A legend resigns; Mendham’s Baglin steps down after 685 wins

By Mark Kitchin

Morriscountyvarsityboysbasketball

Published reports announced that Jim Baglin resigned as Mendham boys varsity basketball coach on Friday ending a spectacular career which included nine Morris County Tournament titles, two state group titles and numerous conference championships.

He leaves as the most prolific coach in the history of Morris County boys basketball. Baglin had 685 victories and 193 losses over a 33-year span. He will continue to serve as athletic director for the school, a post he has held since 1991.

Baglin will be known for his consistent success in a sport that is not as perceived to be popular as wrestling and ice hockey in the suburban setting of Morris County. In 2012,  the Minutemen’s unprecedented reign of five consecutive MCT titles came to a close.

Also noteworthy were two spectacular state title runs. Mendham won a Group II state championship in 2000 led by a team that included Jeff Schiffner, who went on to play at the University of Pennsylvania. The 30-2 team defeated Holmdel 57-44 to win its title. That team went to the Tournament of Champions and earned a 61-57 victory overLindenbefore falling to Seton Hall Prep 46-45 in a much remembered TOC semifinal.

In 2010, the Minutemen also made an astounding tournament run to capture the Group III state title. Tore Vicarisi and Caleb DeMoss were among the standouts for the 26-4 team which won a section with a win against Millburnand a group semifinal by beating Old Tappan. In a hard fought game the Minutemen edged Kingsway 44-41 to earn Group III honors. They lost to a superior Newark-University team in the T of C.

Mendham’s Jim Baglin always knew how to get his point across. Baglin guided the Minutemen for 33 seasons and 685 wins.

Last year’s team finished 20-6 and it was only fitting that the 1970 Plainfield High graduate finished his coaching career close to his basketball roots. Mendham, which upset the section’s top seed Rahway, traveled to Plainfield and lost 74-36 in the North 2, Group III sectional final. Plainfield would win Group III and advance to the title game of the Tournament of Champions.

A successor has not been named although it has been intimated that Kevin Schmid would be a suitable replacement. Schmid has spent five years as a Mendham assistant and has previous varsity head coaching experience at Parsippany High and Morris Catholic.

Anyone who replaces Baglin will have rather large shoes to fill. Public school coaches that maintain a long run of success in the same school are very rare.