SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–On Thursday, GMC Hoops learned of the passing of legendary South Plainfield Boys Basketball Coach, Anthony Cotoia, who passed away early yesterday morning at 81. Cotoia was SPHS’s boys basketball coach in the early days of the school, and led the teams to a Group III state championship in 1964, and a Central Jersey Group III title in 1965. The Tigers did reach the state title game in 1965, but would lose to Newark Shabazz (then Newark Southside).
Cotoia, who went on to be the athletic director at the school as well as the principal, coached the legendary Wally Cirafesi, the school’s first all time leading scorer who played on both championship teams, and ended up with 1,304 career points. Cirafesi’s record would last 21 years until February 22, 1986 when Joe Thompson broke that mark in his final game as a Tiger against St. Mary’s of South Amboy (now Cardinal McCarrick). Thompson’s record would stand for 19 years before Marquis Jones broke the mark in 2005.
In 1993, Cotoia was honored by the school when the gym was dedicated in his name during halftime of a contest between South Plainfield and Bishop Ahr. The Tigers lost that game thanks to an 18-0 run by the Trojans that turned a 43-34 deficit into a 52-43 victory. When South Plainfield was in the midst of its historic 27-1 season that brought the school’s first of two straight GMC Tournament Championships, comparisons were made to those Cotoia teams of the 1960s. Prior to 2004 and 2005, SPHS had never won a county or conference championship. The 2003-04 Tigers didn’t even win a sectional championship losing to Raritan of Hazlet in the North Jersey Section 2 Group III Championship.
Cotoia served the students at South Plainfield High School in some capacity for over 30 years, and would be often seen at Tiger basketball games. A moment of silence was given prior to the annual football game between North Plainfield and South Plainfield yesterday at Krausche Field. Before there was Jeff Lubreski, Cotoia was the name linked to SPHS boys basketball. He was the first in a long lineage of Tiger hoops coaches that includes Ben Crowers, Willie Leonardi, Norman Mopsick, Lubreski, and current coach Bill Schulte. This season, SPHS has put together a holiday tournament in Cotoia’s honor that will now have even more symbolic meaning.