Following up on something that HoopDirt.com mentioned on 9/11 (DAILY DIRT). The hirings at Palm Beach Atlantic have now been made official…
Palm Beach Atlantic head men’s basketball coach David Balza has announced two additions to his coaching staff for the 2019-20 season.
JP Hevia will serve as a Graduate Assistant coach for the upcoming season. His duties include on-court coaching, scouting, skill development, overseeing student-athlete welfare, mentoring and serving as the workship coordinator. Hevia will be involved in all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the program while pursuing his master’s in Leadership at PBA.
A 2016 sport management graduate from Warner University, Hevia has spent the last four years as the head coach of the highly successful South Florida Elite AAU basketball program, including three seasons working with the 17U squad. He also served as the head coach for one year at Circle Christian School in Winter Park, Florida, and an assistant coach for four years at Westwood Christian HS in Miami.
As a player, Hevia earned all-county and all-state honors at Westwood Christian in 2012. He went on to play collegiately at Tennessee-Temple University and Oakland City before finishing his degree at Warner.
Coach Balza had this to say about his new graduate assistant, “I am extremely excited to add JP to our coaching staff. He brings a wealth of playing experience and has strong ties to the South Florida basketball community, which will serve us well in recruiting. Most importantly, JP is a strong Christian who will be a terrific mentor for the young men in our program.”
Greg Saunders will join the Sailfish as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2019-20 season. He will work closely with both Coach Balza and assistant coach Evan Sizemore in the day-to-day operations of the basketball program.
Saunders is returning to basketball after recently retiring from a highly successful career in the hotel management industry. He most recently served as the Vice President and Managing Director at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens.
His basketball background includes playing and coaching under basketball legend Bill Musselman and eight years coaching on the AAU circuit in Chicago. Saunders is the brother of former NBA Coach Flip Saunders who had served as the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards. Saunders’ nephew Ryan is the current head coach of the Timberwolves, taking over his father’s position.
“I am very excited to be able to add someone of Greg’s stature to our staff,” Coach Balza said. “He is a man of high character with a wealth of knowledge to share with our young men both on and off the court. He will be a tremendous asset to me personally as a confidant and coach.”
