Celebrated New York City coach Jack Curran of Archbishop Molloy High School died at age 83 on Thursday. Curran coached his teams to five city basketball championships and 17 in baseball. After coaching basketball and baseball for more than half a century, Curran touched the lives of many players, even those whom he did not coach. CBS Sports Network college basketball analyst Alaa Abdelnaby went to high school in Bloomfield, N.J., where Curran’s coaching effect was felt. Abdelnaby also joined the fraternity of the NBA with Curran’s players Kenny Smith and Kenny Anderson. On the night of Curran’s death, Abdelnaby shared some memories of Curran and his legacy.

CBSSports.com: What type of legacy will Curran leave behind?

Alaa Abdelnaby: He pushed his players. He wanted the most out of them and the best for them. That’s not something you hear from a former player all the time. Every coach pushes you. Every coach makes you do things you don’t want to do. It seems like his players understood where he was coming from because he had no problem showing them that he cared.

For instance, in high school, he didn’t just concentrate on basketball. I’ve heard stories of him making sure your grade point average was high. If you had a single mom, like a lot of kids do, you could leave practice early to go take care of her. Or if you had a little sister, you could go home to take care of her, too. He was a family man, and that was relayed off the court as well as on the court.

CBSSports.com: You didn’t play for Curran, but you know players that did. How do they talk about their time with him?

Abdelnaby: Guys that I know like Kenny Smith, they don’t talk about Xs and Os when they talk about Coach Curran. They talk about his impact on their lives.

Like Coach [Mike] Krzyzewski with me, you can keep reflecting back and drawing on the things they taught you because those things stay with you for the rest of your life. Curran is certainly one of those guys.

Guys want to know that you care about them, and I think there was no doubt when it came to Coach Curran.

CBSSports.com: What was his demeanor like when he coached?

Abdelnaby: I watched him in the summer when he coached his summer league teams. Even in the summer when he was coaching his teams, you could tell he was heavy handed and strong willed. But he could also pull you off to the side and put his arm around you and hug you.

I think he was, at times, the first dad for some kids and at times the second dad for other kids who had a dad at home. He was a guy who fulfilled whatever role needed, but he was just a big-hearted guy.

CBSSports.com: When you watched a Curran-coached team, what type of play could you expect?

Abdelnaby: They’re not going to beat themselves. They were well coached, well schooled and would play as a unit. They are unselfish, they give of themselves and you have to beat them. They’re not going to beat themselves.

CBSSports.com: As a player in New Jersey, how well did the reputation of New York City powerhouse Archbishop Molloy travel across the Hudson River to your town?

Abdelnaby: You heard about Archbishop Molloy all the time. Other NYC high schools like All Hallows, Rice, Bronx Science -- you heard about all those, too, but Coach Curran just seemed like he was head and shoulders above because of the linage of players that he had.

He was great not just because he made pro players. He’s great because he made great people who just happened to become pro players.

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