MAAC Coaching Spotlight – Siena’s Carmen Maciariello
Edison, N.J. (April 28, 2020) – Siena Men’s Basketball Head Coach Carmen Maciariello sat down with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) to provide insights on his life, the canceled 2020 Hercules Tires MAAC Basketball Championships, and the Siena program. Maciariello completed his first season at the helm of the Saints program, guiding the team to its first regular season title since 2009-10.
Q: If you had to describe your first season as head coach of Siena in one word, what word would that word be and why?
A: Exciting. Just the fact that I had my first opportunity as a head coach at my alma mater with so many great families, friends and the college all behind us and supporting us. Being able to go undefeated at home and win a regular season title, with 20 wins this year, it wouldn't be possible without the players, my staff, and everybody in the community. Just very exciting.
Q: What was your initial reaction when you were appointed interim head coach? What was that process like? What was your reaction when the interim tag was taken off?
A: Brother Ed Coughlin, rest in peace, just had shoulder surgery, so he was on some medication. They had to wait for him to sign off on some papers, so that's why the interim tag was put on. I had members from the board of trustees reach out and let me know that I was the guy, so for that reason I never really had any fear or anything. It wasn’t like they appointed me to just hold the fort down as they prepared a national search. It was great though; it was a very exciting time. I was getting excited about the press conference and different things I had to do. I was just making sure all of our players were in the right frame of mind because everything happened so quickly. I was the guy that had to talk to the team and tell them about Coach Christian taking another job. You're just always trying to be ready for that moment, when you get an opportunity, and then it just happens. You try to do the right thing and it just kind of takes care of itself.
Q: Being a Siena graduate, what kind of meaning does it hold being at the helm of this program?
A: It's a tremendous honor. So many great players and coaches have come before me, I want to make sure we are doing the best job possible and living up to that standard that was created and has been there in the past. Making sure our guys are there to represent our College and our program to the best of their abilities, because it's not always going to be about them. It's going to be about the guys that wore that jersey before them, and it will be about those who will wear that jersey after them. They have a chance to leave a mark, even if it's for a short period of time, being only four years. Making sure they're living their best life every single day and being great in all that they can do.
Q: What’s the most challenging aspect of moving from one of your previously held positions to now being a head coach?
A: Just, you know, the amount of decisions you have to make while also having the big picture in mind at all times. Making sure everyone is staying accountable to themselves and the greater good of the program. Guys have to know what your standards are and what you expect on a daily basis, and once they do, things just fall in line. But that's a tiresome and tedious process of making sure everyone is doing things the right way and making sure there aren't any shortcuts being taken. Whether it be guys on the court, in the classroom, in the weight room, or even with the staff with how I want things done and how I want the office run. You're in charge of the ship instead of just having ideas, being the head decision-maker and having the ultimate say.
Q: What are some of your favorite memories from your time as a player?
A: One would be our first home game of my senior year for Coach [Louis] Orr. We played Radford, we won in overtime and I played double-digit minutes and really impacted the game. Just across the board with rebounds, assists, and points. I believe they ended up being the Big South Champions that year, so it was pretty cool. For me it was just the fact Coach Orr believed in me, because I was a guy that turned down a scholarship at New Hampshire. I left after three years, basically wanting to prove to people that I could play at Siena. I was a walk-on but I played the sixth man role. I'd say that first game, because I think it silenced all the critics and showed them that, hey, this guy came in to play, and when it came to crunch time and overtime, he really had a strong impact. I'd say that game is one of my favorite memories. We also beat Rice and one of my good friends Erik Cooper was on that team, and Rice was really good that year. We played Rollie Massimino and Cleveland State, so it shows you how small a world the basketball community is. All of those games were wins.
Q: In your first season as head coach, Siena went undefeated at the Times Union Center. What made home court so advantageous?
A: I thought the fans loved the energy and the excitement around the program and our style of play, coming from a team that was the second slowest in the country to a team that was going to try to get up and down a little more. Fans enjoyed that. For me, being a local guy and an alum, the support that they gave our staff and our program was unbelievable. Being able to have over 6,200 fans every game was key, and that's what makes Siena Basketball so special - the fan support and the notoriety. Obviously, there's pressure, but that pressure is a privilege. That's a great thing and our guys really cherish that.
Q: Jalen Pickett is pretty good…
A: Jalen did a great job understanding what we wanted to do and how we wanted to change our style of play. I think once he realized that there was no pressure, it was just all outside influence that was weighing him down a little bit in the early part of the season, he just started to really enjoy playing again and realized he had teammates that all cared about him. They wanted to do this together. He really stepped up to the plate and he proved that he was the MAAC Player of the Year. We went on a nice stretch to win the league championship at the end when we had so many people talking about conference race scenarios and seeds in the MAAC Championship. I think our guys, and Jalen, did a good job of really focusing on the present with what we could control. It was just about getting better each day. If we took care of our business, none of those other scenarios really mattered, we would be MAAC Champions. I think that's a great thing that Jalen and the guys did, they really locked into that.
Q: What impact did Elijah Burns have on the team?
A: Huge. Huge. To have a guy that played in the ACC, who was local and understood what it meant to be a Siena Basketball player because he grew up around it, was huge for us. He wanted to come back and show what he could do and how he could play. But it was the stuff he did off the court, taking freshmen and underclassmen under his wing and building relationships with the guys. The good thing was that he was around the program last year practicing with us, so he was able to become acclimated to school. But just his leadership and character. He epitomizes what we look for in a Siena College basketball player.
