Athletic News

NBA Players Return to Alma Mater
Jerseys Retired During Alumni Day Ceremony

During Alumni Day, June 6, a ceremony was held in the performance gym of Hardwick Hall to retire the jerseys of three Blair alumni who are current NBA players. Left to right are Headmaster Chan Hardwick, Royal Ivey ’00, Luol Deng ’03, Charlie Villanueva ’03, head basketball coach Joe Mantegna and son Xavier.

The Star-Ledger, the state’s largest newspaper, as well as The New Jersey Herald and Express-Times, were on hand to cover the event. Below is the June 7 Ledger article.

Blair Boys Now Permanent Fixtures
By Matt Gelb

Charlie Villanueva drove the 80 miles from Queens to Blairstown one more time Saturday.

The memories came rushing back as he thought of those countless trips between his home and Blair Academy, where he helped turn a secluded wrestling powerhouse into a big-time prep basketball program.

“When I came here, I didn’t expect all of this,” Villanueva said. “I just came here to get a good education and play a little basketball, but my career has taken a major step forward by me coming here.”

Saturday, Villanueva was back at Blair to have his number retired, along with those of Luol Deng and Royal Ivey, the three former Blair players now playing in the NBA.

Blair’s basketball program, very much an afterthought before head coach Joe Mantegna convinced Ivey and Deng to attend in 1999, has dominated the Mid-Atlantic Prep League, winning seven MAPL titles in the last decade.

With the stands filled to the top in Blair’s one-year-old gym, Mantegna introduced each player, and one by one the three tugged on strings to reveal their retired jerseys hanging on the wall. An alumni game followed the ceremony.

“They absolutely laid the foundation for this program, both as people and players,” Mantegna said. “They gave us the respect nationally. I’m eternally indebted to those guys.”

Villanueva and Deng were McDonald’s All-Americans in 2003, making Blair one of a select few schools this decade to have two All-Americans in one season.

At numerous times during his speeches to the players, Mantegna had to stop and compose himself. All three have remained close to Mantegna – Deng is his youngest son’s godfather.

“It’s fitting that Luol is in between Roy and Charlie,” Mantegna told the crowd. “Royal accelerated the program when he arrived. Charlie brought the city swagger and attitude. And Luol gave it the identity.”

Villanueva just completed his fourth season in the NBA, starting a career-high 47 games for the Milwaukee Bucks. Deng averaged 14.1 points per game for the Chicago Bulls, but only played in 49 games after breaking his right tibia. Ivey averaged 12.1 minutes per game off the bench for the Philadelphia 76ers.

All three stressed the importance of being honored together. Ivey convinced his fellow New Yorker Villanueva to come to Blair. And Villanueva befriended Deng, who was new to the country after moving from England.

Saturday, they could bask in the program they built.

“This is a big-time prep school for basketball,” Ivey said. “It’s not just known for wrestling anymore. It’s a basketball school, too. That’s a great feeling that we started something and it has carried on.”

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