PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Demetrius Poles is a South Jersey basketball legend. He led Delsea High School to a state title as a senior in 1991, then helped Rowan University in Glassboro win a Division III National Championship in 1996. Now he is the head women's basketball coach at Rowan University.
Poles started his college career at Saint Joseph's University and played his first three seasons for the Hawks. However, he had to sit out after being diagnosed with a heart condition. Eventually he was cleared to play and transferred to Rowan, becoming a key member of that national championship team.
"It was fun to play, had an absolutely great year and that kind of helped me get past my health issues," he recalled. "Met new teammates, got a lot of new friends on the team, won a lot of games. So it kind of got my mind off my own health in terms of what I was going through."
Poles was the rare player to win his final game in both high school and college, being a part of championship wins for both Delsea High School and Rowan University. He compared the two experiences.
"For the high school championship, it's something that you grow up with your teammates, you're growing up with your friends that you've grown up with as a kid and you take that long journey and you're #1 in the state, that's a great accomplishment," he said.
"In college it was a little bit more serious, less time, more competitive, but it all culminated into almost the same thing, but it was like a more accelerated ride."
You can listen to the entire interview with Demetrius Poles by checking out the latest episode of the KYW Newsradio original podcast, "1-on-1 with Matt Leon." Subscribe on the Audacy app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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