Tribute to Pete LoPresti

Remembering Former Monroe Boys Coach Who Guided Falcons to 1996 GMCT Elite Eight

MONROE, NJ–In light of recent events, GMC Hoops thought it would take time out to remember former Monroe Township boys basketball head coach, Pete LoPresti, who died on October 19, 2014 at his home after a valiant fight against brain cancer.  LoPresti, who was given the nickname “Pistol Pete” was a standout player at Dunellen High School and was on the 1968 CJ Group II champion team that defeated Bound Brook in the Championship.  

In the first season of GMC Hoops back in 2001, that memorable 1968 team was honored at the old Dunellen High School gym at halftime of a contest between the Destroyers and Monroe.  LoPresti served as a coach for 35 years, and even worked as an official before taking the Monroe boys basketball head coaching job prior to the start of the 1992-93 season.  In that first season, LoPresti coached a squad led by Norman Greene, and also had contributions from South River transfer Mensah Fitzpatrick.  LoPresti would go on to coach at MTHS for 13 seasons before stepping down at the end of the 2004-05 campaign.

The high points of LoPresti’s tenure at Monroe were in 1996 and 2002.   In 1996, LoPresti guided a Falcons squad that reached the GMCT Elite Eight for the first time ever.  Led by Jamaine Miller, the school’s then all time leading scorer before A.J. Rudowitz came along in the latter part of the LoPresti era, the Falcons took St. Peter’s down to the wire before the Cardinals, led by Mars Mellish and Tony Lee, pulled away thanks to some fullcourt pressure down the stretch.   Also contributing to that team were Albie Lobbato and Rob Cortiglia.  Monroe only finished fourth in the GMC Blue that year with an 8-8 record behind division winner J.F. Kennedy, St. Peter’s, and Highland Park.  However, in the GMCT preliminary round, the Falcons downed Metuchen, and then knocked off fourth seeded JFK in the Round of 16. LoPresti would later coach another talented GMC player in Preston Beverly before he transferred to St. Joseph’s where he would join forces with Greg Kuchinski on the Falcons team that reached the GMCT finals in 2001.

The second moment came in 2002 with a Monroe Falcons team led by now Woodbridge head coach, Matt Gigliello and Chris Felix, who went on to play college hoops and baseball at Centenary College in Hackettstown.  Those Falcons, which finished third behind Carteret and Highland Park with an 8-4 record, also included the likes of Marcello Henriques, Danny Palma, Tom Woolfolk, Eric and Jim Gaston, Brandon Perry, and Mario Zygaldo.  The 2001-02 Falcons fought to get respect, especially from GMC Hoops, which didn’t give them a lot of respect in the pre-season, and drew some heat from the folks down in Monroe for that.  

The Falcons earned respect right away though by defeating South River in the Championship Game of the Piscataway Tech Tournament, and then knocking off neighborhood rival, Spotswood on the road at the beginning of January 2002.  MTHS also added another win over Middlesex in GMC Hoops first ever trip to Monroe High School.  The biggest surprise the Falcons pulled that season was a victory over a J.F. Kennedy team that started the season 6-1 including a win at Colonia.  JFK would return the favor though with a win over the Falcons at MTHS in the CJ Group II playoffs.  Gigliello earned GMC Hoops Player of the Week Honors during the course of that season as well as All GMC Hoops Defensive Team honors while Felix was 2nd team All GMC Hoops.

However, it was a gesture the year before by this special group of kids coached by LoPresti that I’ll never forget.  As mentioned earlier, the 1968 Dunellen sectional championship team that LoPresti was on, was honored at halftime of a game between Monroe and Dunellen at the old Dunellen HS Gym late in the inaugural season of GMC Hoops.  During this halftime ceremony, this group of Monroe players:  Gigliello, Felix, Henriques, Woolfolk, Zygaldo, and the Gastons among others stood and applauded while that Dunellen team was being honored.  It spoke to the class and respect for history of basketball in Middlesex County that those kids had.  It also reflected the way Pete LoPresti ran things at Monroe.  In his final season in 2004-05, LoPresti guided a group led by A.J. Rudowitz and Scott Basarab, and even had a newcomer in Colin Horsch, who later contributed  in Monroe’s first ever GMCT Final Four appearance the following season.  The team showed flashes of the promise that would become reality the following year under new head coach Bob Turco.

The 2004-05 season started out with a loss to Colonia on opening night, but the Falcons rebounded with 6 straight wins heading into a pivotal White Division contest against defending GMCT Champion, South Plainfield, which eventually won its third straight White Division crown, and second straight GMCT later that season.  The team would finish the year 9-13, and get knocked out in the Round of 16 by New Brunswick, but still scored an upset victory on the road at East Brunswick in the preliminary round.  The ingredients were coming together for something special to happen in Monroe.  Pete LoPresti is remembered fondly by his former players, who showed enough confidence in them to let them make mistakes and learn from them as well as teach them all valuable life lessons.