A Friend, A Mentor, A Hero

Pat Massaroni's post, currently the Grad Asst. at James Madison:

It all started back when I was at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, NY during my junior year. I was injured playing football and realized that playing sports (football, basketball or baseball) at a high level after high school was not going to happen. I realized that I still wanted to be part of sports after I graduated from high school. After I decided that I was going to attend Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY I decided to contact the men's basketball office. I went on a visit to the school and stopped into the men's basketball office. I spoke with assistant coach Rob O'Driscoll and informed him of my situation. He informed to stop in the office when I arrived on campus in September. And the rest fell into place from there....

Brian Giorgis

I served as the Marist men's basketball head team manager for three years (06-09) and during my final year as an undergraduate I was the head team manager for the Marist women's basketball team. During my freshman year our team captured the regular season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) title and ended up advancing to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). We traveled to Oklahoma State and upset the Cowboys in the first round of the tournament. We then went on to fall in a hard fought game at North Carolina State. Time flew by and during my senior year I joined the Marist women's basketball staff as the head team manager. I ended up working under New York State Hall of Famer Brian Giorgis and he gave me a lot more responsibilities during my senior year. I was a practice player, involved with recording stats during practices and games. Those were just some of the responsibilities I had during that year.

That was a magical year as I was part of a team that won the MAAC regular season and tournament championships. I was able to travel out to Oakland, California for the NCAA tournament. We were paired up with Big East foe Georgetown Hoyas. It was an experience that I will never forget. We ended up losing the game but the trip and experience was worth the four years of being a manager. I would say that the game during my freshman year in which we beat Siena at home on ESPN2 to win the MAAC regular season title and making the NCAA Tournament were the two best moments I had as a manager at Marist College.

I do not think that I can pinpoint just one person who has helped from the day I was a freshman at Marist up until now. There have been a lot of different individuals who have been influential and helpful over the last twenty-years of my life. Each person has offered different advice and help in order for me to be where I am today.

I am currently in my second year as a graduate assistant with the men's basketball program at James Madison University in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). I assist with all off the court activities with the program and am in charge of our film exchange. Being a graduate assistant has allowed for me to see the game in a different way from when I was a manager. I get to see the game from more of a coaching perspective which is different from being a student manager. I am pursuing a master's degree in Sports Management. My dream job one day is to be a head coach at a Division I basketball program, however if basketball does not work out being successful and working hard in whatever occupation I am in is my goal.

Patrick was the head manager when I first started here at Marist. I was able to learn underneath him, especially what type of mentality is needed in order to be successful in this business. Patrick was also involved in an accident off the court. He was rewarded with the Archbishop Dolan Service Award from the City of New York and the Citizen Heroism Reward, presented by the Toms River, N.J. Fire Department.

Here's an article about the fire: Massaroni's Fire Incident

Check out his current position: Massaroni's Bio