Legendary New Jersey coach Jeff Jasper reaches 1,000 wins

HILLSDALE, NJ —The garbage bags were brought in with about four minutes left. The murmurs started about two minutes later.

The standing and clapping and cheering and wearing of the commemorative t-shirts that had been in those garbage bags took up the final minute of the girls basketball game in Pascack Valley High School’s gymnasium on Thursday

There was also a game being played. But by that time, the game had turned into a moment, and the fans had turned to celebrating it.

When the final buzzer sounded, Pascack Valley had a 73-25 victory. More significantly, head coach Jeff Jasper had his 1,000th win, the first New Jersey high school girls’ basketball coach to reach this milestone.

Jasper is Pascack Valley girls basketball. The program has known no other coach since beginning in the 1973-74 season. It hasn’t needed to. With Jasper in charge, Pascack Valley has won seven county titles, six state championships, and now, 1,000 games. This season, Jasper’s 45th, the Indians are 10-0.

The wins did not always come in bunches, however. In the first season, Jasper said, the girls “knew nothing” about basketball. He had to teach the skills, the rules, everything.

“I was coaching aliens,” he said. “I didn’t even know what I was doing. I was an alien as well.”

Pascack Valley won just two games.

“Everybody embarrassed us,” Jasper said. “But I didn’t care. We were just going to keep getting better.”