Everyone now knows La Salle coach Giannini
John Giannini is attracting attention at Final Four weekend. He declined to say whether he would have interest in the Rutgers opening.
ATLANTA - La Salle coach John Giannini always attends the Final Four. This weekend was quite different.
"My lobby status has definitely risen," he said.
When your team goes to the Sweet 16, you get noticed. You are not just another coach hanging out in the lobby of the Hilton, the downtown hotel where many of the coaches stay and much of the activity is centered.
"Being here after a Sweet 16 run makes it real hard to get through a lobby, but it's a nice problem," Giannini said. "People that you've never met recognize you and like you because of your team. It's important to realize it's always because of your team and not you."
Giannini watched his senior star Ramon Galloway finish third in the dunk contest Thursday night and then play in the college all-star game on Friday night.
After the all-star game, he made his a way a few blocks to STATS, site of the annual Jay Wright-hosted Villanova Final Four party, where the Philly basketball brotherhood gathers to discuss all things hoops.
Giannini watched Saturday's semifinals on television with the eclectic, Philly-centric coaching crew of Steve Donahue, Dave Pauley, John Gallagher and Mike Martin. He saw Wichita State, the team that knocked La Salle out of the tournament, play a brilliant game before losing to Louisville.
"Every time I see them, they look even better," Giannini said. "That was really a great game."
And, yes, he did notice there is an opening at Rutgers. Last week's news was often hard to find on television, but Giannini, who lives in South Jersey and won a national championship at Rowan, did hear that Mike Rice had been fired. Asked if he had interest, Giannini said his plan was not to comment on any prospective openings.
Obviously, he would have to be interested. Yes, he will have a very good team at La Salle next season. But what went down this season was the equivalent of a basketball miracle.
Rutgers will join the Big Ten for the 2014-15 season. The next coach will earn some large multiple of what Giannini is making at La Salle. He is from Chicago. He was a graduate assistant on Lou Henson's Illinois team that played in the 1989 Final Four. So he has a Big Ten background.
At the moment, Rutgers is without an athletic director. The school has bigger problems than finding a basketball coach. Eventually, they will attempt to hire a coach. And, given what he has done and where he has been, Dr. John Giannini would seem to be a candidate to consider.
Mihalich honored
Niagara coach Joe Mihalich, the former La Salle assistant and player, was named the Skip Prosser Man of the Year at the Collegeinsider.com awards banquet on Friday night in Atlanta.
The award, for on-court success and off-court integrity, was established in 2008 to honor the memory of the late Skip Prosser, who had such great success coaching at Loyola, Xavier and Wake Forest before passing away in 2007.
Mihalich's team was the youngest in the Metro Atlantic yet won the regular season, and he was named the league's coach of the year for the third time.
Big 5 in Atlanta
In addition to Ramon Galloway, Villanova senior Mouph Yarou played in Friday's all-star game. It was Yarou's inspired play that helped the Wildcats get a surprise NCAA bid this year.
Saint Joseph's junior Langston Galloway was honored during Saturday's Michigan-Syracuse game as part of the "Good Works Team" for his volunteer and civic activities.