Mike Fratello Biography

Fast Facts

• Has been inducted into the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
• Graduated from Montclair State College, where he played football
• Worked as a college basketball coach at Rhode Island, James Madison and Villanova early in his career
• Got his start in coaching by working as an assistant for the basketball and football teams at a high school in his hometown
• When he realized he didn't have time to play all three of the sports he'd started in in high school during college, he gave up his favorite, basketball, as he figured his height would limit his success
• Quote: "Winning․ That's my favorite part․ For everything you go through, for all the time you put into making it right, the reward is winning․"
• Quote: "Next to my mother and father, the people who always had the most influence in my life were my coaches․ And that's what I wanted to do․ That's the impact I wanted to have․"
• Has served as a commentator for basketball games on the YES Network
• Is well known by his nickname "The Czar of the Telestrator․"
• Has coached the Ukrainian national basketball team