By Joe Giordano || Sports Editor
Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith, and Pat Summitt. All three of these names are synonymous with one thing: basketball greatness. Their contributions to the game, their schools, and to their players has led to their names being etched into not only the history books, but also on the courts and arenas for which they coached in. This honor is only bestowed upon very deserving and influential people and an F&M alumnus will join this prestigious club.
Former basketball star and alumnus Tom Feraco had his high school court named after him. Coach Feraco, in his 35 seasons at Middle Township High School, amassed 719 wins and 3 state title victories. This impressive record, along with his great contributions to the high school led to this great honor being bestowed upon him. Middle Township High School Superintendent David Salvo gave an impassioned speech about how much Coach Feraco meant to the school and program saying, “Coach Feraco’s basketball program was a model of greatness for 35 years. Those 35 years brought us great memories that we will forever cherish. Tonight we all get to honor a man who gave his heart and soul to this high school… We thank his family for giving us the extraordinary man for so many years. Coach Feraco, your accomplishments are second to none. In my opinion, your legacy goes well beyond all the wins and championships. To me, your legacy will be best remembered for all the lives you made better by being their coach. Tonight we honor you by making your legacy visible in our gym and in our hearts.”
In front of his family, friends, and former players, Coach Feraco addressed the packed gymnasium saying, “My heart is with this community. I bleed orange and black. This is about me and it shouldn’t be. I don’t want to get emotional. It’s easy for me to get emotional. I miss it, I miss being here. Not too many times you can see a coaching staff with guys that have been here well over 20 years. We all tried to do one thing, that was give back to this community, I think that you know that we did that in the best way.”
Although the team lost the game, the night will not be remembered for the result of the game. The night will be remembered for honoring not only a great coach, but also a great person like Tom Feraco. His passion for his school and the love he has for the game of basketball is inspiring and his legacy at Middle Township High School will not soon be forgotten.
We as an F&M community congratulate Coach Tom Feraco on his incredible accomplishments over the past 35 years and we wish him nothing but luck in his future endeavors. His extraordinary accomplishments will be celebrated by not only the Middle Township community but also here at F&M.
The College Reporter would like to thank Julie Bonette for her contributions to this article.
Junior Joe Giordano is the Sports Editor. His email is jgiorda1@fandm.edu.