Mike Berkun enters his third season on the Daemen men's basketball coaching staff and his second as the Associate Head Coach in 2016-17. In his time on the staff, Berkun has helped the Wildcats to a 40-20 overall record. Berkun is involved with all aspects of the program including on-floor coaching, scouting of opponents, recruiting, coordinating film exchange and overseeing the program's administrative duties.
Berkun came to Daemen after four years on the bench at Medaille College where he served as an assistant to Daemen head coach Mike MacDonald, then the head man at Medaille, the final three years coming as MacDonald's Associate Head Coach. Berkun's coaching stint at Medaille came during the most successful four-year period in the Mavericks' history as he helped the program to an overall record of 78-34 (.696 winning percentage) which included a 58-14 mark (.806 winning percentage) in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC).
Prior to beginning his coaching career at Medaille, Berkun was a four-year player for the Mavericks (2006-10), finishing his career as the school's all-time leader in three-point field goal percentage while ranking second all-time in free throw percentage. In that time, he helped the Mavericks to a pair of AMCC championships and two NCAA Division III Tournament appearances.
Berkun holds additional coaching experience at the AAU and scholastic levels. He was the head coach of the 17-and-under team for 716 AAU in 2012. Berkun was also an assistant coach at the Empire State Games, helping the Western Region team to a bronze medal. Following that, Berkun assisted for two years with a scholastic all-star team from Buffalo that participated in the Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY) Summer Hoops Festival in Johnson City, N.Y.
Berkun is a 2010 graduate of Medaille College and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies. He is currently studying to complete a Master's Degree in Sport Management from Canisius College. In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Berkun serves as the Athletcs Operations Coordinator within the Daemen Athletic Department.
