By DAVID MEISTER
Sports Editor
Saint Rose men’s basketball fans have been used to seeing one man rove the sidelines in the Nolan Gymnasium for over 30 years. This past week, Mike Perno was named the new full time head coach after serving as interim head coach since the beginning of this season, taking over for longtime head man Brian Beaury. “He (Perno) means a great deal to the Saint Rose community,” said Cathy Haker, director of athletics and recreation for Saint Rose.
Perno began coaching at Saint Rose as an assistant in 2006. Before that, Perno was an elementary education major here at Saint Rose. He played for the Golden Knights for two years after transferring from Monmouth University in the late 1990’s.
Perno is only the third head coach in team history as before him was Beaury who retired in October, and Mike Long who helped to found the program. The longevity of the program and its three coaches is noticed by Haker. “You have to love what you’re doing. They try to make it feel like a family.”
Haker also talked about looking for their new coach. “We didn’t have to go external with our search, we had the right candidate in the building,” said Haker. “He has my full endorsement.”
“It’s humbling,” said Perno. He said that the team this season is a lot younger than the squad from a year ago as there are seven freshmen. “They have a lot of energy.” He pointed to freshman Sekou Sylla, who has earned NE-10 Freshman of the Week honors four times this season.
“Coach Perno is great,” said Sylla. “He never lets me take a day off and pushes me to be a better player than I was the night before not only in games but in practice as well. His coaching style is very fun and fast paced and I love it.”
Perno’s priorities for his players are rooted in three principles. “Family, school, and then basketball in that order,” said Perno. He also said that many of those anecdotes he uses he learned from Beaury. “He (Perno) has inside experience with the program,” said Haker. “He has good insight into Division II, the NCAA, and Saint Rose.”
While one of Perno’s goals is to win, he also recognizes the broader picture for both him and his student athletes. “Control the controllables,” said Perno. He also said that he teaches them to be good citizens and that he likes to spend more time with his players.
One player who has worked with both Perno and Beaury is senior Matt Cerutti. “Coach Perno has brought everything he learned under Coach Beaury along with his own style of coaching,” said Cerutti.
Perno said he gained experience in coaching from working with the varsity men’s basketball team at Kellenberg Memorial High School from 2002-2006, and then since taking the job at Saint Rose in 2006. Before being officially elevated to his new post, Perno filled in as head coach in 2006-07, 2014-15 and 2017-18 for previous head coach Brian Beaury when he was on medical leave.
While Perno may run the show, he also works with Assistant Coach Shea Bromirski. He also played for the Golden Knights from 2008-2011 and was hired as an assistant in 2017.
Bromirski earned a scholarship at the time to come play for Saint Rose and he also studied elementary education. Bromirski also works for Dags Basketball, created by Saint Rose alum Steve D’Agostino, a summer basketball camp for both elementary and middle school students. “We get them engaged in the game of basketball,” said Bromirski. He also described himself as a “basketball junkie” and that he “loves the game.”
The team finished 21-10 under Perno’s lead last season. They qualified for the NCAA Tournament, but their trip was cut short after falling in the second round to Le Moyne 67-63. “You can only impact the game so much,” said Perno. He also said that it helps that both he and Bromirski are back this season.
Perno has the respect of his team as well. “I am confident Saint Rose basketball will continue its winning ways under the direction of Coach Perno,” said Cerutti. “He has grown this current team into a team that we believe can beat any team in the conference on any night.”
Haker also believes in Perno and his abilities. “He’ll put his own stamp on the program. He learned from one of the best and knows what it takes,” said Haker. “He will leave his own legacy. We’re really excited for the future.”
With a record of 8-13 and six games left on the season, Perno and Bromirski are gearing up for a push to the NE-10 Tournament. “We’re focusing on our defensive energy,” said Perno. “We need those crucial stops in games.” He went onto say that the team has a good offense but that the defense will be key down the stretch. “Treat every practice and game like its your last.”
Perno also credits the rest of his coaching staff for their support and effort they put towards the team. “You don’t see the behind the scenes work,” said Perno. Two aspects he specifically mentioned are the scouting of opposing teams and also the film studies.
Cerutti’s keys to the end of the season are in the team’s attitude. “He (Perno) has grown this current team into a team that we believe can beat any team in the conference on any night. We have seen this with some great team wins,” said Cerutti. “Unfortunately, our record doesn’t reflect this at the moment as us players need to improve on our consistency with the things we can control such as effort, attitude and the standards we hold each other to,” he said.
The final stretch of the season is on and both Perno and Bromirski encourage the community to cheer them on as three of their last six games will be at home in the Nolan Gymnasium. “Come out and support,” said Perno. Bromirski also appreciates when the fans come. “It’s a treat having people in the building,” he said. Haker also recognizes the students and the support they give to all of the teams. “They do come out,” said Haker. “We’d love to have more.” She also noted that students typically come to games more when they are on Saturdays.
The team’s next home game will be on the 13th at 7:30 p.m. when they take on the Adelphi Panthers. Their senior night will also be the same as their regular season finale which is scheduled for February 26 at 7:30 p.m.
“We’re capable of beating anyone this season,” said Bromirski.
