"Coach, you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"We'll call 911."
"Don't worry about it."
They were headed back to his house.
"Everything is fine," Massimino said, assuring his former players and the rattled driver. "The pasta is waiting for us, and I want it al dente."
A little name-dropping
There were always famous friends of Massimino's around Villanova. Tommy Lasorda would be screaming at refs. . . . There's Mario Andretti . . . Perry Como.
That didn't change at Northwood. Massimino opened the new 1,500-seat building, announcing to everyone, including Villanova, that Villanova would be the opponent. All his golf buddies, Daly and Cunningham and John Havlicek and Bobby Orr, showed up.
But coaching Northwood can't be about the limelight. He still gets a bit of that from all the '85 remembrances, and Villanova's success in recent years has helped bring Massimino further back in the fold since Jay is his guy.
"He loves being part of a team," Wright said. "It's very clear - not just being head of a team. He likes having a team, hanging with the guys, having players that need him, grooming coaches."
Squeezed in next to Massimino at the NAIA tournament was '85 star Dwayne McClain, who had played professionally overseas for years and is trying his hand at coaching.
One dry spell against Spring Arbor, a few possessions that ended at the rim, proved fateful. Northwood held a small lead most of the way and still was up one in the last minute when one of Massimino's big men was called for elbowing while setting a screen. Spring Arbor's best player drove and scored. Massimino called time-out with 18 seconds left. His team got an open look from just inside the three-point line, but the shot didn't fall. It got one more shot at the buzzer. The rim again.
Twenty minutes later, Massimino was first out of Northwood's locker room. He held a crumpled tissue in his left hand. The moisture on his shirt could have been sweat but looked more like tears.
"We had a chance - we were up one, 50 seconds left. The ball just didn't go in the basket," Massimino said immediately. "It was a terrific game."
This could have been a season-ending scene straight from the '80s except there was no news conference and it was 10:45 a.m.
"It hurts just as much," Massimino said as he stood in the hallway. "This was a special group."
He knew, however, that in Philly, the fate of Northwood U. means nothing.
"You want me to talk about Jay?" Massimino asked.
Contact staff writer Mike Jensen at 215-854-4489 or mjensen@phillynews.com.
