Staff MEMBERS  
Program Director

MEGAN HAUGHEY was a four-year varsity starter, scored over 1,000 points, and graduated from North Hunterdon with twelve varsity letters in softball, soccer and basketball. Megan was inducted into the North Hunterdon Hall of Fame in 2011. She continued her basketball career at Division I Lafayette College, where she was a shooting guard for the Leopards. In 2012, Megan took over the Head Coaching position at Stevens Institute in Technology where after nine years at the helm has become the winning-est coach in program history. The Ducks have advanced to the NCAA tournament in three of her seasons, advancing in 2015-2016 to the Sweet Sixteen where she also won D3 Region Coach of the Year honors. In 2018, Megan was promoted to Senior Woman Administrator and Senior Associate Athletic Director at Stevens where she continues to coach Women’s Basketball.

Operations Director

KATIE TERHUNE was First Team All-Area, First Team All Conference and All West Jersey selection for three seasons at Warren Hills High School. She holds the school record for points with over 1,500 in four years as a varsity starter. Katie earned a full scholarship to play basketball at Boston University where she was a four year starter. She is Boston University’s All-Time Leading Scorer (1,971 points) and was one of two active Division I players in the country to have her jersey retired before graduation. During college, Katie was a three-time First Team All- Conference Selection, Two-Time Boston University Athlete of the Year, New England Athlete of the Year Nominee, Most Outstanding Player for the America East Conference Tournament in 2003, led her team to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history and holds various other school records. In May of 2011, Katie was inducted into the Warren Hills Hall of Fame. In May of 2014, Katie was inducted into the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame. In August of 2014, Katie was named one of the Top 10 Players of the 90's by the Easton Express Times.

United AAU Associate Directors

JIMMY OSTASZEWSKI (High School Girls) coached at Marist High School in the 80's at all levels: Freshman, Junior Varsity and Varsity. Teams during his time at Marist played in 5 County Championships, winning 3. In 2003, Coach Ostaszewski became the assistant Varsity coach at Bayonne High School. At Bayonne, he played in 5 consecutive county championship games, winning 3 of the 5. He has been an instructor at numerous girls and boys basketball camps throughout the Tri-State area. Coach O is the director of our girls' high school United AAU Program. During his tenure with United, he has coached several players that received full scholarships at the Division 1 and 2 Levels as well as many players recruited at the High Academic Division 3 Level.

KYLE JUST (Middle School Boys) has been coaching basketball at various levels throughout New Jersey for thirteen years. After starting out at the middle school level, he spent the past eight seasons working at the high school level. Coach Just was the varsity head coach at Livingston High School and is now the varsity assistant at Elizabeth High School. He has also coached at some of the top high school programs in New Jersey including St. Benedict's Prep, Gill St. Bernard’s, and Linden High School. At the AAU level, Coach Just coached in Morris County for five years where be built three stellar teams that competed throughout the East Coast. In 2016, he started the New Jersey Racers, which he ran for three seasons. The Racers had a tremendous amount of success in that time beating prestigious programs such as the Albany City Rocks, New England Playaz, NJ Shoreshots, NJ Playaz, and the Playtime Panthers. Coach Just is looking forward to the opportunity to coach for NJ United with the goal of developing players and bringing a winning attitude to his team.

BILL LESTER (High School Boys) is a 2008 graduate of Middlesex High School, where he was varsity letter winner and team captain for both the basketball and baseball teams. He continued his education and his playing career at The College of New Jersey, becoming a team captain during his senior season. Coach Lester was a math and education major, and is currently a math teacher at Bridgewater Middle School. He is also the head freshman boys' basketball coach at Ridge HS. He will be entering his 8th season as the freshman coach at Ridge, and his 9th season overall on staff.

PETER VINCENT (EAST) has been a member of the New Jersey City University athletics community since August of 2011 and currently serves as the Assistant Director of Athletics for Facility Operations after previously serving in various other roles during his tenure, including Assistant Director for The Rising Knight Institute, Assistant to the Athletics Director and Coordinator of the Athletic Academic Retention Program (AARP). A member of NJCU Athletics' Senior Staff. Vincent also currently serves as a sport administrator for the women's bowling and both the Men's and Women's Tennis programs. In addition to his role with the Gothic Knights, Vincent has been the head girls' varsity basketball coach at Hudson Catholic High School since November of 2013.He has been named Hudson County Coach of the Year 3 times in his 9OPe seasons as Head Coach of the Lady Hawks. Before that, he served as the assistant head coach of the Marist High School varsity girls’ basketball team in Bayonne, N.J., for two seasons (2011-13). Before joining the Gothic Knights, he most recently came to NJCU from St. Mary’s High School (Jersey City), where he was a history teacher for five years from 2007 until the school’s closing. At St. Mary’s, he was the head coach of the junior varsity boys basketball team and assistant coach of the Ramblers varsity program. Coach Vincent has also worked as the assistant director of overnight camps for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (2004-2019). He has been employed by the Five-Star Basketball camp in Rye, N.Y., as a coach at their summer basketball camps at Fordham University, East Stroudsburg University and Ramapo College. More recently, Vincent has served as a coach for the Hoop Group at its Pocono Invitational Basketball Camp site in East Stroudsburg, PA. A May 2007 graduate of Centenary College in Hackettstown, N.J., with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and a minor in political science, Vincent is currently pursuing his master’s degree in education administration at Saint Peter’s University. At Centenary, he was a three-year member of the Cyclones’ men’s basketball team at shooting guard after redshirting his freshman season. He was a four-year winner of the Cyclone Award for student-athletes. Current NBA referee Kane Fitzgerald was a teammate of his at Centenary. A 2002 graduate of St. Anthony's High School in Jersey City, Vincent was a three-sport athlete for the Friars in basketball, baseball and bowling.

Hunterdon Hoops Training

PHILIP HERRO played collegiate basketball at Drew University from 2004 through 2008. After college, he began his coaching career as the Men’s Assistant Coach at SUNY Maritime College in New York. He then spent time locally in New Jersey coaching middle schools boys at MKA and GSB. In 2012, Coach Herro began his career at Raritan Valley Community College as the Men’s Assistant Coach. In 2015, he was named the Head Women’s Basketball Coach. He is entering his eight year (2023) on the sidelines for the RVCC Women’s Basketball Team. Herro has overseen the transition of RVCC’s team from a club sport to a perennially competitive varsity squad. The team has consistently had at least three team members on the Region XIX All-Academic team each season for maintaining over a 3.25 GPA. The 2017-18 Team had 7 of its 12 players selected to the All-Academic Team. The team has a graduation rate of over 70%, nearly triple the average for community college students. The 2019 Class graduated all 6 sophomores, 2 of which earned NJCAA All-Academic Honors. On the Hardwood the team has also seen some great individual success. Megan Mack was named Second Team All-Region and First-Team All-GSAC in the 2016-17 Season. Ashley Hunt and Olivia Nilsen were both named First-Team All-GSAC for the 2017-18 season. Hunt was recognized as a First-Team All All-Region Player and Nilsen a Third-Team All-Region player in that same season. Following the season Nilsen was voted as an NJCAA WBCA All-Star for her performance during the year. Nilsen followed up her freshman season with another vote to Third-Team All-Region while Freshman, Precious Allah, was named a Second-Team All-Region performer. Nilsen was the first women's player to score over 1,000 career points in her career as she finished with 1,008.


ANDREA VERES was a four-year varsity starter at Bethlehem Catholic High School where she scored 1,238 career points and still holds the Lehigh Valley Conference record for the most three pointers in a game. She ranks second all-time in career three pointers in the LVC. Andrea was a two-time All-Conference First Team selection, two-time First Team All-Area selection, and two-time Bethlehem Catholic MVP. While at Bethlehem Catholic, Veres led the Lehigh Valley Conference in scoring her junior year and led the Hawks to their first district playoff berth in seven years. Andrea continued her basketball career at Division II East Stroudsburg University, where she was a four year starter and three year team captain. Andrea finished her career with 925 points and ranks second in career three point field goals and foul-shooting percentage, and tenth in career assists. While at ESU, Andrea was named team MVP, two-time Lehigh Valley Scholar Athlete, five-time PSAC East Freshman of the Week, and received the ESU’s Coaches Award. Andrea currently works as a Speech- Language Pathologist in the Phillipsburg School District.

EAST Staff

PATRICK DEVANEY SR. was appointed as the 15th head coach in New Jersey City University women's basketball history in June 2018. At the time, he took over a team that went 0-21 in 2017-18. In just four short years, Devaney has turned the Gothic Knights into one of the most feared NCAA Division III programs in the region. In his second season, Devaney led Jersey City to its first berth into the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Tournament since 1988-89. NJCU then secured its first NJAC Tournament win in program history. In 2020-21, the Green and Gold ran off three straight victories to claim the program's first NJAC Championship in history. In 2021-22, the Gothic Knights simply ran it back and claimed their second consecutive NJAC Title, as well as the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship. Devaney has established a culture through hard work and by challenging his players with the best competition he can find. In fact, in three of his first four seasons, he has scheduled two-time national champion and nationally-ranked ranked Amherst, a school most others are afraid to face. NJCU hosted the Mammoths in New Jersey in 2018-19, then headed to Massachusetts in 2019-20 and 2021-22. His willingness to play anyone, anywhere, anytime will see NJCU will face Amherst again in 2022-23, as well as another national championship-caliber opponent—Tufts. NJCU faced the top-10 Jumbos in Massachusetts in 2021-22 and will host them in 2022-23, as well as national power Christopher Newport. There will also be several Division I programs on the schedule for 2022-23.

ELIJAH INGRAM played high school basketball for the legendary Coach Bob Hurley at St. Anthony’s where he earned numerous accolades. After high school, he continued his collegiate career at St. John’s University then New Mexico State University. Elijah Ingram is currently the assistant boys basketball coach at Shabazz High School.

