South Jersey Boys Basketball Players of the Quarter Century
Tom Rimback
One quarter of the way through the 21st century, it is a perfect time to take stock of the incredible heights South Jersey high school boys basketball has reached.
To that end, we have come up with our picks for the 25 best South Jersey players of the quarter century.
The list comes in two parts. First off, we have 20 players who stood out among the very best. The final part is our choice of a Starting Five of South Jersey’s best.
At the end of the list, you will have your own chance to give compile your own starting five by filling out a ballot for yourself.
Here is our list of the First 20 players of the quarter-century:
Matt Betley, Lenape, 2004
Part of the Twin Towers lineup that brought Lenape a 28-0 record in winning the 2004 NJSIAA Group 4 title, Betley was the perfect scholastic swing forward. Betley played collegiately at Lafayette College, scoring 1,892 career points.
Tim Burns, St. Joseph Academy, 2004
Burns led the state in scoring as a senior with a 30.5 scoring average and finished his career with 2,043 points. Burns split his collegiate career at High Point University and the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.
Nick Cangelosi, Camden Catholic, 2003
With twin brother Nick, Cangelosi led the Irish to a pair of NJSIAA Non-Public A state titles and scored 1,388 career points. Cangelosi threw for more than 5,000 yards as a quarterback, eventually playing at the University of North Carolina and Georgetown University.
Russell Carter, Paulsboro, 2003
A two-time South Jersey scoring champion, Carter scored 2,282 career points. He was named Courier-Post and New Jersey Player of the Year as a senior. Carter averaged 10.2 points in his career at Notre Dame University.
Elijah Crispin, Pitman, 2024
The latest in a four-generation legacy of great South Jersey players, Crispin will graduate with 2,097 points and 271 3-pointers later this spring. He will play collegiately at Pace University.
Mike DePersia, Haddonfield, 2019
The perfect point guard, DePersia led the Bulldogs to two NJSIAA state titles, scoring 1,518 career points as a four-year starter. DePersia played three years for Indiana University of Pennsylvania plus a year at LeMoyne University, where he currently serves as director of basketball operations.
Luke Dickson, Pitman, 2011
A four-year starter at Pitman, Dickson threw his 5-foot-8 frame at the very best South Jersey opponents could throw at him. Dickson scored 2,321 career points before starting for four years as a 1,000-point scorer for Chestnut Hill College.
Kyion Flanders, Wildwood, 2018
A standout scorer for the Warriors, Flanders had the chops to dominate at the rim and beyond the 3-point arc. Flanders scored 2,131career points. Flanders went on to become a 1,000-point scorer for Stockton University.
Pat Holden, Lower Cape May, 2018
An undersized guard for the Cape-Atlantic League, Holden nonetheless graduated as the Caper Tigers' all-time leading scorer, finishing with 2,103 career points. Holden scored more than 1,000 career points at Widener University, with a 10.6 career scoring average.
Xavier Lundy, Paulsboro, 2013
Among the most dominant players South Jersey has ever seen, Lundy led the Red Raiders to a pair of South Jersey titles, scoring 2,135 career points. The two-time South Jersey player of the year played collegiately at Rider University.
Isaiah Morton, St. Augustine, 2011
Morton capped his stellar Hermits' career with a 30-point effort in the 2011 NJSIAA Non-Public A championship game. Morton was the first St. Augustine player to top 2,000 career points, finishing with 2,289. Began his collegiate career at Marist University before finishing at California State University-San Bernardino.
Jack Mustaro, Gloucester Catholic, 2024
The leading scorer in Gloucester Catholic history, Mustaro was an electric scoring machine for the Rams. Fearless around the rim, he could also pull up from any range. Mustaro scored 1,882 career points with 265 3-pointers. Mustaro will play at West Chester University.
Dean Noll, Shawnee, 2018
Noll brought the Renegades back to the pinnacle of basketball leading the school to the 2018 NJSIAA Group 3 title. Noll scored 1,589 career points, including a school-record 740 as a senior. Noll played collegiately for Cornell and Stony Brook.
Stefano Okoro, Gloucester, 2013
Okoro had one of the most explosive seasons in Gloucester history, tallying 761 points as a senior by averaging 27.2 points per game over 28 games. Okoro bolstered that total with a pair of games against Clayton, with 44 points in January and 40 in February, to graduate with a school-record 2,133 points.
Marcellus Ross, St. Joseph Academy, 2019
The Wildcats' swing player at St. Joseph, slashing his way to 79 wins in his four years as a starter. Ross graduated with a school-record 2,161 career points. Ross played at Caldwell University before closing out his career at Rowan University.
Julian Sanders, Shawnee, 2007
A powerful force on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, Sanders led the Renegades to a return trip to a state championship as a senior. Sanders had a school-record 2,056 career points. He played collegiately at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Chris Santo, Cherry Hill East, 2011
The Cougars' guard ushered in a new era at East with his dominating combo guard skill, scoring a school-record 2,497 career points. Santo played collegiately at the University of Vermont and St. Anselm College. He played internationally in Malta and is currently the head coach at St. Anselm.
