‘Coach G’ taught life’s lessons to players

The departure of University of Maine head men’s basketball coach John Giannini to La Salle University in Philadelphia came as somewhat of a surprise to this writer.

It was just a handful of months ago that the likeable coach told me that he didn’t consider leaving Maine an option – at least not then. His wife and kids were against moving, and, as he put it: “It would take a really good situation to convince them otherwise. They love it here.”

Apparently, La Salle fit that bill, and after eight productive years in Orono, coach Giannini is headed to greener pastures, greener, as in the color of money.

Coach G will make about $300,000 to be the new head coach of the Explorers. Toss in a few perks such as a television and a radio show, maybe some TV ads – to say nothing of summer hoop camps and speaking engagements – and the figure may approach $400,000.

Giannini-related stories will abound here for a while. I have a couple of my own.

I was surprised three years ago to see the lanky, well-dressed coach appear in my room at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, unannounced and accompanied by another Black Bear hoop personality of renown, Keith Mahaney.

Coach G surveyed the surroundings and decided he’d better have a seat. The topic, of course, turned to basketball, and the three of us had a grand old time talking about high school players in Maine and point guards, specifically. I’ve never known a Division I head coach who didn’t like to talk about point guards. Coaches on the floor, these players are so important, and they’re always at the top of any list I’d make as a college recruiter. In the business of college coaching, finding an able floor general is always Job One.

From time-to-time following that first visit, I would hear from John, and one of my fondest memories of him is the day he, Keith, and I spent together at a local restaurant discussing non-basketball issues. You see, that was the rule of the day. As memory serves, I believe that idea came from Keith Mahaney, a former coach himself at Greenville High School and Boothbay Region.

Keith always liked to tell the story about beating Andy Bedard and Cindy Blodgett in a free throw competition. Those old enough to remember the slick guard may recall his Cousy-like moves out on the basketball floor. When his No. 24 was retired at UMaine in 1997, I believe it was one of the happiest days of his life. In fact, Mahaney will join the ranks of the very best of the hoop elite on Sept. 24 when he is inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.

That particular summer day, we vowed to discuss anything and everything but basketball. It was, to say the least, quite an afternoon.

“Let’s find out how smart you are, Giannini,” Mahaney chortled. John just smiled, then launched into a purposeful diatribe on kinesiology, a field he had garnered a doctoral degree in some time ago.

Keith just rolled his eyes. Then, Coach G stole the show with one remark.

“I don’t think I’ll retire as a coach,” he told us. “When it’s all said and done, I’d like to be a professor.” Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather, and as I watched the coach take a bite out of his club sandwich, I couldn’t help but think what a special guy this was.

Here we were, in a crowded little restaurant. Giannini had exchanged pleasantries with a few fans, while Keith and I drank our iced teas. Through it all, Coach G maintained the self-control and poise that have made him so well respected in Division I circles. And yet, the majority of his discussions that day were centered around family and his hoped-for career after basketball.

In all my years in the business, I’ve come across some pretty driven people. Family usually ranks low on their priority lists, and when talk turns to careers and goals, family often comes last.

Not with John Giannini.

I remember taking my Brewer High School freshman boys basketball team to see Giannini’s Black Bears one night early in the coach’s tenure. They were playing Vermont and had a decent lead as time was expiring in the second half.

One guard for Maine had a pretty good night, but he kept shooting, giving the Catamounts the opportunity to catch up. Finally, Giannini yanked the kid, admonished him for his poor decisions with the ball, and guess what the kid did when he got back in the contest? You’re right.

He took one more poor shot, and it cost the Bears the game. Maine lost in overtime.

Lesson learned? Keep the shooter on the bench? Nope.

In his televised post-game discussion, Giannini pointed to the importance of not destroying his player’s confidence for future encounters by having him on the bench in “crunch time.” That’s Giannini’s way. The lesson had been taught, but the instinct players have to perform often reverts to bad habits in the heat of battle.

Was it worth the risk? Absolutely. To Coach G, it was.

John Giannini may want to close his professional life as a classroom instructor, but in the meantime, he’s imparting life lessons to all his players.

That, my friends, is teaching, a career the new head man at La Salle has already mastered, regardless of the subject matter.

NEWS columnist Ron Brown, a retired high school basketball coach, can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net