P.J. Carlesimo

P.J. Carlesimo is a college basketball analyst for Westwood One and has covered the NCAA Tournament for the network since 2009. He served as an analyst at the 2012 London Olympic Games and returns in the same capacity for Rio 2016.

Carlesimo served as an assistant coach for USA Basketball for the gold-medal winning team at the 1992 Olympic Games, the 1990 World Championships, the 1990 Goodwill Games and the 1988 Olympic Trials.

Carlesimo also covers the NBA extensively for ESPN and ESPN Radio. He served as an NBA head coach in Portland (1994-97), Golden State (1996-2000), Seattle/Oklahoma City (2007-09) and Brooklyn (2012-13). He was also an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors (2010-11) and the San Antonio Spurs (2002-2007).

Carlesimo began his coaching career as an assistant at Fordham University in 1971, before being named head coach at New Hampshire College for one season (1975-76). He then spent six seasons(1976-82) as the head coach at Wagner College, and led the Seahawks to their first NIT appearance. In 1982, Carlesimo was named head coach at Seton Hall University, a position he held for 12 years. In 1987-88, he guided Seton Hall into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. His teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament in six of his final seven years. He was named NCAA Coach of the Year in 1989 after registering a 31-7 mark, and advancing to the NCAA Championship Game. In addition, he was named Big East Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1989.

Between coaching stints, Carlesimo was also an NBA broadcaster for NBC Sports, Turner Sports and Spurs Television.

P.J. Carlesimo's Posts

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Selection Sunday: Listen on Demand

17 March 2024
Relive “Selection Sunday” as Jason Horowitz, P.J. Carlesimo and Debbie Antonelli revealed the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tournament brackets and chatted with coaches around the country. Guests included UConn men’s head coach Dan Hurley, Houston men’s head…
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Villanova, Duke advance to Final Four

26 March 2022
Two NCAA coaching legends faced off in San Antonio as Jay Wright’s Villanova advanced to their third Final Four with a 50-44 victory against Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars. Neither team shot above 30% in the defensive slugfest. On the west coast, second-seeded Duke handled Arkansas from wire to wire to…
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Baylor wins first Men’s Basketball National Championship

06 April 2021
INDIANAPOLIS – The Baylor Bears are champions of the men’s college basketball world for the first time in program history. The Big 12 member dominated Gonzaga in Monday night’s National Championship Game, winning 86-70 at Lucas Oil Stadium led by four double-figure scorers. Kevin Kugler, P.J. Carlesimo and Jim Jackson…
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Gonzaga wins on OVERTIME FINAL FOUR BUZZER BEATER

04 April 2021
It will go down as one of the best games in Final Four history. Overtime. A game-tying shot with four seconds to play in OT. A game-winning shot at the buzzer. Tied at 90 with less than four seconds to play in overtime, Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs etched his name…
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Roy Williams Post-Retirement Interview with Jim Gray & P.J. Carlesimo

03 April 2021
Following his retirement announcement earlier this week, North Carolina head coach Roy Williams spoke with Westwood One’s Jim Gray and P.J. Carlesimo in this nearly 20-minute conversation. Roy discusses his decision to retire, the future of the college game, his plans for retired life and much more. Every game of…
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