For the past 33 years, the New Jersey Tournament of Champions has crowned one true high school basketball titlist in the Garden State.
Pitting each group champion in a winner-take-all tournament, the TOC made some schools legendary and showcased hundreds of elite ballplayers, many of whom now star in the NBA.
In the final year, No. 1 seed
Camden and top-ranked junior prospect
D.J. Wagner Jr. have the chance to write their own ending to the storied postseason event.
Wagner looks to follow in his his father's footsteps as Dajuan Wagner led the Panthers to the 2000 crown, the last public school to win a TOC title.
Camden beat Elizabeth 60-50 on Thursday behind D.J. Wagner's 30 points and faces Roselle Catholic in Sunday's final TOC game.
Wagner can add his name TOC lore as it comes to an end but we will help the memories live on by looking at 10 players, alphabetically, who elevated their game in the TOC finals.
Karl Anthony-Towns and his St. Joseph teammates celebrate their 2014 TOC title.
Photo by Richard Ta
2011, 2012
Resume: Before going to UCLA and being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, the MaxPreps National Player of the Year led the Friars to a pair of TOC titles. He scored 17 points with eight assists and six boards in 2011 as St. Anthony was crowned MaxPreps National Champion after a 33-0 season (the school's sixth unbeaten season). The following year, Anderson went for 14 and six with five blocks, four assists and four steals as the Friars beat Plainfield 66-62 as part of an eventual 83-game win streak and second consecutive national title.
Terry Dehere, St. AnthonyTOC title: 1989
Resume: The 6-foot-2 guard scored a team-high 20 points in the first TOC championship — and first of 13 titles under legendary coach Bob Hurley. He played alongside Bobby Hurley, Jerry Walker, Rodrick Rhodes, Sean Rooney and Felix Ortiz. The title victory was the 50th straight win for the Friars and the 1989 squad is considered to be the school's greatest team. Dehere played college ball at Seton Hall before being drafted in 1993 by the Los Angeles Clippers 13th overall. He played six seasons in the NBA with the Clippers, Kings and Vancouver Grizzlies.
Al Harrington, St. PatrickTOC title: 1998
Resume: Three months before being taken 25th by the Indiana Packers, Harrington led the Celtics to their first TOC title with a 62-49 win over Seton Hall Prep. He dropped 20 with 13 rebounds on his way to being named Gatorade National Player of the Year. Harrington was joined by future NBA player Samuel Dalembert along with Walter Price and Jamal Jackson.
Bobby Hurley Jr., St. AnthonyTOC title: 1989
Resume: The coach's son finished with 16 points in the inaugural TOC championship and was surrounded by talent including Dehere and Walker, who was the game's MVP after scoring 17 points with 13 rebounds. Hurley went on to a stellar career at Duke, played for the Sacramento Kings and is now the head coach at Arizona State.
Danny Hurley, St. AnthonyTOC title: 1991
Resume: Hurley's 1990 squad lost the title 65-62 to Luther Wright and Elizabeth. Hobbled by an ankle injury, Hurley scored 17, but his game-tying shot at the end missed. He led the Friars back to the finals the next year and came away with a convincing 63-39 win over Seton Hall Prep, in which he scored 22. It was the second title in three years for St. Anthony. Hurley played at Seton Hall and now coaches at UConn.
Kyrie Irving, St. PatrickTOC title: 2009
Resume: The junior scored 26 in the 73-57 win over Science Park in his lone TOC appearance. Irving, who spent one season at Duke after high school, teamed with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Dexter Strickland and Paris Bennett to give Kevin Boyle one of his five TOC titles. Irving was taken No. 1 overall by Cleveland in 2011 and won a title with the Cavaliers in 2016, and starred in "Uncle Drew."
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, St. PatrickTOC title: 2009
Resume: Part of one of the best starting lineups to step on a TOC court, he scored 16 with 15 rebounds while teaming with Irving, Strickland and Bennett to grab title No. 3 for Boyle. Kidd-Gilchrist played collegiately at Kentucky and was part of the Wildcats' 2012 national championship team with Anthony Davis. After college, Kidd-Gilchrist was drafted No. 2 overall in 2012 by the Charlotte Bobcats.
Karl Anthony-Towns, St. Joseph (Metuchen)
TOC title: 2014
Resume: A year after falling 65-49 to Roselle Catholic, Towns led the Falcons to a title with the 49-47 win over Newark East Side. He scored eight points and added eight boards and three blocks while fellow future-NBA player Wade Baldwin had 12. The 7-foot Towns, who scored seven with seven boards in 2013, went to Kentucky, leading his team to the Final Four before becoming the No. 1 pick in 2015 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Dajaun Wagner, CamdenTOC title: 2000
Resume: The father of D.J. Wagner helped the Panthers earn the last TOC title by a public school. Wagner, who averaged nearly 35 points per game that season, dropped 27 in the 50-46 win over defending champion Seton Hall Prep. He also notched 27 in a 62-60 semifinal win over St. Patrick. Wagner, whose father Milt was also a Camden legend and NBA player, played collegiately at Memphis before being taken sixth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2002.
Luther Wright, ElizabethTOC title: 1990
Resume: A year after losing in the first TOC finals, the 7-2 Wright had a monster night, going for 28 with nine rebounds and five blocks as the Minutemen beat St. Anthony 65-62. It was the only loss for the Friars in TOC play. One year earlier, Wright's Elizabeth squad lost to St. Anthony behind Dehere, Walker and Bobby Hurley. Wright played at Seton Hall before being drafted 18th in 1993 by the Utah Jazz.
