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http://ohiohoopzone.com/?p=629Columbus, Ohio -- Former Youngstown State men's basketball coach Dom Rosselli is among 19 men and women who have been chosen for the 2011 class of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame, the hall of fame and musuem announced.
The Sixth Annual Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, Saturday, May 21.
Youngstown State Head Coach Jerry Slocum said Rosselli's induction is a source of great pride for not only the basketball program but Youngstown State University as a whole.
"I'm proud to be part of a basketball program that he mentored for so many years," Slocum said. "We are all very happy for the entire Rosselli family. This is a very well-deserved honor.
"Coach Rosselli was a legend in the game of basketball, and a person that stood for the highest integrity in the game and life in general."
Rosselli, a charter member of the YSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1985, was a fixture on the basketball bench from 1940-41 to 1981-82. He nurtured a program from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to NCAA Division II and then to Division I. He was also instrumental in Youngstown State's rise as an independent to conference play, first in the original Mid-Continent Conference on the Division II level and the Ohio Valley Conference in Division I.
In his 38 years, Rosselli compiled a career record of 589-388 for a .604 winning percentage. He led his teams to eight 20-win seasons, including a 24-3 mark with an .889 winning percentage in 1963-64. Both are still school records for most wins and highest winning percentage in a season.
When he retired following the 1982 season, he was ranked 10th in NCAA history in lifetime collegiate victories. He recorded the second-most wins in NCAA Division II history in coaching 39 seasons.
During the 1956-57 season, Rosselli guided the Penguins to a 23-4 mark and an appearance in the NAIA Quarterfinals as the Penguins lost to Southeastern Oklahoma, 69-65. The following season, in 1957-58, Youngstown State finished 23-7 and advanced to the third round of the NAIA National Tournament before losing to Western Illinois, 70-67.
For the third time in as many seasons, Rosselli and the Penguins made an appearance in the NAIA National Tournament after a 19-9 mark in 1958-59. YSU defeated Baldwin Wallace, 97-77, in the championship game of the NAIA Ohio District and Northern (S.D.) State, 85-76, in the first round of the NAIA National Tournament. In the second round, the Penguins lost to Tennessee A&I State, 89-80. Members of those NAIA tournament teams included Youngstown State Hall of Fame members Bob Atterholt, Tony Knott, Herb Lake, Charles Moore, and Mickey Yugovich.
He coached the Penguins for two seasons before World War II duty as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force took him off the court and overseas.
Upon his return from the war, Rosselli was very involved in YSU athletics. Rosselli returned to full-time duty on the basketball court as soon as he returned from the war.
His many coaching honors include the NCAA's District IV Coach of the Year, and Ohio's College Coach of the Year, both in 1957 and 1964, and the Italian Coach of the Year.
Rosselli passed away at the age of 93 on Oct. 7, 2008.
Besides Rosselli, other college coaches inducted include Joe Campoli of Ohio Northern, Charlie Coles of Miami University, Jean Dowell of Mount St. Joseph's, and Pam Smith of Wittenberg. High school coaches Columbus Hines of Dixie, Gene Millard of Bexley and Gretchen Prichard of Lima Bath will also be honored.
