By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
X @tortreports
It sure didn’t take Mike Ricci long to find his landing spot.
Ricci, 53, is heading into his 28th season coaching boys hoops in South Jersey and is expected to be named Highland Regional’s next head basketball coach pending board approval on June 27. A South Jersey Glory Days source confirmed this development on Friday afternoon.
In March, Ricci was told his contract would not be renewed at Haddon Heights due to a “poor parenting decision” on Ricci’s part. The decision to terminate Ricci received significant backlash from several former and current players, parents, fans and coaches across the region.
A 1989 Camden Catholic High graduate, Ricci started his coaching career at Paulsboro in 1996 when he was the youngest coach to capture a NJSIAA state championship at just 23 years old when his Red Raiders defeated Newark Science, 53-51, in his first season. He coached at Paulsboro for eight seasons, compiling a 141-83 record with four Colonial Conference and two South Jersey Group 1 titles. In his final season, he led Paulsboro back to the state title game, falling to Bloomfield Tech in 2003.
After Paulsboro, Ricci coached at Gateway for three seasons before moving to Haddon Heights, where he was the coach for the past 16 seasons.
He ended his run at Haddon Heights as the program’s all-time wins leader with 278 victories. He owns a 428-289 career record in 27 seasons, which is 20th in South Jersey wins history.
Highland finished 11-14 this past winter, but graduates its top two scorers in Amir Bailey (16.9 points per game) and Kristopher Evering (11.9 ppg). Notable returning players include Jerome Cuff, a junior who tallied 192 points and 155 rebounds, and classmate Bryce Williams, who recorded 146 points and 11 rebounds.
