Cal State San Marcos Men's Basketball Poised for Impact

College basketball can be anyone's game. A powerhouse like Duke can almost be knocked off by one shot from a lesser known Butler team. It's that unpredictability that Jim Saia is banking on.

As the first head coach in Cal State San Marcos men's basketball history, Saia is hoping to establish the Cougars, who come from obscurity ("there's a lot of people who don't know where San Marcos is," he says), as a factor in NAIA competition. But don't call them a dark horse: he believes they have the talent to be a legitimate threat.

It's not just hot air, either. Having watched the Cougars in action, what strikes me most about them is their solidarity. This is not a lineup of individual stars plotting their escapes to the NBA. Watching them work, the players believe in something bigger than themselves. Junior guard Jacob Ranger spoke to me about wanting to be on a winning team, but more about being a good teammate both on and off the court.

That's not to say they're settling for less than their best. A transfer from Fresno State, senior guard Tim Steed wants to come home with victories when the Cougars play his old school. And assistant coach Josh Dunaj, an admitted Duke fan, certainly coaches like he's on a much bigger stage. To him, the size of the school doesn't change the fire with which he approaches the game.

Recently I sat down with Coach Saia to ask him what he's bringing to CSUSM and what he's looking for in the first season of Cougar men's basketball.

Take me through your coaching history.

I started 23 years ago, I think, at the University of California—Berkeley. I worked as a volunteer assistant. From there, [I] went to Indiana State from 1989-1990.  I worked at Fresno State from 1990-1994, for Gary Colson, who was the assistant GM for the Memphis Grizzlies.

From 1994-1996, I got my first head coaching job at Colombia Junior College. Didn't have a team when I got there; long story short, in those two years, we went 61-10, and at that time that was one of the best leagues in the state of California.

Steve Lavin and I grew up together, and Steve was at UCLA, and Jim Harrick hired me as an assistant at UCLA. Three, four months later, Steve took over as the head coach and I was the top assistant at UCLA. There we went to five Sweet 16's and I was in charge of the offense for three seasons. Then I took a year off and I was named the head coach at USC for the 2004-2005 season. That was a great experience.

From there, I worked out NBA players as an individual workout coach the following year, and the next year after that, I was out of basketball. I helped out a junior college program; the following year after that, they won the state championship in California. I took a small college job in Fresno; I turned Fresno Pacific program around. We actually won the Golden State Athletic Conference my second year and made two national tournaments there.

What made you want to come and coach CSUSM men's basketball?

[Athletic Director] Tom [Seitz] sought me out and offered me the job. I didn't even know where San Marcos was. There's a lot of people who don't know where San Marcos is, even in San Diego. So I checked out the school. It was a great place to start a program. I enjoyed the challenge. The school is really growing. We're going to go NCAA Division II hopefully in the next year or two. I thought it was a good move overall for my career and for my family. I see the future in this place. I think people in this community are really going to be surprised at the level of talent that we have. They're not going to have any idea. It's going to be great.

What are some of the concerns that you've faced having to start a men's basketball program from scratch?

Obviously, the financial part. The students were the ones that voted it in. Those sports are funded by student fees, so that's how we're supported. Finding a team and running it the right way on a small college budget is extremely difficult. I have to raise scholarship money and operating budget money. But the economy has hurt everyone; it's just a part of the situation. Despite all that, we have recruited an unbelievable team, and we're very blessed.

Describe your coaching philosophy.

It's about execution. I want our teams to use a lot of different ways to skin the cat, but what we do preach, we want to do right, and we want to do it better than everybody else. That's my philosophy. To keep it simple, to execute the plan that we have. Like most coaches, you want to play harder than everybody else, but obviously you want to execute better than everybody else.

What about this team has you the most excited? Is it a particular player, a particular aspect of the team's game that they're excelling at?

It's the whole group. We've recruited about nine Division I bounce-backs. Talent-wise, I believe we're a mid-major Division I team. That's what excites me, is the talent that we have and the athleticism this team can bring, from our point guard all the way to our center. We've got some very, very good basketball players. And I love the attitude of the kids. I love the energy.

Is there a game on the schedule that you're most looking forward to? Why?

Our schedule is absolutely brutal, so I just take them one at a time. We play four Division I's - one of them are exhibitions - San Diego State, BYU, UNLV and Fresno State. We play a top NAIA schedule in the country.
 

What would make you consider the season a success? Is it simply a winning record or do you have other goals?

We want to get to the national tournament and contend for a national title in the first year. We have to earn that, but those are my goals. I'm not into building, I'm into achieving right away. We feel we have a team. We're going to try to somehow get into the national tournament, which is held in Kansas City, for the top 32 NAIA teams, and contend for it all.

Do you have a favorite college basketball team that you enjoy watching?

There's a lot of great schools and great coaches. I wouldn't necessarily say I'm a fan, because it's my business. Lately, I really enjoy watching Butler play. Brad Stephens, I think he's a coach at the cutting edge and he gets it. I've competed against them all on the other side. Obviously, the way Duke plays, the passion, the energy that Duke plays with, is fun to watch. Michigan State and Tom Izzo's another team I really like to watch. Teams that are well-coached and full of energy.
 

What do you do when you're not coaching?

The one thing is I spend time with my family now. I like to golf a little bit. But I'm not very good at it. When I was younger, I did it all.

Who are some of your sports heroes?

I grew up in the Bay Area. Joe Montana's my favorite athlete of all time. Bill Walsh is my favorite coach of all time. Another one of my heroes and mentors is obviously John Wooden, who when I was at UCLA I got very close with. We're all very saddened by his passing, but we all know he's in a better place and he's reunited with his wife, Nellie.

Cal State San Marcos men's basketball tips off for its first game a week from today, when the Cougars play at San Diego State in an exhibition against the Aztecs. For more information on the Cougar men's basketball program, visit their official website.