John Coffino

Biography

Coffino was named head coach of the Albany Legends[1] of the Independent Basketball Association (IBA) in April, 2012 where he steered them to the IBA championship game. Coffino came to the Legends from the Qatar Sports Club, State of Qatar in the Middle East where he was head coach. Prior to Qatar Sports Club Coffino was head coach for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds ('08-'10) of the NBA Development League where he coached Alando Tucker, DJ Strawberry (Phoenix Suns), Carlos Powell (NBA player), Kevin Pittsnogle, Keith McLeod (NBA) and Antoine Agudio. Coffino was originally asked to join the Thunderbirds by then head coach Jeff Ruland as an assistant coach. It was a reuniting; Ruland and Coffino were former head and assistant coaches, respectively, for some very good Iona College teams in the late 1990s. Coffino coached at Dankind Academy[2] in Nairobi from August 2013 to August 2014, before leaving for the UK and Cheshire Phoenix.

Before joining the professional ranks, Coffino worked nine years as a Division I assistant coach at Iona College (1997–99), Niagara University (1999–2002) and at St. Peter's College (2002–2006). Each program grew with his assistance; all three MAAC schools advanced to MAAC Championship games and the St. Peter's team went from last place in the conference to the MAAC Championship game after Coffino joined SPC's coaching staff. As a collegiate coach Coffino gained a national reputation for his ability to identify outstanding talent and effectively recruit both high school and junior college players having extensive recruiting contacts in Philly, New York City and Long Island, Buffalo, Rochester, Puerto Rico, New Mexico and Southern California. Coffino has also been a West Coast scout for the NBA with Clibhoops.net Draft Services.

Coffino, a graduate of St. Peter's College in Jersey City, began his coaching career at Westchester Community College (1992–97) in Valhalla, New York where he guided the Viking's to the National Junior College Athletic Association DI Tourney in1993 . While coaching at St. Peter's, Coffino and Wagner head coach Mike Deane were NCAA Tournament analysts on the Wally and the Keeg show on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York City.

In June 2014, Coffino was appointed as the head coach[3][4] of British Basketball League team, Cheshire Phoenix, signing a two-year contract. Coffino was awarded the Molten BBL Coach of the Month[5] award for December 2014 after having led the Phoenix on an eight-game winning streak during the month. Coffino is the best coach Cheshire have had in the last decade.[6][7]

In the Summer of 2015, Coffino was appointed as the head coach of BC Sukhumi of the Georgian Superliga.