SE: K-State Golf’s Roland Massimino Holds onto Grandfather, Legendary Villanova HC Rollie Massimino’s Impact
Mar 31, 2018 | Men's Golf, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
A stack of about 30 letters, filled with emotion and motivation, sit in Roland Massimino's room.
The junior for K-State men's golf has held on to them for about five years now, since his grandfather, the legendary college basketball coach Rollie Massimino, sent him one each day for about a month.
"That's something that I still have now," Roland said, "and it's really special to me."
Rollie died of cancer last August at the age of 82, but he was a special coach and person. Not only because he won 816 games in his career, led Villanova for 19 seasons (1973-92) and won the 1985 national championship, either.
"He was a really special person, as a teacher and as a person, in general. What he gave to me was just a winning attitude, being someone that wants to compete," said Roland, who will travel to join his family at Monday's national championship game between Villanova and Michigan in San Antonio, Texas. "That was one of his things, 'You have to compete. No matter how you do it, you just have to compete.' That's something he's passed down."
For one month about five years ago, Rollie mailed his message to Roland, literally. Each day, a different letter arrived with a short amount of motivational text.
One of the first included this message: "Decide how good you want to be."
The next day when Roland opened another letter from his grandfather, it read: "Did you decide how good you want to be?"
Another ended with: "Just remember, you're one of the elephants, not the mice."
Roland took it all to heart.
The native of Lumberville, Pennsylvania, improved his game and respectively finished third and second at the state golf championship his final two years at New Hope Solebury High School. Roland, who stopped playing basketball to focus on golf after his freshman season of high school, also recorded six top-25 finishes on the American Junior Golf Association circuit between 2013-15, helping give him the opportunity to play golf at the Division I level.
"He was an incredible guy and I learned a lot from him," Roland, coming off a team-best finish in K-State's last tournament, said of his grandfather. "He had an attitude that was, 'I'm going to do what I'm going to do. I'm going to win. I'm going to find a way.' That was something I always took from him."
Rollie also installed the importance of family to those around him, be it his players or his actual relatives.
"He thinks that family is the most important thing," Roland said. "Our whole family — cousins and everyone — we're all really tight, I think, just because of him, because he instilled that in all of our personalities."
To make his point, Roland refers to the infamous 1985 Villanova squad. Roland's father, R.C., played on the title-winning team that, as an eight seed in the first year of the NCAA Tournament's expansion to 64 squads, shocked the college basketball world.
In the first round, Villanova beat Dayton in Dayton's arena. The Wildcats then knocked off a No. 1 seed in Michigan, a No. 5 seed in Maryland and a pair of No. 2 seeds in North Carolina and Memphis State, to set up a national title bout with Patrick Ewing's Georgetown Hoyas. Villanova would win, 66-64, in one of the sport's biggest upsets ever.
"They were so tight as a team and they still get together every year. It's pretty cool," Roland said. "They were a really, really tight team. We say family a lot at K-State, and it was a real family atmosphere (at Villanova). To most of those guys, he was a second father to them. That was part of how they made that run. They played for each other."
Fast-forward to Roland's golf recruitment, and his visit to K-State stood out. Everywhere he went, he felt and heard about its family atmosphere.
"It definitely was a factor being recruited," Roland said. "I remember walking through the football stadium and all the athletic facilities when I visited, and I remember talking to it with my dad and saying, 'They really preach family here,' which is a good thing because that's something my grandfather has always talked about. I think the whole feel of closeness, connectedness and community here was a pretty big part of why I came here."
Jump ahead to K-State's BIGHORN Invitational last weekend in Palm Desert, California, and it all somewhat came full circle for Roland.
In a clubhouse with his father and K-State teammates, Roland watched Villanova's Sweet 16 battle with West Virginia. Cheers quickly turned to silence when the TV broadcast brought up the man missing from the arena: Rollie. It's the first NCAA Tournament in more than 40 years that Villanova has played in without him either coaching or watching.
"It was cool," Roland said of the moment. "It was cool watching it with my dad."
To no surprise, Roland's connection to Villanova will never cease to exist.
He grew up going to games there, occasionally tailing his grandfather and watching people stop him "literally every five feet."
"I remember always being annoyed with that, but I look back on it and I didn't realize how big of an impact he made on Villanova back then," Roland said. "Now, it's pretty obvious."
Before the season, Villanova head coach Jay Wright announced the team would wear "RVM" patches on its uniforms this season to honor Rollie's impact. It's a larger part of one of the program's mottos: Play for those who came before you.
"I think the guys are playing inspired because of that, which is a good thing," Roland said. "I think the guys on the team recognize that they wouldn't be where they are if not for him, so I think that they're playing in his honor, which is a great thing to see."
Roland is not purely speculating, either.
On top of his grandfather and father's connection to Villanova, Roland's older brother, Matt, is currently in his first season as a graduate assistant for the program.
"My whole family's going to be there," Roland said, "so that'll be fun."
A national title would be a fitting tribute to Rollie, bringing up countless stories and memories from anyone who ever met him.
For Roland, however, his favorite memories and stories with or about his grandfather take place far from the basketball court.
One includes Rollie playing more than 50 holes of golf a day. Another Roland recalls is Rollie regularly teeing off with legendary head coach Chuck Daly, CBS's Bill Raftery and R.C.
"They had a pretty cool foursome there," Roland said, with a smile.
Even when Rollie's golfing habits were slowed down by a number of health issues, he would question Roland on swing mechanics when his grandson would visit.
"It was always funny because he was always thinking about it," Roland said. "It was just kind of cool to have that interaction."
Those moments are now memories. Rollie's impact, in Roland's mind, is now how he lives his life — through golf, through academics, through personal relationships.
Thankfully, he has 30 letters worth of reminders.
