Paul Molinari (pronounced “mall-in-are-ee”), a 30-year coaching veteran at the Division I and II levels, is in his seventh season on the Youngstown State men’s basketball staff.
Last season, Molinari helped lead the Penguins to the first regular-season conference championship in program history after guiding the Penguins to an overall record of 24-10 and a 15-5 league mark en route to the Horizon League Championship.
The 24 wins tied the program record for most wins in a season and the 15 Horizon League victories also set the record for most conference wins.
He helped the Penguins to 19 wins in 2021-22, which were also the most since 2000-01 and set a school record for most wins as members of the Horizon League. The Penguins also set a school record for most conference wins with 12.
That year, Youngstown State also tied the Division I record for most home wins with 13 and secured the program’s second postseason berth in three years with an appearance in the inaugural The Basketball Classic. The Penguins also won its second postseason game with a 70-65 victory over Morgan State.
In 2020-21, he helped guide the Penguins to their second straight winning season by posting a 15-12 overall record. It marked the first consecutive winnings season since the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
The Penguins continued its strong play at home by winning 10 games at the Beeghly Center. YSU averaged 76.6 points and 13.1 assists per game at home. Since Feb. 7, 2019, the Penguins own a home court record of 27-9.
In 2019-20, Molinari assisted the Penguins to one the most historic seasons in the program's Division I history. YSU finished the season with an overall record of 18-15 and placed fourth in the Horizon League with a 10-8 league mark. The Penguins' 18 wins were the most since 2012-13 and ranked tied for the fourth most in YSU's Division I era. The 10 league wins tied a school record for most wins in Horizon League play. YSU's 17 regular season wins were the most since 2000-01 and the most since joining the Horizon League.
Youngstown State went 13-3 at the Beeghly Center and set a Division I mark for most wins at home. The Penguins averaged 76.9 points and 14.6 assists per game at Beeghly Center.
For just the second time in history the Penguins accepted a Division I postseason berth to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was canceled.
Darius Quisenberry was named to the NABC All-District 12 Second-Team and the All-Horizon League First-Team. He averaged 16.6 points, 3.6 rebounds 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He also ranked fifth in the Horizon League in scoring and assists per game, fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5), sixth in field-goal percentage (.422), steals per game and free-throw percentage (.792), and 13th with 1.5 3-pointers made per game. He became the fourth YSU Division I player to score at least 40 points in a game and his career-high 41 points against Wright State on Feb. 20 rank as the sixth-highest single-game total. Quisenberry is the first player in school history to earn all-league honors in his first two seasons.
Naz Bohannon posted a career-best 11.2 points per game and averaged 8.6 rebounds per game, which ranked third in the Horizon League. He shot 51.7 percent from the field and averaged 12.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game against Horizon League opponents. Bohannon's 284 rebounds were the third most in YSU's Division I history and the most since Jerome Sims had 327 in 1991-92. He also grabbed seven double-doubles on the year.
For the second straight year, junior Garrett Covington was named to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team. He is just the third YSU player to earn consecutive all-defensive team honors. He also averaged 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in 2019-20.
In 2018-19, Molinari helped the Penguins to a four-win improvement from the 2017-18 season and posted the second-most wins in Horizon league play since joining the conference in 2001-02. The Penguins also set the school record for most 3-pointers made in a season with 303 and scored at least 2,000 points for the 10th straight season. The Penguins scored 2,415 points in 2018-19, which ranks fifth in program history.
For the first time in 20 years, the Penguins won six straight games, which set a YSU record for consecutive wins in the Horizon League, from Jan. 31 to Feb. 16.
Darius Quisenberry became the first Youngstown State freshman to earn all-conference honors when he was selected to the All-Horizon League Second-Team. He was also named to the Horizon League All-Freshmen Team. Quisenberry led the Penguins with 13.8 points per game and had 120 assists. He became the first YSU freshman to score at least 400 points since 1978-79 and set the school record 3-point record with 51 made 3s.
Naz Bohannon reached a milestone by grabbing the 500th rebound of his career and finishing with 8.3 rebounds per game, which ranked second in the Horizon League.
