Life of a hoops coach

My colleague Jerry Carino did an excellent job chronicling the strenuous life of a basketball coach during the winter season in this story.

Here are two other quotes from Hillsborough coach Jim Reese that didn't make it into the story, but are still pretty telling. Reese used to coach boys back in the day, but is now the second-longest tenured coach in Somerset County.

"I heard (UConn women's basketball coach) Geno Auriemma at a clinic say, 'Girls will learn your offense the way you want them to learn it because they know if they don’t the final score will be 0-0 ... Guys will screw up the offense if they know they're not supposed to get the shot. They’ll break it off and it becomes every man for himself."

"One thing I do miss is the crowds and the excitement of a packed gym. Frankly, it (girls hoops) just doesn't draw. We’ve been very good for a number of years and we still don’t draw like the boys. I would play doubleheaders all year long just for the excitement of it."


My thoughts: I love the idea of the doubleheaders. It works for the Somerset County Tournament semifinals and in rare spots throughout the regular season, so why not incorporate more of it? Plus, those 5 p.m. girls start times would make my life a whole lot easier.