The Saratogian (Saratoga, NY)

Bobby Castagna Appointed Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach

- By Mike Demos Siena Athletic Communicat­ions

LOUDONVILL­E, NY » Siena Basketball Head Coach Carmen Maciariell­o has announced the hiring of Bobby Castagna as an assistant coach. The Brooklyn, New York native brings a wealth of experience with him to Loudonvill­e, having spent more than four decades at both the collegiate and profession­al athletics levels, including the past 19 years as an NBA scout with the Utah Jazz.

“It is such an honor that I am able to announce the addition of Coach Bobby Castagna to our coaching staff,” said Maciariell­o. “He is a tremendous teacher who builds lifelong relationsh­ips with the student athletes that he mentors not only in the game of basketball, but in life, with myself and Andy Cavo ‘02 being two prime examples. I cannot wait to welcome Coach C and his wife Kim to Loudonvill­e.”

In addition to his nearly two decades serving in the scouting

department for the Jazz, Castagna has also spent 14 years as a Division I assistant coach and 11 years as a Division I athletics administra­tor. He began his collegiate career as both a head and assistant coach at the junior college level following a three-year stint as a high school coach.

“First and foremost, I’d like to thank the Utah Jazz for giving me the opportunit­y to work for them for the past 19 years,” explained Castagna. “The Jazz are a great organizati­on with first class people in it. I’m leaving a job that I’ve loved for nearly two decades, but this was an opportunit­y that I couldn’t pass up. Carmen

is family. I’ve mentored him for 25 years, and I look forward to continuing that mentorship while helping him, the staff, and the players achieve their goals. I’m a teacher above all else, and I can’t wait to get started working with our players.”

Castagna joins the Saints after having worked in the scouting department for the Utah Jazz since 2002. He was their West Coast Regional scout on a parttime basis from 2002-10, while concurrent­ly serving as the Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of California, Santa Barbara during those eight years. After retiring from UCSB in 2010, Castagna continued as the Utah Jazz West Coast Regional Scout on a full-time basis.

As the Senior Associate Athletic Director at UCSB,

Castagna supervised nine sports and was heavily involved in the department’s facilities projects, including overseeing the constructi­on of the new athletic department facility. He previously served as the Director of Intramural­s and Assistant Director of Recreation from 1999-02.

Castagna first joined UCSB as an assistant coach from 1989-96, helping guide the Gauchos to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in 1990 and a pair of NIT appearance­s (1992, 1993), while recruiting AllBig West selections Raymond Tutt (Big West Player of the Year), B.J. Bunton, Lelan McDougal, and Josh Merrill. During his time in Southern California, he also spent 11 years as the director of the Los Angeles Lakers Basketball Camps (1999-10).

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