04/17/2009
Ginnity Tabbed as New England Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game's Head Coach

WORCESTER, MASS. 04/17/09 - John Ginnity '01 will once again suit up for the New England Basketball Coaches Association (NEBCA) Division III All-Star game held at Babson College on Sunday, April 19. But this time, he's the head coach.

Ginnity, a former four-year Clark University men's basketball player and current associate head coach of the program, played in the same game just eight years ago after leading the Cougars to the NCAA Elite Eight.

"It's truly an honor to have been selected to coach some of the best players in New England," said Ginnity, who just completed his sixth season in his second stint on Clark's sidelines. "All of the players are phenomenal athletes. It should be a lot of fun."

Ginnity, who directs Clark's recruiting efforts, will head up the squad represented by the Little East Conference (LEC), the Great Northeast Atlantic Conference (GNAC), the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC), and the league that Clark belongs, the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), while assistant coaches Pat Doherty from Williams College and Wentworth Institute of Technology's Anthony Leonelli will share the task of coaching the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), the University Athletic Association (UAA), the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC), The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC), Independents and the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) schools.

When asked if the opposing team had an advantage with two coaches, Ginnity laughed it off. "I don't think this game will come down to coaching," he said. "All-Star games usually don't."

After facing most of his players during Clark's regular season, Ginnity is certainly familiar with the caliber of talent. His team is not only comprised of the top players in the region, but also a D3Hoops.com and National Basketball Coaches Association (NBCA) National Player of the Year (Jimmy Bartolotta, MIT).

"It seems like yesterday when I was playing in this game, and now I'm coaching one of the teams," said the Fitchburg, Mass. native. "It's exciting and it's great, but what it really means is that I'm getting old."

Game time is slated for 3 p.m. All proceeds will benefit Coaches versus Cancer.