April 13, 2005
Head men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery announced the hiring of Mitch Buonaguro, Craig Carter and Adam Chaskin today, completing his assistant coaching staff at Siena. All three worked under McCaffery at UNC-Greensboro, Carter served as director of basketball operations at UMass last year.
"I have tremendous respect for all three men, and am thrilled to have them on board at Siena," McCaffery said. "Each has great basketball knowledge and a tremendous work ethic. Most important, they have the best interest of the student-athlete in mind, and have demonstrated the ability to relate to young men at a variety of programs."
Buonaguro is widely regarded as one of the more experienced and respected assistant coaches in the country. He has over 25 years of Division I coaching experience as both an assistant and head coach after spending the last two seasons at Greensboro under McCaffery.
Buonaguro came to UNCG prior to last season after seven seasons as an assistant coach under legendary head coach Rollie Massimino at Cleveland State. Prior to his seven-year stint at Cleveland State, Buonaguro served as an assistant coach under Tony Barone at Texas A&M from 1991-96. The 1993-94 squad went 19-11 and advanced to the National Invitational Tournament.
Buonaguro also served as the head coach at MAAC member Fairfield University from 1985-91. In 1985-86, his first season, he led the Stags to a 24-7 record and the first of two consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference titles, which garnered NCAA Tournament bids. Subsequently, he was named National Rookie Coach of the Year by Basketball Times and District I Coach of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association and the NABC.
From 1977-85 Buonaguro was an assistant under Coach Massimino at Villanova. During their eight years together at Villanova, the Wildcats produced a 173-79 mark and earned seven NCAA Tournament bids. Four of those NCAA trips led to Elite Eight appearances, including the 1985 tournament run, which culminated with the Wildcats' famous win over John Thompson, Patrick Ewing and Georgetown in the NCAA title game, and a National Championship.
Buonaguro began his coaching career in 1975 when he was named an assistant at his alma mater Boston College. Buonaguro was a member of the Eagle basketball team for four seasons.
Buonaguro ranks among a select group of individuals who have both played and coached in the NCAA Division I Tournament. He scored four points, while hitting both field goal attempts, for Boston College in the 1975 NCAA Tournament as the Eagles topped Southern Conference member Furman in the first round. The Eagles eventually lost to Kansas State in the regional semifinals and then to North Carolina in the regional third-place game.
He graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in history in 1975 and in 1977 he received a master's degree in secondary education, both from Boston College.Buonaguro and his wife Suzin reside in Greensboro. His son Michael is a senior at Malvern Prep in Malvern, Pa.
"Mitch is my right hand man," McCaffery said. "I rely on his experience and teachings heavily on a daily basis and he will be a major asset to the Siena program." Carter spent last year as the director of basketball operations at UMass where he was heavily involved in the program, assisted in all aspects of team travel, helped in setting the team schedule and workout regiments and aiding the coaching staff during practices and game sessions. Prior to his time at UMass, Carter spent a year working as director of basketball operations under McCaffery at Greensboro in 2003-2004, where he was responsible for a wide array of tasks associated with the upkeep of the program. Carter was an assistant coach at Elizabeth City State in North Carolina for two seasons (2001-03). He served as an assistant coach at the famed Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., from 1999-2001. He doubled as an elementary school teacher while coaching at Lincoln. Prior to his coaching career, Carter worked in the corporate world in various roles ranging from financial analyst to foreign exchange analyst to trading support specialist with some of the nation's top firms. He worked at General Electric, Global Consumer Finance and Chase Manhattan Bank. Carter was a standout player at Rutgers from 1987-1991. As a team captain, he helped the Scarlet Knights to two NCAA Tournament berths in 1989 and 1991 as well as an NIT bid in 1990. He was also named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Tournament Team in 1989. He earned his bachelor of arts in English from Rutgers in 1992.
"Craig is a dedicated individual with a great passion for the game and the players," McCaffery said. "We will rely on him heavily with all aspects of our program."
Chaskin just finished his third season at UNC Greensboro as an assistant coach. He worked with McCaffery and UNCG during the 2002-03 season on a volunteer basis, and was promoted to a paid position prior to the 2003-2004 campaign.
Prior to arriving at UNCG, the Boxboro, Mass., native spent three seasons at North Carolina A&T, and two as an assistant coach at Elon College, where he assisted the Phoenix in their successful transition to NCAA Division I.
"I had the opportunity to have Adam be a part of our program in 2002-03 and through that, I saw his tremendous work ethic and was able to gauge his knowledge of basketball," McCaffery said. "He has a brilliant basketball mind who has been a great addition to my staff."
Previously, Chaskin coached at Herndon High School in Herndon, VA, where in five years, his teams won three area titles, sending numerous players on to the college ranks.
In addition, he has been selected to the staff of various United States All-Star teams that have competed in Argentina, Belgium, France and Israel, amongst other nations.
Chaskin graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Industrial and Operations Engineering in 1992. He then went on to earn a Master's Degree from Hamilton University in 1999.
Chaskin and his wife Regina have two sons, Grant, 9, and Noah, 6.
