WATCH: Cardinal Newman boys hoops celebrates first district title since 2016
The Crusaders won, 74-60, to advance to 22-5 on the season and punch their ticket to 3A state playoffs.
Cardinal Newman’s Dan Goode had a short-lived stint as the Crusaders’ interim boys basketball coach.
As of Monday, former head coach Reilly Campbell‘s position belongs to Goode for good.
The school “proudly” announced Goode’s appointment in a press release and shared some info about their assistant football coach now tasked with returning Newman basketball to the Sweet 16 and beyond come winter:
“The Cardinal Newman community eagerly anticipates the impact Coach Goode will have on the basketball program. With his expertise and passion for helping young people grow, Coach Goode is poised to inspire and empower student-athletes to reach new heights of achievement.”
Why Campbell left: Newman begins search for athletic director, basketball coach after Reilly Campbell resigns
Here are three things to know about the new face fronting Crusader hoops:
Along for the ride on Newman’s 23-6 run
Goode didn’t just help out head football coach Jack Daniels, interim athletic director Ryan Partridge and friends on the sidelines.
Campbell welcomed Goode onto his staff as an associate head coach for the 2023-24 basketball season, which was quite the milestone year for the program. Transforming from a squad that went 10-15, the Crusaders swiped district champion status from rival power King’s Academy ahead of forging the team’s best finish since the 2015 crew led by Utah Jazz forward John Collins.
Bred by champions
If the coaches Goode has been surrounded with over the years have rubbed off on him, Newman basketball fans can expect to keep their winning ways. Before working with Campbell and joining the Crusaders’ athletic department, Goode served as an assistant coach from the football field to the floor at Dwyer.
Alongside four-time state champion boys basketball coach Fred Ross, Goode’s efforts proved “integral” to to Dwyer’s near-perfect rout for the 6A title in 2023. Then, the Panthers finished 29-1, falling only to a lights out Lake Worth squad.
The “mentorship” of Ross, who most recently led his team to a 22-4 record, helped Goode hone his “coaching acumen” and build a “deep understanding of the game.”
Players approve and are excited to return
“So far, Coach Goode has had a great impact on our team,” said LT Noegel, one of six rising seniors anticipated to return for the Crusaders.
“Being an assistant coach last year, he was a huge reason for our success,” he continued. “All the players love him.”
Next season is nowhere near, but Noegel and company already have big plans for 2025.
“Hoping we can repeat as district champs and make a big run in the playoffs,” Noegel said.
“We have a great group of guys who love and enjoy playing with each other and a coach we want to play for.”
Emilee Smarr is a sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.