Castleton

Spartans

At 24 years old, Stan Van Gundy came to Castleton as the Spartan head coach and immediately led the Spartans to the best season in program history in 1983-84, winning all eight games before the Christmas break. After an overtime loss to Norwich, the Spartans rattled off 18 consecutive wins, winning the Mayflower Conference title as well as the Hamilton College Continental Classic. The team advanced to the finals of the NAIA District 5 playoffs, ending the season at 26-2, the second-best record in all of Division III, and Van Gundy was named Mayflower Conference Coach of the Year, NAIA District 5 Coach of the Year, and the Vermont College Coach of the Year. The following season, Van Gundy led his squad to a 23-7 overall record, another Mayflower Conference championship, the NAIA District 5 title after defeating in Portland both Southern Maine and St. Joseph’s of Maine, and the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. In 1985-86, Van Gundy guided the Spartans to a 19-9 overall record and the semifinals of the NAIA District 5 playoffs. Compiling a 68-18 record over three seasons, a .791 winning percentage, Van Gundy moved on and eventually became head coach at UMass Lowell and Wisconsin. Since 1995, Van Gundy has been a coach in the NBA, first serving as Pat Riley’s assistant with the Miami Heat from 1995 to 2003. He took over as Heat head coach for more than one season before serving as head coach with the Orlando Magic and, as of the start of the 2017-18 season, the Detroit Pistons. He has won 484 games with a .587 winning percentage in his NBA coaching career.