Coaching Staff

Contact Information

Rick Harris
Head Coach
rjharris@ccri.edu

Sam Hajinian
Assistant Coach
shajinian@ccri.edu

Andy Jackson
Assistant Coach
ajackson@ccri.edu

Carmine Goneconte
Assistant Coach
cjgoneconte@ccri.edu

Rick Harris: Head Coach

Rick Harris, who begins his fifth year at the helm of the Knights, is just the third head coach in the history of CCRI men's basketball. Under his leadership CCRI has compiled a 77-54 overall record and 44-11 record in Region XXI play. Those victories include three Region XXI Championships and one Northeast District Championship, which led to an appearance in the NJCAA Men’s Basketball Division II National Tournament in Danville, Ill. during the 2006-07 season.

Harris came to CCRI with more than 20 seasons of experience coaching high school basketball. He made his mark on the Rhode Island scene as the varsity boys’ basketball coach at Cranston East High School from 1990-2006 compiling 230 wins. Under his direction, the team won three consecutive RIIL Division 1A State Championships in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and was the state finalist runner-up in 2001. The team also won four RIIL Division 1 League Championships in 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2004. Harris was chosen as Rhode Island Basketball Coaches Association (RIBCA) Coach of the Year in 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Prior to coaching at Cranston East, Harris coached with Joe Hassett Sr. at Our Lady of Providence and Jim Hopkins at both Cranston High School East and Johnston High School. He began his coaching career with the Catholic Youth Organization at St. Matthews.
Harris served as treasurer of RIBCA for 10 years. He is the director of the Rick Harris Hoop Skills Basketball Camp, and has worked for the Los Angeles Lakers at their annual summer camp held in Santa Barbara, Calif. since 2000.

Harris earned degrees from CCRI, Rhode Island College and Providence College. In addition to his duties at CCRI, he is a special education teacher in the Cranston School Department.
Harris was born in Providence, R.I. and resides in Cranston with his wife, Lucy, and their two children.

Andy Jackson: Assistant Coach/Strength Coach

Andy Jackson came to CCRI after many years of training some of the top high school and college athletes in Rhode Island. Some of the many athletes who have trained under his guidance include Steve Silva (Holy Cross), Jamie Silva (Boston College), Will Blackmon (Boston College), Soap Toun (Stonehill College) and Joe Mazzulla (West Virginia).

Jackson competed actively in bodybuilding competitions and held the titles of Mr. Eastern America, Mr. Boston and Mr. Rhode Island from 1970-72. In 1990, he finished fourth in the Mr. Rhode Island competition. Jackson graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School in 1970 and received a Technical Arts

degree from Providence Opportunity Industrial Center in 1974. Jackson has served as a mentor to young people for more than 25 years. He has been involved at the Olneyville Boys Club, Washington Park Community Center and John Hope Settlement House. He also coaches in the Providence Recreation Fall League.
Jackson is a lifelong resident of Providence, R.I.

Sam Hajinian: Assistant Coach

Sam Hajinian, a former basketball player under Rick Harris at Cranston East High School from 1994-97, is in his second year as an assistant coach of the CCRI men’s basketball program. He played for CCRI under Athletic Director Emeritus Vin Cullen from 1996-1998 and participated in the NJCAA Division III National Tournament in Delhi, N.Y. He previously coached at the CCRI Basketball School in 1997 and then again in 2007.
In honor of Hajinian’s hard work and positive attitude in high school, Harris established an annual award in his name. The “Sammy Award” is presented to the student-athlete who best displays the desire, dedication and determination that Hajinian exemplified on a daily basis. Hajinian was the Rhode Island Armenian Athlete of the year and earned All-State honors in 1996. He was selected first team All-Division in 1995 and 1996.
Hajinian resides in Cranston with his wife, Zara.

Carmine Goneconte: Assistant Coach

Carmine Goneconte joins the coaching staff of the CCRI men’s basketball team this year, bringing with him more than 30 years of basketball coaching experience ranging from youth leagues to the college level. Most recently, he served as head coach of the Division I girls’ basketball team at Cranston West High School where his team made the state playoffs for four consecutive years. In 2009, the Rhode Island High School Girls' Basketball Coaches' Association (RIHSGBCA) named him Division I Coach of the Year.
Prior to coaching in Cranston, Goneconte was head coach of the girls’ basketball team at Narragansett High School. His teams won two consecutive Division II championships in 2005 and 2006. In 2005, he was named Coach of the Year in Division II South by the RIHSGBCA.
Goneconte spent many years coaching for the women’s basketball program at Johnson & Wales University (JWU) before leading teams in the Cranston and Narragansett school systems. He was named assistant womens’ basketball coach in 1997 and was promoted to associate head womens’ coach in 2001. In both positions, he was involved with all facets of the program, including practice planning and coaching, game coaching, recruiting, academic oversight, and fundraising. The JWU teams were very competitive in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference during his tenure and played for the conference championship in 2000.
Goneconte began his basketball coaching career as the freshman coach at LaSalle Academy, his alma mater, in 1977-78, later teaming up with Jim Hopkins as the assistant coach at Cranston East High School from 1978-81. At the Johnston Recreation Department, he coached boys and girls All-Star teams for several years. He also was the assistant girls’ basketball coach at Ferri Middle School in Johnston and a member of the Rhode Island Breakers girls’ basketball program coaching staff.
In high school, Goneconte played basketball for coach “Knobby” Walsh at LaSalle Academy and was an All Division and Honorable Mention All State player during his senior year. He was recruited by Jack Kraft to play at URI but transferred to RIC his sophomore year. While at RIC he played for the college’s NCAA Tournament team of 1976. Goneconte also played baseball at RIC and was a teammate of CCRI baseball coach Ken Hopkins. During the 1977 season, Goneconte pitched a no-hitter against Division II powerhouse Assumption College.
Goneconte is operations manager for Narragansett Bay Commission in Providence. He lives in Johnston with his wife, Cheryl, and has two children, Carmine and Jessica, who played basketball at Johnston High School. Jessica went on to play at St. Leo University in Tampa, Fla.