"It's kind of a cool insight into a great basketball coach's mind," Roland said. "They're something that I really hold special."
A stack of about 30 letters, filled with emotion and motivation, sit in Roland Massimino's room.
The junior for K-State men's golf has held on to them for about five years now, since his grandfather, the legendary college basketball coach Rollie Massimino, sent him one each day for about a month.
"That's something that I still have now," Roland said, "and it's really special to me."
Rollie died of cancer last August at the age of 82, but he was a special coach and person. Not only because he won 816 games in his career, led Villanova for 19 seasons (1973-92) and won the 1985 national championship, either.
"He was a really special person, as a teacher and as a person, in general. What he gave to me was just a winning attitude, being someone that wants to compete," said Roland, who will travel to join his family at Monday's national championship game between Villanova and Michigan in San Antonio, Texas. "That was one of his things, 'You have to compete. No matter how you do it, you just have to compete.' That's something he's passed down."
For one month about five years ago, Rollie mailed his message to Roland, literally. Each day, a different letter arrived with a short amount of motivational text.
One of the first included this message: "Decide how good you want to be."
The next day when Roland opened another letter from his grandfather, it read: "Did you decide how good you want to be?"
Another ended with: "Just remember, you're one of the elephants, not the mice."
Roland took it all to heart.
The native of Lumberville, Pennsylvania, improved his game and respectively finished third and second at the state golf championship his final two years at New Hope Solebury High School. Roland, who stopped playing basketball to focus on golf after his freshman season of high school, also recorded six top-25 finishes on the American Junior Golf Association circuit between 2013-15, helping give him the opportunity to play golf at the Division I level.
"He was an incredible guy and I learned a lot from him," Roland, coming off a team-best finish in K-State's last tournament, said of his grandfather. "He had an attitude that was, 'I'm going to do what I'm going to do. I'm going to win. I'm going to find a way.' That was something I always took from him."
Rollie also installed the importance of family to those around him, be it his players or his actual relatives.
"He thinks that family is the most important thing," Roland said. "Our whole family — cousins and everyone — we're all really tight, I think, just because of him, because he instilled that in all of our personalities."
To make his point, Roland refers to the infamous 1985 Villanova squad. Roland's father, R.C., played on the title-winning team that, as an eight seed in the first year of the NCAA Tournament's expansion to 64 squads, shocked the college basketball world.
In the first round, Villanova beat Dayton in Dayton's arena. The Wildcats then knocked off a No. 1 seed in Michigan, a No. 5 seed in Maryland and a pair of No. 2 seeds in North Carolina and Memphis State, to set up a national title bout with Patrick Ewing's Georgetown Hoyas. Villanova would win, 66-64, in one of the sport's biggest upsets ever.
"They were so tight as a team and they still get together every year. It's pretty cool," Roland said. "They were a really, really tight team. We say family a lot at K-State, and it was a real family atmosphere (at Villanova). To most of those guys, he was a second father to them. That was part of how they made that run. They played for each other."
Fast-forward to Roland's golf recruitment, and his visit to K-State stood out. Everywhere he went, he felt and heard about its family atmosphere.
"It definitely was a factor being recruited," Roland said. "I remember walking through the football stadium and all the athletic facilities when I visited, and I remember talking to it with my dad and saying, 'They really preach family here,' which is a good thing because that's something my grandfather has always talked about. I think the whole feel of closeness, connectedness and community here was a pretty big part of why I came here."
Jump ahead to K-State's BIGHORN Invitational last weekend in Palm Desert, California, and it all somewhat came full circle for Roland.
In a clubhouse with his father and K-State teammates, Roland watched Villanova's Sweet 16 battle with West Virginia. Cheers quickly turned to silence when the TV broadcast brought up the man missing from the arena: Rollie. It's the first NCAA Tournament in more than 40 years that Villanova has played in without him either coaching or watching.
"It was cool," Roland said of the moment. "It was cool watching it with my dad."
To no surprise, Roland's connection to Villanova will never cease to exist.
He grew up going to games there, occasionally tailing his grandfather and watching people stop him "literally every five feet."
"I remember always being annoyed with that, but I look back on it and I didn't realize how big of an impact he made on Villanova back then," Roland said. "Now, it's pretty obvious."
Before the season, Villanova head coach Jay Wright announced the team would wear "RVM" patches on its uniforms this season to honor Rollie's impact. It's a larger part of one of the program's mottos: Play for those who came before you.
"I think the guys are playing inspired because of that, which is a good thing," Roland said. "I think the guys on the team recognize that they wouldn't be where they are if not for him, so I think that they're playing in his honor, which is a great thing to see."
Roland is not purely speculating, either.
On top of his grandfather and father's connection to Villanova, Roland's older brother, Matt, is currently in his first season as a graduate assistant for the program.
"My whole family's going to be there," Roland said, "so that'll be fun."
A national title would be a fitting tribute to Rollie, bringing up countless stories and memories from anyone who ever met him.
For Roland, however, his favorite memories and stories with or about his grandfather take place far from the basketball court.
One includes Rollie playing more than 50 holes of golf a day. Another Roland recalls is Rollie regularly teeing off with legendary head coach Chuck Daly, CBS's Bill Raftery and R.C.
"They had a pretty cool foursome there," Roland said, with a smile.
Even when Rollie's golfing habits were slowed down by a number of health issues, he would question Roland on swing mechanics when his grandson would visit.
"It was always funny because he was always thinking about it," Roland said. "It was just kind of cool to have that interaction."
Those moments are now memories. Rollie's impact, in Roland's mind, is now how he lives his life — through golf, through academics, through personal relationships.
Thankfully, he has 30 letters worth of reminders.
"It's kind of a cool insight into a great basketball coach's mind," Roland said. "They're something that I really hold special."
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