Dzikas calls it career at Shen
Coach guided Plainsmen to state title, 4 section crowns, 220-37 record in league
The thought process began last year for Shenendehowa boys’ basketball coach Tony Dzikas. Monday afternoon, Dzikas made his plan a reality as the 2020-21 season was his final campaign coaching the Plainsmen.
Shenendehowa completed its abbreviated season Friday by edging Troy 57-54 in the final of the Suburban Council Tournament. The Plainsmen finished 15-0 overall. With the 12 regular-season league wins, Dzikas guided his teams to a mark of 220-37 in Suburban Council contests over his 16-year tenure guiding the varsity program.
“You realize how lucky you were to do what you do,” Dzikas said. “It was a difficult decision, but the right one to make. It was a great group of kids. They played the right way and I wanted (Friday) to be about them. It has been fun.”
Dzikas led Shenendehowa to four Section II Class AA titles, including in 2020. His 2014-15 squad captured the program’s first state title since 1987. The veteran mentor coached both of his sons at Shenendehowa and plans to watch his youngest son Devin begin his college career at Suffolk University playing for former Burnt Hills star Jeff Juron.
“With the challenges of COVID, I am incredibly glad we got in a season for our athletes. It was great for Tony to go out undefeated in his final year with his son,” Shenendehowa athletic director Chris Culnan said. “It wasn’t chasing a sectional title, but it was still a very rewarding season.”
“We kind of knew this was approaching,” said Kevin Huerter, the program’s second all-time leading scorer who is currently playing in his third season in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks. “I think he had a pretty good idea this whole year that this would be the case. I feel for someone like him, there was really nothing left to prove. He has done everything he can for Shen. He has taken that program to a whole new level, especially the past couple of years. As a former player, it is not too surprising and I am glad he got to go out the way he did.”
Dzikas said beginning his coaching career at Waterford, his alma mater, at age 23 helped him hone his skills. Upon arriving at Shenendehowa, he managed to keep the Plainsmen consistently at or near the top of the Suburban Council standings.
“His teams were always disciplined and really well-coached,” Huerter said. “Every single team he had, they played
hard, played for each other and played for Shen. They were a disciplined team that would always be tough to beat.”
“I have had a lot of great players and kids to coach. I have been blessed for years to be able to be the Shen coach,” Dzikas said.
“I think over the last six, seven or eight years, Tony has really mastered the craft of coaching,” Culnan said.
Huerter, named New York State’s Mr. Basketball in 2016 before playing two seasons at Maryland, said Dzikas’ ability to elevate his players set him apart.
“The best he did for me was be hard on me,” Huerter said. “We had a conversation that I will never forget. My freshman year, we were going into a team lift. The season had just started and I had just made the team. He pulled me aside and said, ‘Look, my job the next four years is to push you as hard as I can. I am not going to be easy on you because I know how good you are and how good you can be. I am going to push you every single day.’ He did. He lived up to his words. I remember at the time, I thought he was being a hard-ass type. I didn’t know what his words would truly mean. Fast forward four years, he was one of the most influential coaches I ever had.”
“One of the things we talk about a lot in my department is I expect
coaches to see something in kids that kids can’t see in themselves,” Culnan said. “I think Tony sort of epitomized that you get every single bit of potential out of an athlete, whether it is a bench player that is going to serve a role coming in or somebody like Kevin that is going to be the face of your program for a number of years.”