Coach Ray Koperwhats
	Starting around 1971 the girls’ basketball programs converted to the standard boy’s rules. The first girl’s teams using the new rules at East High School were coached by women who had learned from the old rules thus they did not adapt to the new rules. The athletic director Joe Porcaro saw that the girl’s teams needed a coach who knew the boy’s rules. So for the 1974 season he asked Ray Koperwhats if he would coach the girl’s team. Ray was not sure at first. While he had a variety of coaching experience he had never coached girls. And to top it off he was a self-proclaimed “Male Chauvinist Pig”. Was he a fit for this? After some thought, he decided to take on the challenge. At the first practice he took on his usual coaching mode and he did a little yelling to get the troops moving. But halfway through the practice he noticed that half the girls were crying. So he stopped practice and explained that he was just doing as he had always done as coach. He insured them that he meant well. Both sides understood each other better, adapted, and the rest is history.
"A Great Coach" - Barbara Withers
Halfway through the season Coach Koperwhats took the girls on the team to watch a college basketball game in New York City at Madison Square Garden. While in the city the girls decided to do a little shopping. To thank their coach they decided to buy him a gift. They thought a "Male Chauvinist Pig" tie would be most appropriate. They purchased a tie similar to the one on the left. Coach Koperwhats then proudly wore this tie at games for the rest of the season. The term was invented by "women's lib" to describe a man who thought that men were superior to women. Many "Male Chauvinist Pig" ties and t-shirts were sold in the 1970s.	Ray played basketball at Rutgers Prep in l955 under coach Richard (Dick) Conners. Graduated from Rutgers University in 1965 He started teaching at Bridgewater Raritan HS in 1965 and became an assistant freshman basketball coach there with varsity Coach Joe Fisher. When BRHS East opened its doors in 1968, he was asked to teach Physical Education there and Coach the Varsity Baseball team. 1972 was the first year for girls basketball to play under the boys basketball rules. And in 1973 he was asked to Coach the Varsity Girls basketball team. He coached Girls Varsity Basketball from 1973-78 at East.