Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Hudson Catholic's Jones gives commitment to Villanova

Hudson Catholic junior guard Zanai Jones


Zanai Jones always wanted to be someone who made a difference in her hometown of Jersey City.

“I take pride that I’m a Jersey City girl,” said Jones, the brilliant do-everything guard for the Hudson Catholic girls’ basketball team. “It was actually a goal of mine to be able to give back to my community. I’m from here and went to school here. I wanted to be someone who went to a good college with a good academic reputation.”

And basketball was always a part of Jones’ makeup.

“I went to a lot of the WNBA games, the New York Liberty games when they played at the Prudential Center,” Jones said. “I looked up to players like Cappie Pondexter and Essence Carson. I wondered how would I get there one day. I knew that I had to play college basketball.”

So Jones diligently worked on her overall game, especially as a talented point guard.

“As I learned more, I wanted to go to college on a scholarship,” Jones said. “I guess that became one of my bigger goals when I was in eighth grade. I wanted to be able to go to a good college for free and I wanted to play at a big-time college.”

Jones officially solidified that dream Wednesday when she gave a verbal commitment to attend Villanova on a scholarship after she graduates from Hudson Catholic in June of 2021.

Jones is coming off a brilliant junior year, where she averaged 18.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.8 steals per game for the Hawks, who finished the season with a 24-5 record, including a perfect 15-0 record inside the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic League-Red Division. Jones, who is on pace to become the all-time leading scorer in Hudson Catholic history next season, was selected as the Jim Hague Sports Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year.

Jones said that she selected Villanova over finalists Temple and Iona because of the Philadelphia school’s academic reputation.

“I always liked Villanova,” Jones said. “I wanted to go to a place where I could make a difference. There are new coaches coming in (Denise Dillon is the new coach, replacing the veteran Harry Perretta, who retired after 41 years). I could help change the program. I always wanted to be able to beat UConn. It’s a beautiful campus. I liked the academics. I just felt at home there. I could see myself going there.”

And as for the Wildcats’ program?

“I didn’t want to be at the top when I started college,” Jones said. “I wanted to make a difference. That was important to me from the start.”

Jones said that she plans on majoring in psychology at Villanova.

“I can go anywhere with that degree,” said Jones, who is carrying a 3.7 grade point average. “I like law and the justice system. I could go straight into a Masters program.”

Jones is such an accelerated student that she will already have an associate degree when she graduates from Hudson Catholic.

Hudson Catholic head coach Pete Vincent, a Jersey City native and resident like Jones, knows a little bit about the city’s rich basketball history.

“We’ve had a lot of really good guards from Jersey City, like Bobby Hurley, Alice DeFazio, Cathy Meyers O’Callahan and Kim Lee just to name a few,” Vincent said. “With Zanai, the beat goes on. She’s in that company. And everything she’s done, she’s done it on her own. She studies the game and learns the mental aspect of the game. I think that’s what puts her over the top. She may have the highest basketball IQ of anyone I’ve ever coached. That’s what enabled her to go higher and higher.

Added Vincent, “I’m proud of her. As a fellow Jersey City resident, she’s put herself in that category of the great guards. As her coach, I’ve seen the effort she’s put in every day. Very rarely, you find someone with the full package – talent, intelligence, personality. She has the ‘It’ factor.”

Jones is a member of the NJSIAA Student/Athlete Advisory Board, one of 30 students selected statewide.

Jones was able to excel last season, despite the fact that the Hawks were missing three key players who were out with season-ending injuries.

“I think that came from my will to win,” Jones said. “I had a different kind of hunger last year, a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. I think I was a little more mature, so I was able to do more. I was willing to do whatever we needed to win. I knew they couldn’t play and knew that things might have been different if they were on the court.”

The good news is that the Hawks will have a stellar roster next season with Jones poised to be the school’s all-time leading scorer.

“Zanai knows it’s not done,” Vincent said. “It’s all part of the process. I think we all knew this day was inevitable, but there’s more to do.”

Jones was glad to get her college choice out of the way now.

“It’s actually a nice relief,” Jones said. “During this pandemic, I was able to focus and make up my mind. I really had the chance to make the right decision.”


And Jones can concentrate on her schoolwork, her basketball and making her hometown proud. After all, it’s not every day that a Jersey City girl can give a verbal commitment to a big-time NCAA Division I program.

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Lincoln's Walker signs with Tennessee-Martin; first D-1 product in 41 years


La-Quiem Walker was facing the crossroads of his young basketball life. In 2017, Walker had just finished a dismal junior year at Lincoln High School and was watching his dream of playing college basketball fly out the proverbial window.

“My confidence just wasn’t there,” said Walker, who averaged three points per game and four rebounds per contest his junior year with the Lions. “My confidence was just not as high as it should have been.”

Although Walker stood an impressive 6-foot-9, his opportunities to play college ball were dwindling to slim and none.

“From a skill set standpoint, I thought he had a shot,” Lincoln head coach Bill Zasowski said. “He had a lot of upside. But after his junior year, I just didn’t see it.”

So as Walker prepared for his senior year, a light went off inside Walker’s brain.

“It was a big summer for me,” Walker said. “We won the Jersey City (Recreation) Summer League and it just went up from there.”

“He started to get it,” Zasowski said. “He put it all together. His shot selection was really good and we let him shoot it. No one was going out to guard him. He worked hard at his shooting range.”

Walker averaged 8.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and almost three blocked shots per game for the 20-8 Lions, who won two rounds in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II state tournament against Matawan and Manasquan, before falling by a single point (46-45) to Carteret in the sectional semifinal.


Former Lincoln standout La-Quiem Walker, now of Tennessee-Martin

One would figure that Walker would have had a host of college scholarship offers after that fine season, but the offers were few.

“I have no clue why that happened,” Walker said. “It was real frustrating. But I just had to keep on working on my game.”

Walker had a chance to attend a local NCAA Division III school, but he really had hopes of playing Division I basketball one day.

So Walker then realized that if he wanted to make that dream come true, he was going to have to attend a junior college, attain good grades, play better basketball and hope that someone would take notice of his fine frame and his burgeoning talents.

Zasowski heard from a junior college in Illinois, Kaskaskia College in Centralia. Although Centralia is an hour south of Chicago, it was actually light years from the Windy City.

“When Coach Billy told me about the school, he told me it was in the middle of nowhere,” Walker said. “I did want to get away for a little bit, but this made me appreciate it more. The only thing I could do there was focus on basketball and school, so that’s what I did.”

Just how different was Centralia to Jersey City?

“Well, we used to go to the Wal-Mart for fun,” Walker said. “We would go there to play. The employees all knew who we were.”

Walker didn’t exactly set the world on fire during his freshman year at Kaskaskia and the Blue Devils, averaging just five points per game.

“But I was surrounded by a good group of guys,” Walker said. “They were good role models for me. I listened to them. They were so strong in my eyes.”

Walker worked on his overall game, especially his offensive prowess.

“I worked on my mid-range shot,” Walker said. “I put up 400 shots a night. I used to get kicked out of the gym by the janitors. I would shoot until the lights went off.”

As a sophomore, Walker improved his game, averaging 15.6 points and nearly 10 rebounds per contest. But on Nov. 2, 2019, tragedy struck Walker and his family. His older brother Sirheen was shot and killed on Lexington and Bergen Avenues. Sirheen Walker was 30 years old.

“When that happened, a different switch was turned on,” Walker said. “Not only was he my brother, but he was the provider for my family. I knew I had to step up and be the man in the family. I was going to do whatever the team needed to win. I was going to be the leader. I wanted to be the leader. I used to be the quiet one, but now I had to step it up for my younger brother and two older sisters. I wanted to make my Mom (Tina Beamon) proud.”

Walker said that he participated in a JUCO showcase, where a host of mid-major Division I coaches attended.

When Walker was asked if a Division I scholarship was the goal, he emphatically answered: “Yes, sir.”

“That’s what I worked for,” Walker said. “That’s what was supposed to happen.”

Walker performed very well at the showcase and he received solid offers from schools such as Appalachian State and Virginia Commonwealth.

But Walker was impressed with the straight-forward approach of Anthony Stewart, the head coach at the University of Tennessee-Martin.

“We had a good connection,” Walker said. “I did my research about the school and I liked what the school had to offer. Coach Stewart told me what he wanted from me and what he wanted me to do. I said what I wanted. It really was a good fit.”

So last week, Walker signed his national letter of intent to attend Tennessee-Martin in August. He becomes the first Lincoln product to sign a national letter with a Division I school since current Lincoln girls’ head coach Tommy Best signed a letter to attend Lafayette in 1979. Best would later transfer and finished his college career at St. Peter’s.

“I didn’t think I was the last one to come out of Lincoln since Coach Best,” Walker said. “Not many get the chance to come out of Lincoln and go to college. This is proof that good grades are important.”

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Walker has not been able to visit Tennessee-Martin.

“I will go there sight unseen,” Walker said. “I did a Zoom meeting with the coaches, but the whole thing is a little overwhelming. It feels good. It’s something I’ve always wanted. I wanted to get the chance to get out of Jersey City.”

