Jeff Anastasia walked into Buffalo RiverWorks wearing a black suit with a white shirt and a basketball tie. His neckwear was fitting because the game of basketball is why he was in Buffalo on that summer day.
As he made his rounds talking to people, shaking hands and giving hugs, people who recognized him started to make their way toward him. Most encounters included the words, “Congratulations,” because Anastasia was there to be introduced as a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022. The induction ceremony is Nov. 9.
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It’s an honor Anastasia, the former boys basketball coach at Olean for 32 seasons, didn’t expect.
“Are you sitting down?,” Anastasia recalls Greg Merkle, the GBSHOF president asking during a phone call.
Anastasia initially thought bad news was coming. Merkle quelled his worries by telling him, “We've got great news, you’re going to be inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.”
“I was so stunned because I just look at myself as a high school coach,” Anastasia said.
Even though Anastasia views himself as just a high school coach, many others view him as more, much more. He’s already a member of the Section VI and New York State Basketball halls of fame.
“I never won a game as a coach,” Anastasia said. “I can put my players in a position to win the game, but I’ve never made that winning shot or dove on the floor.”
At Olean, Anastasia had the luxury of having players who were able to hit the shots, dive on the floor and get the defensive stops on the way to a Western New York record 602 victories, 21 league titles, 12 regional appearances, seven New York State Public High School Athletic Association final four Class B appearances, and two state championships. Anastasia also established Olean as the definition of home court advantage, with the team winning 78 consecutively on its court.
One of those players was Dean Edwards, class of 1990, who went on to play at Butler and Rider University.
The 6-foot-7 Edwards averaged 24.4 points and 12.1 rebounds per game as a senior and was named to All-WNY second team. Decades later, Edwards made the time to congratulation to his coach.
“Congrats on your induction into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame,” Edwards wrote. “It’s certainly well deserved. Trust me when I tell you that you’re more than just a coach. You are a mentor, counselor, coach, and a friend. Not just to me, but to all of your players. You left a lasting impression on your players whether you knew it or now.”
The message touched Anastasia. "Stuff like that is what means the world to me," he said. "I can only hope that all of the players I coached I left a little bit of an impression on and made a difference in their lives.”
Edwards' message was particularly meaningful, because Dean's father, John, was the former superintendent of schools at Olean. Anastasia said when he was hired in 1987, John Edwards couldn’t see the coach having much playoff success. At the time of Anastasia’s hiring, the Huskies last won a sectional title in 1969.
“You’ll never win a sectional title at Olean,” Anastasia recalls Edwards telling him. “You can’t compete with the Buffalo schools. The Buffalo city schools are too good. They’re too athletic, you can’t compete with them.”
Hearing someone say, "You’ll never win a sectional title" stung, but didn’t also deter him from proving he could lead the program to great success.
“It made me driven,” Anastasia. “You can either say, ‘Well, what he’s saying is true because in the past we’d lose by 30 points.' My mentality at that point was I’m going to be driven, I’m going to work hard, I’m not going to get outworked, I’m going to put my players in the best possible position I can to be successful.”
Anastasia became more driven and also learned that a coach needs to manage the different personalities of the roster and attempt to understand what each player is going through. He didn’t want to just focus on basketball, because in order for the team to be successful on the court, he needed to find out where each player was as a person.
“I always wanted my players to understand that I’m there for them,” Anastasia said. “It’s more than about the wins and the basketball. Sure, we’re all on the same page and a basketball family trying to win, but the bottom line is making each other top-notch citizens. Let’s be someone that teachers all respect, and not just respecting you as a basketball player, but as a person.
"That’s more important than winning any basketball game that’ll take place in life.”
As he focused on learning his athletes, it proved fruitful for Anastasia. He won his first sectional title eight seasons into his tenure and led Olean basketball into a golden era. From 1995 to Anastasia’s retirement in 2019, the Huskies won 14 sectional titles, which included streaks of four and five straight championships. Anastasia’s success is the product of Olean’s developmental basketball programs in the community.
While at RiverWorks at one point, tears began to race down his face before his lips opened. He was thinking of something that he wanted to say, but the emotion of the thought was too strong before the words were uttered.
After a few moments, what was aching in his heart all these years later are the players he couldn’t leave an impact on, the ones he thinks got away. He believes he could’ve done more to put them on a path toward success.
“My biggest disappointment is the kids I couldn’t save,” he said. “I always wanted to help kids survive. It’s not about where you’re at now, but where are you going to be at in five, 10, 15 years? Basketball can be a very small part of your life. Most people don’t go on to play in college or pro.”
It hurts because he wanted the best for every single player that entered his program. As the leader of young men, Anastasia wanted everyone to know he genuinely cared about them.
“When you really care about your players and they know that you care about them, they will do anything you ask them to do," Anastasia said. "I think, in a way, that defines my career. I always wanted them to succeed in school.”
