Thursday, April 5, 2007
Saia to coach Sunbirds men

Fresno – Jim Saia is the new men's basketball coach at Fresno Pacific University. The announcement was made today by FPU Athletics Director Dennis Janzen.

Saia brings 14 years of experience at the NCAA Division I level to FPU. His long list of accomplishments includes 13 seasons as an assistant coach, and one season as the head coach of the USC Trojans.

"We are so pleased that Jim has accepted our invitation," Janzen said. "Jim is a perfect fit for what Fresno Pacific University represents. He is a man of absolute integrity and has built a resume of experience that is difficult to match. He is an accomplished recruiter and has proven his coaching skills at the highest levels. We know that he will do the right thing in the right way. The men's basketball program has a bright future under Jim's direction."

Following graduation from Chapman College in 1987, Saia began his career as an assistant coach at California. The Golden Bears went 20-13 and reached the National Invitational Tournament. He spent the 1989-90 season in Terre Haute, Indiana, as an assistant at Indiana State.

He arrived in Fresno just prior to the 1990-91 season and served four years as an assistant coach for the Fresno State Bulldogs, under head coach Gary Colson. While at CSUF, Saia earned a master of arts degree in physical education.

He accepted the head coaching position at Columbia College, in Sonora, California, six weeks prior to the start of the 1994-95 season. He inherited a team with no returning starters, picked to finished last in the Central Valley Conference and promptly led the Claim Jumpers to a CVC title and a 31-5 record.

Saia guided Columbia to back-to-back CVC titles with a combined 25-3 conference and 61-10 overall record. In 1996 Columbia advanced to the Elite Eight in the California State Junior College Championship and ended the season with a 30-5 record and No. 3 state ranking. Saia was twice named the CVC Coach of the Year.

Saia moved to UCLA the following year where he spent seven seasons in Westwood as an assistant coach. There he helped the Bruins advance to the Elite Eight (1997) and five Sweet 16 appearances (1998-2002). UCLA won 20 or more games in each of his first six seasons there.

Saia's efforts also helped the Bruins land the nation's No. 1 (1998, 2001) and No. 2 ranked recruiting classes. Saia also coached 10 Bruins players who went on to the NBA including Baron Davis, Dan Gadzuric, Jason Kapono, Jerome Moiso and Earl Watson.

Saia moved to cross-town rival USC for the 2004-05 season. On September 20 Trojans head coach Henry Bibby hired Saia as an assistant coach. Less than three months later Bibby was released and Saia was appointed as the Trojans interim head coach. He guided the team to a 10-15 record.

Saia spent the 2005-06 season as an Individual Workout Instructor for future NBA draft picks with Arn Tellum. This past season he served as a mentor to Citrus College head coach Rick Croy.

Saia's playing career began at San Anselmo's Sir Francis Drake High School. In his junior and senior seasons (1981 and 1982) SFDHS won two California State Championships and compiled a 65-1 overall record. He helped Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo to a 20-win season before transferring to the College of Marin where he led the Mariners to the California State Tournament and garnered all-conference honors. He concluded his collegiate career at Chapman University.

"I am extremely excited about being the head coach at Fresno Pacific University," Saia said. "It is a perfect fit for me from both a personal and basketball standpoint. I am looking forward to building something special."

Saia follows Clark Sheehy who is credited with turning the men's basketball program around in two short years. Sheehy resigned March 21 to accept the head coach position at his alma mater, John Brown University, in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. There he follows his father, John Sheehy, who recently announced his retirement.

Saia inherits a team with no seniors that finished the 2006-07 season with a 13-16 record (11 losses by six or fewer points) and reached the Golden State Athletic Conference postseason tournament for the first time since 2004.