'It has been a whirlwind': Christopher Newport coach John Krikorian of Auburn savors NCAA Division 3 men's basketball championship
John Krikorian earned his bachelor’s degree in systems engineering in 1996 from the University of Pennsylvania, and went straight to work at an information management company.
While at Penn, Krikorian, who was a three-sport athlete (soccer, basketball, baseball) at Auburn High, played two years of JV basketball, and, as a senior, was the varsity team’s student assistant, a formative position that fueled his love of hoops.
After two years in the business world, Krikorian decided he wanted back in the game, and former Penn assistant Steve Donahue helped hook him up with a graduate assistant position at Division 2 West Virginia Wesleyan College.
It was the first stop in Krikorian’s coaching career, which has now spanned 25 years, most notably the last 12 at Christopher Newport University, where he has elevated the men’s basketball program to Division 3 prominence.
Last Saturday, as multi-colored confetti showered Krikorian on the Fort Wayne (Ind.) War Memorial Coliseum court, and he clutched the NCAA Division 3 national championship trophy amidst the Captains’ celebration, he thought of those who helped him get to that pinnacle.
Krikorian’s parents, Bob and Judy, who raised their four children in Auburn, were among the first that came to mind.
“When I made the decision to leave the business world to get into coaching,” Krikorian said Tuesday during a phone interview from Newport News, Virginia, “they were the most supportive in helping me follow my dreams. They said, ‘Go for it.’ They never questioned it. They said, ‘We’ll help you any way we can.’ I obviously couldn’t have done it without that.”
Bob, who taught at South High, his alma mater, for 34 years, passed away in May 2021. Judy now lives with Krikorian’s sister in New Hampshire, and cheers on the Captains from afar.
The last CNU game Bob attended was in 2019 at Hamilton College. The Captains defeated the hosts and Williams to advance to the Final Four for the second time under Krikorian.
Last weekend, the Captains made their first national title game appearance. The final minute against Mount Union was wild. The Purple Raiders tied the score at 72 with 4 seconds left, before CNU junior Trey Barber took the inbounds pass and drove the length of the floor for the winning layup as time expired.
“It has been a whirlwind since that shot went through the basket,” Krikorian said, “and everything that has happened since then. It has definitely not settled down yet.”
The thrilling finish was the No. 1 play on SportsCenter Top Ten.
“Trey started to go downhill toward the basket, and we let it roll, and he delivered,” Krikorian said. “We were going to overtime if he didn’t make it and my mind was already, ‘Boom. How do I get the group ready to go to overtime?’ and he puts it in the basket, and it was just pandemonium.”
Former Worcester Academy coach Mo Cassara, who is now a color analyst for CBS Sports Network, was on the call.
This season, CNU trailed at halftime in nine games, including the national championship, and came from behind to win all of them.
“I can’t be happier for this group of guys,” Krikorian said, “and watching them enjoy this moment that they earned.”
The CNU women’s basketball team will play for the national title April 1, marking just the second time the same school is represented in both D3 title games.
“It’s a place that breeds excellence,” Krikorian said. “It’s fun. It matters, and that’s a place you want to be.”
Krikorian, who was the head coach for four years at U.S. Merchant Marine Academy for four years before arriving at Christopher Newport, was previously an assistant at Penn, Lafayette and Navy.
With the success he has had at CNU (263-62, .809 winning percentage), the 48-year-old Krikorian has, through the years, drawn interest from other programs.
“Some little nibbles,” he said, “but I’m not going to leave here unless it is a really, really special opportunity. At the Division 2-3 level, I don’t think there is a better job in the country. At Division 1, I’m not interested in being an assistant again, and it would take a pretty confident Division 1 athletic director to hire a Division 3 coach. It doesn’t happen very often, and it would still have to be a really good fit for me to move my family. I’m all in for whatever is best for my family. Right now, that’s here in Newport News.”
Krikorian and his wife Emily (Clark), who grew up in Paxton and ran cross-country at Wachusett Regional and Worcester State, have three children.
They have family and friends in Central Mass., and Krikorian was thrilled, when, among the 500 congratulatory text messages he received Saturday night, was a group chat with his former Auburn High teammates.
“It was so cool,” Krikorian said. “It was just awesome to think about Auburn High and that team. I miss my friends and family up there, and it’s fun to reconnect during times like this.”
Wonderful run by Greyhounds
The University of Minnesota-Duluth ended the Assumption women’s basketball team’s historic season Monday night with a 61-41 win in the NCAA Division 2 Elite Eight at the St. Joseph (Missouri) Civic Center.
The Greyhounds held Minnesota-Duluth to 35.3% shooting from the floor, the Bulldogs’ second-lowest field goal percentage of the season, but Assumption made just 28% of its attempts. Monica Spain led Assumption with 13 points.
Assumption’s trip to the Elite Eight was the program’s latest first in a magical season of milestones under longtime coach Kerry Phayre.
The Greyhounds set a single-season program record for victories with 27 and won its first Northeast-10 Conference regular-season title.
Assumption hosted the NCAA East Regional for the first time, and, with impressive wins over Dominican, Bentley and Jefferson, captured the regional title for the first time.
Earlier this season, Phayre became the all-time winningest coach in Assumption athletics history.
Kudos for Lancers' Deraney
Worcester State’s Bob Deraney is among 12 finalists for the Edward Jeremiah Award, given annually to the Division 2-3 men’s ice hockey coach of the year.
Deraney, in his second season at Worcester State, guided the Lancers to a 12-5-1 MASCAC record, to mark the first time the program has won 10 or more conference games in a single season.
Worcester State advanced to the MASCAC Tournament final and finished 14-12-1 overall. Deraney was the MASCAC Co-Coach of the Year.
Deraney, who has been a Worcester Railers assistant, coached the Providence College women’s ice hockey team for 19 seasons.
Head of the Class
∎ Bentley senior first baseman/pitcher Eddy Beauregard of Paxton and Wachusett Regional batted .500 and drove in 10 runs to help the Falcons to a 3-2 week. He pitched six innings and allowed five hits and a run to earn the win against Caldwell.
∎ Western New England sophomore infielder CJ Willis of Auburn hit three home runs and became the Golden Bears' all-time home run leader.
∎ Endicott freshman pitcher Brady Stuart of Hudson made his first career start and, in six innings against Occidental, Stuart allowed three hits and one earned run. Earlier in the week, Stuart pitched 2⅓ innings of scoreless relief. He picked up two wins and had a 1.08 ERA.
∎ Rhode Island College senior center Neleesha Meunier of Leominster and Clinton High came off the bench to play 14 minutes and scored seven points in RIC’s loss to Christopher Newport in the NCAA Division 3 semifinals.
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Christopher Newport coach John Krikorian of Auburn savors NCAA D3 title
