I mentioned this as a rumor late last week. It’s now official…
Lesley University Athletics Director Jen Benway has announced the hiring of Chris Giordano as the new Head Coach of Men’s Basketball. Giordano comes to Cambridge after serving as the Associate Head Coach at Rivier University in Nashua, N.H. for the past three years.
"Chris has shown a tremendous work ethic and a passion for basketball that few exceed," said Benway. "We believe that he will challenge our student-athletes and help them reach success on the court, in the classroom, and in the Lesley community. He is an experienced educator, effective communicator, and has an exciting personality to be around and we are thrilled to add him to our staff."
"I am extremely excited to be part of the Lesley community and look forward to representing the University as the new Men’s Basketball Head Coach," said Giordano. "I am incredibly blessed and fortunate to be part of such a great university in an incredible location. I will be working my hardest with our players to ensure success on and off the court and help them develop into mature, responsible young men who represent Lesley to be best of their ability."
Giordano helped the Raiders gain admittance to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament in each of the past two seasons while implementing new offensive and defensive schemes. During the 2012-2013 season, Rivier was the stingiest defense in the GNAC and were ranked 34th in the country, allowing just 61.4 points per game.
Giordano was also the recruiting coordinator for a roster that featured players from throughout the New England region and the country while he also served as the Academic Liaison for the team, which raised its cumulative GPA in each of his three seasons.
A Rivier University alumnus who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a Communications Minor, Giordano played for four years on the men’s basketball team. During his time as a student-athlete, the Raiders appeared in the GNAC Tournament four times and he helped lead the program to their first ever GNAC Championship and NCAA Tournament Appearance in 2006-2007. Giordano was a GNAC All-Tournament selection in 2007, a two-time Unsung Hero Award recipient, and named the Jim Domoracki Award Winner in 2007.
Prior to joining the Rivier coaching staff, the Medford, Mass. native served as the varsity assistant coach at Nashua North High School for three years. Additionally, Chris serves as a head coach for the 17U team with The Middlesex Magic AAU program.
Giordano also works as a teacher in Lowell Public School System where he teaches English as a Second Language.
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