Steve Lappas
Steve Lappas (born March 18, 1954)
Teams coached: Manhattan Jaspers, Villanova Wildcats, UMass Minutemen
Manhattan record: 56-62 (.475)
Villanova record: 174-110 (.613)
UMass record: 50-65 (.435)
Overall record: 280-237 (.542)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4 (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 1 (1994)
- NIT Appearances: 4 (1992, 1994, 2000, 2001)
- Big East Regular Season Champion: 1 (1997)
- MAAC Regular Season Champion: 1 (1992)
- Big East Tournament Champion: 1 (1995)
Awards:
- MAAC Coach of the Year: 1 (1992)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2001-2005 | UMass |
| 1992-2001 | Villanova |
| 1988-1992 | Manhattan |
| 1984-1988 | Villanova (asst) |
| 1977-1979 | CUNY-York (asst) |
Steve Lappas Facts
- Stephan Thomas Lappas
- Born March 18, 1954
- Hometown: New York City, New York
- Alma Mater: City College of New York (BA, 1977)
- Played at Bronx HS of Science and then at CCNY, serving as team captain as a junior
- Started his coaching career right away, spending one year each assisting at CUNY-York and Fort Lee HS (NJ)
- Hired as the head coach at Harry S. Truman HS in the Bronx, going 91-32 over five seasons and winning the New York State Class A championship in 1984
- Joined Rollie Massimino‘s staff at Villanova as an assistant in 1984, working there for four seasons
- Became head coach at Manhattan in 1988, turning a 7-win Jaspers team into a 25-9 NIT contender in his fourth and final season
- Returned to Villanova in 1992 to take over for Massimino, coaching the Wildcats for nine seasons
- Won 174 games and went to the postseason seven times (four NCAA, three NIT)
- Resigned from the school in 2001 after contract negotiations failed to land him a long-term deal
- Hired that off-season to be the head coach at UMass, where he coached the Minutemen for four seasons but failed to reach the postseason; let go following the 2004-05 season
- Began working for CBS Sports Network as both an in-game and in-studio analyst in 2005
- He has also called games on the MSG Network, ESPN, Comcast and Westwood One Sports
- Inducted into the CCNY Hall of Fame, Villanova Hall of Fame and NYC Basketball Hall of Fame
Steve Lappas Coaching Tree
- Paul Hewitt (Ontario Clippers, George Mason, Georgia Tech, Siena)
- Joe Jones (Boston U, Columbia)
- Patrick Sellers (Central Connecticut)
