Neptune Girls’ Basketball Coach Named Shore Coach of the Year
By DON STINE
Neptune High School girls basketball team coach John Brown has been honored by his peers and selected Shore Coach of the Year by other coaches in Shore Conference B North Division.
Brown has now won the award for two consecutive years.
Its an honor when your peers feel you are doing a good job and it is also a testament to the girls and their abilities, Brown said.
The Neptune girls basketball team won the state Central New Jersey Group 3 sectional title championship March 7 after beating Freehold Borough High School.
Neptune had lost to the Freehold team three times earlier in the season.
It was a great accomplishment, especially after having them beat us three times, Brown said.
Brown said that all six top players on the team graduated last year and that this years team consists of mostly freshman. The team won more than 20 games in each of the last two seasons.
And Brown said there is no real secret to winning.
Hard work, perseverance, and never giving up are the keys, he said.
The team also won a sectional title last year and was ranked the number-one team at the Jersey shore for a period of time.
The girls did a great job and we are looking forward to the next season. A majority of the players are coming back to the team, Brown said.
Vince Ardery, Neptunes district athletic administrator, said he is very proud of Brown and the team.
They did a wonderful job and Brown is a Godsend for Neptune High School. He is respected by his opponents and coaches. I think the other teams didnt expect Neptune to be as competitive as we were this season, he said.
John just eats, sleeps, and drinks basketball and he is just a tremendous addition to our program, Ardery said.
Brown, who works for the state Department of Labor, was born and raised in Lakewood. He played basketball for Ramapo College and was a former boys basketball coach at Henry Hudson Regional High School and at the Admiral Farragat Academy.
His daughter, Shantel Brown, is an outstanding basketball player for Seton Hall University.Read more about your town by picking up The Coaster at your local newsstand or subscribe today.
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