Legendary LI College Coach Praises Wife, Players For Success

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, NY — For more than 40 years, Joe Pellicane has been patrolling the sidelines of college basketball. He's been equally successful coaching men and women hoops, including the last seven years at Molloy College. Pellicane, who has amassed more than 540 victories and six NCAA Tournament appearances, was named last week to the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame.

While Pellicane has longevity and accolades, he also is humble.

"It's truly not about me," Pellicane admitted.

He credits his coach at North Babylon High School, Brendan McCann, a New York Knick top draft pic in 1957, for molding his career and impacting his life.

"The reason I'm still honored to be a coach and teacher is because of the values that Mr. McCann instilled in us," Pellicane told Patch.

Since he got the opportunity to coach in 1980 as head men's basketball coach at Suffolk West Community College, Pellicane has been willing to share the spotlight with his students.

"It's about all the young people I've been honored to be around, coach and learn from. It's a two-way street," he said.

In his four decades, Pellicane has had numerous memories and many spectacular seasons. He guided Molloy to an NCAA Sweet Sixteen berth in 2017. He was with St. John's when they won the Big East.

Those are special, but his squad was united for a different reason in March 2020 when the pandemic put the brakes on the season. His Molloy players were holding a practice ahead of the NCAA Tournament when they found out it was canceled. Pellicane gathered the saddened students and told them their welfare came first.

To put on a button on the dramatic end, Pellicane let the team take a mock final shot and they cut the net down.

After several years as a men's coach, Pellicane transitioned to the women. He already was coaching his daughter in an AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) league. Later, Pellicane took a year off to decide about his future when an opening to coach the women's basketball team opened at Dowling College. He previously led the men's squad for 13 years.

"I coached the women like I coach the men," he said. "You demand the same thing. You invest the same time and energy."

He would go on to St. John's as an assistant coach before heading to Molloy. The only gap in his women's coaching was due to prostate cancer surgery briefly slowing him down.

Despite his legendary collegiate coaching stats, Pellicane didn't entertain the professional ranks.

"Would I have done things [differently]? Absolutely, I'd do some things [differently], personally, he admitted. "But, working where I did, I've been lucky."

After speaking for 20 minutes, Pellicane immediately called back to highlight the "most important person in his life," Linda, his wife of more than 50 years and the mother of their three children.

"When you're married to a coach, who has devoted all this time, you've got to be very lucky and special to have somebody in your life," Pellicane said.