Zasowski was overjoyed to be able to have a former player go to the D-I ranks.

“I’m ecstatic for the kid,” Zasowski said. “That’s what sports is all about. He wanted to take it as far as he could. It was great to see him reach his goal.”

And Walker stuck to his guns, traveling from Jersey City to Illinois and finally Tennessee, all just to pursue a dream.


Friday, May 15, 2020

Terence Matthews: A man's gentleman and truly a gentle man

Terry Matthews recalled perhaps his favorite story about his late father, Terence, who died last week at the age of 83.

“I guess I was about 11 years old,” said the younger Matthews, who is the associate principal and dean of students at Hudson Catholic. “I was friends with perhaps the coolest kid in the neighborhood. He was everything a kid wanted to be. I was having a baseball catch with my Dad. This kid walked over and just started to throw the ball back and forth with me and my Dad.”

Mr. Matthews taking the time to play catch with the kid really resonated with his son, especially after hearing the reaction from the kid.

“He said to me, ‘Man, you’re lucky, because your Dad plays catch with you,’” Terry Matthews said. “My Dad took the time to play catch with him and any other kid that came around. My Dad sensed that this kid had no father and that no 11-year-old kid should never have to worry about having someone to throw the ball with.”

That one summer afternoon in Terry’s childhood stood out.

“It made an impression upon me,” Terry Matthews said. “He understood it was the right thing to do. He got it.”



From left, the late Terence Matthews, his son Terry and grandsons Eamonn and Liam Matthews. The elder Matthews died last week

Terence Matthews certainly “got it” when it came to dealing with adolescents his entire life. His professional life spanned five decades with the Jersey City Board of Education, including six years as the principal at Snyder High School and another 13 years as the principal at Ferris High School. He held the highest position at two tough schools in the inner-city, yet never bemoaned his status. In fact, he embraced it and welcomed it.

“He was proud of being a principal,” his son said. “He worked hard at it. It was a passion for him. He took a lot of pride in his job.”

He also took a lot of pride in his son’s friends. Mr. Matthews was an avid reader of my work and would freely criticize me when he thought I wrote something wrong, yet praised me when he agreed with something I put in my column. Believe it or not, the praise probably came just as much as the criticism. He was fair and stern and trustworthy and faithful all rolled into one.

And I’m not alone with such treatment. I’m willing to guess that Mr. Matthews was that way with practically every kid he came across. He might have given me preferential treatment because I was his son’s friend, but it didn’t seem that way to me. He was the same strict disciplinarian with me as he was with his students.

The best way I can describe Terence Matthews is this: He was a gentleman, class all the way. And he was a gentle man, kind, considerate, a man with a gigantic heart who cared for so many others.

The word can be utilized two ways _ a gentle man as a man whose heart was bigger than Montgomery Street; and a gentleman, a man with class and dignity.

That best describes Terence Matthews. He was the gentle man’s gentleman.

After graduating from St. Peter’s Prep, Terry went to Rutgers University, but really didn’t have a career path when he first started attending classes.

“I just started to gravitate towards education,” Terry said. “I never anticipated it at all. I was an English major, but I wasn’t a career path guy. It just happened organically.”

Of course, it didn’t hurt that one of Jersey City’s top educators and administrators resided in the same house with Terry.

“He provided guidance to me,” Terry Matthews said of his father. “I was able to get his opinion on everything. As long as I did it and did it well, my father didn’t care. As long as the kids were my focal point, then my father was a great role model to have.”

Matthews said that he received several cards, notes and e-mails from former students after his father’s passing.

“People wrote to me, saying that they were an ungrateful teen,” Matthews said. “And they said after meeting and talking with my father, they went from being an ungrateful teen to a grateful young man. When it came to other teachers, he didn’t demand respect. He didn’t command respect, but I bet he got it. He was logical, yet empathetic. He was always looking out for kids. He just had that presence. There was no bullshit about him. You saw what you got. The kids recognized that he cared for them.”

Mr. Matthews lost his wife, Catherine, a little more than a decade ago. They were married 45 years and had five children – sons Terry and Sean and girls Michelle, Katie and Megan. Mr. Matthews was blessed with 12 grandchildren. After losing his first wife, Mr. Matthews fell in love again with Alana and got remarried nine years ago. Mr. Matthews is also survived by his sister Helen Alosa.

Terry Matthews said that he lost his hero last week.

“He’s still my hero and always has been my hero,” Terry Matthews said. “The one thing that stands out about him is that he was a man of his word. He had a tremendous heart.”

Terence Matthews retired as the Ferris principal in 1999. He then bounced around a little with limited work responsibilities as Bogota’s acting principal. He also served in similar capacities at Hoboken.

