Written by Matt Norlander at CBS Sports.com
Rollie Massimino, who coached Villanova to one of college basketball’s biggest upsets in national championship game history, has died at 82.
Keiser University, the NAIA school in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Massimino coached for the last 11 seasons, announced his death Wednesday.
Keiser University Mourns the Loss of College Basketball Legend Coach Rollie Massimino https://t.co/4XPC2PFeL0
— KeiserUniversity (@KeiserU) August 30, 2017
Keiser University Mourns the Loss of College Basketball Legend Coach Rollie Massimino https://t.co/4XPC2PFeL0
— KeiserUniversity (@KeiserU) August 30, 2017
Massimino, who had recently entered hospice care after a long bout with cancer, most famously led the 1985 Wildcats to a 66-64 victory vs. Big East rival, and overwhelming favorite, No. 1 Georgetown. The Wildcats shot 78.6 percent in that game and used clock management to limit possessions against the physically superior Hoyas, led by All-American Patrick Ewing. Villanova’s victory prevented Georgetown from capturing consecutive national championships, and in the process vaulted the Big East’s reputation as the strongest conference in the sport during the 1980s.
“Eddie Pinckney loved to play against Patrick and they both had something going,” Massimino told CBS Sports in 2015. “They challenged each other every time they played against each other. John Thompson and I had a wonderful relationship, still do as a matter of fact. So it was something that was very special. People ask would you rather play St. John’s than Georgetown — it didn’t really make any difference at that time. … We were playing Georgetown on a Saturday and playing St. John’s on a Monday or vice versa. We would play two No. 1 teams in the country on a Saturday and a Monday!”
Nova’s championship came during the first year of the 64-team tournament era. Villanova was a No. 8 seed, and to this day the Wildcats are the lowest-seeded team to win a Division I basketball title.
“The Nova Nation has lost a legend and great leader,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said in a statement. “Coach’s love of family, community and teamwork were evident in every game his teams ever played. All of us, as coaches and players, idolized Coach Mass. He inspired and impacted all of our lives. He never stopped being a cherished mentor and friend. All of us in the Villanova Basketball family extend our deepest sympathies to Mrs. Mass, his wife of 59 years, his five children — Tom, Lee Ann, Michele, R.C. and Andrew — and his 17 grandchildren.”
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