On Oct. 1, the Saint Louis University basketball family added another member when head coach Rick Majerus named Paul Biancardi his new assistant coach.
“His passion for the game and his ability to teach it are evident to everyone who has watched him recruit a student-athlete or conduct a practice,” Majerus said in an online statement. “I look forward to having him on our staff because of his dedication to the academic agenda and graduation rate of which Saint Louis University is so proud.”
Since Biancardi was the top assistant at programs such as Boston College and Ohio State, the new assistant coach brings a wealth of experience to the Billikens.
“I’ve been a college coach for a long time,” Biancardi said. “I’ve spent 20 years coaching college basketball and 17 of those as a Division I coach.”
Biancardi has also had assistant coaching positions at various programs in the eastern United States such as Suffolk University in Virginia, Salem State College and Boston University in Massachusetts.
From there he moved to Boston College, where he was an assistant for seven years.
Biancardi also spent six seasons as the assistant coach at Ohio State, helping them win two co-Big Ten Conference championships.
In 2002, Hoop Scoop Online named Biancardi the top assistant coach in the country.
“I was rated the number one assistant coach in the country,” Biancardi said. “Obviously, it validates all the work, time, effort and sacrifices that I had put in. It was nice to be recognized by other people in the profession.”
From Ohio State, Biancardi went on to accept the head coaching position at Wright State, where he went 42-44 over three seasons.
After coaching at Wright State, Biancardi worked with ESPN.
“At one point I worked for ESPN.com, ESPNU and ESPN 360, and I was the recruiting director for high school basketball,” Biancardi said. “I went to all the major high school events in the country to evaluate Division-I prospects and write evaluations and game articles. Then my job was to grade players in their respective classes.”
As a part of his job, Biancardi wrotespecial articles about players throughout the season. He was also a color analyst for high school games on ESPNU and for college games on ESPN 360.
Even with all the experience that Biancardi has with coaching, he is still excited to work at SLU with Majerus.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for me to work with a future Hall of Fame coach in Majerus,” Biancardi said. “He is fourth in wins for active coaches and he is a person who genuinely cares about people.”
Biancardi said he is excited that he can enjoy the best of both worlds coaching at SLU, as he can be with Majerus and be at one of the most prestigious universities in the country.
He feels as though the Bills coaching staff will be one of the best this season.
“We have a dynamic staff,” Biancardi said. “Porter Moser has had success as a former head coach and assistant coach. Angres Thorpe has done a great job here at SLU, and Sean Harrington, our director of basketball operations, played at Illinois and gained experience at Kansas.”
Biancardi hopes to bring his own experience to the Bills program. Because of his many years coaching, Biancardi said he can relate well to all the players and their different potentials, considering he has coached guys who have gone on to play in the National Basketball Association, guys who have played in Europe and some who didn’t make the pros. He said he has a genuine interest help SLU’s athletes be better players, better people and better students.
“I’m very excited about Billiken basketball,” Biancardi said. “I’m looking forward to working with Majerus, and I feel fortunate to have this opportunity.”
