The Boston Celtics have enjoyed contributions from a wide variety of players in recent years but one of the team's best success stories of late has to be that of Brad Wanamaker.
A journeyman who clawed his way to the NBA after playing for nearly a decade overseas, the former Pittsburgh Panthers standout made a name for himself in Boston during his two seasons with the franchise.
Now, the basketball lifer is taking on a new role as he returns to his alma mater to take the reins of one of the most well-known high school basketball programs on the East Coast.
Brad Wanamaker (@phillybul_22) has officially been named the new head coach at @RomanBasketball, per release. Wanamaker scored 1,306 career points, led @RomanAthletics to the 2007 @PCLAthletics title before starring at @Pitt_MBB. Also spent time with five @NBA franchises pic.twitter.com/nbr7Cv5ttW
— Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33) July 28, 2025
Former Celtics Fan Favorite Brad Wanamaker Gets First Coaching Job
In returning to Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia, Wanamaker takes control of the program that finished as the runner-up in the Class 6A State Championship game this past year. Roman Catholic expects to compete for titles; this has been the case for quite some time for those who follow Philadelphia high school basketball.
As a famous alum of the program, who also served as an assistant coach last season, Wanamaker will have plenty of support. He knows as well as anyone, though, that results are what matter most, and the pressure will be on him as he replaces a coach who went 136-29 during their tenure.
Fortunately, Wanamaker has plenty of experience to draw from as he makes the transition into being a full-time head coach for the first time since his playing career came to an end. If the early portions of his time with Boston is any indication, he should be just fine in this new role.
After helping Boston get off to an 11-2 start to the 2019-20 campaign, Wanamaker quickly became a fan favorite with the Celtics. His coach at the time, Brad Stevens, sung the veteran's praises for the steady hand he provided the team in the absence of Gordon Hayward. While no one would have thought it at the time, this was an early indicator that Wanamaker would one day make a great coach.
“Like, huge,” Stevens said of Wanamaker's contributions, per Tom Westerholm of MassLive.com. “I mean, one of the more important things on our team, because you know what you’re getting every day. And he’s been really good. You can play with him with the ball, he can play off of it, he can guard bigger guys because he’s strong, and he’s very smart. So he makes the other players around him better when he’s in the game. You kind of see he’s doing some of the things that we would normally ask Gordon (Hayward) to do when he’s in with that group, and he’s doing a great job. He’s real steady right now.”
The leadership he provided, even as a player who was less heralded than his teammates, was something that didn't go unnoticed. Before he became the superstar fans know today, Jayson Tatum spoke about the things Wanamaker did in Boston to make things easier on Tatum and his teammates.
“He’s an older guy who has been playing basketball for a long time,” Tatum said, via MassLive.com. “He brings a certain poise and understanding of the game. He really is like a true point guard out there. Slows things down. He’s an OG.”
That poise and understanding of the game will now be passed on to the next generation as the next generation of NBA-level talent that comes through Roman Catholic.