PEYTON KAY was a high school varsity athlete in Basketball, Track & Field (All-State), and Soccer in the Connecticut. Following high school, he was a collegiate rugby player in Boston for the Northeastern University Rugby Football Club, a Division 1-A rugby program competing in the highest level of college rugby within the United States. In Peyton's senior year, the team went undefeated, becoming Liberty Conference Champions in the conference's inaugural year, 2017. Peyton graduated Northeastern University with a Business degree in Finance & Entrepreneurship and moved to NYC to work for Bank of America in Counterparty Credit Risk Portfolio Management. After 3 years and being promoted to AVP, Peyton realized his true calling was youth sports programming. Peyton moved to NJ and focused in on his passion and is dedicated to building sports programs for youth athletes to develop into the best versions of themselves! Peyton is the General Manager of GRIT Sports Training in Downtown Jersey City, which provides youth sports and athletic training programs, a sports-based day and summer camps, as well as various sports and recreational youth events. Peyton holds a NASM Youth Exercise Specialist certification, is certified in Adult & Pediatric CPR/First Aid/AED. Peyton is also the Founder and Head Coach for Beast Coast Basketball, a fundamental basketball skill-building program in Jersey City for elementary and middle school athletes. Peyton also volunteers as an assistant coach for the Hurley Family Foundation basketball program, helping with player development and coaching for two travel teams.

DIONNA LENARDO is currently a student at NJCU and a collegiate athlete on the basketball team. Prior to NJCU, she played high school basketball at Hudson Catholic in Jersey City and was named the team captain her senior year.

MICHAEL MINCEY was a member of the Ferris High School 1983 championship team that beat Saint Anthony's High School, but eventually losing in the Group 4 championship game to Patterson East Side. In 1997, Michael Mincey began his coaching career at Holland Gardens. From 1993 through 2013, he coached at the Hoboken Boys & Girls Club in addition to the coaching the Dyckman 12U Team from 2000 through 2017. He is currently coaching the Hoboken Middle School Travel Team, where Coach Mincey has recorded back-to-back undefeated seasons in 2022 and 2023. Coach Mincey is also a staff member for our United AAU Summer Basketball camps.

JESENIA MONTALVO (United Alumni) played four years of Varsity basketball at Bayonne High School. After High School, she continued her collegiate career at Kean University then transferred to New Jersey City University. After college, she was the Freshman Coach and Varsity Assistant at Bayonne High School, JV Coach and Varsity Assistant at Hudson Catholic High School (2019-2020), and Assistant Coach at New Jersey City University (2020-2022). At NJCU, the program has breakout seasons wining back-to-back Championships. Coach Montalvo is currently the Freshman Girls Basketball Coach at Bayonne High School and also coaches youth players.

WAKEEMAH SAWYER was born and raised in Jersey City NJ. She graduated from St. Anthony’s High School as an all-around varsity athlete then continued her basketball career at Montclair State University. She later transferred then graduated from Kean University. After an extensive basketball playing career, Wakeemah Sawyer moved to the sidelines and began coaching. From 2018 to 2019, she was the assistant Varsity coach at Harrison High School in addition to instructing for the Garden State AAU program. From 2019-2021, Coach Sawyer was the JV Coach at Hudson Catholic. Off the court, Wakeemah Sawyer is an advertising Art Director and believes that leading by example is the key to success on and off the court.

DANA WHITE played four years of Varsity basketball at Corona Hills High School in Corona (California) from 2000 through 2004. She was a three-year varsity starter and was named Defensive MVP for all three years. Dana White was also the leading rebounder in the conference. During her junior and senior seasons, she was named a Captain. After her playing days ended, Dana White started her coaching career which has spanned across many levels for both boys and girls. This includes running basketball clinics in Somerset and coaching our United Grassroots K-5 Program. She has knowledge in recruiting and a passion for getting kids to perform at their top level. Coach White prides herself in not just being a coach, but more importantly, a teacher of the game.

Additional Staff Members

BRIAN ARONOFF attend Ridge High School where he played basketball under Coach Feath. After high school, Coach Aronoff attended Fairleigh Dickinson in Madison, NJ. After graduating college, Coach Aronoff returned to Ridge High School where he has served as the Varsity Assistant since 2016. Coach Aronoff has coached with multiple AAU organizations and instructed at clinics/camps across NJ.

CARLOS BARNES JR (CJ) played collegiate basketball at Moravian University where he was earned many accolades including being a 1,000-point scorer (15th in school history), 2-Time 2nd-Team All-Conference, 2-Time Conference Champion (2018 & 2019) and 2nd in school history in 3-pointers made. In 2020, he graduated with a Bachelor’s in Management and Minor in Philosophy. Since college, Coach Barnes has been a member of the North Hunterdon Boys Basketball staff.

VICKY BENEVENTINE (United Alumni) is a graduate of Montclair State University with a concentration in Social Sciences and Humanities and a minor in Mathematics. Coach Beneventine started her basketball career at Ridge High School, earning a captain position and 2nd team All-Conference honors for her junior and senior seasons. She then continued her basketball career at Montclair State University. During her freshman year, the team went 29-1 and reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. During Coach Beneventine's sophomore year, the team made it to the NCAA Elite Eight and then the Final Four during her junior year. Prior to the NCAA Tournament, the Montclair State University Women's Basketball team won the NJAC Championship. Coach Vicky is currently an assistant coach at Fairleigh Dickinson University (Madison).

