Jim Saia brings experience and achievement to CSUSM

By Michael Rawson

Photos by Aaron Jaffe

When asked his opinion of the CSUSM campus, new basketball coach Jim Saia nearly jumps out of his khakis.

“I think the campus is great,” he said, nodding enthusiastically. “It’s why I came down here. This place is a gold mine.”

Saia (SIGH-yuh) should know. He’s coached at beautiful campuses before, including seven years as an assistant at UCLA (1997-2003), where he recruited and coached several future NBA players, among them Baron Davis (Clippers) and Jason Kapono (76ers). He eventually spent the 2004-2005 year as the interim head coach at the University of Southern California. Before that, Saia head coached at the junior college level, leading the Columbia College Claim Jumpers from 1994-1996, as well as assistant coaching at Fresno State, Indiana State, and Cal Berkeley.

UCLA and USC play in the NCAA division I, which is the largest, most prestigious division in college sports. CSUSM is trying to move up from the NAIA (the lowest level) to the NCAA division II, leapfrogging division III. But no matter the difference in size or power, preparing to coach basketball remains the same.

“You learn a lot in the high levels,” Saia said. “You compete against the top coaches in the country, but that doesn’t mean the coaches up there are better than the ones down here. Basketball is basketball, and there are great coaches everywhere at every level.”

The coach would know that better than anyone, too. He followed his achievements in division I with an enormously successful three-year run at Fresno Pacific, an NAIA school that had been struggling until Saia arrived in 2007. Between then and the 2009-10 season, the Sunbirds won 70 games and lost only 29. The team appeared in the postseason tournament in both of the last two years, and according the Fresno Pacific website, was at one point ranked as high as third in the nation last season.

In 2011-12, CSUSM will compete as an NAIA independent because it takes an application process to enter the Golden State Athletic Conference, the organization of California NAIA schools. Since there is no conference to win, independent schools have two ways of being invited to the NAIA championship tournament in Kansas City: earn a bid by winning enough games (usually more 20), or compete in the preliminary tournament comprised of NAIA independents.

Saia wants a return ticket to Kansas City, this time with the Cougars. “I’ve been there twice and it’s a great tournament. We’d like to get back there to get the program started with a bolt of lightning.”

If the trip to Missouri were to happen, it would hopefully be the only one. CSUSM athletics will apply for Division II acceptance in June of 2012.

Saia said he and his assistants are already recruiting players under NCAA rules, which are more stringent in terms of documentation. Once admitted into the NCAA, Saia and his assistants will also have to follow strict guidelines regulating coach and player contact.

So far the Cougars have 24 games scheduled in 2011-12, including eight at home. The eventual goal will be 30 scheduled games, Saia said, as well as to add a few more home games.

Given that the new campus arena remains in the planning stages, the athletic department is still working on where to host home games. Possibilities include Palomar College, Mira Costa College, and local high schools, although a college would be preferred since high school courts have slight differences in size and would need to be adjusted.

Wherever they play, expect to witness Cougar victories with Saia at the helm.