Herbert Joseph Sendek Jr. (born February 22, 1963) is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach who is the current men's basketball head coach at Santa Clara.

Early life

Herbert Joseph Sendek, Jr. of Slovak descent, grew up in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and attended

Penn Hills High School Penn Hills High School is a public secondary school located in Penn Hills, east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the sole high school operated by the Penn Hills School District. In the 2018–19 school year, enrollment was reporte ...

. He starred as a

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run the team's offense by ...

in basketball, lettering two years, serving as team captain, and earning All-East Suburban honors. He graduated with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) ...

of the Class of 1981. Sendek's father, Herb Sr., was a teacher and basketball coach at both the high school and junior college levels.

College career

He played college basketball at

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

, where he was a three-year letterman. He graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

in 1985 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

industrial management In economics, industrial organization is a field that builds on the theory of the firm by examining the structure of (and, therefore, the boundaries between) firms and markets. Industrial organization adds real-world complications to the perf ...

and earned the Carnegie Merit Scholarship.

Assistant coach

In 1984–85, Sendek served as an assistant coach at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh. Sendek served as a graduate assistant coach at

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

in 1985, then as an assistant coach at Providence from 1987 to 1989. He then served as an assistant coach at

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

under

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA ...

from 1989 to 1993.

Head coach

Miami (Ohio)

In 1993, Sendek accepted his first college head coaching job, at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

, succeeding

Joby Wright Joseph "Joby" Wright (born September 5, 1950) is an American former college and professional basketball player who was men's basketball head coach at Miami University and at the University of Wyoming. Early life Wright starred in basketball at J ...

, who left to become head coach at

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...

. In his first season, 1993–94, the Redskins (now RedHawks) posted a 19–11 record and finished second in the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the t ...

(MAC). In 1994–95, Miami improved to 23–7 overall, winning the MAC championship with a 16–2 record and earning a spot in the NCAA tournament. In the Midwest Regional, #12 seeded Miami shocked #5 seeded

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

71–62, before losing to #4 seeded

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

in overtime in the Second Round. In Sendek's third season at Miami, 1995–96, the team went 21–8 and finished third in the MAC. Miami earned a berth in the NIT, losing a first-round game to

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

, 58-57. Sendek was named the 1995 MAC Coach of the Year.

North Carolina State

After three seasons at Miami, Sendek was hired at

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The unive ...

in 1996, becoming the youngest head coach in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

(ACC). He immediately improved upon the

Les Robinson Les Robinson (born September 23, 1942) is an American former college basketball coach and athletic director at East Tennessee State University, North Carolina State University, and The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. He is a memb ...

era, winning 17 games for the program's first winning record in six years. The Wolfpack ended the season winning eight of 11 games, advanced to the finals of the ACC

Tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

, and earned a trip to the postseason in the NIT. Sendek coached NC State to the NCAA tournament five consecutive years from 2002 until 2006 (tying the school record). He won his 100th game at NC State in 2002. In 2004, Sendek won ACC Coach of the Year and

Julius Hodge Julius Melvin Hodge (born November 18, 1983) is an American-Antiguan former professional basketball player and current assistant coach at Little Rock Trojans. Originally from Harlem, New York, Hodge played college basketball at NC State and was s ...

, one of Sendek's most prized recruits during his NC State tenure, was named ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year. In 2005, NC State upset defending champion

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

in the Second Round of the NCAA tournament to advance to the Sweet 16, NC State's deepest run into the tournament during Sendek's years. Due in part to an 8–38 record against

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

combined with failing to win an

ACC championship The ACC Championship was a cancelled two-day cricket tournament run by the Asian Cricket Council that is contested between its members nations. The first tournament was scheduled to be held in December 2014. It was canceled due to the busy prep ...

, fan and booster support was in steep decline. This ultimately played a factor in Sendek deciding to leave NC State for the head coaching vacancy at

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

Arizona State

On April 3, 2006, Sendek accepted the head coaching job at

. While his first year record in the

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisio ...

was a paltry 2–16, recruiting went well: ASU signed Jerren Shipp, a highly regarded high school guard, point guard Derek Glasser from the LA Area, and

Eric Boateng Eric Yamoah Boateng (born 20 November 1985) is a British professional basketball player. He is a former college basketball player with the Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball team. He attended high school at St. Andrew's School in Middleto ...

, a McDonald's All-American who transferred from Duke. His second recruiting class included highly touted McDonald's All-American

James Harden James Edward Harden Jr. (born August 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Harden is regarded as one of the greatest scorers and shooting guards in N ...

and point guard Jamelle McMillan (a four-star recruit and the son of former NC State Basketball star

Nate McMillan Nathaniel McMillan (born August 3, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000 to 2005, the Po ...

). The 2007–08 season was a great improvement over the previous season. Sendek and freshman guard

led the Sun Devils to fifth place in the Pac-10 Conference, including a sweep of rival Arizona. Arizona State was rewarded with a number 1 seed in the 2008 NIT. The 2008–09 team led by Pac-10 Player of the year Harden improved to a 25–10 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. After the departure of Harden for the NBA, the Sun Devils program finished 2nd in the Pac-10 during the 2009–10 season in what was a weak Pac-10 Conference. That year, the conference RPI was so weak, it was the first time the 2nd place Pac-10 team didn't get an at-large invitation to the NCAA tournament. The Sun Devils instead were given a #1 Seed in the NIT and lost 67-66 to the Jacksonville Dolphins in Tempe. With three returning seniors, there were high expectations for the 2010–11 season with an expected run at the Pac-10 title again. However, the Sun Devils finished in last place with a record of 12–19 (4–14). The 2011–12 season was anticipated to be better with the addition of newcomer and 2010–11 Arizona High School Player of the Year

Jahii Carson Jahii Carson (born August 31, 1993) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Limburg United of the BNXT League. He played college basketball for Arizona State University where he was co-Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball F ...

. However, Carson failed to gain NCAA clearance to play. The season became even more troublesome as Sendek dismissed his leading scorer, Keala King, from the team on January 7, 2012 for undisclosed reasons. The season resulted in a tenth-place finish in the new

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisi ...

. A sixth-place finish followed in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

with a trip to the NIT. In 2013–14, ASU finished with a 21–12 record and a loss in the Second Round of the NCAA tournament. On March 24, 2015, Sendek was fired by Arizona State after an 18–16 record, losing to

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses ** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

in the Pac-12 tournament, and a trip to the NIT.

Santa Clara

On March 28, 2016, Sendek accepted the head coaching job at Santa Clara, replacing recently fired coach, Kerry Keating who was fired after nine years. On January 12, 2022, Sendek got his 500th career win against Pacific.

Personal life

Sendek is married to Melanie (Scheuer); they have three daughters. Sendek was inducted into the Penn Hills Hall of Fame and into the East Boros Chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Santa Clara profile

Arizona State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sendek, Herb 1963 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American people of Slovak descent Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Pittsburgh Carnegie Mellon Tartans men's basketball players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball coaches Miami RedHawks men's basketball coaches NC State Wolfpack men's basketball coaches Point guards Providence Friars men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Pittsburgh Tepper School of Business alumni