 Massimino in 2009 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1934-11-13)November 13, 1934 Hillside, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | August 30, 2017(2017-08-30) (aged 82) West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1953–1956 | Vermont |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1956–1959 | Cranford HS (assistant) |
| 1959–1963 | Hillside HS |
| 1963–1969 | Lexington HS |
| 1969–1971 | Stony Brook |
| 1972–1973 | Penn (assistant) |
| 1973–1992 | Villanova |
| 1992–1994 | UNLV |
| 1996–2003 | Cleveland State |
| 2006–2017 | Northwood (FL) / Keiser |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 816–462 (college) 160–61 (high school) |
| Tournaments | 0–2 (NCAA College Division) 21–10 (NCAA Division I) 4–5 (NIT) 11–7 (NAIA Division II) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| |
| Awards | |
| 2× Eastern 8 Coach of the Year (1977, 1979) Big East Coach of the Year (1982) | |
| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2013 | |
Roland Vincent Massimino (November 13, 1934 – August 30, 2017) was an Americanbasketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach atStony Brook University (1969–1971),Villanova University (1973–1992), theUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (1992–1994),Cleveland State University (1996–2003), and atNorthwood University's Florida campus, which was sold in 2014 toKeiser University (2006–2017). He reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament five times (all with Villanova) and reached the NAIA Semi-final twice.
At Villanova, he led his1984–85 team to theNCAA championship. Entering the1985 NCAA tournament as an eight seed, Villanova defeated their heavily favoredBig East Conference foe, theGeorgetown Hoyas, in thetitle game. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest upsets in NCAA history.[1]
Roland Massimino graduated in 1952 fromHillside High School inHillside, New Jersey. In 1956, he earned a bachelor's degree in education from theUniversity of Vermont (UVM), where he played varsity basketball for three years. He earned a master's degree equivalent in health and physical education fromRutgers University in 1959. While he was a student at UVM, he became a member of the Alpha-Lambda chapter ofKappa Sigma fraternity.[2]
After graduating from UVM, Massimino entered the coaching ranks, where he coached varsity baseball and freshman and JV basketball atCranford High School inCranford, New Jersey. In 1959, he began a four-year tenure as head varsity basketball coach atHillside High School inHillside, New Jersey, the town in which he had grown up. In his second year as head basketball coach at Hillside, he led his team to the finals of the State Group III Championship. They lost a tightly contested final game to Burlington High School fromBurlington, New Jersey. The Hillside team was led by Frank Checorski, a unanimous Top-Five All-State Selection throughout The Garden State.[3]
In 1963, with the support of high school All-American Bill Schutsky—who later captained theArmy Cadets basketball team—Massimino led the Comets to the state Group IV finals. In both seasons, Hillside was defeated in the final playoff game byNewark'sCentral High School. The Comets lost during both years to a team composed of taller players, despite pushing the thrilling 1963 championship game into double-overtime.
For the 1963–64 season, Massimino moved toLexington High School inMassachusetts. In 1965, he led the Lexington squad to a state championship and later led another to a 20–1 record. Along the way, Massimino was laying the foundation for an elite scholastic program which later dominated the Middlesex League, winning state titles in 1971, 1972, and 1978 along with league championships in 16 of the past 30 years.
In ten seasons as a high school coach, Massimino compiled a 160–61 record.[4]
Massimino's collegiate debut came in 1969 as head coach ofStony Brook University. In his first season thePatriots (nowSeawolves) won the conference championship after going 19–6, earning a berth in theNCAAsmall college tournament. Massimino's next stop was as an assistant coach underChuck Daly at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.
Massimino left Penn in March 1973, succeedingJack Kraft as head coach of Villanova and leading the 1984-85 Wildcats team to one of the greatest upsets in NCAA tournament history by knocking off top-seededGeorgetown University (Washington, D.C.) in the1985 NCAA Tournament Championship Game. The road to the finals proved an even greater challenge, kicking off with a win on #9-seedDayton's home court, followed by victories over #1-seedMichigan, #4-seedMaryland, #2-seedNorth Carolina, before culminating in a Final Four victory over #2-seededMemphis State.
