Dave Pasiak
David "Dave" Pasiak is the men's basketball head coach for Onondaga Community College. In his seventh season as head coach at OCC, he earned his 150th victory at the NJCAA level and in the process became Onondaga's all-time winningest coach (OCC Athletics). He currently has a career record of 177-125 in 10 seasons at OCC and 196-163 overall in 12 seasons at the NJCAA level. Pasiak is actively involved in Coaches vs. Cancer. He was also named Onondaga's Interim Athletic Director in November, 2009. He was named Mid-State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2002, 2003 & 2008. He was the NJCAA Region III Division III Coach of the Year in 2003. Pasiak guided his 2006-2007 team to the school's first Mid-State Athletic Conference Championship in 15 years.
Coaching career
High School
Pasiak enrolled in Clarkson University in 1980, and was a member of the University's basketball team. He graduated in 1984 (OCC Athletics) and began his coaching career at his alma mater, Waterville High School, where he was the head coach of the boys junior varsity team. Soon thereafter he was hired as the varsity boys basketball coach at Sauquoit Valley High School.
College
After one season he had the opportunity to coach at the collegiate level and joined newly-hired Jack Bruen's Colgate staff as an assistant. To this day Pasiak calls Bruen his favorite mentor. "I always said if I could be half the coach and a quarter of the man that he was then I'd be okay," said Pasiak in a 2007 interview.
Following a two-year stint at Colgate, Pasiak took his first head coaching job at the collegeiate level in 1991. He was the head coach at Herkimer County Community College for two seasons. Herkimer had won the Division III NJCAA National Championship, the year prior to Pasiak's arrival, led by long time Coach Jack Alofs who retired with a coaching record of over 500 wins.
Pasiak took over and returned only two players from the championship team, neither of whom would finish the season. In Pasiak's first season the Generals finished 6-21. The next year they improved to 13-17. However, another off-court incident, this one involving a player being severely beaten, led to Pasiak's departure from Herkimer.
Pasiak stated in a 2007 interview that the president of the college did not like the fact that Pasiak had gone to the hospital to visit said player and had accompanied the player to his court testimony. "The reason I didn't stay at Herkimer was a direct result of that aftermath. We could have won the national title and I wouldn't have been back at Herkimer. But if that happened again I'd do the same thing," said Pasiak.
Return to High School
After Herkimer, Pasiak returned to the high school level as vasity head coach of Brookfield High School[disambiguation needed] in Upstate New York. He stayed for one season then took the varsity coaching position at Westmoreland High School. He stayed on as coach of the Bulldogs for four seasons, his longest tenure until he reached OCC.
Pasiak left coaching in the late 1990s to become athletic director at Frankfort-Schuyler High School. His absence from coaching would be short-lived. After one year he stepped in as acting varsity head coach when head coach Jim Babcock took a personal leave of absence.
Onondaga Community College
While serving as AD of Frankfort-Schuyler, Pasiak was approached by new Onondaga Community College athletic director Bob McKenney about the head coaching job at the college. Pasiak accepted the job just a few weeks prior to the start of the 2000-2001 school year. With no time to recruit, he inherited a team with only two returning players and minimal experience among the newcomers. After getting off to an 0-11 start, Pasiak guided the team to a remarkable turnaround, as they won 12 of their last 17 regular season games, finished third in the Mid-State Athletic Conference, and qualified for the conference playoffs for the first time in several seasons.
In 2001-02, after starting 1-8 against one of Region III’s most demanding schedules, Pasiak guided the team to 16 wins in their final 19 regular season games. The Lazers finished the season 18-13, 11-3 in Mid-State Athletic Conference play, and qualified for post-season play, reaching the Mid-State Championship game, and the Region III Division III quarter-finals. The Lazers also achieved notoriety for their offensive outbursts, as they ended the season as the top scoring team in NJCAA Division III play. As a result, Coach Pasiak was recognized as the Mid-State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
In 2002-03, Pasiak guided the Lazers to a final record of 23-7, the second best in school history. Onondaga’s regular season mark of 23-5 was the best ever at the school. The Lazers spent five weeks as an honorable mention selection in the NJCAA Division III national poll. They finished 12-2 in Mid-State play and qualified for the conference playoffs. Onondaga reached the Region III Division III quarterfinals and finished 8th nationally in scoring offense. For these accomplishments, Pasiak was named the Region III Coach of the Year, and was also named the Mid-State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year.
In 2003-04, under Pasiak’s direction the Lazers finished with an overall record of 21-11, and a Mid-State record of 9-5. The Lazers qualified for the conference playoffs and for the Region III tournament. They reached the Mid-State Championship game, and won two post-season contests for the first time since 1994. Onondaga also received honorable mention in the NJCAA Division III national poll and finished 10th nationally in scoring offense.
