The Eversons: Sachem's Royal Basketball Family

When CJ Everson was a kid he saw his dad Chuck sign a basketball for another young aspiring basketball player at a camp.

“Dad,” he asked, “what are you doing? You’re ruining the kid's perfectly good basketball.”

The joshing continues today whenever Chuck Everson catches the limelight, something he can’t help thanks to being a part of one of basketball’s greatest games, upsets, teams, championships and any other historically stirred term you can think of. He helped Villanova beat Georgetown in the 1985 NCAA Division I men’s basketball title game.

Today he works for Sunoco as a liaison between the oil company and station owners on Long Island and the root of his basketball prowess lies within his children, CJ, a junior at Sachem East and Kathleen, a freshman, both of which play varsity basketball at the Farmingville high school.

And while his kids have grown weary of the Villanova tales, the god-like status Everson, and his fellow national champion teammates, have garnered over the years, especially in the Philadelphia area, and the documentaries, news articles and everything in between, you can’t fully understand the Everson family and their love of basketball, without first knowing Chuck and his passion for the game, something he’s proud his kids inherited in their DNA.

Chuck is a product of Brentwood, where he was a second team All-Long Island selection his senior year and lost to Walt Whitman at the buzzer in the county semifinals. Ironically, he played against Sachem when Jimmy Doherty, the father of Sachem East freshman Katie Doherty, was on the team.

Everson attended Rollie Massimino’s basketball camp and remembers coming home in seventh grade telling his father he’s going play for that man in college. By his junior year the legendary coach and Long Island native won a national championship.

“That game has opened up a lot of doors,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. That group of guys we’re all still pretty close today.”

Everson’s 15 minutes of fame resulted in him getting half slapped/punched by Georgetown’s Reggie Williams in the final minute of the first half.

“All I can see is Williams tipping the ball up and I blocked him out hard,” Everson recalled “He slapped me in the face and ran. I’m screaming at the official because I wanted to get the foul shots.”

As told many times, Villanova and Georgetown passed each other on their way to their respective locker rooms under the stands. The Hoyas were snickering.

“We used that,” said Everson. “Between me getting hit and coach Mass talking in the locker room, we shot 90 percent in the second half. Anything that got the rim went in."

Hundreds of reporters gathered around Everson after the game, designating his hit to the face as the emotional turning point needed to make a second half swing possible.

After college, Everson was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 14th selection of the sixth round in 1986. Legendary basketball executive and coach Frank Layden, who went to high school with Everson’s mom in Brooklyn and was a coach at Seton Hall High School in Patchogue in the 1960s, made the pick.

The Jazz traded for Kent Bensen, a 10-year NBA veteran by that point, and the organization told Everson he could stay or opt to play in Europe, which is what he did, eventually suiting up in England, Yugoslavia and back home in the USBL and CBA.

“I finally got tired of not making a lot of money and getting cut,” he said, “so I went and got a real job at that point.”

All the while, the Villanova glory stuck close by. HBO did a special five years ago, which Everson was prominently featured on. He attended an ESPN 25thanniversary celebration with many of the sports figures he considered heroes growing up. The autograph shows and basketball camp appearances were too many to count after awhile.

“I just roll my eyes and laugh at him” Kathleen said of the attention. “It was so long ago and people are still thrilled about it and talking about the game. We go to Philadelphia all the time and there is so much talk about it.”

“We were treated like rock stars,” he said. “People come up to me all the time and asked to take pictures. It’s nice to be remembered and you can’t believe you just played in a game, you don’t think about what an impact it has on people. Twenty-five years later people tell me where they were when the game took place.”

He’s been coaching youth basketball for over 20 years now. Through local youth leagues, himself, Jim Doherty, Tony Caggiano and Fred Ford have helped mold many young basketball players in the Sachem community, Everson said.

Everson was quick to point out that he often refers to lessons he learned from Massimino when teaching at clinics and camps.

“He taught you more about life, then about basketball and we learned an awful lot about basketball,” Everson said of the coaching legend, who he sees at least once a year down in Florida when the whole 1985 team gets together. “It’s about family, loyalty and the true character of a person comes out at a time of adversity. Those are what I share with the kids that I’ve coached. How are you going to react?”

His own children are a product of the program and are showing signs of basketball IQ far beyond their years. Kathleen helped east win a New York State title as an eighth grader and was a premier force on the team this year that lost in the Suffolk County championship. CJ is a leader on the boys team at East that has come alive in the past couple seasons.

“I hoped they’d both enjoy the game,” he said. “It’s nice to see. I had to back off over the years. I’ve learned some lessons.”

Both young athletes play with different styles: CJ is the passionate one and Kathleen the cerebral force.

“This year she picked up where she left off,” said Sachem East head basketball coach Matt Brisson. “She’s making steady improvements, doesn’t fight you on things you want her to do. As a ninth grader she’s wise beyond her years.”

When describing Kathleen, his go-to workhorse for another three years, he talks about her “basketball soul” and ability to be a “sponge” and learn as much as possible. Then he mentioned Chuck and his contributions to her and the program, likening the two, who share a knack for being humble and never once shredding a bit of ego on the court.

“She’s just like him,” Brisson said.

Inevitably, basketball is the main topic most of the time in the Everson household. At the dinner table, in the car, while they’re relaxing. It’s just part of life.

“It’s non-stop in our house,” said CJ. “Everything we talk about some how turns into game talk before games, practices, how we’re getting better for next year. It all relates back to basketball. For the most part, it’s really fun.”

Everson’s office has plenty of Villanova memorabilia, and of course, his ring is at home. Kathleen's state title ring isn't far away under the same roof.

The only difference is that she has three more years to earn more rings and who knows what her college career could bring. Wouldn’t it be something if the Everson household had two NCAA championship rings? Chuck might not be the only one signing autographs then.

Check out this YouTube video to see Chuck Everson talk about the NCAA championship on a Comcast special run for the 20th anniversary.