Mike Deane - Men's Basketball Coach - James Madison University Athletics

Mike Deane

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
deanema@jmu.edu
Phone:
540-568-6462
Physical Address:
Convo 117B (895 University Blvd.) / MSC 4701

Possessor of the most career victories as a head coach among all active assistant coaches nationwide, Deane helped a program that annually ranked among the bottom of the CAA in defensive scoring to lead the league in conference games. That defensive mindset carried the Dukes into their first NCAA appearance in 19 years and their first NCAA win in 30 years with a First Four win over LIU Brooklyn.

A March 18 inductee into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame, Deane came to JMU with an extensive resume in 36 seasons of coaching, including 30 years as a head coach and 24 with four different schools at the Division I level. He owns a 506-365 career record in collegiate coaching. Among coaches still active in college basketball, Deane ranks in the top 30 for career victories at four-year institutions with a mark of 437-332.

One of only 28 coaches in NCAA history to guide three different schools to the NCAA Tournament, Deane reached the Big Dance in 1988-89 with Siena, 1995-96 and 1996-97 with Marquette and 1999-2000 at Lamar. He also made five appearances in the NIT while posting nine 20-win seasons in his 24 Division I campaigns, including three years with 25 wins. Most recently, he led Wagner to a 23-8 ledger in 2007-08.

Deane left Wagner after the 2009-10 season and guided the Seahawks to a 95-113 ledger in seven seasons. That followed a four-year stint at Lamar, where he went 52-62 and reached the NCAA Tournament in his first season.

His exit from Wagner left Deane five victories shy of reaching 100 career wins at three different Division I schools. He coached Marquette for five seasons from 1994-95 through 1998-99 and compiled a 100-55 record, which still ranks as the third-best winning percentage for a coach in program history. He guided the Golden Eagles to four 20-win seasons and four postseason appearances, highlighted by a 23-8 mark and the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1995-96. During a three-year run, Marquette reached the championship game of the NIT followed by consecutive NCAA trips.

Deane entered the Division I ranks as a head coach for the 1986-87 season when he opened an eight-year stay at Siena. In his first season, he posted a 17-12 record. He went 166-77 during his eight-year run in Latham, N.Y. and averaged nearly 21 wins per season, including all three of his career 25-win seasons (1988-89, 1990-91 and 1993-94). The 1988-89 Saints received a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament and knocked off No. 3 Stanford 80-78. He was selected as a December, 2012 inductee into the Siena Athletic Hall of Fame.

Boasting a long list of over 40 student-athletes who moved on to the coaching ranks or professional competition, Deane's list of protégés is highlighted by NBA head coach Scott Skiles (Michigan State) and former NBA players Kevin Willis (Michigan State), Amal McCaskill (Marquette) and Chris Crawford (Marquette).

Deane's coaching career began as an assistant for both basketball and baseball at Potsdam State in 1974-75. He then served as assistant basketball coach and head baseball coach at Plattsburgh State for the 1975-76 academic year with the basketball team earning the distinction as the first team to be selected for the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in October of 2012. His first basketball head coaching gig came in four seasons with a 69-33 record at Delhi A&T Junior College from 1976-80.

From there, Deane was named head coach at Division III Oswego State, where he went 24-25 in two seasons from 1980-81. He then took his first step into Division I hoops and served as an assistant coach at Michigan State from 1982-1986, including serving as interim head coach for the start of the 1984-85 season during head coach Jud Heathcote's recovery from a heart ailment. He worked on the Spartans' staff alongside current head coach Tom Izzo.

After three stellar seasons at Potsdam State, Deane was a 1974 ninth-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks. At Potsdam State, he was a Small College All-American in 1973 and 1974. He established career records for the Bears with 1,447 points and 805 assists along with records for career scoring average (18.0 points/game), points in a game (42) and assists in a game (23). He also played second base for the Potsdam State baseball program for two seasons.

Deane is a 1974 graduate of Potsdam State with a bachelor of arts degree in economics. A native of Stony Point, N.Y., he and his wife, Paula, have been married for 33 years.