Scott Jon Garson (born April 24, 1976) is an American basketball coach who is currently an assistant coach at

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

. Prior to that, Garson was an assistant men's basketball coach 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 ...

and the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. From 2013 to 2018, Garson was head coach at the

College of Idaho The College of Idaho (C of I) is a private liberal arts college in Caldwell, Idaho. Founded in 1891, it is the state's oldest private liberal arts college and has an enrollment of over 1,000 students. The college's alumni include eight Rhode ...

Early life and education

Born in

Tarzana, California Tarzana is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Tarzana is on the site of a former ranch owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is named after Burroughs' fictional jungle hero, Tarzan. History ...

, Garson grew up in a Jewish family in Calabasas and graduated from

Harvard-Westlake School Harvard-Westlake School is an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school consisting of two campuses located in Los Angeles, California, with approximately 1,600 students enrolled in grades seven through twelve. Its two predec ...

in 1994. After high school, Garson initially attended

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

and played at guard in basketball and pitcher in baseball in 1994–95. In 1995, Garson transferred to the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

(UCSB). He graduated from UCSB in 1999 with a B.A. in law and society. While a student at UCSB, Garson was a production assistant for '' The Jim Rome Show'' in the summer of 1996 and worked for the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

Office of Public Affairs in the summer of 1997. From 1996 to 1998, Garson was a varsity basketball assistant coach and junior varsity head coach at Santa Barbara High School. In 2003, Garson completed a

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in exercise and sports science with an emphasis in sport psychology from the

Coaching career

College

Scott Garson recently completed his first season as an assistant coach with the Santa Clara men’s basketball program under Herb Sendek. Garson, who was hired in April 2018, spent his previous five seasons as head coach at the

where he led the Yotes to a 129–42 record, three

Cascade Collegiate Conference The Cascade Collegiate Conference (or Cascade Conference) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member schools are located in the Northwestern United States. The conferen ...

regular season championships, three league tournament titles and four NAIA national tournament appearances, including a run to the 2015 national quarterfinals and 2018 semifinals. Prior to his time at the College of Idaho, Garson was on Ben Howland’s staff at

for nine seasons, worked under

Rick Majerus Richard Raymond Majerus (February 17, 1948 – December 1, 2012) was an American basketball coach and TV analyst. He coached at Marquette University (1983–1986), Ball State University (1987–1989), the University of Utah (1989–2004), and S ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

for 5 years and spent 1 season at Pepperdine University under Lorenzo Romar. During his 21 seasons in college basketball at 5 different schools, Coach Garson has been a part of 20 winning seasons, 17 postseason berths and 10 conference championships. Garson led the Yotes to both the CCC regular-season and tournament titles in 2014, 2015 and 2018. He became the first coach at the school to win back-to-back league crowns since the 1950s. His 2014–15 team posted a 30–6 record, which was then the second-most single-season victories in the school’s 105-year men’s basketball program history. The 2017–18 squad matched that total when they finished 30–7. Garson was the recipient of the 2015 Red Auerbach National Coach of the Year Award, and was named the 2014 and 2018 CCC Coach of the Year. He coached six NAIA All-Americans, two CCC Players of the Year and three CCC Defensive Players of the Year. In all, 17 players under Garson earned All-CCC honors and 13 secured Academic All-CCC selections. His College of Idaho teams enjoyed home cooking, posting a 76–10 mark at J.A. Albertson Activities Center. During his tenure, home attendance nearly doubled, with the Yotes leading the NAIA in home attendance during the 2014–15 campaign and finishing second during 2015–16 and 2016–17. During Garson’s tenure at UCLA, the Bruins amassed a record of 222–90, including four Pac-10/Pac-12 Conference regular season titles (2006, 2007, 2008, 2013), and two Pac-10 tournament titles (2006, 2008). The Bruins qualified for six NCAA Tournaments and made trips to the Final Four in 2006, 2007 and 2008 – reaching the 2006 national championship game. Garson was responsible for the development of the UCLA perimeter players – including current NBA players,

Russell Westbrook Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and ...

, Arron Afflalo,

Darren Collison Darren Michael Collison (born August 23, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. Collison played four seasons of college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. He earned All-Pac-10 conference honors three times, and won ...

, Jrue Holiday,

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute Luc Richard Mbah a Moute ( ; born 9 September 1986) is a Cameroonian former professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Mbah a Moute also plays for the Cameroon national ...

, Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Anderson, and

Norman Powell Norman WC Powell (born May 25, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Powell played college basketball with the UCLA Bruins, where he was an all-conference ...

. Garson also was responsible for the recruitment of Zach LaVine, the 13th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and 2-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion. Garson was instrumental in the recruiting efforts for the Bruins, who claimed ESPN’s No. 1 class in both 2008 and 2012. A total of 16 players recruited or coached by Garson have been selected in the NBA draft. Garson spent five seasons at the University of Utah under hall-of-fame coach and mentor, Rick Majerus. Garson served as a graduate assistant, video coordinator and, in his final year, assistant coach for Majerus. The Utes won three Mountain West Conference titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times during Garson’s time there, while amassing a record of 112–47.

International

In the

European Maccabi Games 2015 The 14th European Maccabi Games (EMG2015) take place in Berlin from July 27 to August 5, 2015. The European Maccabiah Games take place in a four-year cycle, two years after the Maccabiah in Israel. Germany has been selected for the first time in i ...

, Garson was an assistant coach for the under-18 US men's basketball team.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Scott Garson
on Twitter {{DEFAULTSORT:Garson, Scott 1976 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from Los Angeles College men's basketball head coaches in the United States College of Idaho Coyotes men's basketball coaches Guards (basketball) Harvard-Westlake School alumni High school basketball coaches in California Jewish men's basketball players People from Calabasas, California People from Tarzana, Los Angeles Santa Clara Broncos men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Los Angeles UCLA Bruins men's basketball coaches University of California, Santa Barbara alumni University of Utah alumni Utah Utes men's basketball coaches Washington University Bears baseball players Washington University Bears men's basketball players Baseball players from Los Angeles