The Hoop Group is the worldwide leader in basketball instruction. Since 1963 the Hoop Group coaching tree has grown and developed some of the best coaches in the business. It’s Hoop Group’s commitment to fulfill the dreams of thousands of young boy’s and girl’s through the game of basketball. Listed below is the current Hoop Group full time staff:
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Rob Kennedy
Hoop Group President
Rob Kennedy is President of Hoop Group. Rob has been involved with the company from the beginning, but became an official part of Hoop Group over 27 years ago. Rob brings an experts’ knowledge and a rich understand of basketball and the game’s history to the position.Before Hoop Group, Rob graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelors in Political Science. He became an assistant coach at Monmouth University and worked as a color commentator for multiple sport networks including Comcast Sports Network and ESPN Regional. Today, Rob continues to provide color commentary for the MAAC Conference during the college basketball season and sits on the board for ESPN’s TBT Tournament.
 robk@hoopgroup.com
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Matt Pooley
Hoop Group Vice President
Matt Pooley is the Vice President at Hoop Group. Matt has been with Hoop Group for over six years. During that time, Matt has been involved in all branches of the company. His current role encompasses overseeing Hoop Group Elite, company wide marketing and finance, and external partnerships including sponsorship and eSports. Matt is a graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was a member of the basketball team at RPI, being named a captain his senior year.
pooley@hoopgroup.com
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Hoop Group Camps
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Jeremy Freeman
Camp Director
Jeremy Freeman joined Hoop Group as Director of Recruiting in the summer of 2019. Jeremy was the Director of Basketball Operations at The College of Holy Cross for one year prior to his arrival. Originally from Baltimore, Jeremy coached with Adidas grassroots program, Team BBC, for three summers after graduating from Cornell University. While at Cornell, Jeremy was a student manager and graduated with a degree in Applied Economics and Management in 2015.
jeremy@hoopgroup.com
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Brian Petruzzelli
Camp Director
Brian Petruzzelli joined Hoop Group in the summer of 2019. Prior to his arrival, Brian served as Special Assistant to the Head Coach at Saint Peter’s University. A New Jersey native and graduate of Montclair State University, Brian started his career as a graduate assistant at Saint Louis University from 2016-2018.
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brian@hoopgroup.com
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Vincent Johnson
Camp Director
Vincent (Chico) Johnson joined Hoop Group in the summer of 2019. Vincent was the Head Coach at Pope John XXIII High School for 3 years prior to his arrival. Vincent started his career at Lehigh University as the Director of Basketball Operations (2014-2015) before becoming a head coach in the high school ranks.
vincent@hoopgroup.com
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Nick Sires
Camp Director
Nick Sires joined Hoop Group as Director of Recruiting in the summer of 2019. Nick was the Assistant Coach at Montclair State University for 3 years prior to his arrival. Originally from New Jersey, Nick started his career as Student Assistant/Video Coordinator for SUNY Cortland (’10-’12) before coming back as an Assistant Coach at Pope John XXIII (’12-’15).
sires@hoopgroup.com
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Chaese Vaudrin
Camp Director
Chaese Vaudrin joined Hoop Group as an intern in the summer of 2019 and was brought on full time as the Director of Skills in September of 2019. Chaese graduated from Geneva College of Pennsylvania in 2017 with a Bachelors degree in Psychology. While at Geneva, Chaese was a 4-year starter on the men’s basketball team. After graduating from Geneva, Chaese spent a year as the Varsity Men’s basketball assistant coach at his alma matter, Uniontown Lake High School.
chaese@hoopgroup.com
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Hoop Group Tournaments
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Eric Kessler
Team Tournaments Director
Eric Kessler Jr joined Hoop Group as Director of HGHQ in March of 2014. Today, Eric is the Director of Hoop Group Team Tournaments. In 2012, Eric graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology where he played three years of basketball for the Ducks. Eric has coached the NJ Shoreshots AAU program for the past four years. The 17u team will represent the NJ Shoreshots on the HGSL circuit this season.
kessler@hoopgroup.com
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Jordan Tillotson
Tournament Director
Jordan Tillotson joined Hoop Group as Director of Operations in September 2016. Before being hired full time, Jordan spent two summers as an intern. While in college, Jordan worked for the Athletic Department at Genesee Community College. Jordan graduated from Syracuse University in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management.
jordan@hoopgroup.com
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Hoop Group Headquarters (HGHQ)
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Mike Rice
Headquarters Executive Camp Director
Coach Rice has 22 years of Division 1 coaching experience. He has coached at Rutgers, Robert Morris, Pittsburg, St. Joes, Niagara, Chicago State, and Fordham and has been apart of producing over 30 NBA players. He is currently the Head Coach for the nationally recognized AAU program, Team Rio. Coach Rice played collegiately at Fordham University and was a three year captain.
Rice@hoopgroup.com
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Tiny Green
Headquarters Camp Director
Coach "Tiny" Green is the President of Nothing But Skills (NBS) based out of South Brunswick. Coach Green is also a former associate head coach at Division I schools Fairleigh Dickinson, Hofstra, and St. Bonaventure. Coach Green has coached numerous players selected by the NBA and European leagues. He has coached in 7 NCAA tournaments. Coach Green achieved All-American status as a player at Upsala College.
tiny@hoopgroup.com
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James Cooper
Facility Director
NJ Shoreshots Director
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coop@hoopgroup.com
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Hoop Group
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Kaitlyn Fedor
Marketing Director
Kaitlyn Fedor joined Hoop Group as Director of Marketing in May 2017. Kaitlyn graduated from Rowan University in 2017 with a bachelor of Public Relations and bachelor of Fine Arts. While at Rowan, Kaitlyn played soccer for the University and was a Sports Information Assistant in Rowan’s Athletic Department.
Kaitlyn@hoopgroup.com
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Mike Palazzi
Operations Director
Mike Palazzi joined the Hoop Group as the Director of Business Operations in May of 2019. Mike graduated from East Stroudsburg University in May 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management with a minor in Business Management. Mike spent one summer as an intern, and previously worked at Blair Academy as an assistant coach for their boy’s varsity basketball team from 2016-2019, and the junior varsity coach from 2018-2019.
mike@hoopgroup.com
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Evan Andariese
Operations / Video Director
Evan Andariese joined Hoop Group as Director of Event Operations in May 2019. Evan Graduated York College of PA with a degree in Sport Management. He worked for the Princeton University Athletic Department and Men’s Basketball program for the 2017-18 season. Flowing that year, he became an assistant coach at Ocean County College where he played in 2014-15.
evan@hoopgroup.com
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