“I couldn’t be more thrilled that they asked me to speak and trusted my coaching experience and knowledge to share with those coaches. I can’t even express how much of an honor and privilege it is to be speaking on behalf of USA Basketball.”
Ex-Rogers High School coach to speak at prestigious basketball event
By Josh Krueger
Newport Daily News staff writer
April 26, 2017
Jim Psaras calls the basketball court his classroom. It’s where he taught generations of Rogers High School boys how to play the game, from the fundamentals to the finer points.
Like any good teacher, Psaras also had a desire to learn. During his 29 years as a basketball coach — 26 as the head boys coach at Rogers — he regularly attended coaching seminars or lectures to acquire tips and hear ideas from other coaches.
“I used to go to clinics and go hear Mike Krzyzewski speak, or Bobby Knight or Rick Pitino or John Calipari,” Psaras said. “You take notes and ask questions.”
Psaras stepped down as Rogers coach after the 2013-14 season, but remains involved in basketball through his Psaras Skills Academy and Viking Hoops camps. As much knowledge as he acquired through experience and clinics, there’s always room for more.
“I haven’t been in charge of a high school team, but I’m still working on the game,” he said. “There’s no finish line. You can continue to learn, and I’ve continued to learn since I got out of coaching high school.”
Next weekend, Psaras will be back in the “classroom,” sharing what he’s learned with other coaches during the USA Basketball Coach Academy at Catholic Memorial School in Boston. He’ll be one of the guest speakers in a lineup that includes Boston University men’s coach Joe Jones, Saint Joseph’s University coach Phil Martelli and former Boston Celtics coach John Carroll.
“I’m just kind of blown away. They asked me to do this, and it’s really exciting,” Psaras said. “I just feel really fortunate to be speaking at it.”
In nearly three decades as a basketball coach, Psaras made plenty of friends and acquaintances in the basketball world. Among them is Dan Gavitt, the senior vice president of basketball for the NCAA.
“Dan is a friend of mine from way back when I worked at the Providence College basketball camp in the mid ’90s,” Psaras said. “We started to chat, talking about what I was doing with retirement, and I told him I was still involved in the game.”
Gavitt introduced Psaras to Jay Demings, the youth development program director for USA Basketball.
When Psaras went to the men’s Final Four in Glendale, Arizona, earlier this month, he met with Demings and Don Showalter, the youth division director of coach development for USA Basketball. The conversation led to Psaras being offered a guest speaking spot at the prestigious event.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled that they asked me to speak and trusted my coaching experience and knowledge to share with those coaches,” Psaras said. “I can’t even express how much of an honor and privilege it is to be speaking on behalf of USA Basketball.
“I wish I had something like USA Basketball when I was coming up. Coaches love to share information, and that’s what I want to do. Anytime you can get out and learn the art of something, you want to have those opportunities and platforms.”
It’s a platform with which Psaras is familiar. But being under the umbrella of the governing body for men’s and women’s basketball in the United States, this speaking engagement is on a bit grander stage than he’s used to.
“It’s funny, because I’ve looked at every video of the 2016 speeches. I’ve watched every one trying to do my homework — John Calipari, Brad Stevens from the Celtics,” Psaras said of his preparations. “The things that I know and the things I’ve learned, I feel confident being a part of that.
“I’ve done so many of those lectures and talks, I feel like it’s just another one — it just has another title. I might be a little nervous, but once I get into it, it’s my classroom.”
