Stephen D. Reddy, a successful businessman who retired about five years ago, was a starting guard on the only Westfield High School boys basketball team to win a state championship. He chronicles that magical 1971-72 season in New Jersey in a new book titled "a ball with no points" (published by Dunkin Drive Publications LLC).
Steve Reddy joins SportsJam with Doug Doyle to talk about his book that details what it was like playing hoops at Gumbert Park and being part of an amazing accomplishment at Westfield High School.
A couple of player reunions sparked the writing of a the book which includes stories about some famous names of the sports world including Reddy's coach at Bucknell University, the legendary Jim Valvano. Valvano, who died in 1993 from cancer, would eventually bring a National Championship to North Carolina State in 1983. Reddy also played against actor Ray Liotta of Goodfellas and Field of Dreams fame.
During this edition of SportsJam, Reddy gave credit to many people who shaped that championship season, including head coach Neil Horne, Jr.
"I think Coach Horne was one of the big reasons we had success we did. When I think of coach, a couple of things stand out. The practices we had, he got us fully prepared to play each game. We constantly worked on individual skills and then there were team concepts we worked on in each practice. He had us just as prepared as we could be. When we got into tight games he was also pretty cool. He kept his cool and that allowed us to
keep our cool at the same time. I was so fortunate that he kept all of his practice notes that I have copies of some of them in the book."
Reddy was joined by Tim Goski, Tom Pfeiffer, Scott Novacek and Larry Simmons in the starting five that year. That season ended with a two-point overtime victory over Triton in 1972. A game that Reddy admits was filled with turnovers, somewhat of a downer at the time, but as time passed, an incredible accomplishment.
"With the more passage of time I think what we had accomplished we all appreciated more, it's never been done since then."
So after one of the reunions, Reddy started to think about the glory days with a fresh perspective, and starting writing "a ball with no points" a reference to a comment he received from a gym teacher who said the skinny Reddy didn't belong on a football field.
A good part of Reddy's book mentions the hallowed days of playground basketball, especially at Gumbert park where many New Jersey future hoopers would improve their craft. Reddy was sad to those famous courts, once a haven for brilliant pick-up games, removed years ago. He doesn't feel AAU basketball has been a positive force in the game.
"AAU might provide competition, but it certainly hasn't improved the fundamentals. I think players tend to favor athleticism over fundamentals.
Reddy made some key points in Westfield's championship season. He would go on to play college hoops at Bucknell University under the late coach Jim Valvano, yes the same coach who would later lead North Carolina State to a National Championship in 1983. Valvano lost his battle with cancer in 1993. It was that year he gave an inspirational speech at the ESPY's that led to the formation of The V Foundation for Cancer Research. Reddy says Coach Valvano certainly knew how to fire up a team.
"That first week at school when he invited all the basketball hopefuls into a meeting to introduce himself and said basketball is my life. By the time that meeting was over, we were so pumped up, we couldn't wait to play. The season was six weeks away but it was inspirational. He was just a young coach at the time, but you could see he was headed for big things somewhere after Bucknell."
Another special chapter in "a ball with no points" focuses on Reddy's daughter Jackie, a standout basketball player at Notre Dame High School who also played on traveling soccer teams. Even though Reddy would have liked to have seen Jackie take an athletic scholarship and play college sports, he didn't push her into something she didn't want to pursue.
"I don't regret that at all. I was just so happy for the high school career that she had which was amazing. She kind of went out at the top of her game."
Reddy's book is a "thank you" to his coach and teammates and takes you down "memory lane" of high school basketball in New Jersey in the early 70's.
