Ray Giacoletti
Encyclopedia
Ray Giacoletti is a men's basketball
coach
. He played collegiate basketball at Minot State University
in North Dakota
from 1980-1984, where he was a four-year letterman and a team captain for two seasons. He received his degree in physical education in 1985.
Giacoletti was a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year Award in 2005, he was also named the 2005 Playboy
National Coach of the Year. He currently is an assistant coach at Gonzaga University
.
during the 1985-86 season. After spending a year at Western Illinois, Giacoletti became an assistant coach for Oral Roberts University
during the 1986-87 season.
After 3 seasons at the collegiate level, Giacoletti moved to the professional ranks, where he spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the Fresno Flames of the old World Basketball League
. Giacoletti then returned to college coaching in the 1989 season, where he was named an assistant head coach under Bob Bender at Illinois State
. After three seasons with Illinois State, Bender was named the head coach of the University of Washington
, where Giacoletti accepted an assistant position with the program. He was an assistant coach with the Washington Huskies from 1993-1997, until he accepted the head coaching job at North Dakota State
.
By accepting the head coaching job at North Dakota State, Giacoletti returned to the state where he spent his collegiate years. In his first season as a head coach, Giacoletti guided North Dakota State to an 18-9 (.667) record. In his second season, North Dakota State finished with a 14-13 record and in his third season as coach, they went 16-11. Giacoletti would then leave North Dakota State for the head coaching job at Eastern Washington University
. His final overall record at North Dakota State was 48-33.
In 2000 Giacoletti was named the head coach of the Eastern Washington Eagles. He would guide the Eagles to their best four year stretch in program history. Giacoletti would compile a 69-50 (.580) record as head coach at Eastern Washington, including a 41-17 (.707) record in Big Sky Conference
play. In his third season as head coach of Eastern Washington, Giacoletti led the Eagles to an 18-13 record and the school's first post season tournament in school history, making the 2003 National Invitation Tournament
. Giacoletti's best season was the 2003–2004 season, where the Eagles went 17-13 (11-3 in Big Sky play) and won the Big Sky Conference Championship. Giacoletti then guided the team to its first ever Big Sky tournament championship and the school's first ever NCAA Tournament
appearance. Eastern Washington would lose to highly favored Oklahoma State in the first round.
After successful stints with North Dakota State and Eastern Washington, Giacoletti was named the head coach of the University of Utah
Utes. He replaced the legendary Rick Majerus
, who retired in the middle of the 2003-2004 season. In his three seasons at Utah, Giacoletti led Utah to a 54-40 (.574) record.
In Giacoletti's first season, the Utes went 29-6 (.829) and won the Mountain West Conference
regular season championship. After beating UTEP in the first round, the 6th seeded Utes upset 3rd seeded Oklahoma
in the 2nd round to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16. It was the school's first Sweet 16 since the 1998 season, when Utah finished as the NCAA runner-up to Kentucky. Ironically, it was Kentucky who would beat Utah once again, ending the 2nd winningest season in school history.
During Giacoletti's tenure, Andrew Bogut
was named the John R. Wooden Award
winner and became the #1 draft pick in the 2005 NBA draft
- joining fellow University of Utah student-athlete Alex Smith
as the only time that two athletes from the same school were selected #1 in their respective drafts in the same year. Giacoletti was named the 2005 Mountain West Coach of the Year, after guiding the Utes to a 13-1 conference record, the best record in conference history.
Giacoletti's second season was dramatically different from his first. Gone was All-American Andrew Bogut, starting point guard Marc Jackson graduated, Justin Hawkins decided to transfer to New Mexico State and Richard Chaney transferred to Troy State, all major players in Utah's Sweet 16 run the season before. The Utes struggled with a young team and finished with the school's first losing record since the 1989 season, with a record of 14-15.
Giacoletti's third season saw a further decline and the Utes had their worst season since 1983-84 (11-19). A day before Utah's final regular season game, versus conference rival BYU, he resigned as Head Basketball coach effective at the end of the season.
On March 26, 2007, Giacoletti replaced former Gonzaga assistant coach Bill Grier
as an assistant coach.
Giacoletti's overall coaching record is 171-123 (.582) in 10 seasons. Giacoletti owns a 2-2 overall record in the NCAA Tournament and an 0-1 record in the National Invitation Tournament.