The sad thing about his passing was what the COVID 19 pandemic has done to the country, that he was prevented to have a wake and funeral with everyone getting a chance to say farewell.

But it turned out the way Terence Matthews liked it.

“He wasn’t a man who liked showing off,” Terry Matthews said of his father. “He wouldn’t have wanted a big funeral, a huge sendoff. But without the COVID restrictions, there would have been a big turnout. It’s ironic that he didn’t get the tremendous send off that he deserved.”

Terence Matthews certainly deserved a grandiose farewell. He deserved to know that thousands of people cared for him, respected him, absorbed his words like it was the Bible and accepted his advice, whether you wanted it or not.

That’s just what a principal does, the head honcho at two of Jersey City’s toughest facilities of secondary education. Terence Matthews fit the part perfectly like he was a retired colonel in the U.S. Army. He certainly looked the part.

Jersey City lost a true giant of education, a true legend of a man, a gentleman and a gentle man. No question, he will be missed, by family, friends and comrades alike.

================================================================================

Bill Raftery lost his sister, Sister Frances, last week as well.  Sister Frances, who was also known for a while as Sister Rita, lived a full life to the end. She was working out earlier in the day at Strulowitz and Gargiulo, rehabbing a bad shoulder and such. Billy Raftery adored his sister and used her a lot in his play by play announcing. Sister Rita was 75 years old. Incredibly, "Billy Raf" lost his brother, beloved man Frannie, just a few months ago and now loses Sister Rita. Tough times for the Raftery family. God bless Sister Rita.

As for this COVID-19 pandemic, I think the smart thing is to take it easy and slow as things try to get back to normal. I can't see how everyone is going to flock to the Jersey Shore in two weeks and think that everything is back to normal. I think that everyone heading to the shore in one swoop is dangerous, especially after what we've endured. Slow and steady and we'll be back. Just don't think that everything is hunky dory for Memorial Day because it really won't be.



Sunday, May 10, 2020

Here's my Mother's Day tribute---Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, quarantine or not

EDITOR'S NOTE: This column was first printed in The Hudson Reporter Newspapers on May 14, 2000, which was Mother's Day. At the time, the column received such a positive response (more than 40 letters and cards), easily the highest response total for any column written over the previous 15 years, before the era of social media with texts, instant messages and e-mails. 

It was reprinted in May, 2003 as a tribute to Moms everywhere.

And it was reprinted a third time, as a tribute to the one and only Helaine Hague, who died Friday, Sept. 22, 2006.


I've put it on my blog several times since the blog started in 2011. And here it is again, as a tribute to all mothers on your day today.
It's Mother's Day, the first of the new millennium. It's a day to lavish Mom with gifts of appreciation, flowers, cards, candy, maybe a trip to her favorite restaurant. It's an occasion for children to truly remember what Mom really meant to them through the years. 

Although it shouldn't take the second Sunday in May to think about Mom, we are all forced to do so on a day like this. And that's good. We should all take the time and remember Mom. After all, we wouldn't be here without her, right? 

But it's far more than that. Every successful person - and for that matter, every successful athlete on any level, from Little League to the pros - has been inspired and touched by the dedication and love of his or her mother. 

As a sportswriter, I've witnessed the importance of mothers on their aspiring athletic children so many times, both behind the scenes and in full view. There can not be a single athlete alive who said that he or she wasn't affected by the love and care and concern of their mother. Impossible. 

Some people may have disagreements with their mothers and may not want to admit it. But here's a little refresher course, just in case you've forgotten. 

Who was the one to wash the Little League uniform and make sure it was as close to lily white as possible for the next game? When practices ran late, who was the one who made sure that there was some semblance of a hot meal on the table? 

When you were ravaged by cold and flu, who was the first one to come with the aspirins and cold compresses? When you had the upset stomach, who was the first to offer the "old family secret?" When you had the little cut on the finger, who had the handy Band-Aid already opened? 

When you needed a ride from basketball practice to baseball tryouts to soccer games, who was the one who already had her keys in hand? And when that soccer game was being played in a steady downpour, who was the one standing on the sidelines with the bright, broad smile? 

And who was the one who went to the football games to cheer you on, even when she had no clue what was going on? Sitting in the stands at those cold, frosty football games, closing her eyes with every opportunity that her "little baby" could actually get hurt? How about the endless baseball games they watched you play in the hot, summer sun, just to see your last at-bat in a 23-2 loss? 

Sure, Dad was there, but no one loved you more than Mom. Dad might have been the inspiration and the one you wanted to prove something to, but Mom was there with her undying devotion and love, from cleaning the uniforms to cleaning the scrapes and cuts. 

