Pemberton basketball names new coach with sectional championship experience

Former Burlington Township coach Ryan Derry talks to his players prior to a basketball game played at Burlington Township High School in Burlington, New Jersey. Photo provided.

PEMBERTON – Ryan Derry began his coaching journey as an assistant baseball and boys' basketball coach at Pemberton.

The Hornets hosted the South Jersey Group 2 final against Camden in 2014 while Derry was an assistant on longtime Hornets coach Roy Heck’s staff.

After a six-year tenure at Burlington Township and a stop at Rancocas Valley as an assistant, a homecoming for Derry on Arney’s Mount Road is imminent.

Derry was approved as Pemberton’s next basketball coach on Thursday night.

“Pemberton holds such a special place in my heart,” Derry said. “It’s the first teaching job I had. First coaching job I had. If I’m able to give back to this community as the varsity basketball coach, it’ll mean more to me than anything.”

Derry accumulated an 88-68 record and guided the Falcons to a pair of Group 3 sectional championships in six seasons. Burlington Township fell to Wall in the 2019 Central Jersey Group 3 final and Woodrow Wilson, now Camden Eastside, in the 2022 South Jersey Group 3 final. Division I football players Anthony Johnson (James Madison/Stony Brook) and Jordan Dotson (Harvard) were two standout players that played for Derry.

“I’m so grateful for my time at Burlington Township and how lucky I was to coach such amazing kids,” Derry said.

The newly-appointed head coach is also expected to add former Bordentown coach John Myers to his staff as an assistant coach. Myers was an assistant at Pemberton in 2013 for a team that finished with an 18-8 record and reached the South Jersey Group 2 playoffs. 

During his eight seasons with the Scotties, Myers won 131 games and led the program to a pair of Group 2 sectional finals. Bordentown was crowned the Central Jersey Group 2 champion in 2016 and finished with a 26-5 record. Myers coached a pair of Division I players – Myron Gordon (Samford/Bowling Green) and Emmanuel Ansong (Green Bay/Vanderbilt) – during his tenure on Ward Avenue.

Derry and Myers combined for over 200 wins and four sectional championship appearances in their respective tenures at former posts.

“I think it’s going to serve us very well,” Derry said. “With the experience of this coaching staff, hopefully we get over the hump and bring Pemberton another trophy. I know we’re going to work relentlessly and it’s going to be a daily process.”

Under Heck’s tutelage, the Hornets won the 2016 Central Jersey Group 3 title with a 70-67 triumph over Ewing. The longtime Pemberton coach retired after the 2016-17 season. Since Heck’s retirement, the Hornets have a 1-4 record in NJSIAA playoff games and have yet to advance past a sectional quarterfinal.

Pemberton finished with a 2-25 record last season. The Hornets earned a pair of wins over Moorestown Friends and West Windsor-Plainsboro South. The team returns seniors Rahmeer McCargo and Kam’Ron Moore. McCargo averaged 7.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. Moore contributed 6.0 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. Junior Vinny Bruno led the team in assists and steals.

A program rebuild may not be an overnight process, but Derry is up for the challenge.

“We’re going to build it back,” he said. “We’re going to do it the right way. We’ve built programs in the past and hopefully we strike gold again.”