As a young physical education teacher in Elizabeth where his mentor Pat Brunner had just won a Union County Tournament championship Mike Passero didn’t know where his lifelong athletic journey might take its next turn.
Already he had been a star quarterback for Verona’s football team, and a starting signal caller at the college level at both FDU-Florham and Montclair State, plus a former scholastic hoops standout for Brunner with the Hillbillies.
Then an opportunity arrived for a teaching position and coaching future at Bloomfield High School. What happened next was a solid tenure as an assistant coach and offensive coordinator for longtime Bengals football coach Mike Carter plus a chance to be Brunner’s basketball assistant for a decade.
He had also spent time as an assistant football coach for Lou Racioppe and Kevin Batty at Verona.
When Brunner decided to accept a position as athletic director at Mountain Lakes in 2018, Bloomfield Athletic Director Steve Jenkins did not have to look far for a worthy replacement as the Bengals next head basketball mentor.
Passero, who had been a lead assistant on Brunner’s staff for the Bengals’ North 1, Group 4 state sectional championship team in 2016-2017, has been a natural in taking the reins of the school’s hoops program the past eight seasons (100-83) and he achieved a noteworthy milestone this past Saturday (Jan. 10) when he notched his 100th career victory with a 58-34 victory over Newark East Side in the Bloomfield High main gymnasium.
“It’s nice that everyone took time to recognize my 100th win, but it’s really always been about the players and this school which I love working at every day,” said the 43-year-old Passero, who is a 2000 graduate of Verona where he still makes his home with wife Jennifer and their children Michael, 12, and Julia, 11. “I’m fortunate to have a great principal in Chris Jennings and an outstanding athletic director in Steve Jenkins, who are both big basketball supporters and always there for us.
“We’re fortunate to have a constant flow of talented players through the years, and I have a great coaching staff to help it all continue to move forward in a positive way.”
Anthony Kozak is in his eighth season as Passero’s assistant coach, Chris Romano, who heads the JV team, is in his second year on the staff, while Jason Taggart guides the freshmen team. Also added to the staff this season is former Bengals standout Jalil Jimenez.
And, the players are a strong group this season helping to lead the way to a solid 9-2 record (2-2 in the Super Essex Conference-Colonial Division) heading into this week, including capturing the Glen Ridge Holiday Tournament title with a 53-49 victory over the host Ridgers.
There is a strong group of underclassmen led by junior guards AJ Cruz, the team’s leading scorer at 20.2 points per game, and Sean Perrotta, who does so much in a variety of areas, including hitting for 14.6 ppg along with 7.7 rebounds 3.5 assists and 2 steals per game.
The 5-foot-10 Cruz, who has been one of the top scoring guards in Essex County this season, was the Glen Ridge holiday tourney MVP after scoring a game-high 32 points in the final.
The strong 6-1 Perrotta is a force both on the inside with his rebounding and defense, and also on the perimeter with his deft touch around the arc.
Other key juniors for the Bengals include guards Cameron Arana (7.8 ppg) and Jeremiah Gonzalez, while freshman Asaad Majuta and seniors Justin Gray and Mekhi Edwards also help boost a deep backcourt. Senior Ruben Pierre is a forward to also boosts the rotation.
“It’s a hard-working group,” said Passero. “We may be a bit undersized against certain teams, but we’ll compete at a high level against anyone.”
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