Shore Conference legend, former Ranney superstar Bryan Antoine makes JSBL debut

MANASQUAN — Seven years ago, Bryan Antoine was a rising senior at the Ranney School and one of the top high school recruits in the country when his AAU team made a cameo appearance in the JSBL against Doughboys in front of a standing-room-only crowd at St. Rose High School

On Tuesday night, Antoine returned to the Jersey Shore Basketball League when he suited up for Sterns Trailer, bringing him back to the area where he became a high school legend.

At Ranney, the 6-foot-5 guard was a 2019 McDonald’s All-American and, alongside fellow All-American and five-star recruit Scottie Lewis, led the Panthers to the 2019 NJSIAA Tournament of Champions title. He scored 17 points that night when Ranney defeated Bergen Catholic, 67-63, to become the first Shore Conference boys basketball team to win the T.O.C. He finished his career as the Shore Conference’s all-time leading scorer with 2,457 points.

His former AAU teammate Jalen Gaffney, who played collegiately at the University of Connecticut and Florida Atlantic, suggested that Antoine play in some JSBL games this summer. He jumped at the opportunity.

“I wanted to come here and play,” Antoine said after helping Sterns Trailer to a dominant 104-75 win over previously-unbeaten RKE Athletic at Manasquan High School. “I love Jersey and the Shore Conference. I love coming back home. I think the best part is when someone sees me and remembers me from the TOC championship, rather than the all-time leading scorer or anything like that. That (team) accomplishment makes me super proud.”

Antoine, 25, is now a professional, having just completed his first season for KK Pelister in the North Macedonian Prva Liga. Basketball has taken Antoine far and wide, but the path has been far from linear.

Entering his senior season at Ranney, Antoine committed to Villanova over the likes of Duke, Kentucky and Florida. He was a superstar, and NBA mock drafts had him going as high as No. 12. Expectations were that he would be a one-and-done NBA draft pick following his freshman year at Villanova. Unfortunately, a right shoulder injury suffered during the fall of his senior year was the start of a string of setbacks that ultimately derailed that dream.

Antoine played through the pain as Ranney went on to win the T.O.C. and finish No. 1 in the state. He found out in May of 2019 that he had a torn labrum. Surgery followed later that month and Antoine was out until November. He logged 87 minutes in 16 games as a freshman, but injuries began to mount from there. He re-injured his shoulder in October of his sophomore year and missed two months before returning to the rotation in February. As a junior, a knee injury in September forced him to miss all of November and most of December.

Following his junior year at Villanova, Antoine announced he was transferring to Radford University, a mid-major that competes in the Big South Conference. He had a prior relationship with Radford coach Darris Nichols, who recruited him when Nichols was at Florida. At Radford, Antoine was an All-Big South honorable mention selection after starting all 31 games. He averaged 11.4 points per game and shot 42.1% from three-point range. He was voted onto the preseason All-Big South First Team heading into his senior year where he again averaged 11.4 points per game and shot 40% from three in 32 starts. It wasn’t the bright lights of the Big East, but Antoine was finally healthy and having fun on the court again.

It would have been easy to give up and move on to something else after it didn’t work out as planned at Villanova, but Antoine was determined to keep playing basketball. A big part of that was his younger brother, Eyan, who is now a rising sophomore at Ranney.

“I always wanted to keep playing,” Antoine said. “I prayed to God every night about how to approach the injury, transferring, everything in life. My parents pushed me super hard. And my brother has been a main source of motivation for me. He loves basketball now and I think that’s from watching me in high school and training with me in the gym. Seeing him enjoy it makes me want to keep pushing.”

Antoine worked out for teams ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft, but knew the odds of his name being called were unlikely. He hoped for a an opportunity as an undrafted free agent, but nothing materialized. A player of Antoine’s caliber has many options, however, and that took him across the Atlantic Ocean. He spent the 2024-2025 season with KK Pelister, which plays in the Macedonian League and in the ABA League Second Division. The ABA is comprised of teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia. Antoine is the team’s starting shooting guard and averaged 12.7 points per game. In six ABA contests, he averaged 13.3 points and shot 40% from three.

“It was great, honestly,” Antoine said. “Basketball has taken me far. Growing up it took me to different states, and now I’m traveling to different countries to get paid. It’s awesome. And obviously a new experience with different languages and cultures.”

The structure is also different. Antoine was used to playing multiple games a week, sometimes as many as five or six in a weekend with Team Rio.

“Toward the end of the season, we played every other week,” Antoine said. “The other days are strictly practice. Lifting in the morning, shooting after that, and practice after that for probably six days in a row. In college and high school you don’t practice as much and you play a lot more games.”

The Prva Liga/ABA season runs from September to May, which means Antoine doesn’t get to see his younger brother play live in high school. His parents record the games for him and he checks back with Eyan, offering pointers on basketball and life.

“He’s 15 and doesn’t need me telling him how to do everything, but I appreciate being able to give him advice.”

Tuesday was a bit of a full-circle moment for Antoine, a Tinton Falls native. In the world of New Jersey high school basketball, Antoine was a household name during Ranney’s meteoric rise to the top. Competing in the JSBL brought back plenty of fond memories.

“I’ve been living in the Shore for years, so the game prior to this I saw someone I knew in fourth grade,” Antoine said. “It’s cool to see them and see where their careers are and what path they’ve taken. It’s cool to see them back here still playing basketball.”