Pete Vasil to Become New Head Coach at Paterson Eastside

Pete Vasil, a veteran New Jersey high school boys basketball coach, will take over at Paterson Eastside in the wake of the school scandal.

Vasil, 54, will coach the Ghosts during practice Wednesday and will then coach against Wayne Hills on Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Shaniqua Bacote, a former Passaic Tech and Bloomfield College player, was officially named the team’s head coach on Tuesday, but will serve as an assistant to Vasil, who is technically a volunteer coach. Vasil met Tuesday with Eastside principal Zatiti Moody and AD Gregory Cooper.

Vasil, a Worcester, Mass., native, who previously coached at Bloomfield Tech, Plainfield and Clifton and has a career record of 196-175, replaces Juan Griles, who was suspended on Monday after NJ Advance Media published an investigation revealing Griles had as many as six overseas players living with him.