From childhood buddies to high school rivals to head coach-assistant coach partners to retired dads.
Such is the saga of Jeff Molinelli and Matt Stein.
Two of the top basketball coaches in the Colonial Valley Conference decided to step down after this past season, as Molinelli resigned after 14 seasons as Lawrence High’s coach; and Stein did likewise after 10 years as Hopewell Valley Central High’s head man.
Molinelli will remain as the Cards boys’ soccer coach.
So perhaps now they can go have a beer together while watching college hoops on a cold winter’s eve?
“I wish,” Molinelli said with a laugh. “We’re in crazy dad mode now. It might be less work at school than it will be running my kids around.”
Which is the reason both are leaving the sport they love for the family they love.
Molinelli and wife Nicole have a son and daughter, ages 8 and 6; while Stein and wife Rebecca — who postponed her C section from a Monday until Tuesday because the Eagles were on Monday Night football — have 2½-year-old twin girls.
“I’m a Colts fan so that didn’t affect me at all,” Stein quipped.
In seriousness, neither man wanted to miss out on watching their kids grow up, nor did they feel right leaving it all up to their partners.
“Our wives have been pretty cool for a long time,” Molinelli said. “To raise two kids on your own when we’re out playing basketball, it’s a tall task.”
Because the coaches have such a close relationship, many thought they planned their “retirements” together. But Molinelli didn’t know his buddy was stepping down until after the season.
“There were no contracts signed between us or anything,” Stein said with a laugh. “It just happened.”
Molinelli and Stein grew up together playing rec and AAU ball in the same Lawrence neighborhood. Molinelli’s family moved to Hopewell, and the two knocked heads when the Bulldogs and Cardinals basketball teams met.
It was during an HVCHS game that Molinelli’s dad, John, tragically died in the stands. His memory was honored with the John Molinelli holiday tournament.
Stein eventually moved to Virginia, while Molinelli was head coach at Hopewell for two years before taking the Lawrence job in 2012. One of his first moves was asking Stein to become his assistant.
“He got me to come back home to Lawrence and I owe him a lot for asking me to come coach and learn under him,” Stein said. “I coached a little in Virginia but really got into it once I got here. Starting with him and now both stopping at the same time is pretty ironic.”
In 16 years as Hopewell/Lawrence coach, Molinelli had a 198-208 record, with a rough 4-20 campaign the main obstacle between himself and a winning record. The Cardinals compiled six winning seasons under Jeff, and made eight trips to the Central Jersey Group III tournament.
This past season was one of heartbreak, as Lawrence was beaten by two-points in both the Colonial Valley Conference Tournament and CJ III semifinals. Both losses were by buzzer beaters on similar corner jumpers.
“Now I have to teach there for the next 20 years and look at wat I call that the coffin corner,” the health and phys ed teacher said, chuckling. “That corner’s a nightmare to me. It was the same shots from the same spot.”
Molinelli’s best seasons were his first in 2012-13 when Lawrence went 19-11 and won the CJ III title; and 2024-25 when it went 21-8 and reached the CVCT finals. He won 20 or more games twice and 19 twice.
He steps down as the longest tenured coach with one team in the CVC (Chris Raba has more combined seasons with Hamilton West and Nottingham).
“I thought about it the last year or two when would be a good time,” Molinelli said. “You always have good kids in your program. If you wait for a good time, there’s never one. There’s always kids coming up that you’re excited to coach. I just don’t want to miss out on raising my own kids.
“With only one gym and the late hours, it’s kind of hard to be a dad. Soccer’s after school so I’ll be home for dinner. Basketball it’s like ‘OK guys, it’s Thanksgiving, see you in March.’”
Stein agreed. Both said it was tough decision to leave something they grew up with, but the lure of being dads made it easier.
“I’ve been thinking about it and talking to my wife,” Stein said. “I was missing the family a lot but I love the kids (at HVCHS) so it was very difficult.”
In 10 years at Hopewell, Stein went 116-91 with six trips to the Central Jersey Group III Tournament and a berth in the Mercer County Tournament final. He won two Molinelli Tournaments (Jeff won one) enjoyed three 21-win seasons and two 18-win ledgers.
“He’s done a good job for a long time,” Molinelli said. “Hopewell basketball was always on the fringe of being good or really good, and credit to him that they got really good. He got them playing good basketball and got them to buy in. He’s done an incredible job.”
Stein achieved exactly what he set out to accomplish.
“My biggest thing was to make Hopewell competitive,” he said. “Being with Molinelli, the only way I’d leave Lawrence would be to coach here and when that happened I wanted to make them competitive. When Tony Mormile was here, they were competitive and I wanted to bring that back and make them competitive every single night.
“The past three years were good but my first year here we won five games. I still talk to those guys all the time. We didn’t give them many wins but those relationships with the kids were incredible. Obviously you want to win championships. But it’s not about the championships, but the memories we had together.”
Molinelli echoed those thoughts – the players take precedent over the wins.
“You go through waves of different teams and some teams may not have the best record,” he said. “But coaching them and watching them try to get better through the years, it was a lot of fun.”
Both guys gave praise to former Lawrence coach Pat Tarrant, who they still talk to. Tarrant coached Stein in high school and left Molinelli with a strong team to inherit.
Through the years their teams played some memorable tight games, probably because they helped each other so much with scouting tape that they knew the other team as well as their own.
As the search begins for their replacements, Molinelli feels two solid candidates are his sub-varsity coaches, Nick Brackett and Keishi Reed; while Stein feels his assistant, Austin Fellows, is worthy of strong consideration.
Whoever takes the reins, their predecessors will be on hand to watch.
“I’ll definitely be their biggest supporter,” Molinelli said. “I want to see them do well. If a coach needs me there I’m always a question away, but I’ll give them their space to do their thing.”
Stein agreed, saying “I still teach at the high school. I’ll let the new coach know I’m always here if they need me. I’ll support these guys however they want it.”
For now, however, they will enjoy well-earned time with their families after leaving positive impacts on countless players and CVC basketball.
Lawrence coach Jeff Molinelli, a one-time coach for Hopewell Valley, has stepped down after 14 years in charge of Lawrence boys’ basketball.,