During the 2017-18 season, the Penguins set a school record with 266 steals, breaking the 27-year-old record of 255 set in 1990-91. Youngstown State also scored 2,410 points, which rank fifth on the single-season scoring list and is just the fifth time in school history a YSU team has scored more than 2,400 points in a season.
He joined YSU after five seasons (2012-17) as associate head coach on Jerrod Calhoun’s staff at Fairmont State. Molinari will work with all facets of the Penguins program.
During his time at Fairmont State, Molinari helped the Falcons to a five-year record of 124-38, four NCAA Tournament appearances and at least 20 wins each season.
Last season, he helped Fairmont State to the NCAA Division II National Championship game, a school-best record of 34-3, its first conference championship in 21 years with a mark of 21-1 and received its first NCAA Division II No. 1 ranking since 1976. The program also won 30-or-more games for the first time since 1974-75.
Matt Bingaya was named NABC Division II First-Team All-American and earned All-Mountain East Conference First-Team honors.
In 2015-16, the Falcons had two post players earn Mountain East Conference postseason honors and FSU ended the season with a 25-5 overall record, earning a bid to their third NCAA Tournament in four seasons. The Falcons have also recorded four-straight 20-win seasons since Calhoun and Molinari took over the program back in 2012.
Bingaya earned first-team All-MEC honors and was named an all-region performer by both the CCA and the NABC in his first season with the Falcons. Thomas Wimbush also earned second team all-league honors after going over 1,100 points for his career during his senior season.
Three seasons ago, the Falcons earned a bid to the NCAA Atlantic Regional at West Liberty and advanced to the finals of the Mountain East Conference Basketball Tournament. Post players Nick Harney and Wimbush each earned All-MEC honors while Harney was named first team All-Atlantic Region.
In 2013-14, Molinari helped lead the Falcons to their second-consecutive, 20-win season and the Falcons earned a trip to the MEC Semifinals as the fourth seed in the tournament. FSU had three players earn second-team All-MEC honors following the 2013-14 season, including Wimbush, who earned league Freshman of the Year honors.
During the 2012-13 season, Molinari helped lead the Falcons to the biggest single-season turnaround in school history. The squad also made an appearance in the WVIAC Tournament Championship game for the first time in 28 years and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tournament.
Molinari was recognized by collegeinsider.com as one of the top Mid-Major assistant coaches in Division I. With 343 wins on Division I basketball staffs from Las Vegas to Philadelphia, and 418 victories including his time as a student manager at Villanova, Molinari’s hands-on, student-centered approach has enabled his teams to reach seven NCAA Tournaments and earn four berths in the NIT.
A native of Oneonta, N.Y., Molinari spent nine seasons at Winthrop from 2003-12. Molinari was a part of Gregg Marshall’s staff for five seasons, and was an assistant for Randy Peele the last four years.
In his nine years with the program, Winthrop won the conference tournament title five times earning bids to the NCAA Tournament in each of those seasons. In 2006-07, the Eagles finished 29-5, were ranked 22nd in the nation, and upset Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Molinari helped develop Mid-Major All-America center Craig Bradshaw, and also coached several players to all-conference, all-tournament and all-freshman honors.
Molinari spent seven seasons (1996-2003) as an assistant at Cleveland State. In 2000-01 Vikings went 19-13, their best mark in a 14-year span.
From 1994-96, Molinari was an assistant coach on Scott Thompson’s staff at Wichita State. The Shockers won 13 games in his first season, which marked the school’s second-most wins during a seven-year run, and included a 10-4 record at home at Koch Arena.
Prior to that, Molinari spent two seasons as video coordinator at UNLV with Massimino. Led by Isaiah Rider, the fifth overall pick in the 1993 and future NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Runnin’ Rebels went 21-8 in 1992-93 and earned a trip to the NIT.
As an undergraduate at Villanova, Molinari spent four years as a student manager under the direction of Coach Massimino while earning a degree in Operations Management in 1990. During that time he assisted the coaching staff as the Wildcats reached two NCAA Tournaments, including one run to the Elite Eight in 1988, and two NIT berths.
He went on to join Jim McDonald’s staff at Kent State from 1990-91 as a graduate assistant coach where he earned a master’s degree in Sports Administration. He returned to Villanova in the 1991-92 as a graduate assistant as the Wildcats reached the NIT in coach Massimino’s final season.