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
. He played collegiate basketball at Minot State University
Minot State University
Minot State University is a four-year institution of higher learning in Minot, North Dakota. Founded in 1913 as a normal school, Minot State University is the third-largest university in North Dakota, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs.Minot State University was founded in 1913...
in North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
from 1980-1984, where he was a four-year letterman and a team captain for two seasons. He received his degree in physical education in 1985.
Giacoletti was a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year Award in 2005, he was also named the 2005 Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
National Coach of the Year. He currently is an assistant coach at Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint, Aloysius Gonzaga...
.
Coaching history
Giacoletti began coaching in 1984 when he was named a student assistant coach at Minot State while finishing up his degree. Giacoletti then became a graduate assistant at Western Illinois UniversityWestern Illinois University
Western Illinois University is a public university founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. Like many similar institutions of the time, Western Illinois State Normal School focused on teacher training for its relatively small body of students. As the normal school grew, it became...
during the 1985-86 season. After spending a year at Western Illinois, Giacoletti became an assistant coach for Oral Roberts University
Oral Roberts University
Oral Roberts University , based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the United States, is an interdenominational, Charismatic Christian, comprehensive university with an enrollment of about 3,790 students from 49 U.S. states along with a significant number of international students from 70 countries...
during the 1986-87 season.
After 3 seasons at the collegiate level, Giacoletti moved to the professional ranks, where he spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the Fresno Flames of the old World Basketball League
World Basketball League
World Basketball League was a minor professional basketball league in the United States and Canada. It was founded as the International Basketball Association in November 1987, before changing its name prior to the 1988 season. One of the major differences between it and other leagues was that it...
. Giacoletti then returned to college coaching in the 1989 season, where he was named an assistant head coach under Bob Bender at Illinois State
Illinois State University
Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...
. After three seasons with Illinois State, Bender was named the head coach of the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, where Giacoletti accepted an assistant position with the program. He was an assistant coach with the Washington Huskies from 1993-1997, until he accepted the head coaching job at North Dakota State
North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, more commonly known as North Dakota State University , is a public university in Fargo, North Dakota. NDSU has about 14,000 students and it is the largest university in North Dakota based on full time students and land size...
.
By accepting the head coaching job at North Dakota State, Giacoletti returned to the state where he spent his collegiate years. In his first season as a head coach, Giacoletti guided North Dakota State to an 18-9 (.667) record. In his second season, North Dakota State finished with a 14-13 record and in his third season as coach, they went 16-11. Giacoletti would then leave North Dakota State for the head coaching job at Eastern Washington University
Eastern Washington University
Eastern Washington University is an American public, coeducational university located in Cheney, Washington.Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided into four colleges: Arts and Letters; Business and Public Administration; Science, Health and Engineering; and Social & Behavioral...
. His final overall record at North Dakota State was 48-33.
In 2000 Giacoletti was named the head coach of the Eastern Washington Eagles. He would guide the Eagles to their best four year stretch in program history. Giacoletti would compile a 69-50 (.580) record as head coach at Eastern Washington, including a 41-17 (.707) record in Big Sky Conference
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I, with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. The BSC was founded in 1963. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the states of Arizona,...
play. In his third season as head coach of Eastern Washington, Giacoletti led the Eagles to an 18-13 record and the school's first post season tournament in school history, making the 2003 National Invitation Tournament
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
. Giacoletti's best season was the 2003–2004 season, where the Eagles went 17-13 (11-3 in Big Sky play) and won the Big Sky Conference Championship. Giacoletti then guided the team to its first ever Big Sky tournament championship and the school's first ever NCAA Tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
appearance. Eastern Washington would lose to highly favored Oklahoma State in the first round.
After successful stints with North Dakota State and Eastern Washington, Giacoletti was named the head coach of the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
Utes. He replaced the legendary Rick Majerus
Rick Majerus
Rick Majerus is an American college basketball coach, and the men's basketball head coach at Saint Louis University. He coached previously at Marquette University , Ball State University , and the University of Utah .-Biography:Majerus graduated from Marquette University High School in 1966 and...
, who retired in the middle of the 2003-2004 season. In his three seasons at Utah, Giacoletti led Utah to a 54-40 (.574) record.
In Giacoletti's first season, the Utes went 29-6 (.829) and won the Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
regular season championship. After beating UTEP in the first round, the 6th seeded Utes upset 3rd seeded Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
in the 2nd round to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16. It was the school's first Sweet 16 since the 1998 season, when Utah finished as the NCAA runner-up to Kentucky. Ironically, it was Kentucky who would beat Utah once again, ending the 2nd winningest season in school history.
