Robert John Staak (born December 22, 1947) is an American former

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

and

professional basketball In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger a ...

coach.

Early life

Staak was born in

Darien, Connecticut Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under , it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast. Situated on the Long Island ...

. He attended Darien High School, where he played basketball and became the all-time leading scorer with 1,166 points, a mark that still stands. He graduated in 1966, and he was recruited by about 100 universities.

College career

Staak attended St. John's University as a freshman, taking business courses. However, living off-campus didn't provide the atmosphere he was looking for, and when he decided that he wanted to someday be a basketball coach and St. John's didn't offer the academic concentration he sought, he transferred to the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

. Due to transfer rules, he had to sit out a year before playing basketball for UConn. He played three years of varsity basketball for the Huskies, ending his career as the school's fourth all-time leading scorer. He was named All-New England and All-

Yankee Conference The Yankee Conference was a collegiate sports conference in the eastern United States. From 1947 to 1976, it sponsored competition in many sports, but was a football-only league from mid-1976 until its dissolution in 1996. It is essentially the a ...

. A two-year co-captain, he was named UConn's Most Valuable Player his senior year and he earned the UConn Club Award as the Outstanding Senior Athlete. He graduated in 1971.

Professional career

After graduating, he signed to play professional basketball with the

Pittsburgh Condors The Pittsburgh Condors were a professional basketball team in the original American Basketball Association (ABA). Originally called the Pittsburgh Pipers, they were a charter franchise of the ABA and captured the first league title. The team pla ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

(ABA), but was cut in preseason. He returned to Connecticut and played in the New York State Pro League on weekends for a year while also coaching at East Hartford High School. The following year, he was invited to tryout for the ABA's

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were an American professional basketball team based in Louisville, Kentucky. They competed in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1967 to 1976. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonels. The Colo ...

, but they had a contract dispute and Staak decided to end his playing career.

Coaching career

Staak became an assistant coach at UConn for two years under his college coach Dee Rowe. He then served as an assistant for one season at the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...

in Virginia. He then served as an assistant at the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

under future Hall-of-Famer Chuck Daly. In 1979, the Quakers advanced to the NCAA Final Four. After their tournament run, Staak got his first college basketball head coaching job when he was named head coach/athletic director at

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, where he coached from 1979 to 1985. Staak compiled an 88–86 record (.506) in six seasons as the Musketeers head coach. He worked to rebuild, compiling a 28-54 (.341) record in his first three years and a 60-32 (.652) record in his final three years. He then became head coach at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

from 1985 to 1989, where his teams posted a 45–69 record in four seasons. For the next 12 seasons he was an assistant coach and/or scout in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), for the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

, and

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

. He spent two years (2003–05) as a referee observer with the NBA followed by one season as a scout for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. He then spent seven-plus seasons with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

from January 2005 to July 2012.http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bob-staak/35/b3b/315

Head coaching record

NBA

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Personal life

Staak was inducted into the Xavier Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990, the Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002, the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009, and the UConn Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. He is married to Donna (Durant) and Staak has a grown son and stepdaughter.

References

External links

* Career coaching statistics fro
Basketball-Reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staak, Robert John 1947 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Connecticut Basketball players from Connecticut Golden State Warriors assistant coaches Los Angeles Clippers assistant coaches Memphis Grizzlies assistant coaches Miami Heat assistant coaches Penn Quakers men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Darien, Connecticut Shooting guards Small forwards UConn Huskies men's basketball coaches UConn Huskies men's basketball players Vancouver Grizzlies assistant coaches Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball coaches Washington Bullets assistant coaches Washington Bullets head coaches William & Mary Tribe men's basketball coaches Xavier Musketeers athletic directors Xavier Musketeers men's basketball coaches Darien High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen