Josh Sash, a native of Oskaloosa, has been named the new men’s basketball coach at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC).
Sash, who will become the 12th head coach in the program’s history, will succeed John Bowler, who departed after one season to become an assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
“It’s an incredible honor and privilege to be chosen to lead the DMACC men’s basketball program,” Sash said. “I’m extremely grateful to Athletic Director B.J. McGinn and the administration at DMACC for allowing me this opportunity. The leadership, resources, and tradition that’s been established here at DMACC made it a no-brainer opportunity for myself and my family and we can’t wait to become a part of the Boone community.”
Sash said that being from Iowa he sees DMACC as a really good place to be a head coach.
“They’ve got great tradition and the leadership that is in place (at DMACC) has a commitment to athletics and to men’s basketball,” Sash said. “The resources, the facilities, the housing, I just think the whole combination of all of it made it a really attractive job for me and my family.”
Sash considers himself a defensive specialist and prefers to play an up-tempo style of basketball.
“I want to get up and guard, I want to play disciplined and solid but I want to be the aggressor on the defensive end,” Sash said. “I want to push the ball in transition and try to score easy baskets and when we’re not able to get easy baskets we’re going to run our offense, be disciplined and take good shots.”
Sash said he and assistant coaches Kannon Burrage and Sam Esboldt have been in contact with returning sophomores and expect to put a quality product on the floor this coming season.
“I think the staff here under John’s leadership did a good job in recruiting and after John’s departure Kannon and Sam did a nice job with continuing the relationships with the guys. I like the group on paper, I like the type of kids that we have, I like the talent level that we have and I think we have a chance to put a pretty good product on the floor this year.”
Sash comes to DMACC after spending the past two seasons as a (NCAA) Division I assistant for Kareem Richardson at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). His duties included recruiting, scouting, coaching with a focus on defense and rebounding, and player development with the program’s post players.
Sash began his coaching career in his hometown as an undergraduate student assistant for John Henry at William Penn University (WPU). He was a varsity student assistant for four years and head coach of the junior varsity for two years. Sash helped guide WPU to a school-record 25 wins in 2006-07, including a conference regular-season championship, a conference tournament championship and the program’s first NAIA tournament appearance.
Sash’s other coaching stops included Drake University (DU), Providence College (PC), Temple Community College (TCC), State Fair Community College (SFCC) and Indian Hills Community College (IHCC).
Sash was a graduate assistant during Drake’s historic season in 2007-08 when the Bulldogs went 28-5, won the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular-season and tournament championships and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA West Regional Tournament.
Sash served as the video coordinator at PC in 2008-09 and then began his junior college coaching career at TCC in Temple, Texas, where he served as an assistant coach for one season.
Sash spent five seasons as an assistant at SFCC, helping the Roadrunners to an 89-63 record, including a 26-7 mark in 2013-14, the most successful season in school history. During that season, the Roadrunners won the Region 16 regular-season and tournament championships and earned a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national tournament berth, defeating Shelton State Community College (SSCC) in overtime in their first-ever national tournament game. While at SFCC, Sash recruited and coached four NJCAA All-Americans, 15 Region 16 All-Region performers and nine NCAA Division I signees.
Sash spent two seasons as the head assistant coach at IHCC, helping the Warriors to a 58-10 record, two Region XI regular-season championships, two Region XI tournament titles and two national tournament appearances. Sash recruited and coached two NJCAA All-Americans, 12 Region II All-Region performers, and 25 NCAA Division I signees. He was also recognized by the website CoachStat.net on its list of the top 25 assistant basketball coaches in the junior college ranks.
Sash earned an associate’s degree in Computer Programming/Analysis from IHCC in 2001, a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education/Coaching from WPU in 2006 and a master’s degree in Education and Effective Teaching from DU in 2009.
Sash and his wife, Analeigh, are the parents of three children, Tandon (8), Tayson (4) and Tru (1).
http://www.dmaccbears.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/20190809r08b5j