After Villanova's unexpected championship run, Massimino was offered the head coaching position of theNBA'sNew Jersey Nets. At the last minute, he declined the offer to stay at Villanova and devote more time to his family.
After a few subpar years, Massimino left Villanova in 1992 to assume the head coaching job atUNLV. The initial hope was that he could restore the success and credibility of the UNLV program after the basketball team's 1991–92 probation and the forced resignation of long-time coachJerry Tarkanian. Two years later, Massimino was himself forced out when it was revealed that he and UNLV president Robert Maxson had cut a side deal to lift Massimino's salary above the figure being reported to the state of Nevada and the state commission ruled that this had violated both state ethics laws, as well as UNLV rules.
Moving on toCleveland State University in 1996, Massimino's teams recorded a 90–113 record in his seven seasons as coach. Massimino's contract was bought out following a series of off-court issues. These included several players with drug and alcohol problems, other players arrested for serious crimes, and allegations of academic fraud.[5]
Massimino was the head coach of the men's basketball team atKeiser University inWest Palm Beach, Florida, members of theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Massimino continued his role as coach whenNorthwood University sold its Florida campus to Keiser University. The 2005-06 Northwood team coached by Massimino was its inaugural season inThe Sun Conference. In his first four seasons with the Seahawks, Massimino led Northwood to four FSC regular-season titles, four appearances in theNAIA National tournament, and the Seahawks reached the Elite Eight in 2008. Massimino and the Seahawks received bids to the NAIA tournament in all of his eight seasons at Northwood, and once as Keiser, with the team's best finishes a place in the national semifinals in 2011 and a national runner-up finish in 2012. Massimino's overall record at Northwood/Keiser stands at 298–75 (.799 winning percentage).
On November 1, 2012, Massimino returned toRupp Arena inLexington, Kentucky for the first time since his 1985 championship triumph, playing a preseason exhibition game against reigning NCAA Division I championsKentucky. The game was played at the request of Massimino after indicating to Kentucky head coachJohn Calipari that the 2012–13 season could be his last in coaching. In a later interview, Massimino hedged somewhat, saying, "I don't know if it's my last [season]. I hope I can go another year or so."[6] Kentucky introduced Massimino with a video montage of the final minutes of Villanova's 1985 victory.[7]
On December 14, 2016, Massimino, at 82 years old, reached coaching win number 800 when Keiser University defeated Trinity Baptist 77–47.
Fox Sports released a 2018 television documentary titledThe Maestro: The Rollie Massimino Story, written and directed byBill Raftery, which chronicles Massimino's final season (2016–17) coaching Keiser University. Massimino coached the season, against his doctors' recommendation, while battling terminal cancer.[8]
Massimino was diagnosed with terminallung cancer andbrain cancer in April 2016 and given one year to live.[8] Coincidentally, he was at NRG Stadium in Houston in April 2016 to see Villanova win the NCAA tournament. Massimino died sixteen months later on August 30, 2017.[9][10] To honor Massimino's memory, Villanova wore throwback uniforms throughout the 2017–18 season in the style of those the Wildcats did during their 1984–85 championship season, and would go on to win their second national championship in three seasons that year.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stony Brook Patriots(Knickerbocker Conference)(1969–1971) | |||||||||