Being your mom was a thankless job, but someone had to do it. You weren't about to wash your own uniform and make it sparkle in time for game day. And face it, you always got the sticky end of the Band-Aid mangled and twisted. 

I know about Moms, because I had one and still have one, although she's now a mere shell of what she used to be. But Helaine Hague is still my Mom. And today's her day. 

Fate wasn't kind to Helaine Hague nearly 30 years ago, when cancer took her husband far too early, before Jack and Helaine could grow old together. Fate left Helaine Hague with the task of raising a moody 15-year-old daughter and a demanding 10-year-old son, without the man she had been totally devoted to for 33 years. She didn't plan on being both father and mother to two growing children, but she had no choice. 

We all could have totally fallen apart after the death of my father. I mean, my father was the breadwinner and the backbone of our family. We all fed off him. His loss could have been devastating to the point of destruction. 

But because of my mother's strong will and dedication to her children, she did her best to make sure that my sister and I never wanted for anything. She made sure that we received the best possible education (my sister's at Holy Family Academy and Montclair State and mine at St. Peter's Prep and Marquette). We weren't exactly rich and there were times where we wondered where the next dollar would come from. But we never wanted or lacked anything. 

And that's a credit to my mother, who did it all on her own. I adore my father and cherish his memory and what he stood for, but the reason why I have anything today is Helaine Hague. You read these words today because she was strict and loving and stubborn and unwavering and belligerent and caring. Although she never wanted that role, she was father and mother wrapped into one. And she did a good job. 

My mother was a dutiful servant to the Jersey City Board of Education for 20 years, serving as a teacher's aide at three schools, the last being Rafael Cordero School (P.S. 37) in downtown Jersey City. She looked forward to getting up every day and spending the day with the youngsters who made her feel young. 

As a woman, she was one of the most active people I knew, volunteering her time for several organizations, like the Cub Scouts, Catholic Daughters, St. Paul's Rosary Society, St. Paul's Senior Citizens, the All Sorrows soup kitchen, the Columbianettes, et al. I mean, she was constantly on the go, going from one meeting to another. I marveled at her energy. 

As a mother, she was always there for me, in everything I did. After my father's death, it had to be emotionally hard to return to the Little League fields where my father and I spent every Saturday, but she was there to watch her little boy. She remained that chubby kid's biggest fan throughout Babe Ruth and high school, always asking me to "make her a home run." There were some Babe Ruth games where she was the only parent attending the game - and she had no idea what she was watching. 

She never wanted to watch football games or wrestling matches, for fear I would get hurt. More than often, that indeed happened. But she was there, probably closing her eyes and clutching the rosaries. 

When I went off to college, she wrote me a letter every single day and sealed the letter with a dollar bill inside. Every single day. You have no idea how far those dollars went and how far the love traveled from Jersey City to Milwaukee. With every note of news from home, I felt like I was there with her. 

When I came home after college, I had a job delivering meats for a meat purveyor, and received a good salary. After four months of the madness, my mother had enough. 

One morning, she stood over my bed as I woke, and asked me one question. 

"James, what you do every day, does that have anything to do with journalism? I mean, the bloody coats and stink, is that journalism?" 

I answered with a stupid laugh, "Of course not, Mom. Why do you ask?" 

"Well, I suggest you do something with your life in journalism," and she walked away. I got the hint. I quit the meat delivery job that week and started a new job writing obituaries for $100 a week, $600 a week less than what I had getting delivering meat. 

That was 17 years ago. I've been involved in a life of journalism ever since. 

For years, my friends have always given me abuse, saying that I was a "Mama's boy," because I lived with my mother for 34 years, until she was moved to a nursing home, when her battle with Paget's disease became too unmanageable. 

You know what? They were right. I was a Mama's boy - my Mama's boy. 

She's getting up in years now, spending her days in a nursing home 90 miles away. She's wheelchair-bound and can't hear much at all. Her eyesight, previously ravaged by cataracts, is poor. So is her memory on selected days. Helaine Hague deserved to live her golden years in better fashion. In that respect, fate has never been particularly kind to her. Cancer took her husband, and old age took her grace and dignity. 

But she's still here and still my mommy. I miss the feisty, pain-in-the-rear Polack who drove me crazy and battled with me for most of my life. I have that as a memory. 

I still have my mother, the one who made me what I am today, who gave me every opportunity to be able to express my opinion in words. I don't know what I would have done without her. I owe everything I have today to my mother. 

Today will be her day, in whatever fashion that may be. I know I'm not going to have many more. It could very well be the last one. We never know. 

