View source for Bob Staak

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Bob Staak
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| current_title = 
| current_team = 
| current_conference = 
| current_record = 
| contract = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|12|22}}
| birth_place = [[Darien, Connecticut]], U.S.
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| alma_mater = 
| player_years1 = 1968–1971
| player_team1 = [[UConn Huskies men's basketball|UConn]]
| coach_years1 = 1973–1975
| coach_team1 = [[UConn Huskies men's basketball|UConn]] (assistant)
| coach_years2 = 1975–1976
| coach_team2 = [[William & Mary Tribe men's basketball|William & Mary]] (assistant)
| coach_years3 = 1976–1979
| coach_team3 = [[Penn Quakers men's basketball|Penn]] (assistant)
| coach_years4 = 1979–1985
| coach_team4 = [[Xavier Musketeers men's basketball|Xavier]]
| coach_years5 = 1985–1989
| coach_team5 = [[Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball|Wake Forest]]
| coach_years6 = {{nbay|1989|full=y}}
| coach_team6 = [[Los Angeles Clippers]] (assistant)
| coach_years7 = {{nbay|1990|start}}–{{nbay|1993|end}}
| coach_team7 = [[Miami Heat]] (assistant)
| coach_years8 = {{nbay|1994|start}}–{{nbay|1996|end}}
| coach_team8 = [[Washington Bullets]] (assistant)
| coach_years9 = {{nbay|1996|end}}
| coach_team9 = Washington Bullets (Interim HC)
| coach_years10 = {{nbay|1997|start}}–{{nbay|1998|end}}
| coach_team10 = [[Golden State Warriors]] (assistant)
| coach_years11 = {{nbay|2000|start}}–{{nbay|2001|end}}
| coach_team11 = [[Memphis Grizzlies|Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies]] (assistant)
| admin_years1 = 1979–1984
| admin_team1 = [[Xavier Musketeers|Xavier]]
| overall_record = 
| bowl_record = 
| tournament_record = 
| championships = 
| awards = 
| coaching_records = 
}}
'''Robert John Staak''' (born December 22, 1947)<ref>[https://wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/bitstream/handle/10339/2692/ogb_1985-12-06.pdf Wake Forest Basketball: A New Era]</ref> is an American former [[college basketball]] and [[professional basketball]] coach.

==Early life==
Staak was born in [[Darien, Connecticut]]. He attended [[Darien High School]], where he played basketball and became the all-time leading scorer  with 1,166 points, a mark that still stands. He graduated in 1966, and he was recruited by about 100 universities.<ref name="UConn Legends">{{Cite web|url=http://www.uconnhooplegends.com/menslegends/StaakBob.html|title=UCONN Hoop Legends: BOB STAAK}}</ref>

==College career==
Staak attended [[St. John's University (New York City)|St. John's University]] as a freshman, taking business courses. However, living off-campus didn't provide the atmosphere he was looking for, and when he decided that he wanted to someday be a basketball coach and St. John's didn't offer the academic concentration he sought, he transferred to the [[University of Connecticut]]. Due to transfer rules, he had to sit out a year before playing basketball for UConn.<ref name="UConn Legends" /> He played three years of varsity basketball for the Huskies, ending his career as the school's fourth all-time leading scorer. He was named All-New England and All-[[Yankee Conference]]. A two-year co-captain, he was named UConn's Most Valuable Player his senior year and he earned the UConn Club Award as the Outstanding Senior Athlete. He graduated in 1971.<ref name="UConn Legends" />

==Professional career==
After graduating, he signed to play professional basketball with the [[Pittsburgh Condors]] of the [[American Basketball Association]] (ABA), but was cut in preseason. He returned to Connecticut and played in the New York State Pro League on weekends for a year while also coaching at [[East Hartford High School]]. The following year, he was invited to tryout for the ABA's [[Kentucky Colonels]], but they had a contract dispute and Staak decided to end his playing career.<ref name="UConn Legends" />

