Steve Vacendak
{{Short description|American basketball player and coach}}
{{redirect|Vacendak|the fictional character|Victor Vacendak}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Steve Vacendak
| image = Steve Vacendak portrait, Chanticleer 1965.jpg
| image_size = 140px
| caption = Vacendak {{circa|1965}}
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 1
| weight_lb = 185
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1944|8|15}}
| birth_place = Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| high_school = Scranton Prep
(Scranton, Pennsylvania)
| college = Duke (1963–1966)
| draft_year = 1966
| draft_round = 4
| draft_pick = 33
| draft_team = San Francisco Warriors
| career_start = 1967
| career_end = 1970
| career_number = 22
| career_position = Point guard
| years1 = 1967–1969
| team1 = Pittsburgh / Minnesota Pipers
| years2 = 1970
| team2 = Miami Floridians
| cyears1 = 1979–1980
| cteam1 = Greensboro
| cyears2 = 1986–1992
| cteam2 = Winthrop
| highlights =
As player:
- ABA champion (1968)
- ACC Player of the Year (1966)
- 2× Second-team All-ACC (1965, 1966)
}}
Stephen T. Vacendak (born August 15, 1944) is an American former basketball player and coach. He originally came from Scranton, Pennsylvania, and was recruited by Vic Bubas to play as a guard for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team. As a guard for the team he led Duke to a 72–14 record and two Final Four appearances during his three-year varsity career. In 1966 he was captain of his basketball team, ACC Player of the Year, and on the All-ACC Tournament team. Despite being named player of the year, Vacendak was not named to the All-ACC team in 1966.
Early career
File:1965 UNC at Duke, Steve Vacendak defense.jpg, 1965]]
After graduating from Duke University, he was drafted by the San Francisco Warriors in the fourth round of the 1966 NBA draft, but he never played for them. Instead, he played professional basketball for the American Basketball Association and later joined the sales staff at Converse Rubber Company. In 1980, he went back to work at Duke as an associate athletic director for five years. Perhaps his most significant contribution to his alma mater came during this period when he strongly recommended an unknown young coach at Army – Mike Krzyzewski or Coach K – for the Duke head coaching job. Ironically, Vacendak also played a big role in recommending that NC State consider Jim Valvano for their open head coaching job and State hired Jimmy V just nine days after Duke hired Coach K.The Legends Club", John Feinstein 2016 After working at Duke, he became the director of athletics and head basketball coach at Winthrop College in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Career
Following his stint at Winthrop, Vacendak spent three years working at Homeowners Clubs of America, a franchising company in Charlotte, North Carolina. He later became a partner in Damon's Restaurant in Raleigh, N.C., a position which ultimately (through a customer at Damon's) connected him with the organization with which he has been involved ever since: N.C. Beautiful.Harris, Bob with Steve Vacendak. "Remembering the Bubas Era: Q & A with Steve Vacendak." Go Duke: The Magazine. Dec. 2009, p. 89-92.
Other projects
Vacendak currently serves as the executive director for N.C. Beautiful, which is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the natural beauty of North Carolina "through environmental education and outreach."Go Duke: The Magazine. Dec. 2009, p. 92. More specifically, the group provides grants to teachers to sponsor environmentally-based projects in their classrooms and helps college undergraduate and graduate students get involved in environmental research.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [https://goduke.com/news/2005/12/14/220809.aspx Stephen T. Vacendak bio] at Duke Athletics
- [https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/steve-vacendak-2.html College stats] at Sports Reference
- [https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/v/vacenst01.html Professional stats] at Basketball Reference
- [https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/coaches/steve-vacendak-1.html Coaching stats] at Sports Reference
{{Winthrop Eagles men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Pittsburgh Pipers 1967–68 ABA Champions}}
{{Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vacendak, Steve}}
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania
Category:Basketball players from Pennsylvania
Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Category:Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players
Category:Greensboro Pride men's basketball coaches
Category:Minnesota Pipers players
Category:Miami Floridians players
Category:Pittsburgh Pipers players
Category:San Francisco Warriors draft picks
Category:Sportspeople from Scranton, Pennsylvania
Category:Undrafted ABA players