Former NIU basketball star Carl Armato has taken his winning ways from the basketball court to the sidelines.

As the first-year head coach for the Rock Valley Junior College Trojans in Rockford, Armato has turned a 3-26 team from a year ago into a fast-starting 13-4 team this year.

Armato, a 1984 graduate of NIU, played for former head coach John McDougal (1976-1986), the only coach to take an NIU team to the NCAA Tournament (1982). Armato feels he has gotten a good basketball background by playing for McDougal.

“Coach McDougal tought me more about basketball than anyone. He tought me that coaching basketball is much more than X’s and 0’s, it’s how you carry yourself on and off the court. Coach McDougal was an excellent coach because he was an excellent person. Players recognize that,” said Armato.

Playing point guard for the Huskies in the competitive Mid-American Conference helped Armato develop his basic philosophy of basketabll. He said, “First and foremost you must instill discipline, then you have to tell your players what you expect from them. That they have to be unselfish for the good of the team.

“When I played point guard for NIU, I directed the offense. I saw a lot of different strategies and tactics in the MAC conference and that helped prepare me to be a coach.”

Armato has left his mark in the NIU record book as the fourth leading assist man. In 1984 he was named to the All MAC team. He was also recently inducted to the Illinois Basktball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame for his achievments as a player.

After his playing days at NIU, Armato went right into coaching serving as an assistant at his high school (Rockford Boylan) under highly respected coach Steve Goers. Armato got his first head coaching job a year later at Class A Winnebago High School. Two years later Armato returned to Dekalb to coach class AA Dekalb High School. He coached the Barbs for two years before joining Rock Valley.

“It was a great oppurtunity for me,” said Armato, “It gave me a chance to come home and coach at a collegiate level.”

Armato didn’t waste any time in putting together his team. He lured the local talents to Rock Valley and used his high school coaching connections to attract talent from surrounding areas.

“The kids we have here may not have had the grades or the necessary talent to get a Division I scholarship, so we were a good alternative. We have a beutiful campus, great facilities and a outstanding academic reputation,” he said.

Armato is enjoying his early success, but he does not have a ambitious attitude about the future. “This is only my first year and I’m happy and content here,” he said. “We jelled quicker than I expected, but you’re only as good as your last game. We still have a tough conference schedule to deal with. I hope we can continue to progress as quickly as we have been, but we can’t be overconfident.”

But Rock Valley is not the only team that Armato is interested in. He still has a great interest in his alma mater and believes that first-year coach Jim Molinari will build a solid program at NIU.

I really like coach Molinari. I think he’s an excellent person. I think he’s going to take over the progran where coach McDougal has left it,” said Armato.

Armato also thinks that a new facility for the Huskies’ basketball team will speed up its development. He said, “I would like to see NIU build a facility that is consistent with other Division I schools similar in size. I think that will enable (NIU) to attract some athletes that they may not have without (the new facility).

“I think that coach Molinari will still be successful without it, but it would be great for the school.”