On Sunday afternoon at RWJBarnabas Health Arena in Toms River, when the game clock read zeros across, and the College Achieve Asbury Park boys basketball team had secured a state championship in its very first season of existence, a typical raucous celebration erupted.
The team’s players, coaches and fans screamed, leapt up and down and wrapped their arms around one another as the title trophy was hoisted into the air.
But few others in the bleachers were cheering. Many stared flatly ahead, their discontent unmistakable.
Because even though College Achieve had cruised to another lopsided postseason victory — this time, an 85-59 blowout of Newark Tech in the Group 1 final — the triumph was colored by accusations that College Achieve’s miraculous success was unfairly orchestrated.
As NJ Advance Media first reported last week, instead of a fielding a team of players from one defined geographic area like most public schools, College Achieve, a public charter school, featured a virtual all-star squad of 11 elite transfers from across New Jersey, including Trenton, Keyport, Newark and Irvington. This season, with all-state guard Deuce Jones, top 100 prospect Nas Hart, 6-foot-10 center Eunique Rink and a host of other star transfers, the team competed in the Group 1 classification, reserved for the state’s smallest public schools, which typically draw a few hundred students from defined geographic boundaries.
Over six postseason games, including Sunday, College Achieve destroyed its small-school opponents by an average of 39 points per game, prompting the state athletic association and even lawmakers to propose an overhaul of state rules and regulations.
Despite growing frustration throughout the state, Newark Tech coach Marques Bragg demurred after the game when asked about his team’s blowout loss.
“It’s not really my place to comment on College Achieve; it’s an NJSIAA situation,” Bragg said. “If they do it one way and you do it another way, it’s not to say that it’s right or wrong. It’s just that we have to be prepared for those situations as best as we possibly can.”
When asked if the state should examine its rules to make sure College Achieve is not competing against small public schools in the future, Bragg offered, “it would be nice.”
“I would definitely say so,” he added.
Other coaches on the receiving end of a College Achieve beatdown this postseason have not been as charitable.
“It’s a joke,” Shore Regional coach Erik Mazur said after his team lost by 26 in the sectional semifinals. “If you have an opportunity to hand-pick kids, you’re not a public school.”
T.J. Best, senior advisor to the New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association, said College Achieve was able to field such a talented roster in its first season of existence because it utilized “a loophole” that allows for students to attend a charter school outside the town in which they live if the charter school has open seats not taken by students in its district of residence.
Best said his organization already has had discussions with State Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen, and other officials about how to close the loophole this offseason. The state also plans to discuss how to properly classify charter schools that can enroll students from undefined geographic areas.
Meanwhile, College Achieve coach Dave Boff, the most decorated active boys basketball coach in New Jersey, said after Sunday’s game the school’s intention was never to build a super team so quickly, and especially not one that crushed its small-school opposition.
“When I first got the job I didn’t know what was going to happen, how many kids were going to show up,” Boff said. “I think the original plan was to start with a JV team this year. I was actually thinking I was going to coach some JV hoops this year, and then a lot of the kids wanted to come and that’s kind of how the whole thing went.”
Boff, who over 15 seasons at Roselle Catholic won seven state championships, 10 state sectional titles and four Tournament of Champions crowns, said he understands why some coaches are frustrated with his team’s success.
“I think everybody involved sees what happened here and sees that there probably have to be some changes in how things are classified,” Boff said. “We need to do something to get things back on a level playing field where everybody feels like they have an opportunity to win a sectional championship.”
That did not appear to be the case Sunday, in what proved to be a chippy, intense game. Less than three minutes into the game, College Achieve had already jumped out to a 10-0 advantage. The lead swelled to 20 by the end of the first quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, College Achieve used a quick 6-0 run to open up a 25-point lead. Exasperated, Bragg called timeout. He shook his head softly as his players trudged to the bench and plopped down, heads hung low.
“What I’ve learned to do as a coach is never comment on another program,” Bragg said after the game.
Newark Tech fought valiantly in the third quarter, getting as close as 11 points. But College Achieve ratcheted up the intensity, using a swarming, pressing defense almost until the final minute. The late pressure seemed to frustrate Newark Tech; players from both teams were involved in an on-court skirmish with 90 seconds left that led to double technical fouls and NJSIAA officials and a police officer to briefly clear the court.
But the late shoving couldn’t dim College Achieve’s celebration once the final buzzer rang.
“For today, I want the emphasis to be on the 17 kids who worked hard all year, worked hard in the summer and played a really good game today against a really good basketball team and won a state championship,” Boff said. “All the other stuff is for the adults to deal with and handle, and that’s fine.”
College Achieve finished its very first season with a 22-7 record. It entered its final game ranked No. 12 in New Jersey, and likely will rise into the top 10 in NJ.com’s final statewide rankings.
After the game, Boff stood in the background, trying to enjoy the school’s first-ever state title. But he admitted that changes likely were coming that would make next season’s postseason look much different.
“What I wish would have happened is everybody involved would have gotten together earlier and figured out a way to classify us in a different group,” Boff said. “I don’t think anybody is trying to do anything that’s upsetting the competitive balance. What we want is what’s best for charter schools in New Jersey and what’s best for the NJSIAA and we want to fit into those categories.”
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Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @MattStanmyre. Find NJ.com on Facebook
