Pitino Creates a New Gael Trio

By: Matthew George

Quarantine was not stopping newly signed Iona Gaels Head Coach Rick Pitino as he has been making major moves already to help improve the men’s basketball program. Building and creating new connections was some of key points for Pitino’s process. As of now, he has signed Florida Gulf Coast University Assistant Coach Tom Abatemarco, assistant coach of Arkansas State Casey Stanley, and kept Gaels assistant coach Ricky Johns.

Tom Abatemarco has spent over 40 years as a part of Division I and professional coaching. He has recently been a part of two NCAA Tournament appearances as a part of the FGCU assistant coach. He has had coaching roles for 18 different universities, including notable ones of Iona, St. John’s, Davidson, and Colorado. As an assistant coach with North Carolina State, Abatemarco was a part of one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history when NCS won the championship over Houston in 1983.

Casey Stanley has been a part of Division I for over 12 years. He was recently an assistant coach for Arkansas State University in the Sun Belt Conference. Stanley grew up around Iona basketball since he was young and now has returned to his alma mater alongside Pitino. As an undergraduate at Iona, he was a four-year team manager with Jeff Ruland and Kevin Willard. Pitino has a unique connection with Stanley for the past decade as well.

Lastly, for the past three years Ricky Johns has been a part of the Gaels and has been heavily recommended campus wide. He started out as the director of operations in 2017-2018 and has recently been an assistant head coach for the program. Johns helped the team win two MAAC Conference Championships and two NCAA appearances in his two coaching seasons. Pitino believes that his integrity and dedication are some of the reasons why he is going to be one of the main assets to help the Gaels move forward.