April 25, 2008

(San Francisco) - Jeff Linder, Danny Yoshikawa and Calvin Byrd have accepted offers to join head coach Rex Walters' basketball staff at the University of San Francisco as announced today. The three veteran coaches bring a combined 28 seasons of college coaching experience to their posts on the Hilltop. In addition, Justin Bauman will serve as the director of basketball operations.

"I am really excited about the coaches that are joining us here at USF," Walters said. "With Jeff Linder, Danny Yoshikawa and Calvin Byrd, we are going to have good basketball coaches who will work extremely hard to make USF a better basketball program. They are committed to coaching and recruiting true student-athletes to our great university. I couldn't be happier with the coaching staff we now have in place."

Linder spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Weber State, helping the Wildcats post a 36-26 overall record, highlighted by Big Sky regular season and tournament titles and NCAA berth in the 2006-07 season. Prior to Ogden, Linder spent two successful seasons as an assistant coach at Midland (Texas) JC where he helped the Chaparrals post a record of 53-16. The 2005-06 squad finished 26-10 and made it to the "elite eight" at the national junior college tournament. Linder also spent two seasons an Emporia State under David Moe, the son of legendary ABA and NBA coach Doug Moe. In his third season at Emporia, the team posted a 22-5 record and earned a number three seed in the NCAA Division II tournament.

"Coach Linder is a tough, hard-nosed worker. I am really looking forward to working with him and know just how much he puts into his work. We are fortunate to bring him to the Hilltop," Walters said.

Yoshikawa spent last season as an assistant coach at UC Santa Barbara, helping the Gauchos post a 23-9 record, good for a berth in the NIT Postseason Tournament. Prior to serving at UCSB, Yoshikawa spent five seasons as the head coach at West Valley Junior College, posting a 144-47 record for a .753 winning percentage. He guided the Vikings to a pair of Golden Gate Conference titles, five California State Community College Tournaments and to two Elite Eight appearances. After the Vikings advanced to the 2006 state championship game, Yoshikawa earned California State Coach of the Year and Golden Gate Conference Coach of the Year honors.

"I have known Coach Yoshikawa since he was growing up in San Jose. Smart, enthusiastic and detailed are adjectives I think best describe him. I feel fortunate to have him here at USF," Walters said.

No stranger to the West Coast Conference and the Bay Area, Byrd returns for his second tour of duty at USF, after spending the last three seasons at Loyola Marymount, following a successful four-year stint at the University of the Pacific. Byrd played a key role as the Tigers advanced to back-to-back Big West regular season titles followed by consecutive NCAA Tournament second round appearances (2004-05). In Byrd's final season in Stockton, he helped Pacific to the best record in program history at 27-4 in 2004-05. Before his stint with the Tigers, Byrd spent two seasons as an assistant coach under Phil Mathews, helping the Dons to a 31-27 record from 1999-2001.

"Coach Byrd was a great player here in the Bay Area and has proven to be a highly successful basketball coach. I believe our players have an awful lot to gain by being around him," Walters said.

Bauman spent two seasons as the operations director under Walters at Florida Atlantic and will serve in the same capacity at USF. Bauman served six seasons at Kansas (2000-06) under head coach Roy Williams and Bill Self and served as head manager and student assistant coach for his final three years in Lawrence. During his stint with the Jayhawks, Kansas captured four Big 12 titles, one Big 12 tournament championship and six straight NCAA berths, highlighted by two Final Fours (2002-03) and a national runner-up finish in 2003.

"I'm really happy Justin Bauman decided to come with me to the University of San Francisco. He did a great job for the program at Florida Atlantic. His experience at Kansas University working for Roy Williams and Bill Self has definitely proved to be something that will benefit our student-athletes here at USF. He is highly organized and cares about the success of our student-athletes. I know he'll put everything into this job for the program," Walters said.