| 1969–70 | Stony Brook | 19–4 | 8–0[11] | 1st | NCAA College Division first round | ||||
| 1970–71 | Stony Brook | 15–10 | 7–2[11] | 2nd | |||||
| Stony Brook: | 34–14 (.708) | 15–2 (.882) | |||||||
| Villanova Wildcats(NCAA Division I independent)(1973–1976) | |||||||||
| 1973–74 | Villanova | 7–19 | |||||||
| 1974–75 | Villanova | 9–18 | |||||||
| 1975–76 | Villanova | 16–11 | |||||||
| Villanova Wildcats(Eastern Collegiate Basketball League / Eastern Athletic Association)(1976–1980) | |||||||||
| 1976–77 | Villanova | 23–10 | 6–1 | 2nd(East) | NIT Third Place | ||||
| 1977–78 | Villanova | 23–9 | 7–3 | T–1st(East) | NCAA Division I Elite Eight | ||||
| 1978–79 | Villanova | 13–13 | 9–1 | 1st(East) | |||||
| 1979–80 | Villanova | 23–8 | 7–3 | T–1st(East) | NCAA Division I second round | ||||
| Villanova Wildcats(Big East Conference)(1980–1992) | |||||||||
| 1980–81 | Villanova | 20–11 | 8–6 | T–3rd | NCAA Division I second round | ||||
| 1981–82 | Villanova | 22–8 | 11–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Elite Eight | ||||
| 1982–83 | Villanova | 24–8 | 12–4 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Elite Eight | ||||
| 1983–84 | Villanova | 19–12 | 12–4 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I second round | ||||
| 1984–85 | Villanova | 25–10 | 9–7 | T–3rd | NCAA Division I champions | ||||
| 1985–86 | Villanova | 23–14 | 10–6 | 4th | NCAA Division I second round | ||||
| 1986–87 | Villanova | 15–16 | 6–10 | 6th | |||||
| 1987–88 | Villanova | 24–13 | 9–7 | T–3rd | NCAA Division I Elite Eight | ||||
| 1988–89 | Villanova | 18–16 | 7–9 | T–5th | NIT quarterfinal | ||||
| 1989–90 | Villanova | 18–15 | 8–8 | T–5th | NCAA Division I first round | ||||
| 1990–91 | Villanova | 17–15 | 7–9 | T–7th | NCAA Division I second round | ||||
| 1991–92 | Villanova | 14–15 | 11–7 | 4th | NIT first round | ||||
| Villanova: | 355–241 (.596) | 139–88 (.612) | |||||||
| UNLV Runnin' Rebels(Big West Conference)(1992–1994) | |||||||||
| 1992–93 | UNLV | 21–8 | 13–5 | 2nd | NIT first round | ||||
| 1993–94 | UNLV | 15–13 | 10–8 | T–5th | |||||
| UNLV: | 36–21 (.632) | 23–13 (.639) | |||||||
| Cleveland State Vikings(Midwestern Collegiate Conference / Horizon League)(1996–2003) | |||||||||
| 1996–97 | Cleveland State | 9–19 | 6–10 | T–6th | |||||
| 1997–98 | Cleveland State | 12–15 | 6–8 | T–5th | |||||
| 1998–99 | Cleveland State | 14–14 | 6–8 | 5th | |||||
| 1999–00 | Cleveland State | 16–14 | 9–5 | 2nd | |||||
| 2000–01 | Cleveland State | 19–13 | 9–5 | 3rd | |||||
| 2001–02 | Cleveland State | 12–16 | 6–10 | 7th | |||||
| 2002–03 | Cleveland State | 8–22 | 3–13 | 9th | |||||
| Cleveland State: | 90–113 (.443) | 51–67 (.432) | |||||||
| Northwood/Keiser Seahawks(Florida Sun Conference / Sun Conference)(2006–2017) | |||||||||
| 2006–07 | Northwood | 23–9 | 9–3[12] | 1st[13] | NAIA Division II first round | ||||
| 2007–08 | Northwood | 27–8 | 12–2[12] | 1st[14] | NAIA Division II quarterfinal | ||||
| 2008–09 | Northwood | 27–6 | 11–3 | 1st[15] | NAIA Division II second round | ||||
| 2009–10 | Northwood | 27–7 | 12–4 | 2nd[16] | NAIA Division II first round | ||||
| 2010–11 | Northwood | 33–4 | 16–0 | 1st | NAIA Division II semifinal | ||||
| 2011–12 | Northwood | 34–4 | 14–2 | T–1st[17] | NAIA Division II Runner-up | ||||
| 2012–13 | Northwood | 30–4 | 14–2 | 1st | NAIA Division II first round | ||||
| 2013–14 | Northwood | 26–7 | 14–4[18] | T–2nd[19] | NAIA Division II first round | ||||
| 2014–15 | Keiser | 18–12 | 10–8[20] | T–3rd | |||||
| 2015–16 | Keiser | 30–5 | 14–2[21] | 1st | NAIA Division II quarterfinal | ||||
| 2016–17 | Keiser | 23–9 | 9–7 | 4th | |||||
| Northwood/Keiser: | 298–75 (.799) | 135–37 (.785) | |||||||
| Total: | 816–462 (.638) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||