Dom Vazquez had it all figured out.
He was going to play in the NBA.
Growing up, Vazquez always had a ball in his hand, he was always practicing and he was always starring everywhere he played.
From youth leagues to starting point guard as a sophomore at Archbishop Ryan High School, Vazquez wasn’t always the best player on the floor, but he was always one of the best.
After graduating from Arcadia University in 2025, he could have continued playing the game he loves.
He could have gone overseas and continued to work on his plan of becoming a professional basketball player, but he had a backup plan.
And boy is it a good one.
Vazquez, the heady leader who always seemed to have the answers before the tests because of how much he studied the game, is now doing the teaching. One year after serving as an assistant coach for Joe Zeglinski’s Raiders, he accepted an assistant coaching job at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre.
“My first dream was playing in the NBA,” he said. “In college, I realized that was going away, but I always wanted to coach because my dad has coached his whole life. And I wanted to stay around the game.
“I think point guards make great coaches. You can see it at the pro level. And there’s a bunch of great college coaches that were point guards. You see the game differently, you know the responsibility of everyone, everyone on the floor looks to you. You have to know the plays, you have to remain composed. It all ties into being a good coach.”
He has the perfect demeanor.
He also has had the best mentors.
The man who has known him the longest and taught him the most, his father Edwin, who is a coach at MaST Charter.
He also credits his older brothers Anthony and Nicholas for letting him play with them when he was much younger.
The age gap made it difficult for the youngest Vazquez to succeed, so he always worked that much harder. It ended up being a reason for a lot of his success.
“My dad has been a coach for a long time and I’ve always looked up to him,” Vazquez said. “At a young age, my dad knew I had grown to know the game a little bit, and when he was coaching me, he’d tell me that I can be a great coach. ‘You’re one of the smartest players I know.’ he would tell me. It doesn’t just come from my father, but he was a great role model. Toward the end (of his playing days), I definitely knew I wanted to coach.
“My brothers, too, they made me better. They did a lot for me, they pushed me, I was advanced for my age because I would play against them for hours on hours, and playing with them and their teams. It always put me ahead of their age group.”
He learned from all his stops, including his playing days at Ryan and Arcadia.
And last year, coaching under Zeglinski, he had the perfect spot to spend a season before heading to the college ranks.
“I was ready for college after high school because he ran the program like a college program,” Vazquez said. “Joe, I credit for the most growth in my game from anyone I learned from. Great feel for the game, super smart, and he taught me all the in and outs. The basics you need to know.
“We watched film, everything was treated like it’s a college program. So as a freshman, I had film study down. The way he approached the game and ran plays and changed defense, I credit a lot to him for what I know.”
He also credited college coach Adam Van Zelst as well as the other ones he’s worked with for preparing him for this, including Phil Pierfy, King’s head coach.
“Coaches had a huge impact on me,” Vazquez said. “It’s about being a role model. And sometimes coaches don’t realize what they say and do can impact someone. I can use what I learned, have the respect from the kids and still be someone that can be a friend to them, too.”
“It’s a great situation. I was looking at a few places, but I’m so happy I’m with Phil and we already have a relationship. He was the assistant at Arcadia while I was there. We have a great relationship and it’s only going to grow more in the next few months. He was awesome, I’m looking to step in for the role he had for us and kind of look at what he was doing as an assistant.”
He’s all moved up and now just waiting to get started.
It won’t be easy, but he knows he has support.
“I was talking to my parents and my mom didn’t like that I was moving so far, but I wanted to tell her it’s a step in the right direction,” he said. “I wanted to coach at the highest level and this is the step in the right direction. My parents are very supportive of all of us, I’m the youngest. My parents have helped me in every way.
“I want to coach a Division I program. Obviously I’d love to be the head coach of a team in the PCL, that would be a dream, too. This is the step in the right direction.” ••
