Athletics
Men's Basketball
| Tom O'Shea | |
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Basketball (M) - Head Coach
Vermont '86 13th season toshea@smcvt.edu 802.654.2675 |
The winningest coach in the storied history of the Saint Michael's College men's basketball program, Tom O'Shea enters his 13th season as head coach of the Purple Knights in 2009-10.
O'Shea, who has coached more games than anyone else in program history, surpassed the legendary George "Doc" Jacobs for most wins in program history on November 19, 2008. He notched his 160th victory as Saint Michael's head coach in an 81-73 home victory versus Southern Connecticut State University at the Ross Sports Center.
Since taking the reins of the program on March 24, 1997, O'Shea has guided the Purple Knights to a 167-170 record, two NCAA Tournament appearances, an ECAC Championship, two Northeast-10 titles, and the first three-straight 20-win seasons in the history of the program. O'Shea has also coached an NE-10 Player of the Year, All-American and Saint Michael's Athletics Hall of Famer (Todd Roberts), an NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year (Brian Miles), two NE-10 Freshmen of the Year (Jared Chandler and Mike Keating).
O'Shea led Saint Michael's in undoubtedly one of the best seasons in the program's history in 2000-01. O'Shea guided a heavily talented Purple Knights squad to a school-record 27-4 mark, the Northeast-10 Conference Regular Season and Tournament titles, and the NCAA Division II "Sweet 16" Tournament, where they fell to the only undefeated team in the country, Adelphi University.
In 1999-00, his team posted a 20-9 record and won the ECAC Division II Championship. The Purple Knights finished one game out of first place in the Northeast-10 Conference.
O'Shea guided the Purple Knights to a then-school record 25 wins and an appearance in the NCAA Regional Semifinals in 1998-99. He was named NE-10 Coach of the Year, and the New England Coach of the Year by the New England College Basketball Coaches Association. O'Shea led the Purple Knights to a 16-13 record and an ECAC Tournament appearance in his first season. His two-year record of 41-22 is the best record for any SMC mentor in his first two seasons as men's basketball coach.
O'Shea served as an assistant to Tom Crowley at Saint Michael's for seven seasons before being named to the head coaching position. As an assistant, he was responsible for all aspects of the program, including on-floor coaching, recruiting and scouting opponents.
"I have found Tom O'Shea to be a true educator who brings desirable balance to the program," stated former President Marc A. vanderHeyden during the 1997 press conference announcing O'Shea's appointment. "Tom has been responsible for recruiting scholar-athletes for the team already, and clearly his good judgement in these matters is validated by a perfect record of graduation for our men's basketball team."
O'Shea came to Saint Michael's in 1989 after spending one season as an assistant under Bob Tipson at neighboring Champlain College, formerly a junior college national power.
He is a 1986 graduate of the University of Vermont and earned his master's degree in education from his alma mater in 1990. While at Vermont, he played under both Bill Whitmore and former long-time Catamount head coach Tom Brennan. He also spent one season as a graduate assistant under Brennan.
A hard-working guard, he was awarded the Sunderland Award as Vermont's outstanding senior-athlete, and was also honored as the first recipient of the Tom O'Shea Award, which is given annually to a Vermont player who exhibits the strongest commitment and dedication to the Catamount program.
O'Shea's Year-by-Year Results
| Year | School | Wins | Losses | Notes |
| 1997-98 | Saint Michael's | 16 | 13 | ECAC Division II Tournament Semifinals |
| 1998-99 | Saint Michael's | 25 | 9 | NE-10 Tournament Champions NCAA Regional Semifinals NE-10 Coach of the Year NECBA Coach of the Year |
| 1999-00 | Saint Michael's | 20 | 9 | ECAC Division II Champions |
| 2000-01 | Saint Michael's | 27 | 4 | NE-10 Regular Season Champions NE-10 Tournament Champions NCAA Division II "Sweet Sixteen" Program Record for Victories |
| 2001-02 | Saint Michael's | 11 | 16 | |
| 2002-03 | Saint Michael's | 10 | 17 | |
| 2003-04 | Saint Michael's | 8 | 18 | |
| 2004-05 | Saint Michael's | 7 | 20 | |
| 2005-06 | Saint Michael's | 9 | 18 | |
| 2006-07 | Saint Michael's | 16 | 13 | NE-10 Quarterfinals |
| 2007-08 | Saint Michael's | 8 | 18 | |
| 2008-09 | Saint Michael's | 10 | 15 | Becomes program's winningest coach |
| Totals (12 Years) | 167 | 170 |
| Ari Shapiro-Miller | |
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Basketball (M) - Assistant Coach
Massachusetts '04 Fourth season ashapiromill@smcvt.edu 802.654.2722 |
Ari Shapiro-Miller returns to the Saint Michael's men's basketball staff for his fourth season as an assistant coach in 2009-10, and his second season as the program's top assistant coach. Shapiro-Miller helped lead the Purple Knights to a 16-13 season in his first year with the program in 2006-07, and he was promoted to the lead assistant role in September of 2008.
"Ari has been very effective in his role on the staff the past couple of years, and I look forward to his expanded role this coming year," said O'Shea upon Shapiro-Miller's promotion in September of 2008.
Shapiro-Miller, a graduate student at Saint Michael's who is pursuing his Master's degree in psychology, earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts in 2004, majoring in sport management. While in Amherst, Shapiro-Miller worked under head men's basketball coach Steve Lappas as the team's film manager. His responsibilities for the NCAA Division I program included scouting, producing edit tapes, and managing the team's video editing technology.
Shapiro-Miller, whose father, Ronald Miller, is a professor of psychology at Saint Michael's, was a standout basketball player at nearby Champlain Valley Union High School. He earned a McDonald's All-American Honorable Mention nomination, an All-State nomination, and a First Team All-Metro selection in 1999-2000, the year he led CVU to the Vermont Division I State Semifinals (the program's first semifinal appearance since 1965). He went on to play collegiate basketball at Hamilton College in 2000-01.
Shapiro-Miller has been actively involved in many summer basketball camps. He has served as a coach and instructor at Five Star Camp, Eastern Invitational, Jim Boeheim Big Orange Basketball Camp, and the University of Massachusetts Basketball Camp, in addition to his work with Saint Michael's summer camps.
| James Sorrentine '08 | |
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Basketball (M) - Assistant Coach
Saint Michael's '08 Second season jsorrentine@smcvt.edu 802.654.2739 |
James Sorrentine, a standout player for Saint Michael's College from 2004-08, returns for his second season as the program's part-time second assistant coach in 2009-10.
"I am very excited to work with James this upcoming season, as he is fully aware and committed to the student-athlete experience here at Saint Michael's," said head coach Tom O'Shea. "He will bring great energy and passion to his work with our student-athletes."
Sorrentine completed a stellar four-year playing career in February of 2008. He is the program's all-time leader in career 3-pointers with 340, including a single-season record of 97 as a freshman in 2004-05. Sorrentine also holds the program record with 10 3-pointers in a game, set against Pace University on Dec. 10, 2005. He currently ranks 14th on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,433 points.
Sorrentine, who graduated in May of 2008 with a degree in economics, has close family ties to coaching. His father, Tom, was a long-time coach at Saint Raphael Academy in Rhode Island, and his brother, former University of Vermont standout T.J. Sorrentine, is in his second year as an assistant coaching at Brown University.
"James just completed an outstanding career for us, and is someone who has coaching in his blood," said O'Shea. "He is one of the hardest workers that I have ever coached."
