Ben Gamble, who has served as Bob Hurley’s associate head coach at St. Anthony since 2000, is parting ways with the Hall of Fame coach in order to become the head man at Cardinal McCarrick High School in South Amboy, N.J.
“I saw that there was a job opening,” Gamble, 50, told SNY.tv by phone. “I just wanted to try to make a change in my coaching career. It was a great opportunity. McCarrick I knew in the past had some really great years.”
Hurley, a Naismith Hall of Fame coach who has won 27 state titles, four national high school crowns and more than 1,100 games, said it was the end of an era at St. Anthony.
“I feel sad,” Hurley told SNY.tv. “Our relationship has always been family. I’m going to miss him as a person. I’m going to miss him as a head coach, having an associate that was as dedicated and knowledgeable as he is. Ben has been in my company since 1978….He played for me for four years and we’ve remained close since the day he graduated from college.”
Hurley said he and Gamble have been talking about the move for several weeks.
“He was supportive of it,” Gamble said. “I think he knows that I do want to be a head coach. That’s something that’s always been in the back of my mind for years.”
Hurley said it won’t be easy to replace Gamble and all he does for the program.
“Ben’s going to help me conduct a meeting this week where we’re going to try to take everything that he does and spread it out among the group,” Hurley said.
Gamble, who lives in Roselle, has been a state corrections officer at Northern State Prison in Newark for 25 years and is scheduled to retire in December.
At that point, he will have more time to devote to coaching. McCarrick plays in the Non-Public South B bracket where they must compete against powers like Roselle Catholic and The Patrick School, a longtime St. Anthony rival when it was known as St. Patrick and run by coach Kevin Boyle.
“Good competition, it’s in the Greater Middlesex Conference which has St. Joe’s and East Brunswick, which has had great showings the last few years, so it’s going to be a challenge,” said Gamble, who takes over a program that went 7-16 last season.
“He’s got all the qualities you look for in leadership,” Hurley said of Gamble. “He’s got strong values. In his regular life, he’s a reliable person, he’s a good family man. He’s tremendous when it comes to scouting. He’s great at preparing for opponents. He’s been working with the big men with me since the late ’90s. He’s put countless late-bloomers in college. The people down there are getting a good person.”
Said Gamble: “I had great moments with St. Anthony as a player and of course as an assistant coach with Coach Hurley. And of course the wars with St. Pat’s when Kevin Boyle was there and beating Dajuan Wagner and winning the state championships and running that winning streak to 83 games in a row. I mean, I can go and on about all the great things that we accomplished together.
“I’m going to go to the next phase of my life and see what I can build out there.”
Photo: NJ.com
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