Queens native Greg Vetrone completed his seventh season at Rutgers in 2020-21 with over 35 years of basketball experience founded in player development. A veteran mentor and accomplished recruiter, he has more than 25 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and high school levels, including four seasons (2009-13) as head coach at Fairleigh Dickinson.
With Vetrone on staff, the Scarlet Knights program has achieved new heights. In 2020-21, Rutgers qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years.
Among Vetrone’s duties are oversight of team scheduling, academics and management of community service initiatives. The Scarlet Knights have excelled in these off-court areas, with the team setting records for performance in the classroom, with a 3.26 GPA this past spring.
One hundred percent of men’s basketball student-athletes participate in Rutgers community engagement projects. The team has sponsored charity exhibitions, hosted youth clinics, volunteered at Elijah's Promise Soup Kitchen in New Brunswick, participated in the SAAC Holiday Toy Giveaway, visited children at RWJBarnabas Health facilities around the state and participates annually in the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run.
Vetrone, who served as a player development consultant with the Canarias Basketball Academy during the 2013-14 season before arriving “On the Banks,” has an extensive basketball background. CBA is regarded as the top basketball academy outside of the United States and produced more than 100 Division I men’s basketball players from 2007-13.
Vetrone arrived in Spain after serving as head coach at FDU, a school were here previously served as an assistant from 1989-91. He was elevated to head coach in Teaneck after serving in an interim role in 2009-10, when he guided the Knights to a 10-8 Northeast Conference record to earn the fifth seed in the league tournament after the Knights were absent from the postseason the previous two seasons.
Prior to rejoining the FDU staff, Vetrone helped coach Portchester High School to the 2008 league championship with an 18-6 record. Before that, he worked at Aviator Sports and Recreation as the Basketball Manager, acting as the director of all events, coordinating youth clinics, summer camps, high school basketball tournaments and adult leagues.
Vetrone was a consultant for the Grass Roots Program/Reebok from 2002-07. In the position, he was the Director of ABCD East and West Camp Next, co-director of ABCD All-American Basketball Camp and co-director of Roundball Classic High School All-American game in Chicago.
From 2004-06, Vetrone was the manager for Coaches versus Cancer, coordinating all fundraising efforts with NCAA and NBA coaches. He also acted as the director of the Westchester Classic and the Coaches vs. Cancer Coaching clinic. For five years prior to that, he was a consultant for The Hoop Group/Eastern Invitational Camps. He worked to enhance individual skills of all camp participants, while also serving as the head coach of the One-World-All-Stars exhibition team and director of the International Basketball League Draft.
Vetrone began his coaching career in 1985 as an coach at his alma mater, LIU-CW Post, where he was the chief recruiter, organized workouts and in-season practice sessions. He was also responsible for established study hall and bi-weekly student grade updates and served as the liaison for housing department and financial aid office.
He then moved to FDU, where his responsibilities included recruiting, scheduling recruiting visits and coordinating recruiting calendars. At California-Irvine, Vetrone was an assistant from 1991-95 and worked as the recruiting coordinator as well as hosting alumni and booster club events.
Vetrone was an assistant coach at UNLV from 1995-99, where he scouted, recruited and coordinated game strategy. The Rebels won the Mountain West Conference Championship in 1998 and earned an NCAA tournament berth. Forward Shawn Marion was the ninth overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft and center Keon Clark was the 13th overall selection in 1998.
Vetrone, who received the nickname “Shoes” as a child from his older cousins, graduated from Hackensack High School before moving on to Bergen Community College, where the team posted a 51-9 record in two years under Doug Yennie. He transferred to Long Island University-CW Post, where he was two-year starter at point guard and helped the team to an NCAA East Regional championship under Tom Galeazzi. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986. Previously, he attended Christ The King High School before graduating from Hackensack High School.
A proud father of three children, Vetrone (59), recently welcomed a grandson, Carter.
| Year(s) |
Position |
University/Organization |
| 2016-Present |
Director of Player Development |
Rutgers |
| 2014-16 |
Assistant Coach |
Rutgers |
| 2013-14 |
Player Development Consultant |
Canarias Basketball Academy |
| 2009-13 |
Head Coach |
Fairleigh Dickinson |
| 2007-08 |
Co-Head Coach |
Portchester (N.Y.) High School |
| 2006-07 |
Basketball Manager |
Aviator Sports and Recreation |
| 2002-07 |
Consultant |
Grass Roots Program/Reebok |
| 2004-06 |
Coaches vs. Cancer Manager |
American Cancer Society |
| 2004-05 |
East Regional Scout |
Los Angeles Clippers |
| 1999-04 |
Consultant |
The Hoop Group/Eastern Invitational |
| 1995-99 |
Assistant Coach |
UNLV |
| 1991-95 |
Assistant Coach |
University of California-Irvine |
| 1989-91 |
Assistant Coach |
Fairleigh Dickinson |
| 1985-89 |
Assistant Coach |
Long Island University-CW Post |
