Men's Hoops Media Guide 15-16.Pub (Read-Only)
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Table of Contents PITT-JOHNSTOWN PRIMARY MEDIA OUTLETS Track the Mountain Cats WJAC-TV 6 SPORTS TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT Jordan Conigliaro Shawn Curtis, Mike Mastovich Through Social Media 49 Old Hickory Lane 47 Locust Street Johnstown, Pa. 15905 Johnstown, Pa. 15901 all season… (814) 255-7651 (814) 532-5080 Fax: (814) 255-7658 Fax: (814) 539-1409 SOMERSET DAILY AMERICAN ALTOONA MIRROR 334 West Main Street P.O. Box 2008 Somerset, Pa. 15501 Altoona, Pa. 16603 (800) 452-0823 (800) 222-1962 Fax: (814) 445-2935 Fax: (814) 946-7540 WTAJ-TV 10 SPORTS PGH. POST-GAZETTE On the Pitt-Johnstown P.O. Box 10 50 Blvd. Of The Allies Altoona, Pa. 16603 Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222 Website at (800) 762-6053 (412) 263-1621 Fax: (814) 946-4763 Fax: (412) 263-1926 www.pittjohnstownathletics.com PGH. TRIBUNE-REVIEW INDIANA GAZETTE (888) 748-8742 (800) 262-3077 Fax: (412) 320-7964 Fax: (724) 465-8267 BEDFORD GAZETTE THE ADVOCATE 424 W. Penn Street 147 Student Union Bldg. P.O. Box 671 Johnstown, Pa. 15904 (814) 623-1151 (814) 269-7470 (814) 623-5055 On Facebook at facebook.com/pages/Pitt-Johnstown- Athletics Design and Layout: Chris Caputo-Sports Information Director Ashley Grego-Sports Information Intern Cover Design and Layout: Ali Single Contributing Editors: Bob Rukavina, Patrick Grubbs And on Twitter at Photography: @MtnCatAthletics Front Cover: Ali Single Inside and Back Cover Photographs: Ali Single Inside Pages: Pitt-Johnstown User Services, Ali Single, The Tribune-Democrat, The Advocate Printing: Interior: Pitt-Johnstown Print Shop 1 Head Coach Bob Rukavina YEAR RECORD OVERALL PCT. WVIAC/PSAC OVERALL PCT. 1989-90 8-17 8-17 .320 1990-91 9-18 17-35 .327 1991-92 16-11 33-46 .418 1992-93 8-18 41-64 .390 1993-94 12-15 53-79 .402 1994-95 17-9 70-88 .443 1995-96 14-12 84-100 .457 1996-97 21-6 105-106 .498 1997-98 24-5 129-111 .538 1998-99 23-4 152-115 .569 1999-00 19-8 171-123 .582 2000-01 13-14 184-137 583 2001-02 12-15 196-152 .563 2002-03 11-16 207-168 .552 2003-04 19-8 226-176 .562 2004-05 12-13 238-189 .557 2005-06 21-6 259-195 .570 2006-07 21-9 280-204 .579 2007-08 23-8 303-212 .589 17-3 17-3 .850 2008-09 24-8 327-220 .598 15-5 32-8 .800 2009-10 17-12 344-232 .597 12-10 44-18 .710 2010-11 18-10 362-242 .599 14-8 58-26 .690 2011-12 15-14 377-256 .596 12-10 70-36 .660 2012-13 15-13 392-269 .593 10-12 80-48 .625 Head Coach Bob Rukavina 2013-14 13-13 405-282 .590 6-10 6-10 .375 2014-15 12-15 417-297 .584 9-13 15-23 .395 Before Bob Rukavina took over the men’s basketball program in 1989, the Mountain Cats had only four winning seasons from 1969 to 1987. In 26 years, Rukavina, the 2006 National Independent Coach of the Year, has turned the Mountain Cats into one of the top Division II programs in the country. Pitt-Johnstown has made four NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and has posted seven 20-win seasons, including four in a row from 2005-06 through 2008-09. In 2007-08, Pitt-Johnstown became a member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC). That year, Rukavina guided Pitt-Johnstown to a 23-8 overall record and the WVIAC regular season title with a 17-3 conference record. Rukavina, the 2007-08 WVIAC Coach of the Year, also led the Mountain Cats to their third NCAA Tournament appearance. In 2008-09, Pitt-Johnstown won the WVIAC Tournament title and advanced to its second straight NCAA Tournament. Along with on-court coaching success, Rukavina is also the East Region representative for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) national poll, a duty he began during the 2004-05 season. Rukavina, who earned his 400th win at Pitt-Johnstown with an 91-74 victory at Mansfield University on Dec. 21, 2013, wrapped-up his 25th season with a career record of 417-297. He currently ranks among the leaders of active Division II coaches in career wins (417) and winning percentage (.584). In 1998-99, Pitt-Johnstown finished the regular season ranked fifth in the country. The Mountain Cats also tied the school record for wins in the regular season, duplicating the 23-4 mark set in 1997-98. Pitt-Johnstown posted an 87-23 record (.791 winning percentage) between 1996 and 2000. 1999-00 also marked the program’s sixth straight winning season. In 1997-98, Rukavina guided the Mountain Cats to a 24-5 record, a second consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and a school record of 24 wins, before losing in the East Regional Semifinals by one point to eventual Regional Champion Fairmont State (W.Va.) College. A year earlier, the Mountain Cats earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid and finished with a 21-6 record. In 1992, Rukavina led Pitt-Johnstown to its first winning season since 1979, clinching it with a win over Division I Youngstown State University. It was the first win over a Division I opponent in school history. The Mountain Cats have been one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country over the last 20 years. Pitt-Johnstown led the nation in field goal percentage in 2008 and 2010, and was the best three-point field goal shooting team in all of college basketball the in 2012-13 and 2013-14. Coach Rukavina's strength is recruiting. The Mountain Cats have had four players lead the NCAA in statistical categories on six different occasions. They have had five players receive accolades ranging from All-American Honorable Mention to All-East Region performers. Seven former Mountain Cats have continued their basketball careers at the professional level in various countries. One statistic you will not see posted anywhere may be the most important to Rukavina--the rate at which his players graduate. Since he took over in 1989, the program has graduated over 90 percent of its players, a rate that will stand up to any institution in the country, especially at an institution with such high academic standards as Pitt-Johnstown. In August 2004, Rukavina was selected to be an instructor with former NBA Coach of the Year Jack McKinney at the MedQuest Coaching Clinic in Beirut, Lebanon. The clinic, sponsored by the Federation of Lebanese Basketball, taught Middle Eastern basketball coaches about the game. Prior to that, Rukavina coached an all-star team that traveled to Madrid and Vigo, Spain in the summer of 1998. The team won four of five games. The trip opened up contacts for recruiting and opportunities for playing professionally after college. Rukavina, his wife Sharon and their son Nicholas, reside in Lower Burrell, Pa. 2 Assistant Coaches Patrick Grubbs and George Sulkoski, Jr. Former Mountain Cat standout Patrick Grubbs enters his second season on Head Coach Bob Rukavina’s Mountain Cat basketball staff after one year of coaching at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. In 2013-14 Grubbs also spent the 2012-13 season as a student-assistant coach for the Mountain Cats. Grubbs, Pitt-Johnstown’s all-time leader in rebounds with 996, also finished his Mountain Cat career ranked third on the program’s all- time scoring list with 1,759 points. He averaged over 15 points and nearly nine rebounds per game over his four-year Mountain Cat career. He was a two-time All-West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) selection and a first-team choice following his junior season in 2010-11. Grubbs, a 2011-12 Sporting News NCAA Division II Preseason Honorable Mention All-American, finished in the Top-10 in the nation in field goal percentage in three of his four seasons at Pitt-Johnstown, including leading the country in 2009-10 at 66.3%. His 64.7% career- field goal percentage ranks among the best in Pitt-Johnstown history. He posted career-highs of 32 points against Clarion University on Dec. 7, 2009, 18 rebounds against Davis & Elkins (WV) College on Jan. 17, 2011, and six assists on three occasions. Grubbs, a native of Turtle Creek, Pa. and a graduate of Serra Catholic High School, graduated from Pitt-Johnstown in 2013 with a Assistant Coach Bachelor’s Degree in History. Patrick Grubbs Assistant Coach George Sulkosky Jr. joined Coach Rukavina’s staff for the 2003-04 season. Prior to coming to Pitt- Johnstown, Coach Sulkosky spent 10 seasons as the head coach at Homer Center High School in Homer City, Pa., where he led his team to nine PIAA Playoff appearances, including PIAA District VI championships in 1990 and 1991. Sulkosky also spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Indiana University (Pa.), where the Crimson Hawks had four NCAA Division II Playoff berths and two National Semifinal appearances. Along with assisting the Pitt-Johnstown basketball program, Sulkosky also is employed as the Highridge Water Authority Executive Director. He received a bachelor’s degree in education in 1978 from Indiana University (Pa.) and a master’s degree in geography in 1984, also from IUP. Sulkosky and his wife Ruth reside in Blairsville, Pa. They have three children, Anton, Angela and Roman. Assistant Coach George Sulkosky, Jr. 3 Administration Dr. Jem Spectar was named the fifth president of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in March 2007.