Thank You, John Desko.
Gary Gait will build a powerhouse staff at Syracuse and the Orange’s future is bright. We are all excited for SU men’s lacrosse to get back to the Final Four regularly and win a title, something the team hasn’t done since 2009.
But this column isn’t about that. It’s instead for the guy who retired, John Desko. Perhaps people don’t give Desko his due because he hadn’t won a title since 2009. But that’s a bad approach.
You see, the truth is, no one was better suited to coach Syracuse men’s lacrosse. Desko, an assistant for nearly two decades, took over for Roy Simmons Jr. in 1999. He became the first person outside of the Simmons family to coach the team since 1931. You want pressure? Following up the biggest last name in school history, plus the expectations that come with the program to begin with and having already won titles as an assistant coach which just makes the bullseye bigger.
But Desko knew pressure. And he thrived. Remember, this is a lifelong Central New Yorker who goes back decades in the game and played his high school lacrosse at West Genesee, for the longest time the Syracuse of lacrosse at that level where “state champions” was printed so many times on banners they ran out of ink. He then played lacrosse at Syracuse, fully knowing the pressure bubble having grown-up in the area. He started out at midfield, switched to defense, earned All-America honors and led the team to the program’s first ever NCAA berth with a 10-5 mark. Pressure? No problem for the eventual National Lacrosse Hall of Famer (2020).
What followed after Desko took the head job is perhaps an unmatched coaching resume in the history of the sport. 258-86, good for a .750 winning percentage. 5 NCAA titles. 9 Final Four appearances and 7 NCAA Finals appearances in his first 11 years as head coach. 2010-2013 also provided 4 Big East Championships in a row. Want more? Try making the transition from the Big East to the ACC. That schedule is brutal every week. All Desko did early in the transition was win 2 ACC Tournaments in 2015 and 2016. 2018 was a conference regular season title for the Orange. Desko has won 4 ACC Coach of the Year awards, in fact all of them in a row from 2015-18. One final number. How is 34-15 in tournament play?
Desko also goes beyond CNY. He is well-respected in the sport by everyone, in the United States and globally. At one point, he was the head coach of Team USA, and led the squad to a silver medal in the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship. Talk about legacy. Talk about impact. Talk about growing the game in the United States of America and internationally.
You know who else has 5 NCAA titles in another sport? Mike Krzyzewski, who says this coming year is his last as Duke head men’s basketball coach. All he gets is praise for winning that many championships in about four decades of coaching. He has adapted to the times and the game and the one-and-done and the transfer rules changing and on and on it goes. Is the praise deserved? Absolutely. But look at John Desko. He did the exact same thing as head coach of Orange men’s lacrosse and won the same amount of titles in half the amount of years. Oh, and 6 NCAA crowns as an assistant, a position where he was a major part of the program each and every year.
Above all this, John Desko is one of the nicest people I have ever covered in sports. He is always respectful, answers every question and appreciates what the sport has given him as well. For the last several years, Desko has been on the hot seat as the passionate fan base has grown restless without a title in oh so long. He handled it with class and grace and humility and patience.
Gary Gait is the Michael Jordan of lacrosse. He connects generations and lacrosse families and everywhere he has gone, he has won. He will no doubt have Syracuse men’s lacrosse rolling very soon with an eye on the big prize. He will build a monster coaching staff (the legendary Dave Pietramala has already been added as defensive coordinator as of this writing) and grab recruits quickly (Pietramala’s twin sons, Dom and Nick, verbally committed to North Carolina last fall and just completed their junior years at Boys’ Latin, but could they switch to the Orange, one of the four finalists for Dom during the recruiting process?).
But while we buckle-up for the future and get excited for the Gary Gait Era, take a minute and appreciate the glory and success and winning and titles and respect for the game and people the head coach before Gait gave us. Thank you, John Desko.
