Ex-'Nova coach Massimino to face Wildcats in first game back

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Rollie Massimino pulls the ringing cell phone from his pocket, looks to see who's calling and flips it open.

Someone from Villanova is on the other end.

"All your tickets are almost gone, right? They told me you've got like eight left," Massimino tells the caller. "No, take 'em. If you need any more, let me know. We'll find a way."

Massimino hangs up, then rubs his head.

"I didn't think this game would be that big a deal," he said.

Clearly, he's not serious.

He's coaching at Northwood University now, a tiny NAIA-affiliated school of 1,000 students in West Palm Beach that started a basketball program this year and plays its first-ever home game Saturday night. It's against Villanova, the school where Massimino spent two decades and which he led to the 1985 NCAA championship.

Rollie Massimino, in a 1994 photo, led Villanova to the 1985 NCAA championship during his 20-year coaching tenure there. (Getty Images)

"I still won't root against them," Massimino said. "It's very special. For Villanova and Jay Wright to give us the opportunity, to come down here especially since the game for him is a countable game, it's very, very special. That's what family's all about. That's what we've believed in all these years."

When Massimino, who turns 72 next week, decided to return to coaching, many of his friends -- including golf buddies Chuck Daly, Billy Cunningham and Bill Raftery -- told him he was crazy, he said.

But they'll all be there Saturday, along with as many people Northwood can squeeze into its 1,600-seat arena. And while the night will be fun and nostalgic for Massimino, it won't necessarily be easy for he and Wright to coach against one another.

"I'm not excited about it at all," said Wright, a former Massimino assistant. "I hate those games. I don't want to beat them. It's their opener, and I certainly don't want to lose. But it's great that we could do that and be a part of his first game back. He's done so much for everybody in our university and on our staff."

Massimino was at Villanova from 1972 through 1992, before moving on to Nevada-Las Vegas for a short stint. Then, after a break, he took over at Cleveland State, staying there until 2003.

When he was done there, he tried retirement. He played 54 holes of golf some days, getting his basketball fix by visiting former assistants who became head coaches around the country.