Yosinoff Profiled with Q&A Feature in the Basketball Bugle Blog

Andy Yosinoff enters his 44th season as Head Coach of the Women's' Basketball Team at Emmanuel College and is the winningest Head Coach in NCAA DIII women's basketball history with 853 victories.

During the 2019–20 season, Coach Yosinoff added to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball record for coaching victories when he tallied his 850th career win becoming just the 12th NCAA women's basketball coach to reach the milestone. He's one of six active WBB coaches with 850 wins and the first D-III women's coach to hit the mark. Yosinoff and the Saints went on to claim the 2020 GNAC Championship with a 67–50 win over Saint Joseph's College (ME) to advance to the programs 20th NCAA tournament under Coach Yosinoffs guidance.

In the 1970s, under Coach Yosinoff, Emmanuel became the first women's college basketball team to be ranked nationally as well as in the top 5 in New England. In the 2000–2001 season, Yosinoff led the Emmanuel Saints to its first trip to the NCAA Final Four — making him the first coach in Boston to make the basketball Final Four, in any category of men or women's Division I, II or III. Under Coach Yosinoff's direction, the team posted a school record 28–4 season, became GNAC regular season and tournament champions, NCAA Northeast/East Sectional Champions, NCAA Northeast/East Regional Champions, and NCAA Final Four Semi-Finalists. The Saints were also voted ECAC Division III Team of the Year. Coach Yosinoff's peers named him GNAC 2000–2001 Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.

Since 2000, Coach Yosinoff's teams have compiled of 463 wins, averaging over 23 wins a year, during the stretch while putting together a streak of 14 consecutive 20+ win seasons from 1999 to 2013. In October of 2003, Coach Yosinoff was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in Kingston, Rhode Island. Coach Yosinoff was among the second class of Hall of Fame inductees. In 2005, Andy was selected to be the USA Maccabiah Open Head Women's Basketball Coach. He coached the USA National Team to its first-ever gold medal in the 2005 Maccabiah Games in Israel. Yosinoff also ranks 2nd among NCAA Division III coaches in all-time victories. In 2010, Yosinoff was a part of the inaugural class of inductees to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference's Hall of Fame. Following the 2010–11 season, Yosinoff was selected as the Red Auerbach National Coach of the Year, presented by the Jewish Coaches Association.

A 1970 graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Andy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education; he also earned his Masters degree in physical education from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. As a senior, Andy held the #1 singles position on the men's varsity tennis team and won the Yankee Conference Tennis Championship. He was inducted into the URI Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2013. He is also a member of the United States Professional Tennis Association.

Q & A with Andy:
1) How did you end up at Emmanuel College?
A: I saw an advertisement for the head tennis coaching job and I came over for an interview with the part time AD in 1978. After she told me the hours, I told her that I couldn't take the job due to my full-time teaching position in Boston public schools. Then I asked if there was a basketball coach. She said no and I said, well now you do. And that's how it all started.

2) Can you talk about your first season that happened during the Blizzard of 78'?
A: I had only five players. Our old gym had wooden backboards, no scoreboard and the court was only 84 feet long. Luckily, half of the games were cancelled because of the storm and we ended up 4–6. After the first year, I realized to turn the program around, I needed to start recruiting. So, with my background in the Boston public schools, I started recruiting locally in the city for potential players.

3) When did you feel like Emmanuel had the potential to become a regional powerhouse?
A: In the early 80's, we started to turn the corner with better players and we built a lot more depth carrying a roster of 13–15 players. I started recruiting outside of Massachusetts and had some luck recruiting players as far as New York City.

4) Who were some influential players in the beginning that helped shape the program?
A: In my first team I had Jody Johnson, who was a great set shooter, and also Martha Ryan who transferred here from Northeastern University. Then I would say, my first real impact player was Noreen Kennedy who transferred from a Division I JUCO program in Texas. She was a 5'11'' scoring forward.

5) Your 84–85 team won the MAIAW Championship and the next year the NCAA began sponsoring Women's Basketball. Can you talk about that transition and how your program made the jump?
A: The rise of our program really started with that MAIAW championship and team. It was led by two powerful inside players, Mary Kamb from Quincy, MA, and Melody Livramento from New Bedford, MA. Both were 6'0'' tall. We became known in the New England region as a team to be reckoned with. Then the following year (85–86) we had the best recruiting class in the history of our program, including Lesa Dennis who was a 6'4 center and became a First Team Kodak All-American. Also, Selina Mathews from the Bronx, NY, Tiffany Nicholson from East Orange, NJ, Sheree McClain from Worcester, MA and Kathleen Merritt from Cathedral HS in Boston, MA. That was the start of our intense rivalry with Salem State University which produced many great games over the next 20+ years.

