There is a deep history of basketball coaches coming from the Philadelphia and South Jersey region.
While Big 5 College Basketball Coaching Legends John Chaney and Fran Dunphy grew up in the Philadelphia area, former NBA player and Coach Chris Ford Sr. is from Atlantic City. Phil Martelli won a Catholic High School Basketball title at a young man before his long coaching career, and NBA Championship Head Coach Frank Vogel is from Wildwood, New Jersey.
But one South Jersey High School Graduate is leaving the Philadelphia area in the rearview mirror for the opportunity to coach in another big city.
From Haddon Heights to Philadelphia to New York City
After playing High School Basketball at Bishop Eustace Preparatory School in Pennsauken, Billy Lange went on to play at Rowan University. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Philadelphia University under legendary basketball coach Herb Magee.
Lange would spend time as an assistant coach at two Philadelphia Schools: La Salle (1998-99) and Villanova (2001-04) before landing his first big time Head Coaching job at Navy. After seven seasons as the Midshipmen Head Basketball Coach, he resigned his position to rejoin the Villanova coaching staff.
His first NBA job was an Assistant Coach with the Philadelphia 76ers. From 2013 to 2019, he worked under Sixers Head Coach Brett Brown. Lange left the Sixers organization in March 2019 to become the Head Coach for the Saint Joseph’s University, which is about 10 miles from where the 76ers play their home games.
After four years of rebuilding, Lange led the Saint Joseph Hawks Men’s Basketball Team to back-to-back 20 win seasons for the first time in almost 20 years. But after six years coaching on Hawk Hill, Lange is voluntarily leaving his fourth coaching job in the last 15 years.
Where Is Billy Lange Going Next?
After 14 years coaching in the Philadelphia area, the South Jersey Basketball coach will be a member of an NBA coaching staff for the 2025-26 season.
Multiple reports state that Billy Lange will be joining the New York Knicks coaching staff for the upcoming NBA season. He will join new Head Coach Mike Brown’s staff, who is taking over a Knicks’ job a year after the team lost in the Eastern Conference Finals.
This will be the ninth coaching job that Lange will have over the last 30 years between the college and professional ranks. At 53 years old, the Basketball Lifer from Haddon Heights, New Jersey has been on an interesting professional journey.
Speaking of South Jersey, here are some of the top New Jersey Basketball Players who got to play and coach in the NBA:
KEEP READING: South Jersey Athletes Who Played/Coached in NBA and MLB
Gallery Credit: Josh Hennig