The Jersey Express are a basketball team based in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. The team competes in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

(ABA) as a member of the Black Division of the East Region. The team was formed in 2005 as the Newark Express, and later became the Garden State Warriors. Marsha Blount, executive vice president of the ABA and CEO of the

Women's American Basketball Association The Women's American Basketball Association (WABA) is a summer women's basketball league that began in 2017 with seven teams. It is a sister league of the American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major ...

(WABA), is owner of the team.

History

The team was co-founded by Marsha Blount and Jacqueline Halyard, playing as the Newark Express at Essex County College.

Darryl Dawkins Darryl R. Dawkins (January 11, 1957 – August 27, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was particularly known for his tenure with the National Basketball Association's Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, althoug ...

was the team's first head coach for their inaugural 2005–06 ABA season. Former

Seton Hall Pirates The Seton Hall Pirates are the intercollegiate athletic sports teams representing Seton Hall University, located in South Orange, New Jersey. The Pirates compete as a member of the NCAA Division I level (non-football sub-level), primarily compet ...

standout Shaheen Holloway was signed as their star player. The team finished its regular season with a record of 14-16 before falling to the Rochester RazorSharks in the playoffs. Ron Moore replaced Dawkins as head coach for the 2006–07 ABA season but left shortly into the campaign, leaving Marsha Blount to take over coaching duties herself. Blount's team went 2-21 and failed to make the playoffs. The team rebranded as the Jersey Express for the 2007–08 ABA season and moved their games to

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey, United States. It has a wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three schools. While affiliated with the Methodism, Me ...

Madison, New Jersey Madison is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,937, an increase of 1,092 (+6.9%) from the 2010 United ...

, but struggled financially as many clubs in the ABA folded mid-season. In the

2008–09 ABA season The 2008–09 ABA season was the eighth season of the American Basketball Association (2000–present), American Basketball Association that lasted from November 2008 and ended with the championship game in March 2009 between the Kentucky Bisons ...

, the team went 14-8 under new coach Jerry Reynolds before falling in the playoffs to the Nashville Broncs. The team moved to East Orange Campus High School in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 69,612, an increase of 5,342 (+8.3%) from the 2010 United States ...

beginning with the 2009–10 ABA season. Assistant coach Quaasim Austin was promoted to head coach beginning with the 2009–10 season, but was replaced mid-campaign by assistant Cassandra Smith. Smith led the 12-4 team to its first division title and a playoff appearance. After the team went 8-6 during the 2010–11 ABA season and failed to make the playoffs,

Terry Dehere Lennox Dominique "Terry" Dehere (born September 12, 1971) is an American former basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was an NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, All-American college player at S ...

was originally announced as head coach for the 2011–12 ABA season before he left due to a dispute with ownership. Assistant coach Joseph Amador took over, leading the team to a 5-7 record at their new home of

Jersey City Armory The Jersey City Armory is an armory for the U.S. Army National Guard at 678 Montgomery Street in the McGinley Square neighborhood in Jersey City, New Jersey. Completed in 1937, the armory was designed by chief architect General Hugh A. Kelly of ...

, but was replaced after the 2011–12 season by assistant coach Ray Ortiz. The team then moved to

Centenary University Centenary University is a private university in Hackettstown, New Jersey, United States. Founded as a College-preparatory school, preparatory school by the Newark Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1867, Centenary evolved into a Jun ...

Hackettstown, New Jersey Hackettstown is a Town (New Jersey), town in Warren County, New Jersey, Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is perhaps best known as the home to the US headquarters of Mars Inc., Mars, Inc.. As of the 2020 United States census, t ...

for the 2012–13 ABA season, where the 9-3 team won its third division championship and made the playoffs. The club returned to Newark for the 2013–14 ABA season, playing its games at

Malcolm X Shabazz High School Malcolm X Shabazz High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, as part of the Newark Public Schools. Founded as South Side High School in 1912, the school was renam ...

. A fourth division title was captured in 2013–14, with the team going 9-2 and making the playoffs. Team owner Marsha Blount was named

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the

(WABA) in 2017. She also founded a team in that league, the Jersey Expressions, and they captured consecutive WABA championships in 2017 and 2018. Blount was later named

executive vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of the ABA in 2022. From the 2021–22 ABA season through the 2023–24 ABA season, the team was rebranded as the Garden State Warriors. The team returned to its Jersey Express moniker for the 2024–25 ABA season under new head coach Tyrone Pullins, where they captured a fifth division championship with a 11-2 record and advanced to the 2025 ABA playoffs.

References

External links

Official websiteTeam statistics
from MyStatsOnline 2005 establishments in New Jersey American Basketball Association (2000–present) teams Basketball in Newark, New Jersey Basketball teams established in 2005 Basketball teams in New Jersey {{NewJersey-basketball-team-stub