During Giacoletti's tenure, Andrew Bogut
Andrew Bogut
Andrew Michael Bogut is an Australian professional basketball player. He plays for the Milwaukee Bucks of the United States' National Basketball Association....
was named the John R. Wooden Award
John R. Wooden Award
The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award and recognizes the All–America Teams.The awards, given by the Los...
winner and became the #1 draft pick in the 2005 NBA draft
NBA Draft
The NBA Draft is an annual event in which the thirty teams from the National Basketball Association can draft players who are eligible and wish to join the league. These players are usually amateur U.S. college basketball players, but international players are also eligible to be drafted...
- joining fellow University of Utah student-athlete Alex Smith
Alex Smith
Alexander Douglas Smith is a professional American football player and starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Smith was drafted with the 1st-overall pick in the 1st round of the 2005 NFL Draft by San Francisco from the University of Utah...
as the only time that two athletes from the same school were selected #1 in their respective drafts in the same year. Giacoletti was named the 2005 Mountain West Coach of the Year, after guiding the Utes to a 13-1 conference record, the best record in conference history.
Giacoletti's second season was dramatically different from his first. Gone was All-American Andrew Bogut, starting point guard Marc Jackson graduated, Justin Hawkins decided to transfer to New Mexico State and Richard Chaney transferred to Troy State, all major players in Utah's Sweet 16 run the season before. The Utes struggled with a young team and finished with the school's first losing record since the 1989 season, with a record of 14-15.
Giacoletti's third season saw a further decline and the Utes had their worst season since 1983-84 (11-19). A day before Utah's final regular season game, versus conference rival BYU, he resigned as Head Basketball coach effective at the end of the season.
On March 26, 2007, Giacoletti replaced former Gonzaga assistant coach Bill Grier
Bill Grier
-References:...
as an assistant coach.
Giacoletti's overall coaching record is 171-123 (.582) in 10 seasons. Giacoletti owns a 2-2 overall record in the NCAA Tournament and an 0-1 record in the National Invitation Tournament.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Tournament | Finish | Rank# |
| North Dakota State Bison North Dakota State Bison The North Dakota State Bison is the name of the athletic teams of North Dakota State University which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd"... (North Central Conference North Central Conference The North Central Conference , also known as North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was a college athletic conference which operated in the north central United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division II.-History:... ) (1997-2000) |
|||||||
| 1997-98 | North Dakota State | 18-9 | 9-9 | 5-T | |||
| 1998-99 | North Dakota State | 14-13 | 8-10 | 5-T | |||
| 1999-00 | North Dakota State | 16-11 | 9-9 | 6 | |||
| At North Dakota State | 48-33 | ||||||
| Eastern Washington Eagles (Big Sky Conference Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I, with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. The BSC was founded in 1963. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the states of Arizona,... ) (2000-2004) |
|||||||
| 2000-01 | Eastern Washington | 17-11 | 11-5 | 2 | |||
| 2001-02 | Eastern Washington | 17-13 | 10-4 | 2 | |||
| 2002-03 | Eastern Washington | 18-13 | 9-5 | 2 | NIT 2003 National Invitation Tournament -Semifinals & Finals:*Third Place - Texas Tech 71, Minnesota 61St. John's later vacated the title due to an ineligible player.... |
First Round | |
| 2003-04 | Eastern Washington | 17-13 | 11-3 | 1 | NCAA 2004 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 2004 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 2004, and ended with the championship game on April 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio,... |
First Round | |
| At Eastern Washington | 69-50 | ||||||
| Utah Utes Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the athletics teams of the University of Utah. They are named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the "Runnin' Utes"; the women's basketball team, formerly known as the "Lady Utes," now prefers to be referred to as the "Utes"; and the... (Mountain West Conference Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999... ) (2004-2007) |
|||||||
| 2004-05 | Utah | 29-6 | 13-1 | 1 | NCAA 2005 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 2005 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 2005, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at the Edward Jones Dome in St... |
Sweet Sixteen | #14 |
| 2005-06 | Utah | 14-15 | 6-10 | 6 | |||
| 2006-07 | Utah | 11-19 | 6-10 | 6-T | |||
| At Utah | 54-40 | ||||||
| Career | 171-123 | ||||||
| National Championship Conference Tournament Championship | |||||||
| #Rankings from final Coaches Poll Coaches Poll The USA Today Coaches' Poll is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and Division I college basketball teams.... of the season. |
|||||||
External links
- http://utahutes.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/giacoletti_ray00.html