Congratulations to Assistant Coach DiBernardo on Birth of Twins

Graham and Ruby Dibernardo

MIT Assistant Coach Rob DiBernardo and his wife, Leigh, welcomed two new members to their family and the MIT Basketball Family, Graham and Ruby. The twins were born last weekend with Graham coming in at 7lbs. 2oz. and sister Ruby 5lbs. 7oz.

"My wife, Leigh, and I are absolutely thrilled. This is the best moment of my life," proclaimed the 4th-year coach. 

When asked about the twins' future basketball careers, Coach DiBernardo said "training has already started! We have two future MIT point guards on our hands."

Coach Rob DiBernardo prepares the players in Salem, VA at the Final Four (photo: Tom Gearty)

Coach DiBernardo joined the MIT staff with a wealth of basketball experience at the high school ranks and is currently finishing up his PhD in Sports Psychology. His wife, Leigh, is the creator and owner of Curly Girl Design, a unique gift company with stores all over the United States and overseas. 

MITHoops.NET wishes the DiBernardos all the best to their family. 

Head Coach Larry Anderson Earns National Man of the Year Award

Head Coach Larry Anderson has produced 92 wins over the last four seasons (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Head Coach Larry Anderson, coming off the best season in MIT history with a 29-2 record and trip to the Final Four, has earned the Man of the Year award presented by CollegeInsider.com. The award was presented to Anderson in New Orleans, the site of this year's Division I Final Four. Anderson, in his 17th season, was also a finalist for the National Coach of the Year after earning both Conference Coach of the Year and Northeast Region Coach of the Year accolades.

Read more here: http://mitathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/2011-12/releases/201204059xdyqd

MIT Assistant Coach Bill Johnson Travels to Malaysia with Australian Team

2nd-year Assistant Coach Bill Johnson '10 is currently participating in the Sultan Azlan Shah International Basketball Tournament in Malaysia with a semi-professional team from Australia, the Gold Coast Authentic All-Stars. The 6'8" swingman is starting for the club, and scored 12 points in 16 minutes in their opening round win over the Singapore National "B" Team.

Johnson, a 1,000-point scorer and member of the memorable '08-'09 MIT squad, recently had professional stints in Costa Rica and Iceland. He is pursuing a similar endeavor in Australia during MIT's offseason. 

You can follow Johnson and his adventures on his blog: www.BOBNation.com

Bill Johnson '10 and Jimmy Bartolotta '09 suited up with each other recently in Iceland's professional league

MIT Assistant Coach Paul Grant Helps Out Alma Mater Wisconsin

Fifth-year assistant coach Paul Grant, who was recently featured here (http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/from-nba-to-iceland-0316.html) along with MIT's other assistants, helped out his alma mater, Division I Wisconsin Badgers, in their recent run to the Sweet 16:



More on Coach Grant here ("Big Addition" section):  http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120321/WIS020102/120321136/UW-basketball-notes-Additional-scorers-emerge-tournament?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CGPG-Sports%7Cp

Three Land Spot on All-Conference 1st Team; Anderson Coach of the Year

Juniors Noel Hollingsworth, Will Tashman, and Mitchell Kates have all been named to this year's NEWMAC All-Conference 1st Team. This is the first time in NEWMAC history that three players of the same school earned All-Conference 1st Team honors.

Head Coach Larry Anderson was awarded Coach of the Year once again, his third honor in seven years.

6'9" Noel Hollingsworth was a Preseason All-American selection this year, and will enroll in graduate school at MIT  next year to use his remaining year of eligibility (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Junior Mitchell Kates earns his third straight All-Conference award after leading MIT to its best season ever (Pic: Tom Gearty)

6'8" Will Tashman, the league leader in rebounds, earns his second straight 1st Team All-Conference honor (Pic: Tom Gearty)

Head Coach Larry Anderson has solidified himself as one of the country's most successful coaches in recent history (Pic: Tom Gearty)

MIT Develops Technology for NBA Dunk Contest

The MIT Media Lab recently teamed up with the NBA and Turner Sports to develop a device that measures the force of a dunk. This technology, the Slam Net Force, was used in the NBA Dunk Contest over the weekend.

Read more here: http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/02/new-net-measures-the-force-of-monster-dunks/

(the following video was featured on NBA.com and has already accrued almost 150,000 views)

MIT Assistant Bill Johnson Featured on MIT Alumni Website

Former MIT standout and current assistant coach Willard "Bill" Johnson sat down with the MIT Alumni Association to talk about his pro hoops career and his return to the Engineers' staff:

http://alum.mit.edu/pages/sliceofmit/2012/01/20/diy-iap-mit-basketball-doubleheader-saturday-january-21/

Head Coach Anderson on Hoopsville Tonight

Head Coach Larry Anderson, in his 17th season at MIT, will be interviewed on D3Hoops.com's Hoopsville radio broadcast tonight at 7:20PM EST.

Head Coach Larry Anderson's promotion of integrity and leadership both on and off the court has proved successful (Pic: Dawn Anderson)

Anderson, who has led the #3 Engineers to three consecutive championships and three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, currently boasts a record of 79-23 (.775) over the last four seasons.

