Steinwedel, former players forge stronger bond over years
By KEVIN NOONAN, The News Journal
Posted Monday, February 18, 2008: Delawareonline.com
Andre Buck laughed when asked recently what he thought about Steve Steinwedel, his former basketball coach at the University of Delaware. "I hated him," Buck said. "We all did."
That was more than 15 years ago, and a lot has changed since then, including the way those former Blue Hens feel about their coach.
"We've developed a great relationship with him since we all left Delaware," Buck said. "Now that we have a little more perspective, we all realize that Stein was a very influential and very special person in our lives. And he still is."
In fact, Buck and other former UD players like Anthony Wright and Spencer Dunkley get together with Steinwedel for lunch or a round of golf, and they even take in an occasional Delaware game together.
"The relationship I have with those guys now is something that means a lot to me," said Steinwedel, who was at Delaware from 1985 to 1995.
No UD basketball coach has won more games than he did (163-121). He also took Delaware to the first two NCAA Tournaments in school history, and his 1991-92 team that finished 27-4 still is the best to ever wear Blue Hens uniforms.
Steinwedel was honored for that this week during the Colonial Athletic Association's annual awards banquet at Richmond, Va. He is Delaware's selection for the CAA's seventh annual Men's Basketball Legends ceremonies that were held in conjunction with the CAA Tournament.
Steinwedel, 54, is a counselor at Delaware Technical and Community College-Stanton and has no desire to coach again.
However, he keeps up with UD basketball and is a big fan of current coach Monte Ross, who took over a bad team two years ago and has the Hens back on the road to respectability.
But the challenges Ross faces are nothing compared to those Steinwedel had to overcome.
When he replaced Ron Rainey, UD was coming off seven straight losing seasons and 11 out of 12. Plus, the Hens played at Carpenter Field House, which looked more like a dingy airplane hangar than a modern basketball facility. Steinwedel had to deal with that recruiting liability for seven years before the Hens moved into the plush Bob Carpenter Center.
"That's something I take pride in, because when I came here, a lot of people told me that Delaware could never have a successful basketball program," Steinwedel said. "They said the facilities were bad and it was a football school and nobody cared about basketball. And we were able to change that and make people proud of Delaware basketball."
Steinwedel did that by recruiting players like Wright and Dunkley, as well as Alex Coles, Mark Murray, Denard Montgomery, Rob Jackson, Kevin Blackhurst, Ricky Deadwyler, Brian Pearl, Robbie Johnson and Patrick Evans.
Wright now is the coach at Tatnall, and that has given him a greater appreciation of Steinwedel and the job he did.
"When you're the coach, you have to be the one to maintain discipline and make sure things are done the right way," Wright said. "And sometimes, that means you have to be the bad guy. Eventually, the players understand where you're coming from, and that's what happened with us."
Steinwedel readily admits he wasn't the easiest guy to deal with when he was the UD coach.
"I've matured over the years since I was a young coach," Steinwedel said. "But even when I was getting on those guys, I think deep down they knew I was just trying to get the best out of them. And they definitely know that now, because they've told me that.
"That was a special group, on and off the court," Steinwedel added. "I was proud of what we accomplished in basketball, but I'm even more proud of the way those players have grown into successful adults and the way they've stayed close all these years."
