Mergin Sina has been a mainstay on the Gill basketball courts for the last 19 years. After coaching the girls’ program for five seasons, Mergin has led the boys’ team to unprecedented success over the last 14 seasons.
Under his guidance, the boys’ basketball program has emerged as the top team in Somerset County and one of the best squads in New Jersey. The Knights have won the past five Somerset County championships and seven of the last nine. They have also won the past nine Skyland Conference divisional titles and a remarkable 11 overall. Additionally, the program won the Non-Public B Sectional title during the 2011-2012 season.
Additionally, Sina was named Coach of the Year by The Courier News after the 2017-18 season
This past season, the Knights went 26-5 and finished the year ranked fourth in the state.
"I’m a 24/7 basketball guy," Sina said. "Basketball was my whole life - high school, college, going pro, coaching - I don’t think I could have done anything I would have been happier with. I’ve been coached by top notch college and professional coaches and that background has allowed me to take the best of each coach and mold myself into what they would do. I take a lot of things from them and use it."
Along with coaching at Gill, Sina is the founder and director of Sina’s Hoop Academy and coaches AAU teams in the area.
Prior to coaching, Sina was a standout basketball player. He competed at the Division I level for Seton Hall and the University of Rhode Island. After college, he went on to play professionally in Europe for 12 years and was named league MVP in 1994. He also holds the record for most points scored in a single game in Portugal with 69 points.