6) Can you talk about some of the great rivalries that you had over the years?
A: Some of the best rivalries in the early days we've had include, Salem State, Eastern CT, Southern Maine, and Colby. Most recently, it has been Amherst, Bowdoin, Saint Joseph's (ME), and Suffolk University.

7) You're currently at 853 career victories, the most all-time for any NCAA Division III Women's Head Coach. Can you recall a few of the greatest wins of your career?
A: In 1995, we faced Clark University in the NCAA tournament. We were down by 20 points at halftime and we came back to win 87–81. The next one, which may be the best win in program history, was when we played NYU in the national quarterfinals in 2001. NYU was #1 in the country and we beat them, on their home court in overtime to go to the Final Four. Then, two years ago (2019) in the GNAC Finals, we beat undefeated Saint Joseph's (ME) who were 27–0 at the time, 65–64, to end their undefeated season and go on to the NCAA tournament. And then this past season, we beat Amherst College when they were ranked #1 in the country on their home court, 60–55, for our first-ever win over Amherst.

8) One trademark of your program over the past 20 years is an annual trip to play. How did this start and why is it so important to your program's success?
A: It started because from a recruiting standpoint, this would give us an added incentive for recruiting student-athletes to be able to see different parts of the country and world. To be able to, over the years, bring our teams all over the world including China, Ireland, London and numerous times to California and Florida has turned out to be a great team bonding experience for all of our players and coaches.

9) You've mentioned recruiting a few times already. What is your recruiting philosophy and why have you had such great success recruiting at Emmanuel?
A: I've developed an enormous network of coaches which has enabled me to make up our rosters with players from all over the country and world. I've always looked for players who are athletic and would succeed in our up-tempo style at both ends of the court. I've preached to the parents of all my former players on the tradition of a family-like atmosphere which I've developed over all these years. What has made our program unique, I believe, is the camaraderie that has prevailed over all these years of former players coming back to support us. The alumni network that we've created believes in Emmanuel Women's Basketball and values the experience they had as Saints.

10) Has your recruiting approached changed over the years?
A: From my early years, diversity has been prevalent in all my extensive recruiting efforts. I am most proud that all my teams over 44 years have always been very diverse. We have given many inner-city student-athletes the ability to come to Emmanuel and graduate to go on and have very successful careers and families. I am so proud that our teams have been one of the most diverse programs in Division III basketball year after year.

11) As you embark on year 44, how do you stay energized and get the team excited for another season?
A: Even though I've been at Emmanuel for a long time, I am so lucky to have the same type of energy and motivation that I had when I first started and throughout my coaching career. I love Emmanuel and what it stands for, which is a small family orientated college where I know my players will be taken care of on and off the court. My competitive fire still burns like I was a young guy. My health is great and I still love to win.

12) You've accomplished so much over your career that we know there must have been some influential people to help along the way. Who impacted your coaching journey and influenced the coach you are today?
A: I must start with my father, Louis, who dedicated his life to helping inner-city children in the Providence, RI public schools. From a young age, he instilled in me how hard work and giving your all in whatever you do will bring success in your life. My father would come to every one of my tennis matches, baseball and basketball games, even though he was working two jobs during my childhood. He showed me how important loyalty and family are, two things I've shaped my program around. In my years at Emmanuel, Papa Louis as he was called by all my players, came to almost every home game and travelled with the team on trips. My players loved him, probably more than they loved me. I was so happy that he was able to be here for the naming of the court event in my honor before he passed away at age 99.

I would say my other two mentors were my college tennis coach, Ted Norris, at University of Rhode Island and Jim Nelson, the longtime Athletic Director at Suffolk University. I have often contacted them whenever I needed advice in good times and bad. Finally, I must mention my longtime assistant, Arthur Howell, who has been my top assistant coach for nearly 30 years. He's been a big part of all our success.

Written by Creative Director of the Basketball Bugle, Maureen Baron.
Original Blog Link: https://basketballbugle.medium.com/andrew-yosinoff-792930713ac8