To all those who have mothers and have the ability to enjoy the day, please do so. While you can. 

And to all those mothers who have toiled behind the scenes, happy Mother's Day. You're appreciated in these parts. I know what you all do. And you do it well.

Here's to Helcha Dorotea Rzepiejewski, the little pain in the neck who was my Mommy. I miss her now tremendously, especially on this day, the one that was reserved for her.

 

Friday, May 8, 2020

Memories of a true basketball legend and friend Bob Luksta

The late Bob Luksta (center) at his home in March, 2019, with me (left) and Mary Costello (right)

We lost Bob Luksta today at the tender age of 92. I spoke with Bob about two weeks ago and he said to me that he thought he had only had two weeks to live. Sure enough, almost two weeks to the day, he passed away. But it was without question a life well lived, one that will certainly live on, with all the memories that were created from Bob’s incredible and historic existence on this great planet.

Because the stories that just flowed out of the mouth of Luksta were like you were listening to a living basketball encyclopedia.

One story after another about the old days of basketball just kept you captivated. You heard the names of royalty that Luksta would utter and listen even more intently. Luksta said the names, the litany of greats, and you just wanted to soak it all in, like you were savoring a glass of fine wine or a good port.

You heard stories of Luksta playing with and against George Mikan at DePaul in the 1940s, before Mikan became the first great big man in the NBA.  Luksta was both a teammate and a coach with the Hall of Famer at DePaui.

You listened to the sweet sounds of Luksta playing for the New York Celtics, a team that was the forerunner for the old Washington Generals that locked horns nightly with the Harlem Globetrotters in games all across Europe that Luksta swore were more competitive than the games of entertainment that the ‘Trotters were a part of later on.

Luksta played against legends like Nathaniel “Sweetwater” Clifton and Marques Haynes of the Globetrotters and told tales of traveling all through Europe. Luksta became an assistant coach at DePaul, working with the legendary Hall of Famer Ray Meyer, a man who Luksta considered to be among his best friends.

In 1968, Luksta then became the head coach at Loyola University in New Orleans, staying at Loyola for four years, but Luksta developed a love for the Crescent City that remained with him forever, calling New Orleans his home away from home.

Luksta’s real home was Cicero in the Chicago suburbs, but if you asked for any tidbit of information about New Orleans, Luksta knew it. He knew the best restaurants – and those places still knew him. He knew the best bars to sit and have healthy conversations, far away from the madness that was Bourbon Street. Mardi Gras, with wild drunken behavior, wasn’t Luksta’s bag. He wanted to tell his tales of meeting other sports legends, other basketball aficionados like himself.

But New Orleans was his town. Long after his coaching career ended and he returned permanently back to the home in Cicero, where he was raised as a child, Luksta lived New Orleans and loved the place like he owned it. He spoke with pride about his love of New Orleans and his love of basketball, the game he played and coached.

It’s that love of basketball that made Luksta a fixture at the NCAA Final Four. As an active member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Luksta made sure that he attended the annual convention at the Final Four, missing the festivities only a handful of times since 1946.

And it was there were I got to see Luksta every year, going back to my first association in 1999 with a group called Maguire University, perhaps the best basketball institution at the Final Four every year.

In fact, with Maguire University, it’s not called the Final Four. It’s the Final Five – the four participating schools and Maguire.


In case you don’t know the tale of Maguire, it’s an incredible story, almost too amazing for words. In fact, it’s only fitting that Luksta will always be associated with Maguire U, because his life is almost as impressive as how Maguire came to be.

In 1963, a group of men were sitting in a bar in Chicago when they decided they wanted to go see Loyola of Chicago play in the NCAA Final Four. Not knowing how to acquire tickets, they called Loyola, but the people at Loyola told the men that they didn’t have tickets, that they had to call the NCAA in Shawnee Mission, Kansas.

The men had no idea what a Shawnee Mission was.

But they called and said they wanted to attend the NCAA Final Four involving Loyola of Chicago. The person in Shawnee Mission then asked in return, “What college are you from?”

Not knowing that they had to be from a school to get tickets, they quickly said, “Yeah, we’re from a college.”

Considering they were all sitting in an establishment called Maguire’s Pub, they quickly responded, “Maguire University.” They gave the address of the bar as the address of the school. One of the interested ticket buyers was Len Tyrell and he was the “school” chancellor.

Sure enough, the group from Maguire University got four tickets to the Final Four. The next year, the application for tickets arrived at the bar, so they asked for eight tickets – and got eight. The next year, it was 16, then 25, and so on.

