Where are they now: Tom Wasdin
BASKETBALL
Tom Wasdin
Athletic accomplishments: In three seasons as Jacksonville University head basketball coach (1970-73), Wasdin guided the Dolphins to two NCAA tournaments and an NIT berth. He was Joe Williams' assistant coach the previous four years, including the Dolphins' run to the 1970 Final Four. Wasdin's overall record of 63-18 represents the highest winning percentage (.778) of any basketball coach in JU history. His 1970-71 team, which lost to Western Kentucky in the NCAA first round, finished with a No. 11 ranking, the last time the Dolphins were ranked at the end of a season. A native of Waldo, he was head basketball coach at Paxon and Cocoa Beach High before joining JU as an assistant.
What he's doing now: President and CEO of Wasdin Associates, a real estate commercial and residential company in Cocoa. Since leaving JU in 1973, Wasdin has been involved in several business ventures, including owning Kennedy Point Yacht Club in Titusville. He also implemented a sports facility called Cocoa Expo after purchasing the former Houston Astros and Florida Marlins spring training site. Wasdin, 74, and his wife, Susie, have three children (Steve, Lori, and Drew) and nine grandchildren.
On why he got out of coaching at age 37 despite his success: "The real reason was because it was such a competitive environment, it was ruining my health. It was taking more a toll out of my life than I was getting out of it. Some people can leave work and not take it home with them. Basketball at JU was very important in those days. If you made a mistake, everybody knew about it. You could never let your guard down. There was always one more phone call, one more ticket to sell. I was too competitive. I didn't have the personality or mind-set to relax."
