Jim Molinari

Last updated
Jim Molinari
Current position
TitleAssistant Coach
Team Boston College
Conference ACC
Biographical details
Born (1954-12-26) December 26, 1954 (age 68)
Playing career
1973–1975 Kansas State
1975–1977 Illinois Wesleyan
Position(s) Point guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1979–1989 DePaul (assistant)
1989–1991 Northern Illinois
1991–2002 Bradley
2004–2006 Minnesota (assistant)
2006–2007Minnesota (interim HC)
2007–2008 Ball State (assistant)
2008–2014 Western Illinois
2014–2019 Nebraska (assistant)
2019–2021 Oklahoma (assistant)
2021–present Boston College (assistant)
Head coaching record
Overall302–290 (.510)
Tournaments0–2 (NCAA Division I)
4–5 (NIT)
0–2 (CBI)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 MCC/Summit regular season (1991, 2013)
MCC tournament (1991)
MVC regular season (1996)
Awards
MVC Coach of the Year (1996)
Summit League Coach of the Year (2013)

James R. Molinari (born December 26, 1954) is an American basketball coach and lawyer. Molinari is currently an assistant coach at Boston College. Prior to his stint at Boston College Molinari was most recently an assistant coach at Oklahoma from 2019 to 2021. He formerly served as an assistant coach at Nebraska [1] and as former head coach of the Western Illinois University Leathernecks, where he served from 2008 to 2014. Prior to being named coach at WIU, Molinari was as assistant coach at Ball State University after serving as the interim head coach at the University of Minnesota, replacing Dan Monson on November 30, 2006 and being succeeded by Tubby Smith on March 22, 2007. [2] Previously, he served as head men's basketball coach at Northern Illinois University and Bradley University. He also was a scout for the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat.

Contents

Molinari graduated from Glenbard West High School, where he starred on its varsity boys' basketball team. [3] He first attended Kansas State University from 1973 to 1975, lettering twice with Jack Hartman's Wildcats. A 6'1" (1.85 meters) guard who wore uniform number 30, he appeared in 22 games, including a 95–87 defeat to Syracuse in the NCAA East Regional Final at the Providence Civic Center on March 22, 1975. [4] He transferred to Illinois Wesleyan University for his last two undergraduate years. A reserve who averaged 9.1 points per game, he was a teammate of Jack Sikma in both seasons. [5] [6] [7] He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1977. [8]

Molinari graduated from the DePaul University College of Law, earning his juris doctor in 1980. [9] He passed the Bar Exam. [9] Molinari spent eleven seasons as an assistant coach for both Ray and Joey Meyer at DePaul University.

His first head coaching assignment began on April 28, 1989 when he replaced Jim Rosborough at Northern Illinois University (NIU). [10] A combined 42–17 in his two seasons at NIU, the Huskies finished the 1990–91 campaign with the second-best team defense in the nation which allowed 57.5 points a game, a program-best 25–6 record and an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. [11]

He succeeded Stan Albeck in a similar capacity at Bradley University on April 12, 1991. He inherited a program which had at least 20 losses in each of the previous two years. [11] After going a combined 18–39 in Molinari's first two seasons at Bradley, the Braves had at least 20 wins in each of the three subsequent years. His most successful campaign was 1995–96 when he was named the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Coach of the Year and the Braves earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. He had a 174–152 record in eleven seasons at Bradley which also included five National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances in 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001. Despite having the longest tenure among MVC men's basketball head coaches at the time, he was fired on March 5, 2002 after a 9–20 finish. The dismissal was driven by David Broski's dissatisfaction over the Braves' 42–48 record during the three years he had been university president at that point. [12] Molinari was replaced by Jim Les a month later on April 7. [13]

Molinari and his ex-wife Carol are the parents of four children. Two went on to play college basketball. Billy played at Western Illinois University under Molinari. David played one year at Illinois Wesleyan University and walked onto DePaul for the 2014–2015 season.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Northern Illinois Huskies (NCAA Division I independent)(1989–1990)
1989–90 Northern Illinois 17–11
Northern Illinois Huskies (Mid-Continent Conference)(1990–1991)
1990–91 Northern Illinois 25–614–21st NCAA Division I First Round
Northern Illinois:42–17 (.712)14–2 (.875)
Bradley Braves (Missouri Valley Conference)(1991–2002)
1991–92 Bradley 7–233–159th
1992–93 Bradley 11–167–117th
1993–94 Bradley 23–814–42nd NIT Quarterfinal
1994–95 Bradley 20–1012–64th NIT Second Round
1995–96 Bradley 22–815–31st NCAA Division I First Round
1996–97 Bradley 17–1312–62nd NIT Second Round
1997–98 Bradley 15–149–95th
1998–99 Bradley 17–1211–72nd NIT First Round
1999–00 Bradley 14–1610–85th
2000–01 Bradley 19–1212–62nd NIT First Round
2001–02 Bradley 9–205–138th
Bradley:174–152 (.534)110–88 (.556)
Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big Ten Conference)(2006–2007)
2006–07 Minnesota 7–17 [n 1] 3–139th
Minnesota:7–17 (.292)3–13 (.188)
Western Illinois Leathernecks (Summit League)(2008–2014)
2008–09 Western Illinois 9–206–12T–8th
2009–10 Western Illinois 13–176–12T–7th
2010–11 Western Illinois 7–232–169th
2011–12 Western Illinois 18–159–9T–4th CBI First Round
2012–13 Western Illinois 22–713–3T–1st CBI First Round
2013–14 Western Illinois 10–204–107th
Western Illinois:79–104 (.432)40–62 (.392)
Total:302–290 (.510)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Notes

  1. ↑ Molinari was named interim head coach upon the firing of Dan Monson on November 30, 2006 and coached the remainder of the season.

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References

  1. ↑ Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball
  2. ↑ GopherSports.com Archived July 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Glenbard West Best Start Ever," NBC Sports Chicago, Monday, January 2, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  4. ↑ Kansas State University Men's Basketball 2021–22 Media Guide. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  5. ↑ Men's Basketball Individual Career History – Illinois Wesleyan University Athletics (scroll down to page 63). Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  6. ↑ 1975–76 Men's Basketball Varsity Roster – Illinois Wesleyan University Athletics. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  7. ↑ 1976–77 Men's Basketball Varsity Roster – Illinois Wesleyan University Athletics. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  8. ↑ Jim Molinari (profile) – Boston College Athletics. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Bradley Athletics: Men's Basketball Head Coach - Jim Molinari". Archived from the original on 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  10. ↑ Strom, Rich. "Molinari Is Establishing Base at NIU," Chicago Tribune, Thursday, October 26, 1989. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Molinari accepts Bradley post," United Press International (UPI), Friday, April 12, 1991. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Bradley Fires Molinari As Coach," The Associated Press (AP), Tuesday, March 5, 2002. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Jim Les new Bradley cage coach," United Press International (UPI), Sunday, April 7, 2002. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
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