It’s 500 For Mount Vernon CoachMar 15, 2018Posted by james
Bob Cimmino is a high school basketball legend in Westchester County. Just a few weeks ago, his coaching legacy grew even larger when his Mount Vernon team defeated Scarsdale. That victory was his 500th win as Mount Vernon’s coach.
Bob has led the team for 24 seasons. He is just the fourth boys basketball coach in the county to reach the 500-win milestone, and he did it in the fewest games (593) than all the others. He is about 70 victories behind Section 1’s all-time coaching wins leader.
The total number of wins, however, is not important to Bob. The team win always is the achievement. Rather than add up his individual wins as a coach, Bob prefers, as a team, to win the section each season. Already, under his leadership, Mount Vernon has won 16 Section 1 titles and a record seven state championships. Team wins and coaching wins, though, kind of go hand-in-hand.
In anticipation of the milestone, Bob’s assistant coach organized a gathering of friends and former players. Though the game was played at Scarsdale High School, the rival made sure that the bleachers behind the Mount Vernon bench were pulled out fully so that everyone could sit and cheer for the team and Bob.
The game was a close one, with a harrowing fourth quarter. The final score was 72-68. The victory was considered a Bob Cimmino community win and that was exactly the way the coach wanted it.
Bob was in a bad mood for a while during the game but he finally smiled at the buzzer. He later joked that he and his coaches were heading to the best steakhouse in Manhattan to celebrate. Actually, though, he preferred to be surrounded by his players. No different than any other time during the last 24 years.