A familiar name atop Seton Catholic Central’s boys basketball program: Tommy Dempsey
Had it not been for a spring fling coaching back-to-basics basketball, there’s no telling if a 16-season NCAA Division I head coach would have opted to return to the high school sideline for the first time in 23 years.
But there it’ll be for Tommy Dempsey, recently appointed head of Seton Catholic Central’s boys program.
The erstwhile Rider University and Binghamton University coach succeeds 25-season man and Section 4 Hall of Fame member Chris Sinicki as head of the storied program, which sustained excellence in the Southern Tier Athletic Conference and Section 4 throughout his tenure.
Dempsey, 49-year-old native of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, with close ties to the Seton CC community, wrapped up a nine-season stint as BU coach (71-194) upon conclusion of the 2020-21 season. He’d headed Rider (Lawrenceville, New Jersey) to a 119-105 record through seven seasons before transitioning to Broome County.
He has two sons, sophomore Brian and eighth-grader Tyler, in Seton CC’s program. Son Tommy − presently director of basketball operations at Manhattan College − and daughter Emily were notable players in the Saints’ boys and girls programs.
“I’ve had an interest in the program for many years but now I certainly have a vested interest with two more boys,” Dempsey said. “If they were going to be coached by Chris Sinicki, I was thrilled with that. But they weren’t, so I started to think more and more about it, had a couple of conversations and decided to put my hat in the ring.”
Dempsey last coached at the high school level in 1999-2000 as head man for one season at Wyoming Seminary, a prep school in Kingston, Pennsylvania, before taking the Keystone College job the following season.
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“Another thing that got me excited about coaching at that level is I did coach a 15U AAU team out of Scranton in the spring,” he said. “They were all basically rising ninth- and 10th-graders. I really enjoyed it, I had a great group of kids, They’re at an age where they don’t have all the answers − and not all the college kids do, don’t get me wrong. It’s a very impressionable age and I enjoyed it more than I believed I would.
“ … I realized how much I missed just coaching. You’re just taking a group of kids, getting in the gym, coaching them hard, getting them better. They’re at an age where they’re just trying to grow as players and as people.
“Without that experience, would I have done this? I’m not sure, maybe, but that solidified in my mind that there was a void in my life without having a team.”
Dempsey is an account executive with Harding-Brooks Insurance Agency.
Sinicki’s biography, in part, upon his 2022 Hall of Fame induction:
“Long-time Seton Catholic Central coach has been successful in every sport and every level he has coached, winning divisional, league, sectional and regional titles as well as a state championship in softball and making two state final four appearances in basketball.
“With a 367-141 record, he is one of the winningest varsity boys’ basketball coaches in Section IV. During his 24 years of coaching, his teams have accomplished the following: Four Regional championships, 12 Section IV crowns, five STAC titles, 13 Division titles and were New York State finalists twice.
“Chris has been chosen Coach of the Year eight times by the Basketball Coaches Association of New York and was Press & Sun-Bulletin Coach of the Year on four occasions.”
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Seton Catholic Central hires former Binghamton U. coach Tommy Dempsey
