Joe DeSantis (born September 24, 1957) is the color commentator for the radio and TV broadcasts of

Fairfield Stags men's basketball The Fairfield Stags men's basketball team represents Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut and competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home games in the 3,500 seat Leo D. Mahoney Arena ...

and is a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the second longest tenured head men's basketball coach at Quinnipiac University. DeSantis is best remembered as "Joey D" and his role in leading the 1978

team to a program best 22–5 overall record, a victory over the then #14 nationally ranked Holy Cross Crusaders, and a berth in the

National Invitational Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

Coaching career

DeSantis was the fifth head coach of the Quinnipiac University men's basketball team. During his 11 seasons coaching the Bobcats, DeSantis guided the program through the transition from Division II to Division I while compiling an overall 118–188 record. In 2001–02, despite being a #7 seed, the Bobcats reached the Northeast Conference (NEC) championship game in its first-ever NEC postseason appearance. In 1999–2000, DeSantis was named NEC Coach of the Year by CBSSportsLine.com after guiding the Bobcats to an 18–10 mark, their first winning season since 1992–93 and their most wins since 1987–88. DeSantis also served as an assistant at his alma mater,

Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2017, the university had about 4,100 full-time undergraduate students and 1,100 graduate students, including full-time ...

, for seven years (1981–88) during which the

Stags Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

twice won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and qualified for the

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

and

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournaments. DeSantis now runs the DeSantis Basketball Academy. He has four children, his favorite being his youngest daughter Michelle.

Collegiate career

DeSantis attended

, where he was an AP All-American Honorable Mention in 1979, First Team All New England in 1978–79 and UPJ First Team All New England in 1979. DeSantis holds the

records for most field goals (727) and lifetime free throw percentage (.849, 462–544) and ranks second for career points (1,916) and career assists (622). DeSantis also set the Stags' single season free throw percentage record of .892 during the 1976–77 season which ranked fifth in the nation. DeSantis was elected to Fairfield University Alumni Sports Hall of Fame in 1985 and the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004 for his playing contributions with the Stags.

Professional career

The Washington Bullets selected DeSantis in the second round of the 1979 NBA draft. DeSantis opted to play with Reyer Venezia Mestre in the Lega Basket Serie A in 1979–80, where he achieved all-star status. He completed his professional career with the

Maine Lumberjacks Maine Lumberjacks were an American minor league basketball team formed as an expansion team in 1978. The franchise played 17 seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), calling six different cities home. The team was originally bas ...

in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

References

External links

DeSantis Basketball Academy Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desantis, Joe 1957 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Duquesne Dukes men's basketball coaches Fairfield Stags men's basketball coaches Fairfield Stags men's basketball players Maine Lumberjacks players Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball coaches Quinnipiac Bobcats men's basketball coaches Reyer Venezia players St. John's Red Storm men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from the Bronx Washington Bullets draft picks