Jose Rebimbas is in his 21st season at William Paterson in 2015-16, the architect of some of the greatest accomplishments in Pioneer basketball history.
The all-time winningest coach in Pioneer men's basketball history, he has guided the Pioneers to six New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) titles (2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012) and nine NCAA Tournament bids (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2015), including spots in the 2001 national championship game, the 1999 Final Four and the 2006 Elite Eight.
Owning a 381-167 record during his 20 seasons in Wayne, and a 396-175 overall mark in 21 campaigns as a head coach, Rebimbas earned his 300th career victory at WP with an 82-66 win against King’s (11/18/11), and his 300th career victory with a 55-37 win against Ramapo in the 2010 NJAC Tournament semifinals (2/24/10). At one point, he guided the Pioneers to 14 straight winning seasons (1996-97 through 2009-10), and during his 20 seasons the Pioneers have won at least 20 games on nine occasions.
After leading the Pioneers to a 24-4 overall record and a NJAC Tournament championship in 2011-12, Rebimbas was honored as the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Division II/III and NJAC Coach of the Year as well as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Atlantic Region Co-Coach of the Year.
Rebimbas’ success starts with attracting quality student-athletes to the William Paterson campus. When he hits the recruiting trail, he evaluates everything about a prospect’s game, and determines what role he could play in his defense-oriented system. From there, he fills in spots in his rotation with players who can shoot from long distance, excel in the low post and use their athleticism to make the Pioneers’ press even more formidable.
Since his arrival, a lot of good players have become even better under Rebimbas’ tutelage. Early in his William Paterson career, there were standouts such as 1,000-point scorer Gerard Wilson. When William Paterson went to the Final Four in 1999 and 2001, he had Division III National Player of the Year Horace Jenkins, who went on to play for the Detroit Pistons, in addition to all-American guard Rashaan Barner and all-region forward Ray Ortiz. He helped elevate the games of all-conference performers Khayri Battle and Brandon Constantine, and two-time all-American Luis Martinez. Most recently, he tutored second-team all-American and 2010 NJAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year Abdoulaye Ouedraogo, 2012 NJAC Player of the Year and NABC second-team all-American Lance Brown, and 2014 first-team all-American and NJAC and NABC Atlantic District Player of the Year Javae King-Gilchrist.
Rebimbas started his coaching career as an assistant at Montclair State University (1991-93) and took over as interim coach in 1994, leading the Red Hawks to the NCAA Division III Tournament the year before his arrival at William Paterson. He played four years at Seton Hall University (1986-90) and was a member of the Pirate squad that played for the 1989 NCAA Division I national championship.
Rebimbas earned a B.S. in marketing from Seton Hall in 1990, and a master’s from the same school in 1992 in general professional education. He and his wife, Lisa, have two children: JP and Melina.