Brown coach T.J. Sorrentine excited by 'unique opportunity' to join NBA's Washington Wizards
Bill KochT.J. Sorrentine already had his answer.
If a call back eventually came from the Washington Wizards, the associate head coach for the Brown men and Pawtucket native knew what he would say. Leaving the Bears would be difficult, but the chance to reunite with Brian Keefe and jump to the NBA was an opportunity he wouldn’t let pass.
Sorrentine was recruiting in Philadelphia and New Jersey last month when Keefe made contact via cell phone. A process that started soon after Keefe was formally hired to be head coach by the Wizards had come to a close. Sorrentine would leave Brown after 16 seasons to become an assistant in Washington.
“I was happy,” Sorrentine said by phone from his new office on Tuesday. “I was comfortable. When I came down here to visit, I came with the mindset that it was a great opportunity. But if it didn’t happen or come through, I had a great job.
“My family was happy. I was in a great spot. But going through a day with Coach Keefe and meeting with people, I left here and I called my wife (Emily) and I was like, ‘Man, it’s going to be really hard to come back to college.’
“This was a unique opportunity. That’s when I knew it was time to go. I was ready. I’m going to take full advantage of this opportunity.”
Sorrentine’s relationship with Keefe stretches back more than two decades. Sorrentine was an undergraduate guard at Vermont who worked out in the summer at Bryant University, and Keefe was an assistant with the Bulldogs under Max Good. Keefe left Smithfield for an NBA job with the San Antonio Spurs in 2005-06 and has been grinding his way up the league ladder ever since.
“That obviously put it over the top,” Sorrentine said. “That was first and foremost. I always say small circle — have a lot of friends and know a lot of people, but a really small circle of people I trust.”
Keefe was appointed on a Wednesday night in late May and called Sorrentine the following morning to gauge his interest. He was looking to build a staff heavy on player development and personal growth. Keefe was among the primary contact points for Kevin Durant during their time together with Oklahoma City, and Sorrentine notified Brown coach Mike Martin immediately when he received an initial phone call.
“I said, ‘Mike, this could be real,’ ” Sorrentine said. “This wasn’t a random call. He got the job that Wednesday night officially and called me that next morning.”
Sorrentine has helped develop Bears guards like Sean McGonagill, JR Hobbie, Brandon Anderson and Kino Lilly Jr. Brown will be among the favorites for another Ivy Madness trip on its home floor in 2024-25, and Lilly is one of the key returners along with frontcourt star Nana Owusu-Anane. Sorrentine made calls to Lilly, Owusu-Anane and other players on the roster soon after his decision was final.
“Brown is going to have a huge year,” Sorrentine said. “Not being able to be a part of that, I was a little nervous telling them. But the way they reacted — they were great. That made it a lot easier.”
Sorrentine’s lengthy stretch at Brown can partly be credited to his father, Tom, a longtime teacher and multisport coach at St. Raphael Academy. His baseball and boys basketball teams with the Saints have enjoyed significant success, and there was the occasional outside question about whether or not he’d ever leave for a different level of competition. He’s spent more than three decades at the school and watched one of his sons play professionally overseas, crack the college ranks and, now, move to the world’s most high-profile professional league.
“He had unwavering loyalty,” Sorrentine said. “I think that’s a big reason why I was at Brown for so long. My loyalty — leaving it in a better place than when I got there.
“I just loved being in that job doing everything I could to help that program be the best it could be.”
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