James Sebastian Saia (born June 15, 1964) is the men's head
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
at
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...
.
High school career
Born in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, Saia prepped at
Sir Francis Drake High in
San Anselmo, California
San Anselmo () is an List of cities in California, incorporated town in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. San Anselmo is located west of San Rafael, California, San Rafael, at an elevation of 46 feet (14 m). It ...
and graduated in 1982.
He was a member of the basketball team that won the 1982 California state championship with a 34-0 record. There he was teammates with
Steve Lavin
Stephen Michael Lavin (born September 4, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros men's basketball, San Diego Toreros of the West Coast Conference (WCC). He previously se ...
.
College career
Saia started his
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
playing career at
Cal Poly in the 1983–84 season, after redshirting a year. That season, he averaged 1.2 points and 0.4 rebounds in 19 games. He then transferred to
College of Marin
The College of Marin is a public community college in Marin County, California, with two campuses, one in Kentfield, and the second in Novato. It is the only institution operated by the Marin Community College District.
College of Marin has been ...
for the 1984–85 season and finished at
Chapman University
Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scie ...
for his final two years, where he would join his childhood friend
Steve Lavin
Stephen Michael Lavin (born September 4, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros men's basketball, San Diego Toreros of the West Coast Conference (WCC). He previously se ...
. Saia graduated from Chapman in 1987.
Coaching career
Saia began his coaching career as an assistant under
Lou Campanelli
Louis P. Campanelli (August 10, 1938 – January 31, 2023) was an American basketball coach. He served as head coach at James Madison University from 1972 to 1985 and the University of California, Berkeley from 1986 to 1993.
Early life
Campanelli ...
at
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in the 1988–89 season then was an assistant at
Indiana State
Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...
in the 1989–90 season and
Fresno State
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...
from 1990 to 1994.
From 1994 to 1996, Saia was head coach at
Columbia College, a junior college in
Sonora, California
Sonora is the county seat of Tuolumne County, California. Founded during the California Gold Rush by Mexican miners from Sonora (after which the city is named), the city population was 5,226 during the 2020 Census, an increase of 221 from the ...
. He led Columbia to a 61–10 cumulative record, two
Central Valley Conference titles, and an appearance in the Final Eight round of the 1996
CCCAA
The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) is a sports association of community colleges in the U.S. state of California. It oversees 108 athletic programs throughout the state. The organization was formed in 1929 as the Calif ...
tournament.
Saia then returned to the Division I level as an assistant at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
under
Steve Lavin
Stephen Michael Lavin (born September 4, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros men's basketball, San Diego Toreros of the West Coast Conference (WCC). He previously se ...
, a position for which Saia stayed from 1996 until 2003, after Lavin was fired. At UCLA, Saia coached future NBA players like
Baron Davis
Baron Walter Louis Davis (born April 13, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who is a studio analyst for the ''NBA on TNT''. He was a two-time NBA All-Star, made the All-NBA Third Team in 2004, and twice led the NBA in s ...
,
Earl Watson
Earl Joseph Watson Jr. (born June 12, 1979) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UCLA ...
,
Jason Kapono
Jason Alan Kapono (born February 4, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. He was the first National Basketball Association (NBA) player to lead the league in three-point field goal percentage in two consecutive seasons, and ...
, and
Matt Barnes
Matt Barnes (born March 9, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Barnes was drafted in the second round of the 2002 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. He ...
.
Originally an assistant in the 2004–05 season, Saia took over as interim head coach at
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
after the firing of
Henry Bibby
Charles Henry Bibby (born November 24, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the New York Knicks, New Orleans Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Diego Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He al ...
in December. USC went 10–15 for the rest of the season under Saia.
Saia returned to the junior college ranks as an assistant coach at
Citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...
in the 2006-07 season. From 2007 to 2010, Saia was head coach at
Fresno Pacific, an NAIA school at the time. At Fresno Pacific, Saia had a 70–29 overall record with two NAIA Tournament appearances.
Saia was an assistant coach for the
Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...
during the
2010 season.
On May 25, 2010,
Cal State San Marcos
California State University San Marcos (CSUSM or Cal State San Marcos) is a public university in San Marcos, California. It was founded in 1989 as the 21st campus in the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system.
CSUSM offers 43 bachel ...
hired Saia as its inaugural men's basketball head coach. The program's first season was in 2011–12, in which Cal State San Marcos competed in the NAIA level and advanced to the
Association of Independent Institutions
NAIA independent schools are four-year institutional members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) that do not have formal conference affiliations. NAIA schools that are not members of any other athletic conference are ...
(AII) title game. In the 2012-13 season, Saia led Cal State San Marcos to its first appearance in the
NAIA Tournament. Cal State San Marcos later had two straight seasons with 30 or more wins in 2013–14 and 2014–15, and Saia won AII Coach of the Year honors both seasons.
Saia coached at Cal State San Marcos through the 2015–16 season, its first in the
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...
level and
California Collegiate Athletic Association
The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. All of its current members are public universities, and upon UC ...
and in which the team finished 15–12.
Cal State Los Angeles Cal or CAL may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty
* "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov
* ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...
hired Saia as head coach on June 6, 2016.
Head coaching record
Junior college
College
Personal
Saia and his wife, Stacey, have three daughters and a son.
Saia is close friends with
Steve Lavin
Stephen Michael Lavin (born September 4, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros men's basketball, San Diego Toreros of the West Coast Conference (WCC). He previously se ...
, having played on the same team with him at
Sir Francis Drake High School
Archie Williams High School is a public secondary school located in San Anselmo, California. It is named after a former math and computing teacher Archie Williams, who was also a gold medalist in the 1936 Summer Olympics, a flight instructor with ...
and
Chapman University
Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scie ...
, and served as an assistant coach when Lavin was
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
's head coach.
References
External links
FPU Announcement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saia, Jim
1964 births
Living people
Basketball coaches from California
Basketball players from San Francisco
California Golden Bears men's basketball coaches
Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball players
Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches
Chapman Panthers men's basketball players
Citrus Owls men's basketball coaches
College of Marin alumni
Fresno Pacific Sunbirds men's basketball coaches
Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball coaches
Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball coaches
People from San Anselmo, California
UCLA Bruins men's basketball coaches
USC Trojans men's basketball coaches
Junior college men's basketball players in the United States
People from Marina del Rey, California