Adam Dandrea’s first high school basketball head coaching job would have been a big deal no matter which school it was with.
It means a little more that it’s happening with Williamstown High School.
The Monroe Township Board of Education named Dandrea its new boys basketball coach this month.
Dandrea, who grew up and still lives in Vineland, has a connection to Williamstown. Much of his family lived in the Gloucester County community. His grandfather Bill Milam was mayor of Monroe Township from 1967-68 and became president of the Monroe Township Board of Education in 1977. Dandrea’s uncles and cousins coached and played in the Williamstown youth and travel leagues.
“My whole family graduated from there. Every family function was there.” Dandrea said. “I used to go to the Williamstown basketball games. I’m just ready to get to work. I really think it’s a great opportunity there. I’m fired up.”
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Dandrea attended St. Augustine Prep and was reserve on the 2011 Hermits team that won the state Non-Public A championship. Dandrea was kind of a basketball nerd.
“I wasn’t playing that much,” he said, “so I became close with the coaches.”
He began his coaching career right after he graduated from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, starting as an assistant under Paul Rodio Jr. at St. Joseph Academy in Hammonton. A week after his first season started, Dandrea took over the junior varsity team after another coach left the staff.
“I fell in love with coaching,” he said.
After seven years at St. Joseph, Dandrea became an assistant under St. Augustine Prep coach Paul Rodio Sr., who leads South Jersey with more than 1,000 career wins. Dandrea credited both Rodios for preparing him to be a head coach. They both let Deandre sit in on meetings with parents and school administration.
Dandrea jokes that because of his nine years as an assistant a lot of people in the South Jersey basketball scene know who he is but don’t know his name.
Once he tells people his name, there’s a whole other level of recognition.
Dandrea’s family runs Dandrea Produce in Vineland. Their billboards on the Atlantic City Expressway were once a signal that drivers were approaching the Jersey Shore.
“People in college would say to me, ‘Oh, I’ve seen all your signs,’” Dandrea said with a laugh.
Dandrea, 30, now runs his own business — Ronnie’s Produce in Vineland. It’s named after his dad, Ronald Dandrea, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2020.
Dandrea heard about the Williamstown opening from a family member. “If it was any other job,” he said, “I probably wouldn’t have applied.”
Williamstown finished 2-24 last season, but the program has potential. The Braves have had winning records in five of the past 10 seasons. The Group IV school is a traditional South Jersey football power.
“I think it can be a little bit of a sleeping giant,” Dandrea said. “There’s a lot of talent to pull from.”
Dandrea envisions Williamstown playing up-tempo, position-less basketball.
“We’re really going to focus on fundamentals,” he said. “Defensively, we’re going to try to get some easy buckets. Trap a little bit and throw the other teams off. The games are won on the margins. I don’t anticipate a lot of blowout victories for us. I want to be an attacking style defense and definitely a downhill, ball movement, simplified offense.”
Coaches who are Dandrea’s age represent the future of South Jersey basketball. Dandrea, however, doesn’t plan to forget about the past.
“My style is a hybrid old school/new school,” he said. “That’s one of my strengths ... that ability to connect with this group of kids but still have a respect for the way things were done.”
After his hiring was announced, Dandrea heard from several of his former players. In the end, Dandrea said coaching is about the relationships with players. He helped build those relationships with communication skills he learned in the produce business.
“Wins and losses go, but the relationships are awesome.” Dandrea said. “I’m looking to bring that type of atmosphere, that type of culture, to Williamstown, and we could start to have some success consistently. That’s the goal.”
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