BUTLER TWP — Waynesburg University men's basketball coach Mark Christner promises nobody anything from year to year.

“We've got some young guys coming back, but nothing is guaranteed,” the coach said. “You have to earn your minutes all of the time.”

That suits Dom Pusateri just fine.

The Butler senior has been earning his way on to the basketball court for a few years now.

Pusateri will continue his academic and basketball career at Waynesburg next year.

“All I want to do is make the team better,” Pusateri, a point guard, said. “I don't know how many minutes I'll get, but I'll get the most out of them I can.

“Come off the bench, get a key steal, play good defense, hit a big shot ... I'll play my role whatever it is.”

He's happy to be playing, period.

Pusateri was cut from Butler's seventh grade team and was not among the top 12 players on the eighth-grade squad.

But by his junior season, he was getting quality minutes off the bench for a Golden Tornado team that reached the WPIAL semifinals.

Pusateri became the heart and soul of Butler's basketball team his senior year, averaging nine points, four assists and 2.5 steals per game. Despite his team's long losing streak, he scored 20 or more points in a number of games down the stretch.

“Dom's one of those kids who never quits,” Butler coach Matt Clement said. “He tried to will the team to wins every night.

“I don't know how much he'll play at Waynesburg, but I know he'll push the guys who are playing. He'll make them better in practice.”

Pusateri said he drew his work ethic from Tornado players before him like Nate Snodgrass, Cody Herald, Zach Slater and Bobby Swartwout.

“Those guys used to beat me up in practice every day,” he said. “They showed me what it's like to want it.”

Two years ago, Christner stopped by Butler's gym in the fall to scout Snodgrass and Jake Hilliard. One of the guys he noticed was Pusateri.

“The kid was all over the floor, non-stop. His motor went all the time — and it was a fall practice,” Christner said. “I couldn't help but wonder what the kid would be like during a regular-season game.

“We try to recruit energy players. We look for untapped potential, guys who were unheralded in high school, still hungry to play, excited about development. ... That fits Dom Pusateri.”

Waynesburg is coming off a 10-17 season, 4-12 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. It marked the Yellowjackets' first 10-win season in six years. The team's last winning season was 16-11 in 2005-06.

Waynesburg's roster last year featured five guards who were either freshmen or sophomores.

“Dom is a program difference-maker,” Clement said. “He's always at full speed, whether it's practice time or game time. He lays it all out there all the time and forces teammates to do the same.”

Pusateri opted for Waynesburg over Thiel and Penn State-Behrend.

“That was the school that was most interested in me, it fits me academically and it's a building program I want to be part of,” Pusateri said.

“We're headed in the right direction,” Christner said. “Dom can help us get there.”

His official major is undecided as of yet, but Pusateri is leaning toward nursing.

Besides being part of a conference champion, Pusateri hopes to become a 1,000-point scorer in college.

“I didn't get there in high school, so I'll go for it now,” he said. “Setting lofty goals serve to motivate me that much more.

“I'm looking forward to building new friendships, new brothers, new teammates.”