Meet Associate Head Coach Dave Leitao
Dave Leitao, a former assistant coach at the University of Connecticut and
the head basketball coach at Northeastern (MA) University during the 1994-95 and
1995-96 seasons, is in his sixth season as Associate Head Coach of Men’s
Basketball at UConn and his 14th season on the UConn staff overall. He
coordinates UConn’s worldwide recruiting efforts.
In accepting his new position at Connecticut in May of 1996, Leitao rejoined
the staff of head coach Jim Calhoun and during the past five seasons UConn has
compiled a 129-44 record, including winning the 1999 NCAA Division I National
Championship. Prior to accepting the head coaching job at Northeastern in the
spring of 1994, Leitao had played an important role in the building of
Connecticut Basketball into a nationally-regarded program. He had served for
eight seasons as an assistant coach at UConn (1986-87 to 1993-94) and in those
eight seasons the Huskies had posted an overall record of 162-91, making four
appearances in the NCAA Championship and winning the 1988 NIT Championship.
Leitao was instrumental in highly-successful recruiting efforts at UConn which
brought a number of talented student-athletes to Connecticut, including: Chris
Smith, Scott Burrell, Donyell Marshall, Donny Marshall and Ray Allen.
Leitao began his long-term playing and working relationship with Jim Calhoun
as a four-year varsity basketball athlete playing for Calhoun at Northeastern
University from 1978-82 (NU was 79-34 during that period). After graduation from
Northeastern in 1983, Leitao joined Calhoun’s basketball staff at NU for the
1984-85 season and remained there for two seasons. He then followed Calhoun to
Connecticut in the spring of 1986 and served as an assistant coach on the UConn
staff for the next eight years.
In Leitao’s first season as head coach at Northeastern in 1994-95, he
directed the Boston Huskies to an overall record of 18-11 and into the North
Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship game. He compiled an overall two-year
record at Northeastern of 22-35.
In his sixth season as Associate Head Coach at Connecticut, he is also in his
20th year working (player and coach) with Jim Calhoun.
Leitao, 41, and his wife Joyce have a seven-year-old son, David Leitao III
and a three-year old son, Reese. |
