George Nessman

George Nessman

Current position
Title	Athletic director
Team	Justin-Siena High School
Conference	CIF North Coast Section
Biographical details
Born	(1959-03-22) March 22, 1959 (age 65) Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley San Francisco State University Saint Mary's College of California
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1981–1984	Salesian HS (XC/track)
1984–1993	De La Salle HS
1993–2001	Porterville
2002–2004	Bakersfield
2004–2005	California (asst.)
2005–2013	San Jose State
2013–2014	Harker HS (asst. boys' JV)
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1995–2001	Porterville CC
2014–present	Justin-Siena HS
Head coaching record
Overall	203–106 (junior college) 86–161 (college)
Tournaments	4–3 (CCCAA) 0–1 (CBI)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
CCCAA (2000)
Awards
CCCAA Coach of the Year (2000)

George Raymond Nessman II (born March 22, 1959) is an American athletic administrator and former college basketball coach who is the current athletic director at Justin-Siena High School. Nessman coached at the high school and community college levels before becoming an assistant basketball coach at California in 2004. From 2005 to 2013, Nessman was the men's basketball head coach at San Jose State. He was also athletic director at Porterville College from 1995 to 2001 while also serving as men's basketball head coach.

Early life and education

Nessman was born in Stamford, Connecticut and moved to the Bay Area when he was nine. ^{[1] [2]} Nessman graduated from De La Salle High School in Concord, California in 1977. ^[3] Nessman received his Bachelor of Arts degree in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley in 1981 and later two master's degrees: from San Francisco State University (1988, education) and from Saint Mary's College of California (1995, physical education and recreation). ^{[1] [4]}

Coaching career

Salesian High School cross country and track

Nessman began coaching at the high school level after graduating from Berkeley: from 1981 to 1984, he coached cross country running and track and field at Salesian High School in Richmond, California. ^[1]

De La Salle High School basketball

From 1984 to 1993, he coached varsity basketball at De La Salle High School in Concord, California. The De La Salle basketball team under Nessman had a 155–40 record, one section and five conference championships, and four appearances in the NorCal tournament, including a runner-up finish in 1993. Jon Barry and Brent Barry, the sons of Rick Barry who would later play in the National Basketball Association, played at De La Salle under Nessman. ^{[4] [5]}

Porterville CC and Bakersfield CC head coach

Next, Nessman coached basketball at the community college level. From 1993 to 2001, Nessman coached basketball at Porterville College and was also athletic director at the school from 1995 to 2001. During his eight seasons there, the team went 188–68, including a 33-4 state championship season in 2000, when Nessman was named California Community College Coach of the Year. Porterville had a 40-game win streak from January 2000 to February 2001. ^[4]

In November 2000, the state Commission on Athletics placed Porterville on probation for a season due to improper benefits provided to men's basketball players. ^[6] The next month, Nessman became interim head coach for Porterville's women's basketball team. ^[7]

Nessman left the coaching position to become an academic advisor for athletics from 2001 to 2002 and then became head basketball coach of Bakersfield College for two years until 2004. Bakersfield went 30-32 under Nessman. ^[4]

California assistant coach

Nessman returned to his alma mater UC Berkeley for the 2004–2005 to be an assistant coach and recruiter for the California Golden Bears men's basketball team. ^[1] At California, Nessman coached future NBA draft picks DeVon Hardin and Dominic McGuire as well as power forward/center Rod Benson, who would play professionally in the NBA D-League and overseas.

San Jose State head coach

San Jose State University appointed Nessman as men's basketball head coach in March 2005, and Nessman was the only WAC coach with two master's degrees. ^[1] The San Jose State Spartans finished the 2004–2005 season with a 6-23 overall record under coach Phil Johnson. ^[5] San Jose State's athletic director at the time was Tom Bowen, who was previously athletic director at Concord's De La Salle High School when Nessman was varsity basketball coach there. ^[8]

Nessman's first season was the first time the Spartans signed a player directly from a San Francisco Bay Area high school in 21 years. ^[2] The Spartans finished 2005–2006, Nessman's first season, 6-24 (2-14 in Western Athletic Conference play), and Nessman signed three more Bay Area players to the team for the following season. ^[9] Although SJSU finished 2006-2007 only 6-24 (4-12 WAC), San Jose State extended Nessman's contract, originally set at four years in 2005, for two more years through the 2010–11 season. ^[10] The Spartans followed up with a 14-19 (4-12) record in 2007–2008, the best team record in 14 years. ^[11] In 2008, the NCAA reduced the number of scholarships for San Jose State men's basketball by two, as a result of an unsatisfactory four-year Academic Progress Rate of 886 (the minimum satisfactory APR is 925) that spanned predecessor Phil Johnson's final two seasons (2003–04 and 2004–05) and Nessman's first two seasons. ^{[12] [13]}