Anderson being interviewed by ESPN's Sports Center (Pic: ESPN)

Listen to Anderson and the broadcast here: http://d3hoops.com/hoopsville/index

Bill Johnson signs with Professional Club in Costa Rica

From the official MIT Basketball Website

Former MIT men's basketball player and current assistant coach, Bill Johnson, recently signed a contract to play with ARBA-San Ramon, of the Costa Rican professional league, Liga Superior de Baloncesto. Johnson was also member of the Class of 2005 at Kamiak High School in Mukilteo, Wash., where he was a standout on the school's basketball team.

Johnson '10 joined the coaching staff at MIT following one of the most successful careers in Institute history. The two-time captain, who was part of three 20-win seasons, finished his career as the all-time wins leader in MIT history, the 23rd player to reach the 1,000-point milestone, and finished in the top 10 all-time in three-point percentage, free throw percentage, and blocked shots. Johnson was two-time conference Player of the Week, a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) All-Conference selection, and earned a spot in the NEBCA Division III All-Star Game in 2010. His 40 points versus Clark University on February 18, 2009 sits behind Jimmy Bartolotta '09 and David Koch '62 as the 3rd highest point total in a game in Institute history.

During Johnson's first season on the bench, the Cardinal and Gray recorded a third-straight 20-win season and captured its second NEWMAC title in three years. The Engineers advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament for the third year in a row, defeating Ithaca College in the first round and coming just one game short of the National Sweet 16.

Johnson graduated MIT with a degree in Management Science with a concentration in Finance, a degree in Political Science with a concentration in International Studies, as well as minors in Economics and Theater.

At Kamiak, Johnson was a team captain for the 2004-2005 Knights, along with All-WESCO selection Sean Hermes and former Montana State quarterback Mark Iddins, while helping lead the Mukilteo school to its first and only WESCO 4A Conference Championship and first State Playoff appearance in the school's history.

Johnson takes his talents to San Ramon, COSTA RICA, where he will help ARBA-San Ramon try to capture its first LBS Championship in team history. He also will be working with a non-profit organization, "Beyond Study Abroad," which connects college athletes with disadvantaged communities in the region.

More Than a Game: Anderson Family Faces Off

Image Courtesy of Dawn Anderson
This past Tuesday night, MIT stormed past UMass-Boston in seemingly just a regular non-conference match-up. However, for Coach Anderson and his family, the night was anything but ordinary. Stephanie Keeler of the MIT Office of the Dean for Student Life writes more in this article from the MIT News office:

The Anderson family takes the court: Father and son square off in MIT-UMass basketball game

MIT Basketball Announces Additions to Coaching Staff

In addition to many new faces on the team this year, the Engineers are also welcoming two new assistant coaches to the program.

Rob DiBernardo joins the Engineers for his first year at the collegiate level. Prior to MIT, DiBernardo spent the last 12 years coaching at The Cambridge School and Central Catholic High School (MA). He brings a wealth of experience working with young players and a tremendous track record of succes with him. For a full bio on Coach DiBernardo, visit the official MIT athletics site here.

In addition to DiBernardo, MIT welcomes back Bill Johnson for his sixth year with the program, overall, and his first year as a coach. Bill returned for his final year of eligibility last season, after missing a year due to injury, and was rewarded by being just the 23rd player in MIT history to eclipse the 1000 career point plateau. Bill also places highly on many other individual charts in the MIT Basketball Record Book, including having the 3rd highest single game scoring performance in school history (40 points). However, Coach Johnson's is most proud of being the only MIT basketball player to ever be a part of three 20 win seasons (2005-06, 2008-09, and 2009-10), with all three of those seasons either tying or breaking the MIT single-season win mark. For a full bio on Coach Johnson vist the official MIT athletics site here. In addition to coaching with the MIT basketball staff, Coach Johnson works at a local start-up company.

Former MIT Assistant Gunnar Hagstrom Signs with Cyprus Team

Gunnar Hagstrom, who helped the Engineers capture their first NEWMAC regular season and tournament championships, as well as back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure as assistant coach, has signed with the Lefkosia Devils in the North Cyprus Professional League. Lefkosia (also known as Nicosia) is the capital and largest city on the island of Cyprus, with a population of over 313,000. Hagstrom will be playing point guard for the Devils.

Interview with Former MIT Assistant Basketball Coach Gunnar Hagstrom

In his recent trip back to Boston, former MIT assistant basketball coach Gunnar Hagstrom took time out of his busy schedule to talk about what he has been up to since leaving the MIT basketball program prior to last season. In this clip, Gunnar talks about his experiences living abroad and his plans for next year. While abroad, Gunnar has also picked up some Greek and Turkish, and he drops some lines in this interview (see translation guide below).



Turkish translation guide:
tamam = okay
günaydın = good morning
teşekkürler = thanks
çok sağol = thank you very much

Video Flashback 2009: Coach Larry Anderson Interviewed by ESPN U

For this flashback we travel back about a year, as MIT had just won its first ever NEWMAC conference tourney and clinched the automatic bid to make its first ever appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament. Not only was this big news on the Division III landscape, but ESPN picked up the story on several fronts, writing a column on Page 2 and inviting Coach Anderson to be interviewed on ESPN U. Below is the recording of that interview, which aired in early March 2009.