Luksta was a fixture at Maguire’s Pub – as were most of the postgame crowds after Blue Demon games – so he went along for the ride, even though he was already going to the Final Four every year with the NABC Convention.

In 1971, the NCAA sent an information form to Maguire’s Pub, asking for the names of important members of the “athletic department” in order to include Maguire University in the annual publication called the NCAA Blue Book: The National Directory of College Athletics.” The Blue Book was published with all the vital info like phone numbers and personnel names.

The information sheet was sent back to Shawnee Mission with the fictional names attached to the address of the bar and the bar’s phone number.

Sure enough, Maguire received phone calls from schools wanting to schedule Maguire for games. The United States Air Force Academy – whose athletic director was St. Peter’s Prep legendary athlete Col. John Clune – wrote to Maguire, wishing to schedule a men’s volleyball match.

The ticket hoax remained intact until Bill Jauss of the Chicago Tribune (a writer who became famous nationally for his weekly appearances on the syndicated TV show called “The Sports Writers”) wrote a column about Maguire, calling it “The Best School That Never Existed.”

The NCAA got wind of Jauss’ column and obviously, the people were not too pleased, considering that at the time in 1973, Maguire received more than 50 tickets for the Final Four games.

So Maguire was permanently banned from the NCAA, never to be accepted again at NCAA sponsored events.

But that didn’t stop Maguire University from existing. People still signed up to go to the Final Four with Maguire, even if they didn’t have tickets to the games. It became a weekend of festivities, complete with a hospitality suite that would remain open until all hours of the night. Alcohol imbibing became one of Maguire’s courses of study. So did intoxication and the effects of alcohol on the brain. Some of the graduate studies included those topics.

Just like other colleges, there were Maguire accessories – T-shirts, hats, buttons, stickers, you name it. You didn’t have to travel far at the Final Four without some sort of Maguire memorabilia as a reminder. Some Maguire reminders ended up in the urinals of the sites of the Final Four.

Needless to say, Maguire University, albeit fictional, became a fun fixture at the Final Four, with Luksta always omnipresent at the Maguire hospitality suite.

In 1999 in Tampa, I was introduced to several members from Maguire University at an outdoor bar. Mary Costello and I stayed with the Maguire group for hours on end that day. They were indeed fun to be around.

We ran into the Maguire group again in 2006 in Indianapolis and had more laughs and fun. That was the encouragement needed to enroll as full-time students at Maguire.  And every year, there was Luksta, offering yet another story, giving us all another history lesson. If Basketball History 101 was a class at Maguire, then Bob Luksta was our professor.


The late Bob Luksta (left) with me and Maguire University chancellor Art Duffy (right)

Mary and I are now graduates of Maguire, I received my degree in toxicology and inebriation. We are both proud members of the Maguire Hall of Fame. We also encouraged other New Jersey residents to enroll at Maguire and they now have a great time with the rest of Maguire’s illustrious students and graduates.

Because of Maguire, we both became close friends with Bob Luksta. I attached myself to Bob because of his love of basketball and his countless stories of the game. Mary became very close to Bob because of his love and knowledge of New Orleans. In fact, on one occasion, Mary spent time with Bob in New Orleans, scouting out possible hotel locations for Maguire’s upcoming stays in New Orleans.

Luksta’s health didn’t allow him to attend the last few Final Fours. Last year, when we were en route by car to the Final Four in Minneapolis, we stopped in Cicero to spend the afternoon with the man we affectionately referred to as “Coach.” We stayed with Coach for about three hours and sure enough, he was right away telling tales of his long career, pulling out artifacts from his personal museum, like a banner he received for playing against the Globetrotters in the Far East and a portrait of himself that was drawn when he was coaching at Loyola University in New Orleans.

At 92, he was still lucid and talkative two weeks ago, talking about some of the great players he watched this season. We spoke about how depressing it was that there was no Final Four this year, that none of us Maguire folks made the trip to Atlanta that we were all looking forward to.

But Luksta said that he was battling sores on his backside and he was convinced the sores were cancerous.

“I’ll be gone within the next two weeks, Jimmy,” he said to me.

“Coach, don’t be silly,” I said. “I’ll talk to you in a couple weeks.”


But that call didn’t happen. The historian was right once again. He knew his time was up. There was no need for another five minutes on the clock and for overtime to be played. Bob Luksta’s game was over. His time on this earth was done. He lived a great life.

Although Bob didn’t have a wife or any children, he did have a nephew who cared for him. He had friends in Cicero, like his good friend Jim O’Connell, who I hope reads this piece. He had his caretakers who lived with him and took very good care of him.