==Coaching career==
Staak became an assistant coach at UConn for two years under his college coach [[Dee Rowe]]. He then served as an assistant for one season at the [[College of William and Mary]] in Virginia. He then served as an assistant at the [[Ivy League]]'s [[University of Pennsylvania]] under future Hall-of-Famer [[Chuck Daly]]. In 1979, the Quakers advanced to the NCAA Final Four.<ref name="UConn Legends" />

After their tournament run, Staak got his first college basketball head coaching job when he was named head coach/athletic director at [[Xavier University]] in [[Cincinnati]], where he coached from 1979 to 1985. Staak compiled an 88–86 record (.506) in six seasons as the Musketeers head coach. He worked to rebuild, compiling a 28-54 (.341) record in his first three years and a 60-32 (.652) record in his final three years.<ref name="Archived copy">{{Cite web |url=http://www.goxavier.com/genrel/staak_robert00.html |title=Robert Staak Bio - Xavier Musketeers Official Athletic Site |access-date=2014-03-25 |archive-date=2014-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326013003/http://www.goxavier.com/genrel/staak_robert00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

He then became head coach at [[Wake Forest University]] from 1985 to 1989, where his teams posted a 45–69 record in four seasons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/wake/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2012-13/misc_non_event/1213-mbk-mg-sec5.pdf |title=2012–13 Record Book – All-Time Results |publisher=[[Wake Forest University]] |year=2012 |pages=59, 88 |accessdate=18 May 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327220911/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/wake/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2012-13/misc_non_event/1213-mbk-mg-sec5.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2014}}</ref>

For the next 12 seasons he was an assistant coach and/or scout in the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA), for the [[Los Angeles Clippers]], [[Miami Heat]], [[Washington Bullets]], [[Golden State Warriors]], and [[Memphis Grizzlies]].<ref name="UConn Legends" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/coachfile/bob_staak/ |title=NBA.com: Bob Staak Coach Info |website=[[NBA.com]] |access-date=2014-03-26 |archive-date=2014-03-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327233818/http://www.nba.com/coachfile/bob_staak/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> He spent two years (2003–05) as a referee observer with the NBA followed by one season as a scout for the [[Boston Celtics]]. He then spent seven-plus seasons with the [[Orlando Magic]] from January 2005 to July 2012.<ref>http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bob-staak/35/b3b/315  {{Self-published source|date=June 2022}}</ref>

==Head coaching record==
===NBA===
{{NBA coach statistics start}}
|- 
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1996–97 Washington Bullets season|Washington]]
| style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|1996}}
| 1||0||1||{{Winning percentage|0|1}}|| style="text-align:center;"|Interim coach||—||—||—||—
| style="text-align:center;"|Interim
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 1||0||1||{{Winning percentage|0|0}}||&nbsp;||0||0||0||{{Winning percentage|0|0}}||&nbsp;
{{s-end}}

==Personal life==
Staak was inducted into the Xavier Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990,<ref name="Archived copy"/> the Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002, the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009, and the UConn Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

He is married to Donna (Durant) and Staak has a grown son and stepdaughter.<ref name="UConn Legends" />

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* Career coaching statistics from [https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/staakbo99c.html Basketball-Reference.com]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Staak, Robert John}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Canada]]
[[Category:American men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from Connecticut]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Connecticut]]
[[Category:Golden State Warriors assistant coaches]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Clippers assistant coaches]]
[[Category:Memphis Grizzlies assistant coaches]]
[[Category:Miami Heat assistant coaches]]
[[Category:Penn Quakers men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Darien, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Shooting guards]]
[[Category:Small forwards]]
[[Category:UConn Huskies men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:UConn Huskies men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Vancouver Grizzlies assistant coaches]]
[[Category:Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Washington Bullets assistant coaches]]
[[Category:Washington Bullets head coaches]]
[[Category:William & Mary Tribe men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Xavier Musketeers athletic directors]]
[[Category:Xavier Musketeers men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Darien High School alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]