Here's how Robert Morris women's coach Charlie Buscaglia dominates NEC

If the telephone rings in Charlie Buscaglia’s office, chances are he won’t answer it. He’ll get to it, just maybe not immediately.

Actually, he might be at his desk counseling one of his Robert Morris basketball players, telling her, “Let it ring. I’ll get it later. Now, about your problem … ”

Or, he’s at practice, helping his players properly execute the out-of-bounds play they might need to win the next game.

Or, he’s talking to an assistant about recruiting. When you recruit in seven nations — his roster has players from the U.S., Canada, Spain, Finland, England, Japan and Mali — you better stay organized.

It’s not easy building the type of women’s basketball program Charlie and his father, former coach Sal Buscaglia, began assembling in 2003. You think that 72-10 league record since 2016-17 and four consecutive Northeast Conference championships happened by accident?

“We work hard,” said Charlie, who has been NEC Coach of the Year four times, or as long as he’s been Robert Morris’ head coach. “If we work less, it’s going to really affect us. If we’re getting something, we earned it.”

Presently, the Colonials (23-7) are in the midst of the NEC Tournament and will play Sacred Heart (13-17) on Thursday in a semifinal game at UPMC Events Center in Moon. In compliance with the NCAA’s safety concerns because of the coronavirus, Robert Morris officials announced Wednesday only “essential staff, media and limited family” will be permitted to attend.

But Robert Morris’ run almost ended suddenly Monday when the Colonials needed a tying basket by Nina Augustin with seven seconds left in the fourth quarter to force overtime and beat Wagner, 65-61.

Wagner finished its season 10-20. Was Buscaglia surprised the game was close, and his team committed 25 turnovers?

“I wasn’t surprised that Wagner came in and played as hard as they did,” he said, “because when you get into the conference tournament, that’s what they’re going to do. They’re going to value every possession like it’s their last.”

In any case, the game was an anomaly — Robert Morris won by 42 at Wagner on Feb. 10 — but an important wake-up call.

“It was something we had to really overcome,” said Buscaglia, the only male head coach in the NEC. “Those moments are priceless for us to learn from.

“Some was our fault where we were dysfunctional in some ways. We have to handle it better.”

Sacred Heart presents a similar challenge. Robert Morris won both games between the teams this season by 29 and 30 points. But Buscaglia will disagree, respectfully, if you suggest his women took Wagner lightly.

“We don’t live like that,” he said. “We prepare for each game as its own game.”

Robert Morris wins with a team effort. Ten players are averaging at least 11 minutes, and no one has surpassed 26.

Nneka Ezeigbo, a 6-foot-2 center, leads the team with 14.1 points per game, but she’s one of four players — with Ire Ozzy-Momodu, Honoka Ikematsu and Holly Forbes — hitting at least 41 percent of their shots.

The other number Buscaglia points to with pride is his team’s GPA. He said it’s consistently one of the best in the nation and reached 3.72 during the fall semester.

“If someone gets a C or something,” he said, “(the reaction is), ‘Hey, what’s going on?’

“Our standard of what we can do in the classroom is much better than satisfactory. C is a satisfactory grade. I want these guys to grow up here. I want them to develop and feel like being here they got better, not just in basketball.”

With so much success in the NEC, you’d think a larger school might someday ring the phone in Buscaglia’s pocket.

He said his agent would handle those calls, but when you live a mile from campus and your school just gave you a contract extension through 2024, a new arena and a desk the size of a small car, those things are difficult to ignore.

“I’m very blessed,” he said. “I take each moment one at a time. I’m with these guys. I don’t think about who else can I be with.

“Obviously, if other schools come calling for you, you’re respectful. But it would take a really good offer for me to sit down with anybody. I really love being here.”