Mark Taylor returns to his alma mater St. Joseph-Metuchen (New Jersey) as head boys basketball coach

In his first stint as head coach at St. Joe’s, Taylor guided such standouts as former Duke NCAA Player of the Year and first-round NBA draft pick, Jason Williams, as well as fellow former NBA first-rounder, Andrew Bynum

Timothy Christian and St. Joseph boys high school basketball teams met Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025 night at the St. Joseph High School gymnasium in Metuchen. / Alexander Lewis / MyCentralJersey / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With an impressive coaching resume that includes nearly 600 career victories, and having revitalized three different basketball programs, Mark Taylor is set to return to his roots as the new head coach for the Falcons at his alma mater, St. Joseph High School of Metuchen, as first reported on cjsportsradio.com.

He replaced Karl Towns, the father of NBA great Karl-Anthony Towns, Jr., who stepped down last month following one controversial season at the helm.

Taylor has spent the previous 14 seasons at renowned St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, where he amassed more than 400 wins with the Gray Bees while helping to develop numerous players who went on to success in Division I basketball. His return to St. Joe’s is particularly special for Taylor, as he starred there in the early 1980’s before being elected into the school’s Hall of Fame.

Following his stellar playing career at St. Joe’s, Jason Williams went on to earn National College Player of the Year honors at Duke and was the second overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls.  Andrew Bynum, meanwhile, made a name for himself after being drafted directly from St. Joseph’s by the Los Angeles Lakers. Both Willams and Bynum capped their high school careers by being named McDonald’s All-Americans.

Under Taylor, a member of St. Joseph Athletics Hall of Fame, both players were recognized as McDonald’s All-Americans. The 1983 St. Joe’s graduate reached the Middlesex County Tournament on two occasions as a player before continuing his career at Fordham University.

He later returned to St. Joseph’s as head coach, where he rejuvenated the program over 11 seasons (1997-2006), securing two Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament titles in six finals appearances, in addition to claiming two state sectional championships and seven division titles.

His next stop was at Ridge High School, where he transformed the Red Devils’ program, leading the team to 94 victories in five seasons, from 2006-2011, achieving more wins than any other Somerset County public school during that time—and clinching the Somerset County Tournament title in 2010, the school’s first since 1977.

At St. Benedict’s, his 14-season tenure resulted in a 333-60 record, which computes to a staggering winning percentage of 85%, bringing his career total to 599-171 (78%) over three decades in high school basketball. Dan Hurley, the current UConn head coach, had spent nine years at St. Benedict’s – with a down year in between – before Taylor arrived and breathed life back into the program.

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