by Alex Schwartz

Kevin Boyle stunned the high school basketball world today by accepting the head coaching job at Montverde Academy in Florida. The news of Boyle's departure from St. Patrick's High School in Elizabeth, N.J. was first reported by Brian Fitzsimmons of MSG Varsity.

"Yea we had a meeting as a team with [coach Boyle] and he told us," said a member of this season's St. Patrick's team this evening via text message. "It was early afternoon around 1 and he just told us it was extremely hard for him but he had to do what was best for his family and [Montverde] made him a offer he couldn't refuse . . . And [said] that he loved Us and st.patrick."

In roughly two decades at St. Patrick's, Boyle has built the hoops program from the ground up and turned it into a national powerhouse. He was recently named the 2011 Naismith High School Coach of the Year and in 2007 he was named the USA Today Coach of the Year. He has guided the Celtics to five NJSIAA Tournament of Champions crowns and coached countless Division I players. At Montverde, which is near Orlando, he will be following an accomplished coach in Kevin Sutton, who resigned about a week ago amidst some controversy.

"I was a little bit surprised [and] I feel bad for the underclassmen..but I know he had to make a decision for his family," said the Celtics player, who is a part of a rich tradition of those who have suited up for Boyle.

Three players who Boyle coached at St. Pat's have gone on to play in the NBA: Al Harrington, Samuel Dalembert and Derrick Caracter. They will soon be joined by a fourth, in class of 2010 St. Pat's graduate Kyrie Irving. He announced yesterday that he would be leaving Duke after one season to enter the NBA Draft and he might be the first overall selection.

Soon-to-be St. Pat's 2011 graduate Michael Gilchrist will likely join them in the NBA in a year or two and a couple of St. Pat's underclassmen have a shot as well, as does 2009 graduate Dexter Strickland of North Carolina. Others who have played for Boyle include Shaheen Holloway (Seton Hall), Mike Nardi (Villanova), Corey Fisher (Villanova), Jeff Robinson (Memphis/Seton Hall), and Grant Billmeier (Seton Hall).

Gilchrist was one of the players in the meeting today as of of five seniors on the team, four of whom will play DI ball next year. The players' reaction was typical of what one would expect, according to that aforementioned team member.

"They were a bit upset to hear he's leaving but happy for him at the same time," he said of the response from he and is teammates.

Known for his loud foot pounding during games, Boyle was a polarizing figure in New Jersey basketball, as some who many love and others are not so fond of. Even though who are in the latter category cannot question Boyle's ability as a coach or his ability to build a program and win basketball games. It was those abilities that led him to be linked to a number of college openings the past few years and eventually to Montverde Academy, which will pay him $130,000 per year as well as supply a house and car, according to a report from ZagsBlog.

"I [don't know] who the next coach will be," the Celtics player said, adding that St. Pat's assistant coach Rae Miller "hasn't decided if he is going [to Montverde] or not."

If Miller were to slide over to the end of the bench to replace Boyle, it may well bring some stability to the current team, which features superstar freshman Dakari Johnson and elite sophomore Austin Colbert, amongst others. What players such as Johnson and Colbert will do next remains to be seen.

"No [the underclassmen] said they are going to see about what they are going to do," the Celtics player said.

With Boyle gone, Chris Chavannes, the St. Pat's JV coach, has been named the interim coach, according to the original report from Fitzsimmons.

Note-photo is from http://www.nj.com/