In 2014, when Ben Gamble left St. Anthony High School, where he served as Bob Hurley’s right hand man on the boys’ basketball team for 20 years, to become a head coach at Cardinal McCarrick High School in South Amboy, he looked at it as a chance to lead his own program.
It was a tough decision to leave Hurley, the man who once coached Gamble as a player, then nurtured him as an assistant to become a head coach, but Gamble knew it was a right move.
Gamble also made a similar decision to leave his beloved St. Anthony to become the head coach at Hudson Catholic for three years (1997 through 1999), but returned to the Friars soon after leaving Hudson Catholic.
But Gamble knows the perils of coaching at parochial schools, which seem to be closing their doors every single day.
Cardinal McCarrick closed after Gamble’s lone year there, but he was able to land on his feet at Mater Dei Prep in Middletown and turned that program around in a hurry, leading Mater Dei to the Shore Conference championship twice in three years and posting a 74-12 record at the school that was indeed in danger of closing before Gamble’s arrival.
In fact, three years ago, the school announced it was closing, but with the help of some famous alumni like MSNBC’s newsman Brian Williams, there was an about-face in June and Mater Dei’s doors remained open, unlike Gamble’s alma mater St. Anthony, which closed in June of 2017.
But Gamble didn’t like the way the school’s administration changed its policy about admissions, especially for aspiring basketball players, and he resigned, sending shockwaves through the entire New Jersey high school basketball scene.
“We left on good terms,” Gamble said. “Just the procedures of getting kids into the school changed. They weren’t as receptive as they once were. It’s a different concept now.”
So when Gamble left Mater Dei, there was all this speculation about his next move. After all, Gamble, now 54 years old, retired from his job as a guard in the New Jersey state correction system.
“All I do is coach basketball now,” Gamble said.
In the process, Gamble wanted to come home again to coach.
“I’m very familiar with Hudson County and northern New Jersey,” Gamble said. “I loved my three years at the Shore, but I wanted to come back home.”
Enter Mauro DeGennaro. The former Hoboken High School athletic director took the job at Marist last spring with the idea of turning the athletic program on its collective ear. DeGennaro’s first big splash at Marist was to hire Gamble.
There was only one problem with the hiring. Marist already had a head basketball coach in Frank Burno, who took over the boys’ basketball program last year and made dramatic changes in the Royal Knights. Burno was already making plans for next season, getting the team into summer leagues and working and drilling the prospective players in “unofficial” workouts.
Burno being displaced in July was poor timing. If the school was going to replace Burno after one season, they should have done it in March, once the season was over. Doing it in July after plans and programs were in place was just wrong and totally unprofessional.
“It bothers me,” Gamble said about the way he got the job. “I’ve known the guy [Burno] for a long time. The timing of it wasn’t great, but I have no control over that. I’m not in the habit of trying to move coaches all around. But it’s just the business of coaching. It happens in the pros and in college. It’s unfortunate how this all turned out. But this is the outcome. I wish him well.”
Gamble has hit the ground running at Marist. He’s already reached out to three players who left the school at the end of the season and transferred to different schools.
“I’ve spoken to the parents of three kids already,” Gamble said. “I have open arms for them. I’m ready to move on with the program, but if they choose to return, they are welcome to do so.”
Gamble has also reached out to other prospective players to assure them that they also can enroll at Marist and play basketball. Transferring from one school to the next is a way of life these days. It used to be a travesty if a kid left his school. It’s now totally encouraged.
Gamble is pleased to be coaching at a place with a strong basketball tradition.
“There have been coaches like Mike Leonardo, Fred Calabrese, Tony Romano, Red Drennan and Bill DeFazio that have coached here,” Gamble said. “There’s a lot of history here and a lot of success. That’s probably what lured me here the most, the opportunity to come back to Hudson County and it gives me another chance to be a head coach here where I grew up.”
It is a school that announced in February of 2017 that it was closing, then after $1.5 million was raised by alumni and friends, the school decided to remain open. Apparently, there is a commitment to keep the school open for three more years. Marist High School’s status will be reviewed at that time.
Gamble already has put together a competitive schedule for the upcoming season. He has a sense of the players he has in the building, but he knows that others will arrive via the popular transfer route.
And how about calling upon his mentor and former coach Hurley, with an attempt to possibly lure him out of retirement?
“Of course, I would love to have Coach Hurley to come here,” Gamble said. “Have I asked him yet? No, but I’ll talk to him. He’s my mentor and he became my best friend. He’s been very supportive of her after I left St. Anthony. It would be a great thing if I can get him to come.”
Gamble already got a glimpse of his players at the Jersey City Recreation Summer League at Hamilton Park last week.
“I’m pretty excited,” Gamble said. “I want to be able to change their mindset, not settling for anything. We’ll be okay. I’m very happy with what I see so far.” – Jim Hague.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.
