Paul Biancardi (born August 11, 1962) is an American recruiting director,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

analyst and former college basketball coach.

Playing career

Biancardi attended Pope John XXIII High School and was inducted into the school Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. He played under

Tom Thibodeau Thomas Joseph Thibodeau Jr. ( ; born January 17, 1958) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He served as an assistant coach for the United States men's national ...

at Salem State. Biancardi was voted team captain as a senior and received the “James Twohig Award” for outstanding character, sportsmanship and dedication. In 1985, he graduated with a degree in physical education.

Coaching career

Biancardi began his coaching career at St. Lazarus eighth-grade CYO team while at Salem State. After graduating, he took a job as an assistant at Salem State. Biancardi then became an assistant at Stoneham High School. He returned to the collegiate ranks as an assistant under Jim Nelson at

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. Biancardi took a teaching job in Boston while serving as a volunteer assistant at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

under

Mike Jarvis Michael D. Jarvis (born April 12, 1945) is an American college basketball coach most recently as head men's basketball coach at Florida Atlantic University. He has coached at Boston University, George Washington University and St. John's Univers ...

in the 1989–90 season. At Boston University, Biancardi helped the Terriers win the

North Atlantic Conference The North Atlantic Conference (NAC) is an athletic conference, affiliated with the NCAA ’s Division III, consisting primarily of small liberal arts colleges in the Northern New England states of Maine and Vermont, as well as New York. The conf ...

title and reach the NCAA Tournament. In 1990, he got his first full-time job as an assistant on

Jim O'Brien Jim O'Brien may refer to: Sports Basketball *Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1950), American coach for Emerson College, Ohio State and Boston College *Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1951), American player for the New York Nets and Memphis Sounds *Jim ...

's staff at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. Biancardi wanted to prove to O'Brien that he could do any task assigned to him, and he called the assistant position, with its pay raise, "a dream come true." Biancardi helped Boston College reach the Elite Eight in 1994 and win the Big East Championship in 1997. In 1997, he followed O'Brien to

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

. Biancardi helped the Buckeyes reach the Final Four in 1999, one of four NCAA appearances while at the school. He served as lead recruiter, with his 2002 class ranked 10th by Hoop Scoop Magazine. He was named the top assistant coach in 2002 by Hoop Scoop Online. In April 2003, Biancardi was hired as the head coach at Wright State, replacing Ed Schilling. In his first season, Biancardi led the Raiders to a 14–14 record. He was named the 2004

Horizon League The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midw ...

Coach of the Year. In the 2005–06 season, he helped the team finish 13–15. Biancardi was fired by Wright State in March 2006 after the NCAA found that he sent $6000 from O'Brien to a recruit in 1999. Biancardi was further barred from recruiting until October 1, 2007, and with the stipulation that if violated this, Wright State would face sanctions. In 2007, Biancardi accepted a job as an assistant at Saint Louis. Biancardi served as the chief recruiter under

Rick Majerus Richard Raymond Majerus (February 17, 1948 – December 1, 2012) was an American basketball coach and TV analyst. He coached at Marquette University (1983–1986), Ball State University (1987–1989), the University of Utah (1989–2004), and S ...

. Biancardi left Saint Louis in July 2008.

Broadcasting career

Biancardi joined ESPN as an analyst in 2006. In 2008, he became ESPN’s national recruiting director. Biancardi is a voting member of the

McDonald’s All American The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

committee as well as for Gatorade state and national player of the year awards. He serves as the lead analyst for GEICO ESPN High School Showcase as well as some college basketball games. Alongside Mike Couzens, he covered the 2016 DICK’s Sporting Goods High School Nationals, when Oak Hill Academy won against

La Lumiere School La Lumiere School is a college preparatory boarding and day school located on a 190-acre campus in Springfield Township, LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. About La Lumiere School is affiliated with several educational associations: * C ...

with a buzzer-beating shot. In 2017, Biancardi signed a new contract with ESPN.

Personal life

Biancardi is married to Theresa and they have two daughters, Katerina Elise and Alyssa Marie.

Head coaching record

References

External links