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?