MELISSA BROOKS is in her second year as an assistant coach for the Stevens Institute of Technology Women's Basketball Team. Coach Brooks played collegiate basketball at the division two powerhouse Holy Family University. During her tenure, she scored 1,115 career points, helping her team to a win-loss record of 116-13. She won back-to-back Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championships and competed in four NCAA National Championship Tournaments. Brooks was named the CACC's Rookie of the Year in 2006 and earned a spot on the All-CACC third team in 2007 and 2009. She graduated Holy Family with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Art Communications. After college, Brooks spent two years teaching Physical Education at The George School in Newton, PA. During that time, she was the assistant basketball and softball coach, photography and film editor and dorm teacher. In 2012, she was inducted into the Neshaminy High School Hall of Fame due to an illustrious prep career that included the 2005 Bucks County (Pa.) High School Player of the Year award. From 2016-2018, Coach Brooks was an assistant coach at Army West Point. In 2018, Coach Brooks was named the head women's basketball coach at Fairleigh Dickinson University (Madison).

TOM BONACUM played high school basketball at Scotch Plains Fanwood. Tom then went on to be a four year starter at Ramapo College of New Jersey. At Ramapo, he captured two NJAC championships and made two runs in the NCAA Tournament, including a trip to the Final 4 his senior year. Some individual awards include NABC First Team All-American, Conference and Regional Player of the Year, Met Writers Player of the Year, and others. Tom has spent the past season working with the Dallas Mavericks player development and coaching staff. With the Dallas Mavericks, he was involved in player workouts, practices, pregame and post-game workouts, and scout team work.

RICH BRENNAN played three years varsity basketball at Elizabeth High School. During that time, he was a part of three state championship teams some of which were nationally ranked. Coach Brennan then earned a four-year scholarship to Bentley University (Boston, MA). After college, he played professionally in both Belgium and Ireland. After this playing career, Coach Brennan began coaching at Mercer County College where he was tasked with practice preparation, recruiting and scouting. He then returned to his Alma mater, Elizabeth High School, where he served as the freshmen coach and assistant varsity coach. Coach Brennan is currently the JV coach and varsity assistant coach at Hunterdon Central High School.

XAVIER BROOKS was a varsity starter at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School for three years. During his high school career, Coach Brooks made All-Area and All-County Teams. Coach Brooks also played for the Jersey Hot Shots AAU Program for 5 years. After High School, Coach Brooks continued his career at Moravian College then Stockton University. Coach Brooks graduated with a degree in Early Childhood Education.


JAMEE BUSH
graduated from Hunterdon Central High School as a 2-sport letter winner in basketball and volleyball. She continued her basketball career at the University of Wilmington. After college Jamee Bush was the Varsity girls basketball coach at Hunterdon Central where she was named the Skyland Conference Coach of the Year and guided her team to the Central Jersey, Group 4 State Championship.

CATHERINE CARR played at Bernards High School all four years and holds the scoring record with 2,155 points (along with over 1,000 rebounds). She was selected First Team All-Area, First-Team All-County, and First Team All-Conference for three seasons at Bernards.  Catherine earned a full scholarship to play basketball at Division II Holy Family University in Philadelphia and was among ten student-athletes across Division II that were named to the State Farm Coaches’ All-America Team her senior year. She left Holy Family as the All-Time leading scorer for women’s basketball with 1,995 points.  During college, Catherine was named CACC and ECAC Rookie of the Year (2007), CACC and ECAC Player of the Year (2008), and earned All-CACC First Team three years.  Every year Holy Family she reached the NCAA tournament and went a total of 112-15 in 4 years. After college, Catherine played professionally in Newcastle, England for Team Northumbria for the 2011-2012 season while studying in the masters program of International Sports Management.  She averaged 16 points and 6 rebounds while playing in England.  While in England, Catherine helped coach/train children and teenagers in the Hoops for Health program ran by Team Northumbria.  Also, she coached Northumbria University girls’ second team through out the season.

MIKE COATES played four years of Varsity basketball at Warren Hills High School from 2002 through 2006. He was a two-year varsity starter and was named Defensive MVP his junior year. During his senior year, he was nominated a Co-Captain and Defensive MVP. Coach Coates went on to play collegiate soccer at Lycoming College where he was a four-year starter. During his junior season, he earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Since college, Coach Coates has been running basketball clinics in the Warren County area in addition to coaching multiple travel teams.



BILLY COLANTANO (United Alumni)
was a three year varsity basketball player at Voorhees High School. After graduating in 2023, he started coaching AAU Basketball in addition to working summer basketball camps. Billy Colantano is currently attending Raritan Valley Community College.

BRETT COLEMAN
graduated from Montclair State University in 2014 with a teaching degree in Physical Education/Health and currently works for the school district of Chatham. He has been involved in New Jersey basketball for over a decade. He has coached for numerous AAU programs, camps, clinics and leagues. He is a certified NJSIAA Basketball official and has been assigned to officiate multiple county finals and playoff games. Coach Coleman was also the Varsity Assistant & Head Freshman Coach for the Livingston Boys Basketball program. Coach Brett has coached and officiated over 1,000 games, loves the game of basketball and is always trying to improve.

JILL CONROY is in her second year as an assistant women's basketball coach at Stevens Institute of Technology. Last season, the ducks produced two all-conference players including the co-defensive Player of The Year. Prior to Stevens, Coach Jill played collegiate basketball at Division II Holy Family University. During her time at Holy Family, Jill scored 1,349 points and led the Tigers to both a conference championship and two NCAA Championship Tournament Appearances (2015 & 2016). She graduated Holy Family with a Bachelor's Degree in Sports Marketing and Management. After graduation, Coach Jill worked at Goldey-Beacom College as the assistant women's basketball coach and the external affairs assistant.


