Against the odds, Grant Billmeier built NJIT basketball into a title contender

NEWARK – After a breakthrough third-place season in the America East Conference, NJIT basketball coach Grant Billmeier was not under the delusion that he would retain his nucleus. But he did set his sights on keeping talented freshman point guard David Bolden.“He’s someone a lot of guys want to play with, and the tampering for him was out of control,” Billmeier said. “It got to the point where he made an agreement to come back, he put it out there with (national reporter) Jeff Goodman, and I thought that would end everything. But it became, 'OK, now we know NJIT is the competition, how do we outbid them?’”Fortunately for Billmeier, the Milwaukee native was loyal to the lone Division 1 program that recruited him out of high school.“The kid didn’t want to go into a bidding war – this is where he wanted to be,” Billmeier said. “He’s a 4.0 student here and he’s the face of this program and he’s embracing that. In this day and age, when that doesn’t mean much, it means a lot to him.”Now, heading into the 2026-27 season, Bolden is preseason first-team All-America East as he majors in business and handles an academic courseload that includes calculus.“I love the school, I love the program, and they’ve been nothing but honest and open with me,” he said. “A lot of my peers, when they were freshmen, they didn’t get an opportunity to play like that. Looking at my opportunity here – I want to take advantage of that.”There’s a real opportunity for NJIT to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Bolden is surrounded by players: 6-foot-5 Georgia Tech transfer Brandon Stores, the cousin of assistant coach RaShawn Stores and the all-time leading scorer at St. Raymond High School in the Bronx; 6-9 returning forward and Rutgers Prep alum John Kelly; 6-10 Texas-San Antonio transfer Matheo Coffi; and 6-8, 237-pound freshman forward Victor Vanderstraeten, who played in Belgium’s top pro league.“There’s expectations now,” Billmeier said. “We’re very young – a lot of guys have to learn the system and how to defend – but the talent level is off the hook.”This is the fourth season at the helm for Billmeier, who is a former Seton Hall center and came up the coaching ranks as an assistant there. NJIT, with its academic rigor, presents some unique challenges: The only transfers in are incoming sophomores and postgrads. But he’s figured out how to balance the roster, and it helps to have connections.During the offseason, when Billmeier was looking for a power forward, Christian Brothers Academy coach Brian Lynch recommended Vanderstraeten (Lynch is married to Belgian tennis great Kim Clijsters, and their daughter Jada played on a team with Vanderstraeten’s sister at one point). “Victor is probably further along right now than Patrik (Auda) and Sandro (Mamukelashvili) when they were freshmen,” Billmeier said, referring to two former Seton Hall standouts from Europe whom he coached. “He’s an exceptional passer.”Mamukelashvili became Big East Player of the Year and is now on a long-term NBA contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.“He makes all the right plays,” Bolden said of Vanderstraeten. “You can just tell he has a high IQ.”In a recent exhibition against American, which is the preseason favorite to win the Patriot League, Vanderstraeten posted 12 points and nine rebounds and Bolden chalked up 17 points, three assists, four steals and a whopping nine fouls drawn as the Highlanders prevailed 71-66.“We went through two tough years, but I think we’re in a good position in year four,” Billmeier said.It’s never been tougher to helm a mid-major basketball program, as Bolden’s retention story illustrates, but Billmeier is figuring it out.“It’s a wild time – there’s not a whole lot of guardrails – but when a kid makes an announcement that he’s coming back, I wish head coaches would leave the situation alone,” he said. “There’s head coaches reaching out directly to the family saying, ‘What do we got to do to get him to come here?’”Bolden stayed, and now NJIT has the goods to contend for a berth in the Big Dance. “It’s more realistic than ever,” Bolden said. “We’re probably closer to it right now than the school’s ever been.”Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Against the odds, Grant Billmeier built NJIT basketball into a title contender