Steve DeMeo - Men's Basketball Coach - East Carolina University Athletics

Steve DeMeo

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
demeos21@ecu.edu
Phone:
(252) 737-4596

Steve DeMeo was named an assistant men’s basketball coach at East Carolina prior to the start of the 2021-22 season following a two-year stint as an assistant coach at St. John’s University.

During his second season in Queens, DeMeo helped the Red Storm improve their win total by five games in the highly competitive BIG EAST Conference. St. John’s completed the 2020-21 season with a 16-11 overall record which included wins over four NCAA Tournament participants highlight by a victory against No. 3 Villanova.

DeMeo joined the coaching staff at St. John’s following a six-year stint as the head coach at Northwest Florida State College, where he led the Raiders to a national title and was named the Spalding NJCAA National Coach-of-the-Year in 2015. Under DeMeo's direction, Northwest Florida State turned in a six-year record of 170-27 (.863), earned an additional berth in the 2017 NJCAA Final Four and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Under DeMeo's leadership, the Raiders captured the Panhandle Conference Championship five-straight years (2015-19) and earned four Florida College System Activities Association State Tournament Championships in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.
DeMeo collected FCSAA/NJCAA Region VIII Coach of the year honors four times (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019) and earned Panhandle Conference Coach of the Year recognition each of his last five seasons (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019). He was also tabbed the top junior college coach in the country by Basketball Times in 2018 and received the Red Auerbach Coach of the Year award at the 2017 NCAA Division I Final Four.

A veteran coach with a track record of success, DeMeo also held lead roles at Division II Newberry College, as well as Monroe College and Bronx Community College. DeMeo has accumulated a 265-97 (.732) overall record as a head coach.

While at NWF State College, he has helped 42 out of 42 student-athletes earn Division I scholarships and graduate after their sophomore year.

Numerous players that he recruited, coached and developed have been drafted by National Basketball Association teams including Charles Jenkins (Golden State Warriors), Ryan Gomes and MarShon Brooks (Boston), Herbert Hill (Utah) and Marcus Douthit (Los Angeles). In 2019, Oregon-signee and future 2021 NBA First Round Draft pick Chris Duarte was selected as the NJCAA Division I Player of the Year, the first player to earn that honor under DeMeo.

Prior to NWF, DeMeo spent 17 years of coaching at the Division I level. The teams he coached participated in four NCAA Tournaments and made five NIT appearances. Among his wealth of experiences, Coach DeMeo has served as head coach at Monroe Junior College (1993-1995), assistant coach at Iona College (1995-1998), assistant and associate head coach at Providence College (1998-2008), assistant coach at University of Central Florida (2008-2009), head coach at Newberry College (2009-2010) and associate head coach at Hofstra University (2010-2013). While at Providence College, all 25 of his student-athletes that reached their senior year graduated with their degree.

During his time at Providence, DeMeo was named one of the top-25 assistant coaches in Division I by Rivals.com and helped the Friars to five postseason appearances, including a pair of trips to the NCAA Tournament. DeMeo led the Friars' recruiting efforts and was instrumental in landing future NBA Draft selections Brooks, the 25^th overall pick in 2011, and second round draftees Hill and Douthit.

At Hofstra, DeMeo coached three-time Haggerty Award winner Charles Jenkins, who went on to play in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers, after working with 2009 Conference USA Player-of-the-Year Jermaine Taylor at UCF.

DeMeo began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Queensborough Community College (1988-89) and LIU-Post (1989-90) before he received his first head coaching opportunity at Bronx Community College from 1990-93. In his first season at the helm, the Broncos claimed the City University of New York Athletic Conference championship.

From 1993-95, DeMeo enjoyed unprecedented success at Monroe Junior College, where he produced a 53-8 record (.869) in his two seasons leading the Mustangs. DeMeo earned National Junior College Athletic Association Region XV Coach-of-the-Year honors following each of his campaigns in the Bronx. In DeMeo's final season, Monroe finished the regular season as the top ranked NJCAA team in the country.

A native of Bayside, N.Y., DeMeo earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo.