Former Quaker Dave Klatsky has always looked to distribute the ball to his teammates. Though his playing days are behind him, Klatsky now has much more to share than before.
Klatsky, a 2003 Wharton graduate, has joined the men’s basketball coaching staff as an assistant coach at Colgate University.
“It is a great honor to be part of the basketball staff at such a prestigious institution,” Klatsky said. “Colgate is a fantastic university with a lot of history and to be part of that history is something I’m very proud of.”
Klatsky spent the previous four years as an assistant coach at the Stevens Institute of Technology where he helped guide the team to a 76-35 record and two Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Metro Championships.
Although he is several years removed from his Quaker days, he attributes his coaching success to his time spent playing under former head coach Fran Dunphy.
“I learned a ton about the game of basketball from Coach Dunphy and carried over most of his principles and philosophies to my coaching experiences at Stevens,” Klatsky said. “In addition, what I went through on a personal level at Penn helped immensely with relating to the student athletes at Stevens.”
Despite moving to a new school, Klatsky has the assurance of knowing that there will be someone who shares his views.
The Raiders’ new head coach, Matt Langel, is a former Quaker teammate and also somebody who holds great respect for Dunphy.
“Other than my mother and father, no person has been more influential to not only my coaching style and approach to my job, but to my life than Coach Dunphy,” Langel said.
Klatsky and Langel played together on the 1999-2000 Ivy League Championship team but after that, their careers took different paths.
Klatsky went on to lead the Quakers to two more Ivy titles — setting Penn’s single season assist record in his sophomore year — while Langel played professionally in Europe. Now, both Quaker alumni find themselves working together again, hoping to bring the championship spark to a new program.
“Having been a teammate of Dave’s I know he is an ultra competitive individual who will do whatever is needed for his team to succeed,” Langel said. “I know Dave will work tirelessly to achieve a championship level of success we believe can be reached.”
Asked if the possibility of working with his former teammate influenced his decision, Klatsky was clear in his response.
“Having the opportunity to work for Coach Langel was one of the primary reasons I wanted the job so badly,” Klatsky said. “Coach Langel and I share a lot of the same values and philosophies about basketball, so the pairing was a natural one and I’m confident we can accomplish great things at Colgate.”
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