In 2004-05, Pasiak directed Onondaga to an overall record of 17-13, and a Mid-State record of 7-7. The Lazers rebounded from an 0-4 start in conference play to qualify for the conference playoffs and for the Region III tournament. Onondaga also finished 9th nationally in scoring offense.
In 2005-06, Pasiak directed Onondaga to an overall record of 17-12, and a Mid-State record of 7-7. The Lazers finished the regular season by winning 7 of their last 8 games to qualify for the Region III tournament for the fifth straight year. Onondaga also finished 2nd nationally in scoring offense, the sixth consecutive year that they had finished in the top ten in that category.
In 2006-07, Onondaga won the Mid-State Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time since 1992, the year prior to the program's sole national championship. They were the host team for the tourney as they had won the regular season title with a record of 12-2. The Lazers also qualified for the Region III tournament for the sixth straight season, losing in the quarterfinals to Clinton Community College. OCC finished with a 23-8 record, earning Pasiak his third 20-win season in five years.
In 2007-08, Onondaga shared the Mid-State Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship with Broome Community College. Broome received the top seed in the MSAC Tournament and defeated Onondaga in the championship game, denying Onondaga's bid for back to back championships. Onondaga finished the season with a 22-9 record, falling to SUNY Cobleskill in the Region III quarter-finals. Pasiak was named the Mid-State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for the 3rd time.
Onondaga qualified for post-season in both 2008-09 and 2009-2010. In 2009, the Lazers finished 14-16, reaching the MSAC semi-finals and the Region III quarterfinals. In 2010, Onondaga won 5 of its last 6 conference games to earn the #3 seed in the MSAC Tournament, where they fell to Broome Community College. Onondaga closed the 2009-2010 season with a 10-19 overall record.
In his ten years as head coach at Onondaga, Pasiak has guided the Lazers to postseason berths, either in the MSAC or NJCAA Region III tournaments, in each season (OCC Athletics). During his tenure, the Lazers have appeared in four MSAC championship games (2002, 2004, 2007 & 2008).
Pasiak has also been named Mid-State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year three times, and was recognized as Region III Coach of the Year in 2003.
Collegiate Record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herkimer Generals (Mountain Valley) (1991–1993) | |||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Herkimer | 6-21 | — | ||||||
| 1992–1993 | Herkimer | 13–17 | — | ||||||
| Herkimer: | 19–38 | N/A | |||||||
| Onondaga Lazers (MSAC) (2000–present) | |||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Onondaga | 12-17 | 9-5 | T3rd | MSAC Semi-Final | ||||
| 2001-2002 | Onondaga | 18-13 | 11-3 | 2nd | MSAC Final, Regional Quarter-Final | ||||
| 2002–2003 | Onondaga | 23-7 | 12-2 | 2nd | MSAC Semi-Final, Regional Quarter-Final | ||||
| 2003-2004 | Onondaga | 21-11 | 9-5 | 2nd | MSAC Final, Regional Quarter-Final | ||||
| 2004–2005 | Onondaga | 17-13 | 7-7 | 4th | MSAC Semi-Final, Regional 1st Round | ||||
| 2005-2006 | Onondaga | 17-12 | 7-7 | 6th | Regional 1st Round | ||||
| 2006-2007 | Onondaga | 23-8 | 12-2 | 1st | MSAC Champion, Regional Quarter-Final | ||||
| 2007–2008 | Onondaga | 22-9 | 9-3 | T1st | MSAC Final, Regional Quarter-Final | ||||
| 2008-2009 | Onondaga | 14-16 | 7-5 | 3rd | MSAC Semi-Final, Regional Quarter-Final | ||||
| 2009-2010 | Onondaga | 10-19 | 6-6 | T3rd | MSAC Semi-Final | ||||
| 2010-2011 | Onondaga | 16-8 | 5-3 | ||||||
| Onondaga: | 193-133 | 89-45 | |||||||
| Total: | 212-171 | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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Personal
Pasiak is an advocate of “Coaches vs. Cancer” and participates in the annual "white sneaker day". He is a 1984 graduate of Clarkson University and resides in Waterville, New York.
Accomplishments
Some of Pasiak’s notable accomplishments:
- Led Onondaga to the 2007 MSAC championship
- Led Onondaga to nine MSAC tournament appearances, four MSAC championship appearances, and eight NJCAA Region III tournament berths
- Three-time MSAC Coach of the Year (2002, 2003, 2008)
- 2003 NJCAA Region III Coach of the Year
- In ten seasons at Onondaga, has compiled four 20-win seasons
References
- (OCC Athletics) “Dave Pasiak: Men’s Basketball Head Coach”. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on March 27, 2010: http://www.sunyocc.edu/uploadedFiles/OCC/Athletics/Onondaga_Team_Athletics/Mens_Basketball/OnlineGuide0910.pdf