Joe DeSantis (born September 24, 1957) is the

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

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 Quinnipiac University ( ) is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut, United States. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. It also hosts the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. History What became ...

. 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 Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

Coaching career

DeSantis was the fifth head coach of the

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 The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

(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 university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 gra ...

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

Stags A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) an ...

twice won the

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachuse ...

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 en ...

and

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournaments. DeSantis now runs the DeSantis Basketball Academy.

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 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 ...

selected DeSantis in the second round of the

1979 NBA draft The 1979 NBA draft was the 33rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA), held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on Monday, June 25. In this draft, the 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players a ...

. DeSantis opted to play with

Reyer Venezia Mestre S.S.P. Reyer Venezia Mestre, commonly known as Reyer Venezia or simply Reyer, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Venice, Veneto. The club currently plays in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the highest tier of basketball i ...

in the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

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 base ...

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) 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 Basketball players from the Bronx Washington Bullets draft picks 20th-century American sportsmen