Central Bucks South seniors Brady and Cole Prezelski have grown up in a family that boasts a remarkable basketball legacy. (Article sponsored by Frank Carlson Electrical Contractor.)
By Mary Jane Souder
To say basketball is a family affair for Brady and Cole Prezelski would be a gross understatement. The Central Bucks South seniors – identical twins – are the grandchildren of the legendary Julius Prezelski. While that name might not resonate with area basketball fans – travel north to coal country, and it’s another story entirely.
The gymnasium at Forest City High School is the Julius P. Prezelski Gymnasium, and the floor includes a logo with simply the number 757, representing the total number of wins Julius accumulated during a prolific high school coaching career. When he retired in 1993, he was the winningest coach in Pennsylvania.
The twins’ father, Paul Prezelski, boasts a legacy of his own and had his number 40 jersey retired in 2012. He is the school’s second all-time leading scorer with 2,113 points, a record he established before there was a three-point line.
“I remember going when my dad had his jersey retired at his high school, and everybody saying how good a player he was and how great of a coach my grandfather was,” Brady Prezelski said. “Everybody seemed to know him in the town. I know it was a small town, but still, it kind of stood out.”
“When we talk to him, he tells us stories of when he coached and who he coached,” Cole Prezelski said of his grandfather. “Whenever we’re in Forest City, everybody we see tells us how great he was and everything he accomplished.
“We weren’t around to see what he accomplished, but we hear all the stories. It’s really cool.”
The fact that basketball is still the sport of choice in the Prezelski family is hardly a surprise. South coach Jason Campbell can still recall his first encounter with Paul and his twin sons at his summer basketball camp.
“Cole and Brady were like seven years old,” the Titans’ coach said. “You see so many kids in the summertime that come up to my camp, but for some reason, Paul and his two boys stuck out to me.
“I was at the check-in table taking their registrations. Paul introduced himself to me and said, ‘This is Cole and Brady - they’re going to be future CB South players for you.’ There was just something about that day. I’m looking at these two little kids – they’re small and tiny, and I’m like, ‘Man, I hope they grow.’ They stood out to me and so did Paul.
“It was one of those things at that moment in time – it’s like you just know that sometime down the road these kids are going to be playing for me.”
True to their father’s word, Cole and Brady have been part of South’s program since they were freshmen. Neither is a star, but both have been important contributors to the team.
“They’re well-rounded kids – team players, defense-first kind of philosophy,” Campbell said. “The whole philosophy Paul would tell his kids, and how Cole and Brady play is exactly my mentality as a player and also as a coach.”
A legacy of excellence
Julius Prezelski - now 92 – was a three-sport athlete in high school, competing in football, basketball and baseball. A veteran of World War II, he attended then Lock Haven State University on the GI Bill, the first of his siblings to attend college. He played three sports at the collegiate level, and immediately out of college, he was hired as a health and physical education teacher and also had the opportunity to coach.
After stops at Waymart and Mountain View, Prezelski came home to coach at Forest City where he spent the rest of his career, earning spots in both the local and state halls of fame.
Over his 42 years at the helm, Prezelski’s teams compiled a 757-290 record with 19 20-win seasons, 12 league titles and 13 district championships. Paul Prezelski was part of three of those district titles.
“I played for him four years,” Paul said. “It was great – he was a great coach, a very respected coach and really had the backing of all of his players. Everyone believed in him as a coach.
“By the time I got there, he had already been coaching 25 years. We were fortunate enough to have some very good Class A basketball teams that were always competing for league and district titles. Also, we always played in the PIAA state playoffs.”
Prezelski – whose older brother Julius coached basketball - has nothing but fond memories of his years growing up in a home where basketball was a prominent part of the everyday life.
“From my early years, I can remember my brother and I always going to the gym, and being there for my dad’s varsity practices and shooting on the side baskets and really just always being in the gym and around basketball,” Paul said. “We grew up going to games, following our high school team and following my father’s teams, so we were always at games on Tuesday and Friday nights.
“It was very enjoyable, and I felt very fortunate to be the son of a coach and to have access to the gym and to have a community that really supported our teams, especially basketball.”
Paul points to the team’s third straight district title his senior year as a personal highlight.
“High school sports where I grew up were the lead story on the front page (of the newspaper) and were more prominent than pro sports,” he said. “(Forest City) is near Scranton, and the communities are so entwined with their teams that they all get behind it and you get these big fan followings because they’ve lived in their communities and their grandparents lived there, and they’ve been there for years.”
Basketball still a passion for next generation
Paul Prezelski – despite his father’s legacy – says he never felt pressure to play basketball, and he made sure his twin sons didn’t either.
“I signed them up for basketball when they were in first grade at the YMCA in Doylestown,” he said. “That was their first taste of basketball and from then on, I don’t think they ever had to be pushed. I think they instantly enjoyed it and really wanted to play going forward.”
Cole and Brady both acknowledge they needed absolutely no encouragement to play basketball.
“We played all different sports, but basketball has always been one of my favorites, and I’ve loved it,” Cole said. “(Our dad) never put pressure on us, but we just naturally loved it.
“(Basketball) is something we’ve talked about a lot, and just growing up, my dad took us to so many high school games. I remember going to big-time games like state playoff games and district games. I always wanted to play at least at the high school level. I grew up watching great players before us at CB South. I just always wanted to play for South.”
“We definitely played a lot of sports,” Brady said. “My dad would always take us to a lot of high school games, and I just kind of fell in love with basketball going to all those games. My dad didn’t make us play basketball. It was kind of like we wanted to play basketball
“I remember going to see Will Barrett – he played at South and then went on to Princeton. I remember going to a state tournament game where they lost in triple overtime, and I think after seeing that game, I was like, ‘Dang, I really want to go this far in states and be as good as they are.’”
On Friday night, Cole and Brady’s Central Bucks South team – the 10th seed in District One Class 6A - will take on 23rd seeded Bensalem in an opening round district game.
When it’s over, Paul’s first phone call will be to his father, who is in an assisted living facility in Clarks Summit but has not lost his passion for basketball.
“He waits every week after every game for me to call and give him an update of the game – how did the boys do, did they win or lose, what’s going on with the team,” Paul Prezelski said. “He’s very sharp and enjoys hearing how they’re doing in their sports.”
Basketball is still very much a family affair for the Prezelskis.
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