Sussex County Sports Blog

By Dan Cleary

12/27/2009 - O'Connor Hits Magic Mark

Jim O’Connor had a plan.

After earning his master’s degree from East Stroudsburg State College, the upstate New York native was going to teach and coach at Jefferson Township High School for a year, maybe two at the most, and then he was going to head back north.

All right, all together, “Best laid plans of mice and men…” you know the rest. And even though O’Connor’s original plan went astray, O’Connor has scripted one of the best plans when it comes to girls basketball and the folks at Jefferson are much better for it.

O’Connor has built Jefferson into a consistent winner in his 23 seasons and he recently notched his 400^th career victory with the Falcons in impressive win over Parsippany, becoming the second all-time career wins leader in girls basketball in the Mugs Media area.

O’Connor trails legendary Sparta coach Fred Geffken, who has an amazing 661 wins during his 30-year tenure with the Spartans.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have a great group of kids come through the program,” said O’Connor, who took over for Jeff Todd in November of 1987. “I have also had some great assistant coaches, like Bob Elder, Greg Eck, Nancy Harris and Barb Williams.

“I’ve been very fortunate that I fell into a place that supports girls basketball,” he added. “I learned so much from so many people including Joe Cleary when he was coaching the boys team. But it is the kids that have done all the hard work.”

O’Connor is being extremely modest. Yes, he had some great players, but there isn’t a better prepared coach and in-game coach than Jim O’Connor. He has won everything there is to win in girls hoops.

O’Connor, who is 402-173 at the time of this writing, guided Jefferson to its only state title in 1992 when it topped Middletown South in the Group 2 final. Under O’Connor, the Falcons have also won four section crowns (1988, 1992, 1993 and 2004), five Sussex County Interscholastic League Festivals and seven SCIL regular season crowns.

Quite an impressive resume. And here is the kicker; he has done it with class and dignity every step of the way. I defy anyone to find someone who has something bad to say about Jim O’Connor and the way he runs his program.

I’ve known O’Connor for almost all his 23 years at Jefferson and he is flat-out a class act, win or lose, although he hasn’t been on the losing end too much during his outstanding career.

Before O’Connor came on the scene, Sparta was having its way with all the teams in the SCIL. Geffken had led the Spartans to numerous SCIL titles and a state crown in 1985, putting the SCIL on the map.

But Jefferson made its move in the late 1980s and early 1990s, forming a HEALTHY rivalry that exists to this day. I emphasize the word healthy because although Geffken and O’Connor love nothing more to beat each on the court, they respect and like each other off it.

There is no immature hatred between the programs that you see in other sports. A Sparta-Jefferson clash is as good as its gets on all levels, from talent to sportsmanship. It is what a rivalry should be about.

“When I first got here, I was told Sparta was the team to beat,” recalled O’Connor. “You wanted to be like them and over the years we have battled with them but I have developed a friendship with Fred as well as the other coaches.

“It is always special to go against guys like Fred, Chris Dexter at High Point and Billy Foley at Vernon, I consider them friends,” he added.

O’Connor has always been known for two things when you watch his teams. First off, they love to shoot 3-pointers and, secondly, unless he has to adapt, the Falcons will frustrate you with their perfectly-executed 2-3 zone.

When O’Connor came to Jefferson, the 3-point shot was just instituted and a lot of the old school coaches did not embrace the concept, but O’Connor did and it helped the Falcons become a state power.

“Bob Elder watched a lot of West Coast basketball and they were using the 3-point shot a lot,” said O’Connor. “We wanted to get the ball up and down the court and when the shot came in we had the kids who could shoot it. It really changed the game.”

As for the 2-3 zone, Elder played a role in that too, but in a different respect.

“He told me you will never win playing a 2-3 zone,” O’Connor said. “And after we won the state title, he just shook my hand and smiled.

“We practice man defense all the time in practice,” he added. “It helps playing the zone and the kids have done a great job over the years playing it.”

O’Connor has had many special memories over the years. He cited all the great games against Sparta, the state title in 1992, and winning the section in 2004 over an outstanding Pascack Valley club led by Rutgers star Heather Zurich.

The 1992 team, obviously, was special. I remember covering that team because I was working part-time for the Suburban Trends at the time. The core group had struggled for two years as they started as freshmen and took their lumps.

But led by their outstanding center Pam Brandell, the Falcons took flight. Brandell was a force in the middle and was perfectly complemented by guards Jess Annuzzi and Jen Meisner and power forward Aurora Gonzalez.

The Falcons stunned a previously-undefeated Middletown South team and earned a berth in the Tournament of Champions.

The squad won another section crown in 1993 but fell short of defending its title.

O’Connor has had some outstanding players over the years, but as he pointed out, they weren’t just great basketball players, they excelled in two or three sports, a rare feat these days.

I put the ever modest O’Connor on the spot and asked him to name an “All-O’Connor Team.” He laughed and said he would love to put all of his players on, so with my help we came up with a list.

And if there are any glaring omissions, don’t blame O’Connor. I forced him to do this. So here it goes in no particular order.

Pam Brandell—As I said, she was a force in the middle and scored 1,667 points and went onto a nice career at the University of New Hampshire.

Diana Poulsen—A scoring machine, she transferred into Jefferson and finished with an amazing 2,285 points before graduating in 1989.

Lisa Koch—Another transfer, Koch scored 1,247 points and was the leader of the 2004 gang that won the section and SCIL title. Koch recently wrapped up an outstanding run at The College of New Jersey.

Dawn Gilchrist—Maybe the best overall female athlete in Jefferson history, and that is saying something. The athletic swing player scored 1,419 points and keyed a magical run for Jefferson in which it ended Sparta’s run of five straight league titles. She went onto play softball at Monmouth University after leaving Jefferson in 2003.

Shannon McCarney—Helped end a Jefferson drought with her outstanding play in the middle as an undersized post player. She scored 1,209 points before graduating in ’01 and was the first of the outstanding McCarney athletes to walk through the doors at Jefferson.

Sharon Rocks—The best pure 3-point shooter I have ever seen on the girls level. She could fill it up from anywhere on the floor and helped Jefferson excel from beyond the arc. She finished with 1,134 points joining her father, Kevin, as 1,000-point scorers at Jefferson.

Jen Ford—Steady as they come. Ford did a great job in the middle after Brandell graduated and she compiled 1,105 points before graduating in 1995. Ford went onto a fine career at The College of New Jersey.

Dedra Pritchard—Pritchard continued the legacy of great post players for O’Connor and scored 1,142 points before graduating in 2006. She is currently playing at Bentley College.

Jen Meisner—A tremendous all-around athlete, she was a great defensive player for the Falcons and scored when called upon.

Jess Annuzzi—She was named the MVP of the state title game and was a gritty ball handler and defender for the Falcons. Annuzzi and Meisner comprised one of the top backcourts in Falcons history.

Aurora Gonzalez—Tough as nails power forward who helped free up Brandell. Great on the offensive and defensive glass and terrific defender.

And making Honorable Mention for their contributions were Danielle Piotrowsky, Michelle Lopez, and Lori Kowalski. I would add great role players like Erin Ackerson, Steph Wilke, Brittany Gerritsen, who could have stars on lesser teams, but bought into O’Connor’s team concept.

O’Connor has had quite a run and it has been an absolute pleasure being part of the ride. Congrats, Jim, and here is to another 400!

That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.

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Sussex County Sports Blog

By Dan Cleary

12/27/2009 - O'Connor Hits Magic Mark