Rollie Massimino facts for kids
Massimino in Philadelphia on March 21, 2009
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| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 13, 1934 Hillside, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | August 30, 2017 (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 | |
| NCAA Division I tournament (1985) 3× Eastern 8 regular season (1978–1980) 2× Eastern 8 tournament (1978, 1980) 2× Big East regular season (1982, 1983) 7× Sun Conference regular season (2007–2009, 2011–2013, 2016) 3× Sun Conference tournament (2010, 2012, 2014) |
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| Awards | |
| 2× Eastern 8 Coach of the Year (1977, 1979) Big East Coach of the Year (1982) |
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| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2013 |
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Roland Vincent Massimino (November 13, 1934 – August 30, 2017) was a famous American basketball coach. He was known for leading college basketball teams. Coach Massimino worked at several universities. These included Stony Brook University, Villanova University, and Keiser University.
He is most famous for his time at Villanova. In 1985, he led the Villanova Wildcats to win the NCAA championship. His team was a big underdog, ranked as an eight seed. They beat the top-ranked Georgetown Hoyas in the final game. This win is still seen as one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history.
Becoming a Coach
Roland Massimino finished high school in 1952. He went to University of Vermont (UVM). There, he played basketball for three years. In 1956, he earned a degree in education from UVM. He later got another degree from Rutgers University in 1959.
Coaching High School Teams
After college, Massimino started coaching. He coached baseball and basketball at Cranford High School. In 1959, he became the head basketball coach at Hillside High School. This was his hometown school.
He led his Hillside team to the State Group III Championship finals. They lost a close game. Later, at Lexington High School in Massachusetts, he led his team to a state championship in 1965. In total, he coached high school teams for ten seasons. He had a great record of 160 wins and 61 losses.
Coaching College Teams
Massimino started coaching college basketball in 1969. His first college job was as head coach at Stony Brook University. His team won their conference in his first year. This earned them a spot in the NCAA small college tournament.
He then became an assistant coach at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1973, he became the head coach at Villanova University. This is where he made history.
The 1985 NCAA Championship
Coach Massimino led the Villanova Wildcats to an amazing victory in the 1985 NCAA Tournament. His team was not expected to win. They had to beat many strong teams.
- They beat #1-seed Michigan.
- They beat #4-seed Maryland.
- They beat #2-seed North Carolina.
- In the Final Four, they beat #2-seeded Memphis State.
The final game was against Georgetown University. Georgetown was a very strong team. Villanova played almost perfectly and won the championship. It was a huge surprise and a legendary moment in sports.
After Villanova
After his big win, Massimino was offered a job to coach in the NBA. He decided to stay at Villanova to spend more time with his family.
He later coached at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) from 1992 to 1994. Then, he coached at Cleveland State University from 1996 to 2003.
Coaching at Keiser University
In 2006, Massimino became the head coach at Keiser University in Florida. This school is part of the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics). He continued coaching there even when the school changed names.
He led Keiser to many successful seasons. His teams won several conference titles. They also made it to the NAIA National tournament many times. In 2012, his team was the national runner-up. On December 14, 2016, Coach Massimino reached 800 career wins. He was 82 years old at the time.
Later Years and Legacy
In 2018, a TV show called The Maestro: The Rollie Massimino Story was released. It showed his final season coaching at Keiser University. He coached that season while battling cancer.
Coach Massimino was diagnosed with lung cancer and brain cancer in April 2016. He passed away on August 30, 2017. To remember him, Villanova's basketball team wore special throwback uniforms during the 2017–18 season. These uniforms were like the ones worn during his famous 1985 championship season.
Images for kids
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Massimino in Philadelphia on March 21, 2009
See also
- List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins
- List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach
