Michael Mastroianni, son of Quaker Valley’s athletic director/boys basketball coach with the same name, graduated from Ohio State in 2021.

Mastroianni majored in finance and had a minor in coaching education. Since college, he has juggled career paths in both basketball and business.

He currently is the chief of staff in the men’s basketball program at Illinois State, which is located in the city of Normal, Ill., about 120 miles southwest of Chicago.

“Things are going great at Illinois State,” Mastroianni said. “I am very fortunate to have my position, but I am even more grateful for the people I work with on a daily basis.

“My boss, Ryan Pedon, is in his first head coaching position here at ISU. It has been a really cool experience to help him build this program the way he envisions it and work to bring Redbird Basketball back to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference.”

Mastroianni, 25, is in his third year as chief of staff.

“Michael has taken advantage of an outstanding opportunity presented to him by Illinois State head coach Ryan Pedon,” said his dad. “I’m most proud that he carved out his own path and obviously earned the respect of his mentors to be presented this terrific opportunity at such a young age.

“We have had a number of conversations, and Michael fully understands the demands of the coaching profession at the level he’s at. This will help him moving forward and making decisions in the field.”

Operating as the chief of staff regularly provides Mastroianni with a balancing act.

“I have a wide range of responsibilities,” he said. “I enjoy this role because I have a great balance between coaching and the behind-the-scenes operation that goes into running a Division I college basketball program. On the coaching side, I have scouting responsibilities for each opponent, help develop our student-athletes on and off the court and assist in recruiting.

“On the operations side, I communicate on behalf of our program with other areas of our department for things such as facility planning, fundraising, team travel and much more. At the mid-major level, we get to wear a lot of different hats to help get things done.”

Illinois State improved to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference with an 85-54 rout Jan. 5 against Southern Illinois.

Other teams in the NCAA Division I conference are Bradley, Indiana State, Northern Iowa, Belmont, Drake, Evansville, Murray State, UIC, Valparaiso and Missouri State.

Being the son of a successful basketball coach gave Mastroianni plenty of opportunities to develop his game in the gym.

He played basketball at Montour for three years and graduated in 2017. Mastroianni then traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to further his studies and enhance his career development.

Mastroianni served as a student manager for four years under then-Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann and Pedon, who was an OSU assistant at that time. The teams he worked with were a combined 87-44 and were NCAA Tournament-eligible in each of his four seasons.

While in Columbus, he eagerly worked with NBA players such as Jae’Sean Tate, Keita Bates-Diop, Duane Washington and E.J. Liddell.

“The unique part of Michael’s coaching experience started with his college choice and his plan to get involved with the men’s basketball program,” said his dad. “Once he made his decision not to play college basketball at a smaller school and attend Ohio State, he had his plan in place.

“The coaching staff at Ohio State pulled him into their program on one of his first days on campus and his tremendous experience working for their program served him like a four-year internship. He learned so much and was able to build tremendous relationships that serve him today.”

Mastroianni was employed as a financial analyst at UPMC leading up to his time at Illinois State. He coached for one year at Quaker Valley in 2021-22 as his dad’s assistant. The Quakers won a WPIAL championship, advanced to the PIAA finals and finished 27-1 overall.

“Beyond that one season, I have been looking up to my dad as a coach for my entire life,” Mastroianni said. “From a young age, I have always been in his gym and around his teams. Over the years, I have picked up a lot of from him.

“Most people just see him (and any other coach) on game night, but what I’ve seen him do over the years is impact many lives and use the game to teach a lot about life to his players. That’s the No. 1 thing that I’ve learned from him and been inspired by.”

The elder Mastroianni indicated that his son served as his valuable sidekick during QV’s championship season.

“Michael had his hand basically in all areas, especially his experience in game film and setting up clips,” said his dad. “He always presented us with new approaches and ideas that were extremely beneficial, but his biggest piece was his connection with our players. He was such a big part of our 2022 team success.”

Mastroianni has relished his time with the Redbirds; he also has many options to consider for his future.

“Right now, I don’t have an end goal or job that I am working toward,” he said. “The next step would be to become an assistant coach. I’ve been able to diversify my skills through my education and work experiences, so I think I am equipped for a job outside of basketball if I did want to switch paths.

“College basketball moves fast, so for now, I am trying my best to be in the moment and enjoy where I am; if you would have told high school — or college — Mike that this would be his job, he would have been ecstatic.”

The most decorated athlete in Illinois State basketball history remains Doug Collins, a three-time All-American and 1972 Olympic Team member who holds team records in career scoring and season scoring. He was the No. 1 pick in the 1973 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Collins was inducted last year into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He is the 15th inductee from a school in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Others include the likes of Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati, 1979), Wes Unseld (Louisville, 1988), Larry Bird (Indiana State, 1998), Chet Walker (Bradley, 2012), Nolan Richardson (Tulsa, 2014) and Maurice Cheeks (West Texas State, 2018).

Professionally, Collins played for the 76ers and coached the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, 76ers and Washington Wizards. He later worked as a broadcaster.

The floor at CEFCU Arena was re-named “Doug Collins Court” on Feb. 3, 2007.

“I have gotten to meet and interact with Doug a number of times,” Mastroianni said. “He cares a lot about this place and our program. He is very close to coach Pedon and our staff has developed a relationship with him. He tunes in to most Redbird games and makes it back to Normal for a few games each year.

“One thing to add: Any Pittsburgh basketball junkies looking for more hoops to watch, the Redbirds are on ESPN two times per week. We have a really fun team this year, so check us out.”