COLIN DELSANTRO
graduated from North Hunterdon HS where he was a three-year varsity basketball player. While at North, he was the North Hunterdon Boyer Award recipient and was on the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex All-Tournament Team. Colin DelSantro then played basketball at Raritan Valley Community College (INSERT MORE). Since RVCC, Coach DelSantro has been instructing for local programs, summer camps and private/small group settings for 6+ years.

MIKE DePAOLO played high school basketball at North Hunterdon HS from 2002-2006. He was a three year varsity winner, senior co-captain and made both First Team All-County and All-Conference. He went on to play one year at LaSell College (Newton, MA) before finishing his career at Mitchell College (New London, CT). As a three year starter at Mitchell College, he currently holds the record for three point shots made. Mike was also named to the NECC All-Conference Honorable Mention his senior year. As a senior, DePaolo played in all 23 games and ranked second on the Mariners in scoring at 14.7 points per game. He also led the team in field goals (116), three-point field goals (50), three-point field goal percentage (.397), free throw percentage (.803) and minutes played (29.3). He was ranked among the conference leaders in scoring (10th), free throw percentage (2nd) and three-point field goals (6th). He was also the recipient of the Alumni Excellence Award in 2010 which is given annually to the Mitchell College male and female graduates who achieved the highest degree of competence in sports while also attaining outstanding academic records. Mike coaches with United and conducts private lessons for Hunterdon Hoops. He is currently the Head Varsity Boys Basketball Coach at Del Val High School.

JIM DIMINO ran the Raritan Valley Wildcats Girls’ AAU Program from 1994 to 1999. From 2001 through 2007 he was the Raritan Valley Community College’s Head Men’s Basketball Coach. During his tenure, the RVCC program led the nation in free throw percent and 3-point field goal percentage. He is the founder and director of the “Nothing But Net” Girls‘ Pre-Season Basketball Camp where he has worked with Division I, II and III Somerset County players. Currently, Coach Dimino is the Head Girls Basketball Coach at Immaculata High School.


SHAWN ELWOOD is currently the head girls basketball coach at Roxbury High School. Prior to that, he was the freshmen girls basketball coach and varsity assistant at Ridge High School, where he also works as a physics teacher. He has been coaching basketball the past five years. He uses his background in education to teach the game with his main focus being on player development. Coach Elwood enjoys playing basketball when he’s not coaching it and is always looking to expand his understanding of the game.

BRIAN FEATH is currently the head boys coach at Ridge High School (2011-Present). Prior to Ridge, he coached at Middlesex High School (2005-2011). During his coaching career, he has been honored with: NJ State Coach of the Year by the Star-Ledger (2013), Courier News Area Coach of the Tear (2009, 2013), Somerset County Champions (2013), Raritan Division (Skyland Conference) Champions, Len Sepanek Tournament Champions (2012, 2013, 2014, 2017), Greater Middlesex Conference Coach of the Year (2010). During his career, he was recorded over 250+ career wins. As a player, Coach Feath is the Leading Scorer in Middlesex High School History (1993), is a Middlesex High School Hall of Famer (2018), was a Middlesex HS Varsity Basketball Letter winner (graduate 1993), was a Middlesex HS Varsity Baseball Letter winner (graduate 1993), and a Wingate University Men's Basketball player and graduate (1998).

ED FURMAN
is currently a Physical Education Teacher at North Hunterdon High School in Hampton NJ. Currently Ed Furman is an assistant girls' basketball coach at North Hunterdon High School. Prior to Stevens, Ed Furman coached at Stevens Institute of Technology, Phillipsburg High School, Mt. St. Dominic Academy, and Livingston High School. Coach Furman has also coached at various camps for the past 10+ years.

JOE GABA is entering his 26th year (2022-2023 school year) as the varsity girls basketball coach at Chatham High School (NJ), where he has a 482-185 career record, winning over 72% of games coached. Chatham has won 9 conference championships, 6 state sectional championships, 1 Morris County Championships. Included in those championship runs are 14 Morris County Final Fours, 6 County Title appearances and 4 Group Championship appearances. Coach Gaba has won numerous conference and county coach of the year awards. From 2013-2015 Coach Gaba served as NJSCA coach for the New Jersey North-South Senior All-Star Game, including head coach in 2015. He has coached eight 1,000 point scorers and has sent over twenty student-athletes to highly successful collegiate basketball careers at the division 1 and 3 levels. Coach Gaba has his degree in biochemistry from Mount Saint Mary’s University (MD), his Masters in Biology from FDU-Florham and is currently working on his PhD in Professional Leadership at Seton Hall University. He has been teaching chemistry at Chatham High school for 25 years. Coach Gaba believes that coaching is an extension of the classroom. He also serves as the varsity girls’ golf coach in the spring.

RALPH GIORDANO, a graduate of SUNY Oneonta, has coached numerous youth sport teams over the last 25 years. Throughout both Rockland County, NY, and Hunterdon County, NJ, Ralph has been involved with recreation, CYO, travel, and club-level teams. The desire to coach with Hunterdon United is based on his belief in stressing fundamentals, conditioning, player development, and team play. In high school he was a three-time letter winner in basketball, lacrosse, and soccer, and continued his lacrosse career at SUNY Oneonta.



