Kean University

One can easily imagine the shock Kean Head Basketball Coach Joe Palermo felt upon seeing Steve Depts play for the first time. For despite the fact that Depts went on to become one of the greatest players in Kean history, he never played the sport in high school, and was a totally unknown quantity to Palermo when he first set foot on the floor of D'Angola Gym.

From 1976 through 1979, Depts was a vital member of three of the most powerful teams in school history, including the 1977-1978 squad that posted a 23-5 mark, won the New Jersey State College Athletic Conference (NJSCAC) Championship and advanced all the way to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Though Depts played only three seasons, with part of the first on the junior varsity squad, he still managed to net 1,152 career points. After being called up from the jayvee, Depts was an immediate contributor to the 1976-1977 team that went 20-8 and received the program's first-ever postseason invitation to compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament.

The following year, as a junior, he finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game en route to being named second team All-NJSCAC.

As a senior, he was again tabbed to the All-NJSCAC second team, and was selected to compete in the New Jersey Basketball Coaches All-Star Game after netting a team-high 15.1 points, along with 6.6 rebounds per contest in 1978-1979.

Depts earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in fine arts/studio-visual communications from Kean in 1980.