Geno Auriemma might be the current king of Connecticut college basketball, but Joe DeSantis has been doing great things in the Constitution State for many decades as well. As a player at Fairfield he was an Honorable Mention All-American in 1979, became the greatest FT shooter in school history, then was a 2nd round NBA draft pick. He spent most of the 1980s as an assistant at his alma mater, then spent more than a decade as head coach at Quinnipiac. He was elected to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004 and currently runs the DeSantis Basketball Academy. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Joe about being a great FT shooter and a color commentator. Today is Joe’s 64th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!
As an all-city guard at Tolentine High School you scored 37 PTS in a legendary 2-PT upset loss at Mt. St. Michael in the 1st round of the 1975 New York Catholic High School Athletic Association playoffs: where does that rank among the most exciting and/or devastating games of your life? I remember it like it was yesterday: it is more of a devastating loss than anything. I have memories of scoring a lot of PTS: we were the best team in the Catholic League that year before getting upset. It is a lot different now because teams travel all over the country: back then it was a big-time rivalry because you played against everyone else from your neighborhood.
In 1977 you shot 89.2 FT% (#5 in the nation) and you still hold the school record with 84.9 career FT%: what is your secret for FT shooting? I now have a basketball academy where I work with kids 1-on-1. I was fortunate to have good coaches/parents who taught me to listen to my educators: I had good form and was a good listener. There was no 3-PT line when I played: kids today shoot from behind the arc when they have no business doing so. I am a humble guy…but right now in my 60s I could probably go out and make 7 of 10!
You made the 1978 NIT before losing to Dayton (Mark Young scored 32 PTS): how big a deal was it at the time? There were only 30 or so teams who made the NCAA tourney back then so to make the NIT meant that you were 1 of the 50 best teams in the country. We had a good team and a terrific coach. Dayton had beaten Notre Dame in their final regular season game and were still juiced from that. We came out to warm up but the fans threw rolls of toilet paper all over the court so I knew that we did not have a chance. Mark and I walked onto campus at the same time and were roommates/best of friends. I do not even know if I was the best player on my own team, much less in school history!
In 1979 you were named an All-American: what did it mean to you to win such an outstanding honor? The bottom line is that I was offered a lot of scholarships but I chose the right school where I could come in and play right away as a freshman. The awards are just rewards for being in the right situation at the right time. I also think that I worked harder than most people and was fortunate to play with a great bunch of guys: you cannot do it on your own.
In the summer of 1979 you were drafted in the 2nd round by Washington but ended up playing professionally in Italy and the CBA: how close did you come to joining a team that had been to 2 straight NBA Finals, and how did you like playing in Italy? I was the last pick of the 2nd round. The Bullets had some issues with their PG position. I would take the Amtrak from NYC to DC every weekend to play in a summer league. The Bullets did not offer me guaranteed money and since I am of Italian descent I figured I would take some good money to play in Venice: free meals, no need for a car, etc. I did not have a whole lot going on so the chance to make some money right away and perhaps make a career in Italy was worth it. I thought that I might be able to play as an Italian citizen but it was much stricter back then. I had a great year but our team underachieved a bit. I went to the CBA but realized that my heart was not in it so I quit halfway through the season. My 4 years at Fairfield helped lay the foundation for the past 4 decades.
What are your memories of the 1986 NCAA tourney as an assistant coach at Fairfield, the 1st in school history (Anthony Welch scored 22 PTS/11-16 FG in a loss to Illinois)? I decided to become an assistant at my alma mater because I did not know what I wanted to do with my life: it was good to be at a familiar place and have a chance to teach some kids. We dominated the MAAC and ended up making the tourney. We had a 12PM game in Charlotte, which I thought was a big advantage for us because we were a very disciplined team. It was close in the 1st half before they blew us out in the 2nd half. It was a big accomplishment for the school to make the tourney and I knew that it would help me develop into a better coach.
In the 1987 MAAC tourney final you had a record of 14-15 and trailed by 18 PTS with 13 minutes left in regulation before AJ Wynder made a jumper at the end of regulation en route to a 3-PT OT win over Iona: where does that rank among the most clutch shots that you have ever seen? We were the only team to stay in the Meadowlands Hilton every night: it felt like a 2nd home for us. I remember the crowd was great as the “Red Sea” began to develop. We kept chopping at the lead because we were very good at late-game situations. We needed a 2 at the end of the regulation so we ran 2 screens for AJ and he made a jumper right in front of us. We had practiced that: once the game went into OT we thought that we would win. It was total euphoria when the fans rushed the court!
In the 1987 NCAA tourney Jeff Gromos had 21 PTS/11 REB in a loss to Indiana: could you tell that the Hoosiers were good enough to win it all? We got there a couple of days early and were walking through the streets hearing nothing but stuff about Coach Bobby Knight. Indiana had been upset by Cleveland State in the 1st round the previous year so I knew that Knight would not make it easy for us. We went into the Hoosier Dome and there was a huge roar that sounded like the emperor was coming out! I do not dwell on the loss: I remember getting there.
What are your memories of the 1993 NCAA tourney as an assistant at Pitt (Phil Dixon scored 22 PTS in a win by Utah)? I decided to quit coaching after my 1st son was born so I went to work for Converse but later got back into coaching. I remember my wife crying as we left the Tri-state area to drive to Duquesne, but I realized that part of coaching is having to move every so often. That game was at Vanderbilt, which was weird because the team benches are so far away from the court. Rick Majerus was a great coach and his team was very well prepared.
You currently run the DeSantis Basketball Academy and work as a color commentator for radio/TV broadcasts of Fairfield basketball: what makes your academy different from other academies, and how do you like being a color commentator? It allows me to stay in the game: the main stress I get is from watching my own kids play! I get an opportunity to teach it, watch it, and broadcast it. It is awesome because I do not have a boss and I get to pay a lot of attention to my family. While I do miss coaching, I feel that I got a little burned out after 25 years. I have people who look up to me to make them better both on and off the court, which is nice. The radio/TV work is hard but I am getting better at it. I see the game totally differently now and think that I might be a better coach now because of that. I am not sure if it is more important to make money or keep busy: probably a combination of both.