Mike Fratello
Birth Name:
Michael Robert Fratello
Birth Place:
Hackensack, New Jersey, United States
Profession
Actor
Fast Facts
- Has been inducted into the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame
- Graduated from Montclair State College, where he played football
- 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
- Worked as a college basketball coach at Rhode Island, James Madison and Villanova early in his career
- 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․"
- 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․"
- 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