Hicks, an assistant coach at American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts. AIC is an NCAA Division II school located near the home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Hicks, a native of Harrison and the former head coach there, made recruiting New Jersey athletes a priority in his first year at the school. Hicks sought out both Wilson and White from the outset.

“AIC is in an area that is a lot like Jersey City,” said the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Wilson. “I didn’t want to be in a place that was quiet. I needed something that was more like home.”

Lincoln lineman Norian Wilson (fourth from left, next to coach Robert Hampton) also signed with AIC

Wilson also liked the fact that he was going to get a chance to play right away for the Yellow Jackets this fall.

“I have a chance to play right away and I can play any position I want,” Wilson said. “I think my best position is offensive tackle, but I want to be a defensive end.”

White knew that his 5-foot-9, 170-pound frame might have been a deterrent to college recruiters.

“I knew my height was a little bit of a problem,” White said. “But that’s out of my control now.”

Hicks liked both players a lot and offered both a scholarship to AIC.

“With Norian, you know what you’re getting,” Hicks said. “I met him and met his Dad and both were very well spoken and honest. Norian is very mature. I think he has a lot of upside to his game. He’s going to fill out a little more. We’re really excited about him. He’s a Hudson County kid that we expect to compete for a starting spot this year.”

Hicks also loves White’s potential.

“Jaheir is just an athlete,” Hicks said. “I’ve known Coach (Lou) Zampella for a long time and he sang Jaheir’s praises. He’s a kid that plays well in space. I don’t know what position he’ll play, but I think he’ll find himself on the field on the offensive side of the ball.”

White likes his versatility.

“I’ve always tried to play a multitude of positions,” White said. “I can play all over.”

Both Wilson and White were among 24 New Jersey players who signed letters of intent with AIC recently. White’s recruitment was only finalized in the last few weeks.

White liked Hicks’ approach in the recruitment process.

“The first time I went to AIC to visit, I liked it,” White said. “Then I got an e-mail a day. Coach Hicks was calling me regularly. I went up to AIC, did a workout and the coaches liked what I did. We were constantly talking on the phone and he was ready to let me know when I got accepted by the school.”

White thought that he might have to attend a prep school for a year or go the NCAA Division III route without a scholarship.

“I kept saying to myself that I was better than that,” White said.

White and Wilson live only blocks apart in Jersey City, but didn’t know each other well until they played on a spring football team, the New Jersey Crushers, last spring.

“I like the way Norian plays,” White said. “He listens to whatever the coaches tell him. We both have something we can relate to. We’re both from Jersey City.”

They also have something else in common – namely a field of study at AIC. Both have aspirations to become sports athletic trainers. Wilson will study sports management, while White will study physical therapy.

“I always want to be around athletes,” White said. “I want to help and do anything I can with sports. Our athletic trainer (Joella Pounds) helped me tremendously. She told me that I could do it if I wanted to do it.”

“It all worked out well for me,” Wilson said. “It feels good that I was able to reach my goal. When I started playing football, I wanted to be a scholarship player.”

Wilson also said that he owes his success to Hampton.

“Without him, I wouldn’t be here,” Wilson said. “I owe him a lot. After I move on with my life, I will find a way to help him out.”

Wilson also said that taking a visit to the Basketball Hall of Fame helped make the decision to go to AIC.

“Kobe (Bryant) is my favorite player of all-time,” Wilson said. “That helped seal the deal for me.”

The coronavirus pandemic caused a cancellation of this year’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony that would have included the late Lakers’ superstar who was killed in a helicopter crash in January.

White believes that the recruitment process worked out well for him.

“This all happened for me within the last month,” White said. “I’m really happy with the way things worked out.”

A "Field of Dreams" memory for Father's Day

This column was first printed in the pages of the now-defunct Hudson Dispatch on June 29, 1989. 

It ended up winning several different awards from the New Jersey Press Association, the North Jersey Press Club and the Garden State Society of Journalists. It was also reprinted in Reader’s Digest later that year (although I never got credit, the paper did).

For several years, the clipping sat in an old Avon box in my basement. We had a major flood four years ago that ruined a lot of my old clippings, including several of the old Dispatch articles. But somehow, this one survived. It’s very weather beaten and faded, but it survived.

I’m posting it today, because after all, it’s Fathers’ Day.

I ventured to the movie theater the other day. No, not to see “Batman” or even “Ghostbusters II.” I’m not a trendy type of guy. In fact, I’m a little behind the times. I saw “Field of Dreams.”

OK, so the rest of the western world has already plunked down the cash to see “Field of Dreams.” We’re in the midst of a blockbuster movie season. “Field of Dreams” is old news to movie freaks. After all, it was only released nine weeks ago.

But “Field of Dreams” is about baseball _ sort of. And besides, “Batman” is not about Don Mattingly. I am a sportswriter _ at last check. And I’m a movie fan. Just a tardy movie fan, that’s all. I had to go see it. Who cares if I’m late?

I heard so many things about the movie. It was supposed to be the best thing ever to happen to baseball movies _ which wouldn’t be a hard feat, considering that most baseball flicks flounder.