MICHAEL GLUCK is an avid basketball player and coach. His basketball career began in Union Township where he was a Varsity player for the Farmers. During high school he was a member of a Group 4 Section 2 state sectional title winning team. From 2001-2005, his basketball career then continued as a four year starter for Montclair State University in a highly competitive New Jersey Athletic Conference as a shooting guard/small forward. Mike was part of a dynamic team that in his sophomore year helped bring Montclair to its first NJAC Championship since 1982, scoring 21 points and grabbing 7 rebounds to aid in the win. In 2003 Mike was given the prestigious award of “Outstanding Male Athlete” at Montclair State University. One of the highlights of his basketball tenure was reaching the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Division 3 National Tournament. Since the completion of his college career Mike has worked at numerous basketball clinics across New Jersey. He has coached several teams and also does one on one training. Mike is currently a K-12 Physical Education Teacher in the Elizabeth School District where he is currently coaching boys’ basketball. Mike has a complete understanding of the game of basketball, as well as the importance of fundamental mastery of skills.

MICHAEL HAUGHEY was a two-sport athlete at North Hunterdon High School. He then earned his degree from Thomas Edison State College and has been a Special Education Aide at Delaware Valley High School. At Del Val, has been the Head Varsity Football Coach and Head Girls Basketball Coach since 2013. During his tenure, he earned multiple coaching and team accolades. In addition to his head coaching duties, Coach Haughey runs annual summer camps for incoming Del Val players for both football and basketball. Outside of Del Val, Coach Haughey has been an instructor at Hunterdon Hoops camps and clinics. Coach Haughey is currently a Kindergarten Teacher and Basketball Coach at Alexandria Township School.


EMMA JONES (United Alumni) played varsity basketball at Voorhees High School for three years and was a starter for two of those years. During her Senior year, Coach Jones earned honorable mention and served as the team captain. Coach Jones was also a United AAU player, coached by Megan Haughey, Jimmy Ostaszewski, and Catherine Carr. She then went on to play collegiate basketball at Allegheny College. After suffering a knee injury, she turned her focus from playing to coaching. Coach Jones has coached for six years at the Branchburg Sports Complex and has been the Freshman Girls' Basketball Coach at Immaculata High School since 2019. Coach Jones is excited to apply her knowledge of the game to young girls who exhibit a strong work ethic and a passion to play.

JESSICA KOVATCH (United Alumni) is a 2019 graduate from Saint Francis University with a major in marketing and management. As a freshman, she was the Northeast conference and ECAC Rookie of the Year. Jess Kovatch led all NCAA freshman in scoring with 20.9 ppg and was named a "Face in the Crowd" in the February 29th edition of Sports Illustrated. As a sophomore, she was named to the North East conference First Team, was an ECAC All-Star, and was named to the Nancy Lieberman Watch List for nation's top point guard. She became the 25th player to reach 1,000 points in 47 games or fewer. As a Junior, she set the NCAA record for most threes made in a season with 141. and was a Top 10 Finalist for Lieberman Award. Jess Kovatch was also the NEC and ECAC player of the year and finished second in the NCAA in total points and scoring at 24.4 ppg. As a Senior, she was named NEC player of the Year and Senior CLASS Award Second Team All American, ECAC First Team All Conference, named to the Wade Trophy Watch List for the best player in college women's basketball, and named to the Preseason Lieberman Watch List. She finished her career as the all time leading scorer in school and NEC history with 2,874 points. She is also ranked second all time in NCAA history with 472 made three pointers.

CHRISTOPHER LaBELLE played high school basketball at Trenton Catholic Academy before attending Centenary University. At Centenary, he received a bachelor's degree in business management while playing four seasons of collegiate basketball. Coach LaBelle finished his career with 1,960 points, 450 assist, and 450 rebounds while earning conference Player-of-the-Year, first team all-conference honors, and set multiple school records. Coach LaBelle is currently finishing his master's degree in Leadership and Public Administration while also being an Assistant Coach for the Centenary Women's Basketball program.

SAMANTHA LAPSZYNSKI is currently the graduate assistant for the Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham Women's Basketball program. A New Jersey native, she played high school basketball at Jefferson Township High School. In 2012, during Lapszynski's senior year, the team embarked on a 27 game winning streak while she hit the 1,000 point milestone. Additionally, she was named the New Jersey Herald Player of the Year. Lapszynski played collegiately at Niagara University, earning Second Team All-MAAC honors in 2016. While with the Purple Eagles, she was ranked in the top-10 in seven different categories. After graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2016 with a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood and Childhood Education, Lapszynski played professionally in Europe for three years. She spent two years in Poland and one season in Germany.

STEWART LESTER
played high school basketball at Middlesex High School then continued his playing career at Centenary University where he graduated in 2019. He was a four-year member of the Men's Basketball program and helped the team reach the CSAC playoffs in each season. He also was a two-time All-CSAC Academic team member. Coach Lester has spent the last two seasons as the Assistant Varsity Boys Basketball Coach for the Middlesex Bluejays. During his time there, he has helped develop three all-division players. In addition, his first year on staff resulted in the second highest win total in school history and a trip to the sectional semifinals. Coach Lester currently teaches Special Education at Von E. Mauger Middle School.

JESSICA LUDWIG grew up in Hunterdon County and attended Delaware Valley High School. While in high school, she competed in soccer, basketball and lacrosse. After high school, Jessica Ludwig attended Kutztown University where she studied education. She is currently high school mathematics teacher at Hunterdon Central and also is the Freshman Girls Basketball Coach.

