When Tommy Dempsey left his position at Rider to become the head coach of the Binghamton men’s basketball team in 2012, he took assistant coach Ben Luber with him to once again serve on his staff. A year later, Luber was promoted to associate head coach. In June, Luber announced he would return to Rider to retake his old position, leaving behind his title and forcing Dempsey to make a flurry of promotions and hires.
Bryan Goodman was promoted from assistant to associate head coach, while Chretien Lukusa, the former coordinator of player development, is set to take over as assistant coach. Pete Corasaniti, who previously served as head team manager and graduate assistant at Syracuse, will take over as coordinator of player development.
Corasaniti didn’t arrive at Binghamton until after summer workouts had ended, but he will bring unique experiences gained during his time at Syracuse with him to the Events Center. While serving on the staff of head coach Jim Boeheim, his duties included scouting opponents, recruiting and player development.
“Pete [Corasaniti] is tremendous; I think he’s going to be really good for us,” Goodman said. “He’s extremely organized; he’s extremely diligent. The guys at Syracuse recommended him very highly, so we know what we are getting. He’s the perfect guy for that role at this time.”
To his new role, Goodman brings his experience from CSU Bakersfield, which transitioned from Division II to Division I during his tenure as associate head coach. He also served as assistant head coach at Bucknell and Oklahoma.
“I’ve been fortunate that everywhere I’ve worked, the coaches have given me some responsibility that I think helps prepare me for this,” Goodman said. “I believe every role I’ve ever had has better prepared me for this position. One of the reasons I came to work for coach Dempsey was that I thought I could help based on my experience.”
The player development position that Corasaniti now holds is largely administrative. His responsibilities this year will now include paperwork related to travel and logistics. In his new role as assistant coach, Lukusa’s responsibilities are now more focused on basketball.
“Now I get more opportunities to get on the court and put guys through workouts,” Lukusa said. “I’ll do scouting for games and I’ll also get on the road to recruit a little bit more.”
Even with Luber gone, the responsibilities of the coaching staff remain the same.
“All of us as assistants have a hand in recruiting, that’s our main job and that doesn’t change,” Goodman said.
Goodman and Lukusa remain optimistic about the 2016-17 season and the direction of the program after a strong finish last year.
“We think it’s going in a great direction,” Lukusa said. “We’ve got really great leadership in Coach Dempsey; he has a really great vision for the program and is really dedicated to bringing our players some of the things that players in bigger programs have, whether it’s the new locker room or the new scoreboard.”
Binghamton, which released its schedule on Wednesday, is set to start its season on Nov. 11 against Cornell. Other key early matchups include St. John’s and VCU.