Q: What are some team-building activities that you and your team partake in?
A: We would do meals at the Ronald McDonald House, we went to different elementary schools, we did backpack giveaways for students that needed extra resources. We tried to do as many things like that as a team, creating those building blocks where it would be about the greater good and giving back and not worrying about ourselves. I would say those types of things. We also did some meals and some BBQs. We had a lot of different meetings where we would talk about certain quotes or videos that we watched. We talked about work ethic and selflessness.
Q: What characteristics do you look for in a student-athlete?
A: You have to be a good person, first and foremost. You have to have a work ethic. You have to have a desire to be the best you can be every day. I always look for people that always view things half full rather than half empty, so I want those people that are really just thankful for the opportunity and want to work hard every single day at what they do. For me, it's not always going to be about talent. It's going to be about fit. It's going to be about always understanding what the team needs, and getting the team what that is before you worry about yourself. Ego-less players that are driven and are winners. I love recruiting guys that have won at their previous levels.
Q: What were your thoughts on the MAAC’s first year in Atlantic City?
A: I thought it was very nice. The court and the arena both looked great. Boardwalk Hall did a nice job with the signage. Also, it's always nice when you can walk out of your hotel and see the ocean and the sand. Obviously, we didn't get to enjoy too much of it. We got down there for the first round games just to watch and we had a practice off site. But I think the venue is going to be good for the MAAC. It's a great venue, Rich [Ensor] and everybody involved have done a great job bringing that all together
Q: What were your initial thoughts when the championships were canceled?
A: I was just hoping that everyone was going to remain safe and there were no problems with cheerleaders, fans, students, anyone in transit and things like that. I hoped we could keep everybody safe. I thought we were playing well at the time, we won 10-straight and just beat a good Manhattan team and were getting prepared to play either Quinnipiac or Monmouth. But when it's all said and done, we know it's about what's best for the student-athletes. I thought it was a good decision, but just obviously disappointed that it had to end that way. But there's always something bigger. College athletics, in the grand scheme of things, it's just a small piece. But overall, disappointed. We found that we were going to be a good team going to the NCAA Tournament if it stayed the course, but then about 40 minutes after the MAAC canceled we found out the NCAA Tournament was also canceled. The good thing we took from it though was our regular season championship. It’s something that will never be able to be taken away from us. We didn't really talk about the tournament championship, we just talked about what we could control and winning that MAAC regular season title.
Q: How was this news broken to student-athletes, and what was their reaction?
A: We talked about it back at the hotel, we were on the bus coming back from shoot around. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I talked to them in our locker room and just said hey, you guys are going to go home and be safe and I'll keep in touch. It's one of those things where you're not really worried about the games, you just want to make sure your team is safe. You feel bad for some of the seniors, but Elijah [Burns] has been to the NCAA Tournament, Matt Hein transferred from Illinois State. But obviously Danny Cohen, our manager, and Ben Diamond and Sammy Friday, I wanted it for those guys because we were so close to achieving one of our goals. But at the end of the day, it puts everything in perspective. We talked about how winning the regular season couldn't be taken from us and we had earned that banner. We're excited to be able to take the court next year with already having built the foundation here at Siena.
Q: How do you keep in touch with student-athletes?
A: We meet via Zoom. I have staff meetings three times a week and FaceTime, text, call, every sort of medium you can think of. We do it just to make sure the guys are doing what they're supposed to do. With remote learning, it's a challenging time, because guys will have more distractions and you can't have them meet with you face-to-face. You can meet with them face-to-face over the computer screen, but that's not the same. Also, you don't know if people have different resources to eat and train. You aren’t sure how many guys have the best internet capacity and access to computers. If they’re able to go to grocery store that's safe, or having somebody that can help them make food. They are all variables. But just making sure our guys are doing what they need and making sure their families are okay. There can definitely be layoffs from work and people furloughed, and you just want to make sure everybody's in the right mental space and realizing we will get through this and we're here when you need us. We'll always be here.
Q: What kind of questions have student-athletes been asking you?
A: Not many questions actually. There were some questions with recruiting kids, wanting to know when they can visit or when summer school is going to start, things like that. Our guys have been pretty good. They're just focused on here and now with finishing their spring semester. so that's all we've been really focusing on.
Q: How do you keep busy during the pandemic?
A: There's always work to be done. We're expecting our second child May 1, so my wife and I are very excited. I'll be around to spend time with that newborn, and we have a three-year-old on top of that. But I’m always just trying to put together different manuals and different processes with how we do things. Finding the best ways to do things and being as efficient as possible. Working on my philosophy for the program and different aspects of it, whether it be from our academic meetings, to our recruiting meetings, to our offensive and defensive executions. There's always work to be done and film to be watched. You're also trying to watch as much film on recruits as you can, so not much really changes for coaches besides not going to the office and seeing and working out with our guys. We're still doing everything from A to Z - scheduling, academic progress, recruiting, so nothing changes on my end. Always things to be done though.
Q: What is the first thing you are going to do when allowed back on campus?
A: I’m going to make sure everybody's alright. You know, stopping by and checking in on different people in the office, walking on campus to see everybody and say hello. Just being around the people that make Siena so special. We have so many people that care about one another, it’s what makes Siena so great.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 39
th year of competition during the 2019-20 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.