Little more than a decade after Karl-Anthony Towns graduated from Saint Joseph High School as a two-time state champion, the father of the New York Knicks star wants to restore prominence to the basketball program.
Karl Towns Sr. has embarked on his first season as the Falcons’ head coach with a wealth of experience.
He coached for 15 years at Piscataway Vo-Tech, winning a state title in 2003. He stepped down when his son finished high school in 2014 and took his talents to the University of Kentucky. He later served as a volunteer assistant for one year at Middlesex County College and for four years at Kean University under Dave Turco, Karl-Anthony’s high school coach.
“After sitting around, I figured I wanted to get back into coaching because I like to help kids, see how many kids I can help get into school, see if I can just build up the chemistry, and put the school back on the map to where it was 10 years ago,” Towns Sr. said.
St. Joe’s has continued to run a successful program with eight seasons of at least 19 wins since Karl-Anthony’s departure. But the Falcons have yet to win another Non-Public A South sectional title, let alone a state title.
“Right now, it’s just basically getting all the kids to understand the new process and what’s expected and what it entails to be at the championship level,” said Towns Sr., whose team began its season on Dec. 17. “Recruitment is never gonna be a problem. The problem is getting the right kids to play together to make the program successful.”
Towns Sr. says he won’t recruit players to the school specifically to play basketball. But he believes he will attract talent because of his family history and connections to help students reach college and beyond.
“A lot of kids want to come there because they know what I’ve done over the years at Vo-Tech, and they know that it’s a chance for them to further their game with some top-level pros,” Towns Sr. said. “People that know the game can come in and talk to them about what it takes to get to college, what it takes to be on a high level.”
His top assistant is John Nesler, a former Piscataway High coach. The staff has three other coaches and a film coordinator as well. And the roster is mostly new with last season’s top-four scorers no longer playing including Jeremy Clayville, who is at Saint Francis University.
“This year is really focused on installing the culture of the new coaching staff,” Nesler said. “They weren’t used to playing as a team last year because they had a kid who went into high D1, took most of the shots. They didn’t really run a team offense last year. It was a lot more isolation-related, so this year it’s gonna be growing pains learning how to play offense as a team.”
The starting lineup features 6’3” junior guard Alijah Murphy, 6’4” senior guard Tyler DiGraci, 6’4” senior forward Gian Gomez, 6’6” junior forward/guard Ryan Hilongos and 6’10” senior center Will Phillips. Key players off the bench include 6’1” senior guard Brayden Danchak, 6’5” senior forward Jake Sockoloff and 6’2” junior guard Matthew Crystian.
St. Joe’s is running many different sets on offense based on the opponent, and it plays a type of man-to-man defense which is also taking time to fully install but has the potential to be dominant.
“Our biggest thing is try to kick the ball out and go quickly into ball movement … looking for the best opportunity for a shot,” Towns Sr. said.
Towns Sr. is grooming Nesler as his potential successor because he doesn’t expect to coach at St. Joe’s for “a long period of time.” The goal is to continue his family legacy by competing for championships within the division, the county and the non-public state tournament.
“It’s about having kids come in that want to play together, gel together, understand, and everyone knows their role without us having to tell them their roles,” Towns Sr. said. “They’re saying, ‘Well, I know what I’m here to do, I know what we’re here to do as a team.’ That’s how we do it.”
In a full-circle moment on Jan. 9, Karl-Anthony visited St. Joe’s during its home game against Piscataway, spoke with the team and signed autographs for students.
Karl-Anthony also stood with his father at his old locker – a reminder of the past and what can be achieved in the future.
“Not many people could say that happened – a father and son won a championship in the same building,” Towns Sr. said. “It would be great, but it’s gonna take time to get to that status.”