Mitaritonna will return as Hills West coach

Bill Mitaritonna admitted Saturday that he wilted under a fullcourt press applied by all of his kids and will return as Half Hollow Hills West boys basketball coach after all.

Mitaritonna had resigned on March 25, saying he wanted to spend more time with his three children, Jackie, 9, Courtney, 6, and Brendan, 4. The actions of those three, plus three returning players from his 2009-10 Colts that won the Suffolk and Long Island championships before losing in the state Class A championship game, convinced Mitaritonna to return to coaching for an 11th season.

"My three kids were heart-broken that I wasn't the coach any more," Mitaritonna told Newsday Saturday. "They said they couldn't imagine me not coaching. They had so much fun following us around last year."

Mitaritonna said three players were especially persistent in urging him to return - starters Tavon Sledge and Emile Blackman and reserve Max Willinger.

"They really convinced me. They kept after me," Mitaritonna said. "They said they didn't want to play for anyone but me. It's a great group of guys and I couldn't turn them down."

Sledge was a Newsday All-Long Island first-team selection and Mitaritonna was Newsday's Suffolk coach of the year.

The Colts finished 24-2, with one loss coming after a game they had won but inadvertently used an ineligible player, resulting in a forfeit.