​Bill Ulrich, one of the titans of South Jersey basketball, passed away on Aug. 9 surrounded by family and remembered fondly by generations of Sterling High School athletes and colleagues across South Jersey. He was 84.Ulrich guided the Silver Knights’ girls program for 20 years, winning 13 Colonial Conference titles, seven south Jersey sectional titles and three NJSIAA Group 2 championships. Ulrich had a 446-73 record through 2000 before retiring for health reasons before the 2001 season.Ulrich’s roots in basketball began at Audubon, where he was the first Green Wave player to score 1,000 career points. Ulrich went on to play collegiately at Duke University, where he helped the Blue Devils to an Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title in his first year of eligibility as a sophomore. His playing career ended as a junior due to an injury.As a Duke senior, Ulrich dipped his toe into the coaching ranks as an assistant freshman coach under future National Basketball Association Hall of Famer Chuck Daly.Ulrich returned to New Jersey and coached boys basketball, first at Asbury Park before taking a mathematics teaching position at Sterling. Ulrich won 55 games in four years at Asbury, then 164 in 10 seasons leading the Silver Knights’ boys program. Altogether, Ulrich had a 665-206 career record in 34 seasons.    Viewings will be on Thursday, August 13, 2026 from 6-8 p.m. and again on Friday, August 14, 2026 from 10-11 a.m. at Zale Funeral Home in, Stratford. Services will follow the Friday viewing, after which Ulrich will be laid to rest at New Saint Mary’s Cemetery in Bellmawr, NJ.Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes. Follow him on twitter @Rimbacksports. Email him with story ideas at tomrimback@gmail.com and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription to the Courier-Post.This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: South Jersey basketball icon Ulrich passes away at 84