In 2008–09, Nessman led the Spartans of San Jose State University to the most WAC road victories in eight seasons. ^[1]

In earning a berth to the 2011 College Basketball Invitational, Nessman became the fourth basketball coach at San Jose State to lead the team to the postseason. The 17 wins for the 2010–11 season were the most for the Spartans since 1980–81. Bowen signed Nessman to a new three-year contract following the season. ^[14] Adrian Oliver and Justin Graham earned all-Western Athletic Conference honors in 2011. However, San Jose State fell to 9–22 (1–13 in WAC play) in the 2011–12 season. ^[15] In the 2012–13 season, after a 9–6 start, San Jose State finished 9-20 (3–14 WAC) following the suspension of leading scorer James Kinney. ^{[16] [17]} On March 13, 2013, athletic director Gene Bleymaier, who succeeded Bowen in 2012, fired Nessman. ^[17]

Under Nessman, San Jose State reported five consecutive years of rising four-year average Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, including a program-best 940 in the 2011–12 season (because of a perfect one-year 1000 score). ^[18] However, the APR fell below 930 for the 2012–13 season, Nessman's last as head coach. As a result, the NCAA imposed sanctions on the San Jose State men's basketball program in April 2014 for the following season, including a postseason ban and reduced practice time. Athletic director Gene Bleymaier stated in response to the sanctions: "Last year, we were faced with a situation that needed to be dealt with in a major fashion. The coaching staff was not retained, and several players were not invited back for the 2013-14 season. Only four players returned from the 2012-13 team. ^[19]

Harker School junior varsity assistant

In the 2013–14 school year, Nessman was a junior varsity boys' basketball assistant coach at the Harker School in San Jose. ^[20] Harker JV finished 18–5. ^[21]

Justin-Siena High School athletic director

On July 1, 2014, Nessman became athletic director at Justin-Siena High School in Napa, California. ^[22] Nessman on his hiring as Athletic Director, “I think there’s been some outstanding success here. It’s an outstanding place with a real important mission — to serve students and young people. I want athletics to reflect that." ^[23] In Nessman's first year as athletic director, the Justin-Siena varsity football team won the CIF North Coast Section Division 4 championship. ^[24]

Personal life

Nessman and his wife Nancy have four children: Joshua, Veronica, Peter, and John. ^[1]

Head coaching record

Junior college

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Porterville Pirates (Central Valley Conference)(1993–2001)
1993–94	Porterville	3–22 [25]	1–11 [25]	T-7th [25]
1994–95	Porterville	11–19 [26]	3–11 [26]	7th [26]	CCCAA Quarterfinals [26]
1995–96	Porterville	19–11 [27]	8–6	2nd [28]
1996–97	Porterville	27–6 [29]	12–2	2nd [30]
1997–98	Porterville	29–6 [31] [32]	12–2	1st	CCCAA Semifinals [32]
1998–99	Porterville	28–5 [33]	12–2 [34]	T-1st [35]	CCCAA Quarterfinals [33]
1999–00	Porterville	33–4	12–2	1st [36]	CCCAA Champions
2000–01	Porterville	29–1 [37]	13–1	1st [38]	Ineligible [37]
Porterville:		179–74	73–37
Bakersfield Renegades (Western State Conference)(2002–2004)
2002–03	Bakersfield	12–18	4–8	5th (South) [39]
2003–04	Bakersfield	12–14 [40]	4–8 [40]	6th (South) [41]
Bakersfield:		24–32	8–16
Total:		203–106
National champion        Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

College

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
San Jose State Spartans (Western Athletic Conference)(2005–2013)
2005–06	San Jose State	6–25	2–14	8th
2006–07	San Jose State	5–25	4–12	8th
2007–08	San Jose State	13–19	4–12	8th
2008–09	San Jose State	13–17	6–10	T–6th
2009–10	San Jose State	14–17	6–10	T–6th
2010–11	San Jose State	17–16	5–11	8th	CBI First Round
2011–12	San Jose State	9–22	1–13	8th
2012–13	San Jose State	9–20	3–14	T–8th
San Jose State:		86–161 (.348)	31–96 (.244)
Total:		86–161 (.348)

