Sport(s) | Basketball |
---|---|
Biographical details | |
Born |
New Orleans, Louisiana |
October 25, 1946
Playing career | |
1966–1968 | Southern Miss |
Position(s) | Guard |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1970–1979 | Holy Cross HS |
1979–1980 | Mississippi State (asst.) |
1980–1982 | Alabama (asst.) |
1982–2013 | Troy |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
Sun Belt Regular Season Championship (2010) A-Sun Tournament Championship (2003) A-Sun Regular Season Championship (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004) ECC Regular Season Championship (1994) GSC Regular Season Championship (1991) |
|
Awards | |
CollegeInsider.com Coach of the Year (2009) Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2009) A-Sun Coach of the Year (2000, 2004) Summit League Coach of the Year (1997) ECC Coach of the Year (1994) GSC Coach of the Year (1991) |
Don Maestri (born October 25, 1946) is an American college basketball coach and the former head men's basketball coach at Troy University. He held the same position from 1982 until 2013. Prior to accepting this position, Maestri was an assistant coach at Mississippi State University from 1979 to 1980 and at the University of Alabama from 1980 to 1982. Maestri coached the Trojans to a record of 500-404, one NCAA Basketball Tournament, five regular season conference titles, and one conference tournament title over the course of 26 seasons at Troy. He has been named coach of the year in the East Coast Conference (1994), the Summit League (1997, then known as the Mid-Continent Conference), Atlantic Sun Conference (2000 and 2004) and the Sun Belt Conference (2009)
Maestri is famous for his run and gun style of basketball, which has led the Trojans to lead Division I NCAA Basketball in 3-pointers per game three consecutive seasons, from 2003 to 2006. He also coached Troy to a 258–141 win over the DeVry Institute of Atlanta on January 12, 1992, which is the highest scoring basketball game in NCAA history. Ironically, his emphasis on defensive pressure and a lock-down style of basketball is what pushed the Trojans to two Division II Final Fours in six years.
Five different conferences have called Maestri its Coach of the Year, tying him with West Virginia's Bob Huggins for the most among active coaches.
He earned his 500th career win against Florida Atlantic in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in 2013. Maestri retired from the program on March 9, 2013.
Maestri began his coaching career in the fall of 1970 at Holy Cross High School in his hometown of New Orleans. In 10 seasons as coach, he posted a 211–99 record, leading Holy Cross to a state runner-up finish in the top classification in the Louisiana high school ranks in 1974. This 1974 team had a final record of 35–6.