The rest of us weren’t just his friends. We were his students. We were his players. Until the very end, Bob Luksta continued to coach us and teach us. He nurtured us and procured us. And now, it’s up to us to live on, to take what we learned and spread it with others.


I’ll miss the phone calls and the trips down memory lane, the journeys to days of yesteryear and images of smoky dimly lit gymnasiums of the 50s and 60s. I have my friend Bob Luksta to thank for that. Rest in peace, Coach.


Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Things would have been great for a Secaucus baseball revival

 Secaucus junior pitcher/first baseman Patrick Pantoliano



Secaucus junior pitcher/outfielder Jamling Lama


For all intents and purposes, it was going to be a successful baseball season at Secaucus High School this spring. Veteran head coach Neal Czechowski was extremely optimistic during the preseason, considering the wealth of talent he had returning from last year’s 11-9 team – and the prospects of promising younger players on the rise.

“I think the experience we gained last year was tremendous,” Czechowski said. “Most of the team consisted of sophomores and we had some juniors who were ready to step into bigger roles. So we were ready for the challenge. I think the juniors we have showed some potential. We have a lot of good kids. From the beginning of the school year, I had a sense of what this team might be able to do. They came in to the school year ready to play and in good shape.”

So that makes the cancellation of the season recently due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic even more difficult to swallow.

Czechowski, a native of Secaucus, said that Secaucus was making a move to become even more of a baseball town once again.

“I think the entire town of Secaucus stepped back into their roots,” Czechowski said. “I think we have a ton of coaches in town who stepped up with their ability to teach on all levels. You could see the tremendous impact that the town’s youth baseball efforts has made, just in the way the kids move around the field.”

So 2020 was shaping up to be a great year.

“I think we were looking at being a solid competitor in the league (the North Jersey Interscholastic Confererence-Meadowlands Division),” Czechowski said. “I think that would have set the tone for the county tournament and the state (the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group II). I think that was going to keep the kids motivated. I was hoping that things were going to turn out for the better.”

Looking at the Patriots, the team would have featured a powerful pitching staff. Junior right-hander Patrick Pantoliano had totally recovered from a broken ankle that cost him the entire basketball season. Now the hard-luck Pantoliano loses his entire baseball season as well.

“He’s coming off a great sophomore year,” Czechowski said. “He had the ability to take on the strongest teams. We had really had high hopes of pitching against the best teams. We expected him to take on the bulk of the big games. He has become a very calm, collected and complete pitcher.”
Junior righty William DeIasi was one of the biggest surprises in the county last season, posting a 5-1 record.

“He’s a good control pitcher,” Czechowski said. “He spots his pitches well. He has good location and has good pitch selection.”

Junior left-hander Jamling Lama was also set to have a solid campaign. The three-sport standout (football, basketball and baseball) won two games last year as a sophomore.

“I have confidence in him to throw strikes,” Czechowski said.

Junior Mark Denhert was another righty who got better as the year went on last year.

“He was a spot reliever who ate up innings,” Czechowski said. “I thought he was going to be a real game changer this year. I can’t wait to see what he can do.”

Junior Jhackzon Gil is another good athlete who is coming into his own as a pitcher. Junior Matthew Deleo is another righty with a bright future. Junior Dominic Polifronio is another who would have saw time on the hill this spring.

“We’re definitely not short on pitchers,” Czechowski said. “I’m very excited about our pitching.”

Senior Nicholas Nardone and junior Sean Moloughney were set to share the catching duties. Nardone saw limited playing time last season.

Pantoliano would have played first base when not pitching. Junior Matt Marselek would have been at first when Pantoliano pitched. Marselek could also see time at third base.

Senior Brandon Tabasco and Deleo would have shared the second base responsibilities. Denhert would have earned the nod at shortstop after having played third last year.

Sophomore John Young, a big, strong kid who possesses a ton of power, would have seen a lot of time at third base.

“He has a lot of potential,” Czechowski said of Young.

Marselek, along with seniors Michael Garcia and Kosei Hayashida would have also seen time at third. Hayashida, the quarterback on the Patriot football team last fall, was set to play baseball for the first time.

The outfield would have consisted of DeIasi in centerfield, with the speedy Gil in left field and the equally fast Lama in right. DeIasi had 17 RBI last year, which was second on the team. Gil has a lot of potential after transferring last year to Secaucus from the Dominican Republic.

Czechowski was pleased to have a solid coaching staff that included holdover Anthony Cassese and added West New York native and former Saddle Brook head coach John Celentano, who was an outstanding player in his heyday.


So the pieces were all in place. We’ll have to wait until 2021 to see the true Patriots in action and we unfortunately bid farewell to the seniors without having a chance to play this season.