By: Richard L. Smith

Newark native Brad J. Howard has spent more than three decades doing what he loves most, teaching, coaching, and mentoring young people across the city he has always called home.

Tonight, his life’s work will be celebrated in front of nearly 100 friends and family members at Galloping Hill Catering Hall in Union, where loved ones, colleagues, and former students will gather to say “thank you” to a man whose impact stretches far beyond classrooms and basketball courts.

I first crossed paths with Coach Howard in the early 1990s, when he served as an assistant coach for the powerhouse Central High School girls basketball team.

Those games, especially the unforgettable Newark Christmas Tournament battles between Central and West Side girls, drew crowds that packed the

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