I went with an open mind, waiting to be disappointed. I left feeling wonderful, feeling alive, feeling good. “Field of Dreams” touched me more than any other movie. It was clearly the best picture I’ve ever witnessed.

And my strong feelings about “Field of Dreams” had nothing to do with baseball. It had to do with life. Or, for that matter, afterlife.

For those who have not had the chance to see “Field of Dreams” _ like all seven of you _ you can stop reading here. Take my word for it, the movie is excellent. It’s the best thing you’ll see all year.

Now, for you other fortunate folk.

Let’s face it. “Field of Dreams” has its flaws. I mean, Shoeless Joe Jackson batted left-handed in real life and threw right. In this movie, the exact opposite. He batted right and threw left.

Brings up a good question. Do your extremities become mirror images after death? Only Elvis can answer that one. Remind me to ask him the next time the King is spotted at a 7-11 in Michigan. Elvis probably shoots at TVs with his left these days.

Gil Hodges is mentioned to be on the “Field of Dreams.” But there were no Brooklyn Dodgers uniforms to be found.

Still, this movie was absolute perfection to me, because it was able to touch me in a way that some people can relate to _ but hopefully not many.

Because of one movie, I got in touch with the huge vacancy that has been dominating my life for the last 18 years _ namely the absence of my father.

I was 10 when cancer snuffed Jack Hague away from me. He was sick, dead and gone within one month’s time in 1971. He was my everything. He was my inspiration, my motivation, my life. He was my Little League manager, my friend. He taught me so much about life in 10 short years _ and then he was gone.

It left me with a brother who was 60 miles away with his own family, a sister who was maturing rapidly _ and a loving mother, who had to be both parents from that point on. It was not easy.

Especially because of my obsession with sports _ something I shared with my Dad. We would watch ball games together, talk baseball constantly, play catch in my backyard.

With no father, those times came to an abrupt halt. I longed for the days of playing catch in the yard. They were long gone.

“Stop throwing like a girl, James,” I could hear him saying. “Step and throw.”

There were so many times in 1972, the first year after my father’s death, that I would stand in the yard, hoping he would come back. I just kept standing there, smacking the ball into my empty glove.

Little League was no longer fun without my Dad. It was a struggle to play for some other manager.

That summer, my mother bought me a “Pitch-Back,” the net that snapped the ball back to you after you tossed it. However, the damn thing never offered advice. It never told me what I was doing wrong. It just stood there.

And the “Pitch-Back” could never tell me what I was doing wrong in life. Of course, my mother did _ and worked hard at it. But living with two women and no man’s view of life certainly was no breeze for a moody kid who found his only release through sports.

As time went on, I tended to forget about my Dad. Not entirely, but enough that he wasn’t a major part of my life anymore. I lost his set of values, his standards. I forgot what Jack Hague stood for. I wanted to be independent, my own person. I couldn’t fill the shoes of a memory.

Sure, sports remained my one constant _ and still is today. Without it, I would be lost. But most of all the other values I thought I had disappeared.

People think I’ve lived a good life, an exciting life. But it’s been fairly shallow. I never realized that until recently _ and never more so until I saw “Field of Dreams.”

It was a total awakening for me. I knew how important my father was _ and still is. Sure, my father was gone, but I should never let him stop being my parent. I should have left his values live on in my life instead of being pigheaded and stubborn and wanting to be something and someone else.

“Field of Dreams” touched me so much that I wanted to build a field in my backyard, albeit a small patch of brown grass nestled in Jersey City. And all the greats of yesteryear who are now departed could come back. They wouldn’t even need an invitation.

Gil Hodges would wear a Met uniform and run the show. Thurman Munson would be behind the plate. Satchel Paige on the mound, Lou Gehrig at first _ and Jackie Robinson stealing bases all night.

And the players would leave a little spot where right field would be, just enough for a grey-haired man with a three-finger glove could throw some high hard ones to his son.

“Field of Dreams” did what it was supposed to do _ make us all dream. It made me dream _ of the days when my father taught me about baseball and life.

I almost took those days for granted. I look back now and cherish. I never realized how much I truly missed my father.

So this is somewhat of an open call to all our readers. Stop, take time out and realize how important your father is.

Sure, there may be some differences and there may be some strife, but the day may come when your father is suddenly not there _ and that vacant feeling of his loss almost gets a stranglehold of you.

I know what that feeling is like. I knew it 18 years ago _ and I rediscovered that huge gap 11 days ago. Yes, Fathers’ Day, the day I saw “Field of Dreams.” I had totally forgotten it was Fathers’ Day. It was so totally ironic I saw the movie on that day.

I’ll never forget Fathers’ Day again. That’s why I love the movies so much _ and why “Field of Dreams” is the best movie I’ve ever seen. I found my Dad. I’m grateful for Hollywood for that.

That’s why I’m asking all of you to find your fathers, too. While he’s still around.

That column was written amazingly almost 31 years ago, but it still has its meaning. I still miss my Dad, Field of Dreams is still a great movie and yes, today is Father's Day. So Happy Father's Day. And as the immortal Ralph Kiner once said during a Met broadcast, "And to all you fathers out there, Happy Birthday."