Rollie Massimino coached for 30 years at the NCAA level. His name was synonymous with the best the game had to offer. Fittingly, in 2013 he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Massimino began his coaching career at Stony Brook where he compiled a 34-16 record in two years. His next stop was at Villanova, where he spent 19 years as the Wildcats' coach and amassed 357 wins. Massimino's 1984-85 Villanova team defeated conference rival Georgetown in the NCAA championship game in one of the greatest upsets in tournament history. In addition to the national title, Massimino's teams won five conference championships and received 12 NCAA tournament bids. He went on to coach at UNLV and Cleveland State for nine years and then finished his career at Northwood University in West Palm Beach, Florida. By that time he had earned more than 800 victories as a college coach.
But it's at Villanova that Massimino really made his mark, established his reputation and became truly legendary. He treated players as family and to Massimino, la famiglia was everything. As his son noted at Massimino's memorial mass at Villanova: "He always made our family feel special, even when he was a high school coach making $3,600 a year. We had love, each other and pasta. What else could any family want?”
Massimino was a demonstrative coach and his rumpled presence courtside was part of the allure of Villanova basketball during one of it most triumphant periods. Massimino coached seven seasons at Villanova after the national championship, further cementing himself as an icon of the community and as a nationally known leader in his sport. Jay Wright, who was hired by Massimino as a Wildcats assistant in 1987 and served seven years by his side went on to coach two national championship teams for Nova.
Rollie Massimino was much more than a coach Indeed, he was a mentor, teacher, friend and inspiration to those whose lives he touched.
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