References

1. "George Nessman". San Jose State University Athletics. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013.
2. Emmons, Mark (November 23, 2005). "New SJSU coach seeking 'new look' and more wins". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on November 26, 2005.
3. "Honors for Hall of Fame Inductees and Alumnus of the Year 2012". Concord, California: De La Salle High School. June 6, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
4. "George Nessman". CalBears.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2006. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
5. Chapin, Dwight (March 16, 2005). "SJSU coach starts on the run". San Francisco Chronicle. pp. D5.
6. Williams, Brian (November 13, 2000). "College's men's team moving on". Porterville Recorder. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
7. Williams, Brian (December 16, 2000). "Chalk Talk: Robinson out as Pirate women's mentor". Porterville Recorder. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
8. Kehe, Andy (February 10, 2006). "Former BC coach takes on Spartan mentality". Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
9. Curtis, Jake (November 6, 2006). "Spartan men are set to begin again". San Francisco Chronicle. pp. C4.
10. Miedema, Lawrence (March 6, 2007). "SJSU is showing faith in Nessman". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on March 2, 2015.
11. Curtis, Jake (November 14, 2008). "San Jose State hopes to compete for WAC basketball title". San Francisco Chroncicle. pp. D2.
12. Morinaga, Dayton (May 7, 2008). "Three UH sports penalized". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
13. "NCAA Division I 2006 - 2007 Academic Progress Rate Public Report, San Jose State University" (PDF). NCAA. August 6, 2008. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
14. "Nessman Gets New 3-Year Contract". San Jose State University. July 14, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
15. "2011-12 San Jose State Spartans Schedule and Results". www.sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
16. "2012-13 San Jose State Spartans Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
17. Wilner, Jon; Faraudo, Jeff (March 13, 2013). "San Jose State fires basketball coach George Nessman". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
18. Durkin, Jimmy (April 1, 2014). "San Jose State men's basketball expects APR sanctions". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
19. "Men's Basketball Will Incur Anticipated NCAA APR Sanctions For 2014-15". San Jose State Spartans. April 1, 2015. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
20. "The Harker School: Basketball". www.harker.org. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
21. "JV Schedule - Harker Eagles (San Jose, CA) JV Basketball 13-14". Maxpreps.com. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
22. "Justin-Siena names new athletic director". Napa Valley Register. April 23, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
23. James, Marty. "Justin-Siena names new athletic director". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
24. "Schedule - Justin-Siena Braves (Napa, CA) Varsity Football 22-23". Maxpreps.com. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
25. Davis, Jeff (March 10, 1994). "South Valley J.C. basketball teams have different needs for 1994-95". Fresno Bee.
26. "Central Valley Conference men's basketball preview". Fresno Bee. November 10, 1995. p. D8.
27. Farris, Bruce (December 20, 1996). "A new Pirates' expedition". Fresno Bee. p. 9. Last year, the team won 19 games, the first winning season since 1977.
28. "Rams beat Pirates, clinch 2nd in CVC". Fresno Bee. February 15, 1996. p. D4.
29. "Uphoff takes over at El Camino College". Porterville Recorder. Retrieved March 27, 2015. ... the 1997 team that went 27-6 and came within an eyelash of advancing to the State Final Eight when it lost a close game at San Jose City College in the Northern California Regional finals.
30. "City men wrap up CVC basketball title in style". Fresno Bee. February 23, 1997. p. D4. Retrieved March 27, 2015. [Fresno] City (27-3) met preseason expectations by clinching the CVC title outright, finishing at 13-1, one game ahead of surprising Porterville...
31. Betterton, Terry (March 14, 1998). "Bad 'break', Renegades end Porterville's run". Fresno Bee. p. D2. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
32. Betterton, Terry (March 13, 1998). "Porterville reaches semifinals". Fresno Bee. p. D4. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
33. Robison, Ken (March 12, 1999). "Rams break Compton in OT". Fresno Bee. p. D1. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
34. Robison, Ken (February 21, 1999). "Rams have that little extra to tie for CVC title". Fresno Bee. p. D4. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
35. Robison, Ken (February 23, 1999). "CVC teams dominate playoff seedings". Fresno Bee. p. D3. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
36. "Commission on Athletics (COA) Online". old.coasports.org. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
37. Williams, Brian (February 20, 2001). "Chalk Talk: Pirates' season ends in OT". Porterville Recorder. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
38. Williams, Brian (February 16, 2001). "Four CVC titles in a row for PC". Porterville Recorder. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
39. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.academic.rccd.cc.ca.us. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
40. Evans, Jeff (February 26, 2004). "Close games proved costly to Renegades". Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
41. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.coasports.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2022.

External links

• San Jose State profile at the Wayback Machine (archived April 14, 2013)