Dr. John Giannini enters his fifth season as head coach at La Salle University. He is three seasons removed from leading the Explorers to their most wins (18) in 14 years and a third place finish in the Atlantic 10 Conference - the school's highest status since it joined the league for the 1995-96 season. The 18-10 finish in 2005-06 set precedents for most Atlantic 10 wins in a season (10) most Atlantic 10 road wins in a single season (4) and delivered a winning season to the La Salle community for the first time since the 1992-93 season. Along the way Giannini and the Explorers notched the school's first win all-time at Xavier's Cintas Center, witnessed a sell-out on their home court at Tom Gola Arena for the first time in four seasons and won the longest game in school history - a four-overtime, 107-106 win at Central Connecticut. They also snapped a four-year Big 5 losing streak, ended Massachusetts' 12-game home winning streak and picked up a win over Dayton for the first time in 11 games. For his efforts, Giannini was named a Jim Phelan Award candidate for National Coach of the Year. Giannini followed that impressive performance by recruiting one of the deepest and most highly-regarded incoming classes which included five freshmen who would have an immediate impact on the program. One season later he brought six more new faces to campus in the form of five freshmen and Mississippi State transfer Vernon Goodridge. Dr. John Giannini was introduced as the 18th head coach in the 74-year history of Explorer men's basketball On August 23, 2004. The late-summer appointment made recruiting efforts impossible, leaving Coach Giannini with a team consisting of only a handful of available scholarship players for most of the season. This short-handed team showed consistent improvement, going 5-5 in its last 10 games, ending Massachusetts' season in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament and notching victories over Xavier, Fordham, and Richmond before taking Xavier to the wire in the A-10 quarterfinals. Notable among the victories were a few milestones including: La Salle's first victory at Rhode Island, the school's first win over a PAC-10 opponent (USC) in nearly 20 years and the Explorers' first win all-time at Richmond on Feb. 9 also marked the coach's 300th career victory. Giannini came to Philadelphia after an impressive eight-year run at the University of Maine where he built the Black Bears into a perennial force in the America East Conference. During his tenure, Giannini compiled the best record of any coach in UMaine history by going 125-111 with a pair of 20-win seasons, five trips to the America East semifinals or better, and appearances in the AEC's championship in game two of his last three seasons in Orono. The two 20-win campaigns are the only two on record in program history. "We are very pleased that our search for a head coach yielded Dr. John Giannini," said La Salle Athletic Director Dr. Thomas Brennan. "He is not only a great basketball coach but he also has the background and the character that we want to see out of the coach that will head our program. One of the things that really impressed us was his record and ability to build and sustain a program. We were also very pleased with his ability to manage a wide array of issues related to the development of student-athletes." "John Giannini has earned respect as a coach and as a person wherever he has been," said La Salle President Brother Michael McGinniss. "He recognizes, and believes in, the prominent place that values and academics have at La Salle." Giannini's knack for winning began much closer to the Philadelphia area, however, having spent seven seasons as head coach at Rowan University in nearby Glassboro, NJ. During his run as the Profs head coach, he amassed a 168-38 record and a Division III National Championship in 1996 with a team that went 28-4. His Rowan teams won 20 or more game in all but one of his seven seasons - the lone exception was a 17-11 run in his first season at the helm (1989-90). He left Rowan with the best winning percentage in the nation (.814) among all active NCAA coaches. Before becoming the head coach at Rowan, Giannini served on Lou Henson's staff at the University of Illinois from 1987-89. In his two seasons as a graduate assistant, the Illini made two trips to the NCAA Tournament including a Final Four appearance in 1989 with a team that went 31-5 in the regular season. He also assisted at Parkland Community College (Champaign, IL) and North Texas. The Chicago, IL native (Fenwick High) earned his bachelor of arts degree in psychology from North Central College (Naperville, IL) in 1984 and his masters in physical education with a specialization in sports psychology from North Texas in 1986. "Dr. John" also earned a doctorate in kinesiology with a specialization in sports psychology from Illinois 1992. Giannini's ties to the Philadelphia area are considerable, having recruited largely from the region both at Rowan and while building the program at Maine. After two years of recruiting at Maine, he had accumulated more wins than any other coach in the conference with a record of 107-61. Giannini's Black Bear teams also notched major road wins at Providence, Marquette, Northwestern and St. Louis. Once again, after recruiting a roster of his own players at Rowan, Giannini had an amazing 110-12 record during his last four seasons. Besides the national championship, his Rowan teams made two other appearances in the NCAA Division III Final Four. It is interesting this season will be the first Giannini-coached La Salle team with two-full recruiting classes of his own. Based on history this bodes well for the future of La Salle basketball. Coach Giannini's wife Donna gave birth to their oldest daughter Brianna (14) at Philadelphia's Methodist Hospital. The Giannini's also have a younger daughter Jamie (9). |
||||||||||||||||