BILL LYONS has been coaching youth sports for over seven years. He played varsity basketball at Madison High School and graduated from Rutgers University Cook College in 1995.  Coach Lyons has obtained several certifications including, the Rutgers Youth Coaching Certification (Rutgers S.A.F.E.T.Y. clinic – Sports Awareness for Educating Today’s Youth) and Heads Up Concussion Training for Youth Sport Coaches.  He is a USA Basketball Licensed Coach. Coach Lyons coached four years for the Washington Borough Rec K-3 Lil’ Hoopsters Clinic and was head coach for six years for Washington Borough Rec Basketball.  He also was head coach for four years for local AAU Basketball travel teams.  Coach Lyons was an Instructor for Breakthrough Basketball Skills Camps and Shooting & Ball Handling Camps. Coach Lyons has also assisted Coach Bob Tanguay with the Hunterdon Hoops Training Programs for 3+ years.

BEN MARTINEZ is currently an men’s basketball assistant coach on the Stevens Institute of Technology. In prior seasons, the Ducks earned the second seed in the conference tournament and reached the semifinals of the E8 Championship. Stevens played in the ECAC Metro Tournament and finished the year with a record of 18-10. Twice the Ducks put together six-game winning streaks and two members of the squad were named All-Empire 8 in Patrick Sabatino and Matt Skrelja. In 2012-13, Martinez and the rest of the staff guided the Ducks to their second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament and an overall record of 22-5. The Ducks won the Empire 8's regular-season title and advanced to the conference title game before earning an at-large berth to the national tournament. Martinez also helped Sheldon Jones earn E8 Player of the Year honors as well as All-Region, All-District and All-Met nods as the Ducks won 20 games for the third time in as many years. Two additional players earned all-conference honors as the 22 wins was the second most in program history. Prior to Stevens, Martinez played basketball at Montclair State University from 1999-2003 and served as the team captain as a junior and senior. He led the program to a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) title in 2003 as the Red Hawks advanced all the way to Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. His performance netted him first-team All-Sectional honors. Martinez can be found amongst the MSU all-time leaders in assists, steals and three-point field-goals made. Martinez was all-county and all-conference in high school and was an assistant coach at Scotch Plains Fanwood High School from 2005-2008, helping guide the 07-08 team its first-ever state title. As the head coach in 2008-09, Martinez led the team to an appearance in the state sectional final. Martinez has also worked at numerous basketball camps throughout the state of New Jersey, including free camps, clinics and events for underprivileged youth.

JUSTIN MATISAK was a three year varsity letter winner at Watchung Hills Regional High School from 2005-2008. He was a captain and key player on the 2008 Somerset County Championship team, which was the first county championship in 35 years. Justin received Skyland Conference Honorable Mention recognition in the 2005-2006 season, as well as Second Team All Skyland Conference his junior (2006-2007) and senior seasons (2007-2008). Justin attended Rutgers University in which he obtained his degree in history in 2013. He started his coaching career at Immaculata High School in 2013, in which he coached the Girls Freshman team for two seasons. Justin is currently the Head Girls Basketball Coach at North Hunterdon High School.

JASON MURDOCK is a graduate of Providence College with a degree in Social Sciences. He was a four-year member of the Friars varsity basketball team, where he played at the pinnacle of Division I competition against future NBA stars Ray Allen, Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Mike Bibby, and Jason Kidd. In 1994, during his freshmen season, he helped his team win the Big East Championship. In his sophomore and junior seasons, his teams made the NIT tournament, and he was twice named Big East Player of the Week. During his senior year, he was a tri-captain, helping his team advance to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. Prior to playing collegiately, Jason Murdock was a four-year varsity letter winner at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, earning a McDonald’s All-American Honorable Mention and Central Jersey Player of the Year his senior year. He was named to the New Jersey All-State teams in both his junior and senior years. After graduating from Providence, Mr. Murdock fulfilled a lifelong dream of playing professional basketball. Over a period of several years, he played in Colombia (where he was a First-Team All-Star), Poland (where he was second in the league in scoring), China (where he matched up against future NBA All-Star Yao Ming), and Portugal (where he averaged 17 points and seven assists per game). Injury forced him to end his playing career, but he values his basketball experiences for all they taught him. Currently, Jason is the Head Varsity Basketball coach at the Pingry School in Basking Ridge.

JON PAWLOWSKI is currently the Boys Junior Varsity and Assistant Varsity Coach at Hillsborough High School. Prior to Hillsborough, he was the Freshman Boys Coach and the Assistant Varsity Boys Basketball Coach at East Brunswick High School from 2007-2020. Coach Pawlowski was also a part of the East Brunswick Varsity Boys Section title team in 2013, where the team finished 27-4 and seventh in the state of New Jersey. Prior to that, he coached middle school girls at East Brunswick for four years and was an assistant at St. Thomas Aquinas for one season. Coach Pawlowski has been teaching Social Studies at East Brunswick High School since 1999.

DARRIEN PINKMAN has a passion for the game that led him to coaching in 1990. At Warren Hills High School, he was selected as a second team all-conference and third team all-West Jersey guard. Coach Pinkman went on to play collegiate basketball at Centenary College. In college, Coach Pinkman was twice voted the (CSAC & EPCC) player of the week once averaging 22.7 points and 6.1 assists per contest. Coach Pinkman graduated with honors from Centenary College and also holds professional certifications from Stevens Institute of Technology and Lehigh University. After college, Darrien spent many years coaching at various elite summer camps in NJ/PA, including Seton Hall and The College of NJ. Darrien is currently Senior Director of Corporate and Property Management Procurement at Tishman Speyer in Manhattan.  Darrien also leads their Supplier Diversity and Economic Inclusion  initiatives.


KYLE REHRIG was a four-year varsity basketball player at Northern Lehigh (Class of ’98) and a three-year All-League selection. He also played Football and Track where he was named a Scholar Athlete for football. Coach Rehrig then attended Moravian College, graduating in 2002. Post college, Coach Rehrig has accumulated twenty-two years of high school coaching experience between Manville High School, Ridge High School, Montgomery High School and North Hunterdon High School. He was the head girls basketball coach at Manville High School and is currently the head boys basketball coach at North Hunterdon. During his tenure at North Hunterdon, he has won the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Championship and has been named the West Jersey Coach of the Year. Coach Rehrig has also been running and instructing training sessions, clinics and camps for over twenty years.

KELLY REILLY (United Alumni) was a 2013 graduate from Voorhees High School where she played four years of varsity basketball. During her four years of play she received numerous All-County and All-Conference awards. She participated in the Hunterdon United AAU program for seven years, beginning in the fifth grade. She continued her education at DeSales University and earned her degree in 2017. She is currently employed as a NICU nurse at Saint Peter's University.

ALLYSON SCERBO (United Alumni) played four years of varsity basketball at Phillipsburg High School from 2005-2009. She was named the team captain her senior year, averaged 11 points per game, and received honors for All-Area Second Team, All-County/Skyland Conference 1st Team, All-Tournament Team (Rotary Christmas Tournament). Coach Scerbo also played for United AAU from 2007-2008. She then continued her basketball career at William Paterson University where the Pioneers were ranked nationally in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons. Coach Scerbo started her coaching career with United in 2010 and has remained in the program ever since. From 2013 to 2017, she was the JV Head Coach and Varsity Assistant at Delaware Valley Regional High School under Michael Haughey, helping lead the Varsity program to four winning seasons. Currently, Coach Scerbo is the head varsity coach at Phillipsburg High School while also serving as the JV volleyball coach.

GENE SCHAEDEL grew up in Clinton Township and played varsity basketball for North Hunterdon High School. He later returned to North Hunterdon as the Boys Varsity Assistant Coach during the 2018-2019 season. Currently, Coach Schaedel is the Girls Varsity Basketball Coach at South Hunterdon High School. In his first season at South, he led the Eagles to a 16-12 record, a 5 win improvement from the previous season. They won their first two playoff games to reach the sectional semifinals. In his second season, South went 10-3 and won the Skyland Conference Silver Division Championship, their first postseason championship since 2006. In his third season, South went 18-10 with a Sectional Final appearance, their first since 2006. Coach Schaedel originally began his coaching career in 2013 and has been coaching AAU since 2014. He takes pride in increasing the skill set of all his players while increasing their confidence on the court.

MARIELLE THORSEN (United Alumni) graduated from Belvidere High School in 2008. That year she was named the Express Times Basketball Player of the Year. She graduated with 1,219 career points and received 1st Team All-West Jersey and 1st Team All-Area Honors. Coach Thorsen continued her basketball career at Marywood University where she scored over 1,000 points. In 2012, Marielle received her Bachelor's of Science Health and Physical Education with a Minor in Coaching. Currently, she is a Health and Physical Education Teacher at North Hunterdon and is the assistant coach to Girl's Soccer, Girl's Basketball and Girl's Lacrosse.

DON TRIFARI was a 1,000 point scorer at Montville High School and was ranked as one of the Top 20 Players in New Jersey in 2008. He then played collegiate basketball at Bryant University (Division 1) and Caldwell University (Division 2). At Caldwell University, he played under New Jersey’s second all-time leader in collegiate wins, Coach Mark Corino. Coach Trifari is currently a mathematics teacher at Morristown High School where he also assisted in guiding the Morristown High School Girls Varsity Basketball to multiple Conference, County, and State Championships (2016-2020). He is currently the Head Varsity Girls Basketball Coach at North Plainfield High School.

THOMAS WEILER played college basketball at Centenary University where he was a 3-year starter and captain, as well as achieving All-Conference Team honors. After college, he served as freshmen coach and varsity assistant at St. Thomas Aquinas HS (Edison, NJ), where he also taught Algebra II. Currently, Coach Weiler is the head Men’s Basketball Coach at Sussex County College.

SANDY WHELAN was the head coach at Bernards High School from 2013-2018 where she achieved five straight winning seasons, including most wins in school history. She led team to two consecutive undefeated conference division championships and was named the Division Conference Coach of the Year. Prior to Bernards, Coach Whelan was the head coach at Watchung Hills (1996-2013) where she accomplished the best five records in school history, earned three conference championships, received #1 county ranking three years in a row, and was named the Somerset County Coach of the Year. Before coaching, Sandy Whelan played high school basketball at Hunterdon Central then collegiate basketball at Lehigh University.