Ursinus College has announced the hiring of Dennis Stanton as an assistant men’s basketball coach. Stanton, class of 2004, returns to Ursinus after an illustrious college and professional playing career and a successful stint as head coach at Souderton Area High School.
Stanton, the 2004 Mid-Atlantic Region Player of the Year, enjoyed the best individual season in the history of Ursinus College and the Centennial Conference. Named a first-team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and a first-team Academic All-American, Stanton remains the first and only male athlete in the history of Ursinus College to garner both honors.
Also the 2004 Centennial Conference Player of the Year, Stanton led the NCAA in scoring as a senior, amassing 879 points for a 32.6 points per game average – the highest point total and average in a single season ever by a Centennial or Ursinus player. He scored at least 20 points in 26 of 27 games that season and had 17 games of 30 points or more. He broke the Ursinus and Centennial record for points in a game when he scored 55 in a 104-92 win over previously unbeaten and 14th-ranked Franklin & Marshall on February 7, 2004. That broke his own mark of 45 points. which he had set earlier in the season in handing Johns Hopkins their first league loss of the season.
Stanton led the Conference and finished second in NCAA Division III in three-pointers made with 140, shattering the league and school records. He also broke the Centennial and Ursinus records for points in a season (879) and three-pointers in a career (306). With 1,903 career points he finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Centennial Conference, a mark which has subsequently been passed by fellow Ursinus player Nick Shattuck.
Upon graduating from Ursinus, Stanton played professionally in Europe for four seasons. In his first season overseas, he starred for the Jonstrup Basketball Club in Denmark. That season he led all of Denmark in scoring at a club and league record 40 points per game.
After Denmark, Stanton went on to play in Poland for Polpharma Starogard Gdansk Basketball Club, where he led the country in three pointers made, averaged 15ppg and was a DBL All-Star selection. The following season, Stanton spent time in the A2 Italian League, playing for Fileni Jesi Basketball Club.
After finishing his playing days in Spain for a club named Palencia, he returned to the States and has taught English and coached the varsity basketball team at nearby Souderton Area High School.
This past winter, in just his second season at Souderton, Stanton led his squad all the way to the PIAA state tournament.
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