City of Basketball Love

Zak Wolf (@ZakWolf22)
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Within a few weeks, Andrew Radomicki had to learn two things. A) How to be a head coach, B) How to become a father.

It’s been a wild month for Radomicki, who a short time ago was still the associate head coach at Widener while his wife was nine-months pregnant. In the blink of an eye everything changed. All of the sudden, Radomicki was interviewing for his first head coaching job, all while his wife was days away from giving birth to their first child. 

“A lot has happened in the last two and a half weeks, but you know, we're taking it all in stride.” Radomicki said. “Every day is a different, different challenge, but a fun one.”

Whether it's sleepless nights with his newborn daughter Violet or attending Philly Live, Radomicki’s first few weeks as the new Chestnut Hill College head coach have been jam-packed.

Despite having a lot on his plate, Radmicki’s experience with numerous programs under legendary coaches Fran Dunphy (Temple), Fran O’Hanlon (Lafayette) and others has prepared him for this moment. Using what he learned over the last decade, Radomicki  is ready to put his knowledge to the test in his first head coaching gig with the Griffins. 

Last month the Chestnut Hill job opened up when J.J Butler took a job with Delaware as an assistant. Radomicki put his name in the hat, applying for the position. On May 31, he had a zoom interview and the next day his daughter was born. Radomicki took his daughter home from the hospital that Saturday before having an on-campus interview on Tuesday, June 6. After a few weeks of waiting, Jesse Balcer — Chestnut Hill’s athletic director and the program’s former head coach (2003-20) — called Radomicki, letting him know the job was his. Radomicki hurried down the steps to tell his wife who was ecstatic with the news. The phone call was the cherry on top for what’s been a hectic period.

“It's been great, I’ve been learning on the fly,” Radmomicki said about fatherhood. “People say, your wife's life changes 180 degrees, while yours changes about 10%, so I’ve just been trying to figure that all out.”

This year with Widener, Radomicki helped his alma mater make their first NCAA tournament appearance in 13 years, suffering a first round loss to Tufts. Radomicki ended up with the Lions after five years at Lafayette, two as Director of Basketball Operations and three as an assistant to O'Hanlon. After 27 years O’Hanlon retired in 2022, meaning Radomicki needed to find a new job.

Radomicki interviewed for a couple of jobs, before talking with Chris Carideo, the head coach at Widener in June. 

“I remember going home talking to my wife and she was like he just, you know, something's in the atmosphere feels right I think we should do it,” Radomicki said.  “I called him back within like, not even six hours after leaving that meeting and said let’s do this."

A year later, Radomicki gets a chance to lead a program of his own, nearly a decade on from when he started his coaching career.

Ever since playing for Penncrest in high school, coaches have always had a big influence on Radomicki. Playing under Mike Doyle sparked Radomicki’s interest in coaching, observing Doyle’s love and passion, which he poured into his players. It stuck with him, trying to replicate the same while building strong relationships with his players, something he hopes to bring to Chestnut Hill.

During summers, Radomicki stayed involved with basketball, helping Doyle at his camp along with Harry Perretta’s Villanova women’s basketball camp and Mike McCarron’s Skills and Drills.

“I'd always try to just stay involved in the game, even when I was playing and picking up things from all these great coaches that had been around me,” Radomicki said.

After Radomicki played four seasons at Widener, Doyle asked him to coach the freshman team at Penncrest. When the season was over Radomicki wanted to see where he could go with coaching. After getting Dunphy's number, he cold called him, inquiring about being a graduate assistant at Temple, where Dunphy was coaching at the time.. Dunphy told him to come down to the campus and check it out. He told Radomicki if he wanted to be a part of the staff he could.

Before Temple, Radomicki didn’t know if he wanted to be a college coach specifically, but once he arrived and saw the everyday workings of a college program he was hooked. Along with Dunphy, Radomicki got to work with Dwayne Killings (current Albany head coach), Aaron McKie, and Chris Clark while coaching players like Quenton DeCosey, Jaylen Bond and Devin Coleman. Radomicki remembers the team's run to the NCAA tournament in 2016 and standing on the floor of the Barclays Center before the opening round game against Iowa, asking himself, “Is this real?”.

Radomicki is thankful for what Dunphy did for him while he was at Temple. When Radomicki moved on from Temple, Dunphy helped Radomicki get hired at Lafayette because of his relationship with O'Hanlon.

“I think the best thing about Coach Dunph is he teaches you how to be a really good person,” Radomicki said. “He teaches you that there's more to life than just basketball and like how to go about your daily life and how to be prepared.”

Now with Chestnut Hill, Radomicki gets to use his experience while building a legacy at a program of his own. Last season, the Griffins finished 16-14. Chestnut Hill came up just short in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference semifinals, falling to eventual champions Caldwell University, 67-65. The Griffins graduated James Rider IV, Amir Warrick and Trevonn Pitts and had others like MJ Iraldi enter the transfer portal.
Radomicki knows Chestnut Hill already has a great culture surrounding the program, but he’s ready to make his own impact.

After nearly a decade of grinding it out, putting time and effort into coaching, Radomicki wants to instill that same mentality into the team. 

“You’ve got to pour into your players,” Radomicki said. “That's just how I was able to elevate my career was just really working hard, put my head down being a gym rat. I have to show them that I care, and love them as much as I would my own daughter and my own son.”