Jake Silpe, Cherry Hill East, 2015
Silpe brough the Cougars into the championship age, leading East to back-to-back South Jersey titles and a berth in the Group 4 state championship game as a senior. Silpe scored 1,577 career points at before playing at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ernest Turner, Sterling, 2001
One of the most exciting scorers to ever stalk South Jersey gymnasiums, the Silver Knights' star scored an incredible 2,806 career points. Turner played two seasons at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas before completing his career at the University of Maine.
Josh Wright, Cape May Tech, 2019
The six-foot guard ran rings around opponents in Cape May County and beyond. Wright scored a county and school-best 2,484 career points. Wright will be a senior at Rowan University next season.
The Starting Five
These players elevated themselves above and beyond their accomplished peers to be among the very best:
Paul Gause, Schalick, 2005
Gause transformed athletic expectations at Schalick. After joining a basketball program that won in the low single digits as a freshman, Gause led the Cougars to their first-ever South Jersey Group 1 basketball title. Gause scored 3,144, one of just two 3,000-point scorers in South Jersey history.
During his senior year alone, Gause scored more than 1,000 points.
On the gridiron, Gause led Schalick to the 2003 and 2004 South Jersey Group 1 titles, scoring 39 touchdowns as a senior with another 12 interceptions.
Gause played basketball at Seton Hall University for four years, then played professionally in both football and basketball. His professional basketball career included stops in Germany and the United Kingdom.
Jason Thompson, Lenape - 2004
A towering figure in South Jersey basketball circles, Thompson turned a middle-school growth spurt into one of the most celebrated careers in the sport. By graduation, Thompson was a 6-foot-11 dominant inside force with the ball skills of a guard. Thompson led Lenape to a 28-0 regular season and the Indians' first-ever state championship, the 2004 Group 4 title.
Upon graduation, Thompson moved onto Rider University, where he put the Broncs on the map. Thompson topped 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds at Rider, where his is one of two players to have his jersey retired.
Thompson was the sixth pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by Sacramento where he played the first eight of his 13 NBA seasons. Also played with Golden State and Toronto before playing internationally in China and Turkey. Thompson is cirrently an assistant coach for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Miami Heat affiliate in the NBA G League.
Dajuan Wagner, Camden, 2001
By acclaim the greatest high school basketball player in South Jersey history, Wagner was a force of nature on South Jersey hardwoods, selling out gymnasiums nearly every time he played. Wagner's legend was already fully formed by the time he stepped onto the same court that his father, Milt, played on at Camden.
Wagner never disappointed. Impossible to guard by traditional guards, Wagner scored 3,462 career points, still a New Jersey record. His 100-point game against Camden County Tech on Jan. 16, 2001 was allegedly seen by more fans than saw Wilt Chamberlain score 100 NBA points in Hershey, Pa.
Wagner averaged 42.5 points in 29 games as a senior. Wagner led Camden to the 2000 NJSIAA Group 3 and Tournament of Champions title, just the second South Jersey public school program to win the title.
Wagner played just one year collegiately at the University of Memphis, averaging 21.2 points per game.
Wagner was the sixth pick of the 2002 NBA Draft by the Cleveland, one year before being joined by Lebron James with the Cavaliers. After scoring 13.4 points per game as a rookie, Wagner's career was derailed by injury and illness that eventually ended his NBA career prematurely.
After three seasons with Cleveland, Wagner sat out his fourth season while recovering from having his colon removed. A comeback attempt with Golden State a year later ended after on game.
DJ Wagner, Camden, 2023
With father, Dajuan, and grandfather, Milt, already Camden basketball legends, DJ was one of the most anticipated South Jersey high school players ever. Wagner didn't disappoint, scoring 2,040 career points with 227 3-pointers. Wagner led 'The High' to the 2022 NJSIAA Group 3 championship, winning 31 games before a loss in the Tournament of Champions final.
Camden had a 96-7 record during Wagner's four years, which included a 13-game unbeaten COVID season in 2021.
Wagner was one of the country's most sought-after recruits, becoming the first-ever third-generation McDonald's All-American.
Wagner eventually signed with the University of Kentucky to play for John Calipari, who coached his father, Dajuan at Memphis. After one season, Wagner followed Calipari to the University of Arkansas. Wagner will be a junior in the 2025-26 season, with a 10.6 scoring average, starting 64 of 65 games.
Brian Zoubek, Haddonfield, 2006
A bona-fide seven-footer, Zoubek made the Bulldogs the center of the New Jersey small-school basketball world. Haddonfield won three NJSIAA state championships with Zoubek in the middle, scoring a Bulldogs-record 2,082 career points.
Haddonfield was 111-8 over Zoubek's four years at the school. The 2006 Courier-Post Player of the Year scored 790 points with 396 rebounds as a senior.
Zoubek went on to play four years at Duke University. For the Blue Devils, Zoubek battled through foot injuries as a sophomore and junior to play in 133 career games.
Zoubek concluded his collegiate career with an eight-point, 10-rebound effort in 31 minutes during a 61-59 win over Butler in the 2010 National Championship game.
Zoubek was signed by the New Jersey Nets as an undrafted player in 2010. His professional career ended after back surgery.
Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes. Follow him on twitter @Rimbacksports. Email him with story ideas at tomrimback@gmail.com and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription to the Courier-Post.