About Coach Jim Baker

Jim Baker took over as the head coach for the Catawba men's basketball program in 1994 and his overall record stands at 344-236.  During his tenure, Baker has guided the Indians to the NCAA II Tournament nine times, won 6 South Atlantic Conference Championships, and won 6 South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championships. His teams have won just over 60% of their games and have an impressive home record of 198-74 (73%). Catawba had a 108-70 record in games decided by five points or less under Baker. Baker produced three conference Players of the Year and three All-Americans, while graduating 60 of 64 seniors.

In 2009-10, Catawba won its sixth SAC Championship under Baker and advanced to the SAC Tournament title game for the third straight year. That year marked the fourth straight trip to the NCAA II Tournament for the Tribe which won league titles in 2007 and 2010 while winning back-to-back SAC Tournament titles in 2008 and 2009.  

In 2006-07, Baker was voted SAC Coach of the Year for the fifth time as Catawba won the league title and earned a spot in the NCAA Regional Tournament.  In 2004-05, Baker earned SAC Coach of the Year honors as the Indians claimed the conference title and advanced to the NCAA II Tournament. In 2004, Catawba became the lowest seed (#7) to win the league tournament, earning a regional tournament berth. After a 25-5 season and a third South Atlantic Conference title in 2001, Baker was named league Coach of the Year.

Baker was named SAC and NCAA II Region Coach of the Year in 1998, after Catawba posted a 25-6 record. He also earned SAC Coach of the Year honors in 1996, after he guided the Indians to their first conference title since 1983. His 16 victories in his first season was the most ever for a first-year basketball coach at Catawba. He has a 306-166 record over his first 16 seasons and ranks second all-time in coaching victories at Catawba with 344 wins.  Of the 26 championships won in basketball at Catawba College, Jim Baker was a part of 13....12 as head coach and 1 as a player! 

Baker came to Catawba from Virginia Military Institute, where he had been an assistant coach for two seasons. He also had NCAA Division I experience as an assistant at Virginia Tech (1989-91) and Davidson (1981-89). Baker came to Catawba in June 1993, as an assistant coach during Sam Moir’s final campaign as head coach. Moir retired in May 1994, ending a great 34-year career at Catawba. 

Baker, a dean’s list student at Catawba before graduating in 1978, played for Moir from 1975-78. He transferred from UNC-Charlotte and was a part of two 20-win seasons at Catawba. He was a member of the 1976-77 Carolinas Conference Championship team and three of his former teammates, Benny Callahan, Eric Harris, and Herman Miles are in the Catawba Sports Hall of Fame. 

Baker began his coaching career as an assistant for Moir in 1978-79 and at Wingate the next year while earning a master’s degree in human development and learning at UNC-Charlotte. He was also an assistant coach at Belmont Abbey (1980-81). Baker worked under Bobby Hussey at Davidson, Frankie Allen at Virginia Tech, and Joe Cantafio at VMI. At Davidson, Baker was part of a program that graduated 25 of 26 student-athletes. In addition, the Wildcats put together back-to-back 20-win seasons (1986-87) and appeared in the 1986 NCAA Southeast Regional. While Baker was at Virginia Tech, the Hokies became only the third team in Metro Conference history to sweep both Memphis State and Louisville in the same year. At VMI, Baker was responsible for recruiting, scouting, practice and bench coaching, public speaking, summer camps, and scheduling. All of VMI’s seniors graduated during Baker’s stay there and he was part of an outstanding recruiting class in 1992-93, which saw three freshmen make the starting lineup. 

In addition to editing and publishing a monthly basketball newsletter (“Time Out”), Baker has published eight books: “Power Post Play,” “Striving for Excellence,” and “The Best of Time Out, Book One, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six.” Baker has also released a one-of-a-kind basketball CD-Rom “The Best of Time Out”. Baker just released two new books entitled, "Why Winners Win and Losers Lose", which is a collection of motivational and leadership concepts he has developed over his coaching career, and "The Process" -Taking the Stairs to Achieve Something Great.

  Baker’s ties to the international players in his program come from doing camps and clinics abroad. For eighteen straight years, he conducted both camps and coaching clinics in Belgium, France, Iceland, Luxembourg, Barbados, and Costa Rica. He has also served as the U.S. adviser to the Belgium Women’s Olympic basketball team.
Baker was named Head Basketball Coach at Central Cabarrus HS in the fall of 2017.
Baker was inducted into the Catawba College Sports Hall of Fame in October 2021 and the Salisbury-Rowan Sports Hall of Fame in August 2024.  In 2024, Jim received the Catawba College Distinguished Alumni Award for Career Achievement
Baker comes from a strong sports family. Both his mother and father were outstanding athletes and his dad, Walt, coached him at North Rowan High School where he graduated in 1974. The field house at North Rowan is named in his dad’s honor. His brother, Chip, is a longtime assistant baseball coach/director of operations at Florida State. Baker and his wife, the former Tina Waters, reside in Concord. They have four children, Jamie  (who played basketball at Presbyterian and AppState Uni, a Graduate Assistant University of Alabama, and is an Assistant Coach at  Kennesaw State University), Madison ( a former gymnast at SUNY Brockport, and is now coaching gymnastics), Hannah (a rising senior gymnast at Converse Uni.) and Jacob (a rising senior basketball player at Central Cabarrus HS).
 

JIM BAKER COACHING CAREER:

CANNON SCHOOL 2024 - Present

CENTRAL CABARRUS HIGH SCHOOL  HEAD COACH 2017-2024
CATAWBA COLLEGE  HEAD COACH  1994-2014
CATAWBA COLLEGE ASSISTANT COACH 1993-1994
VIRGINIA MILITARY INST. ASSISTANT COACH 1991 -1993
VIRGINIA TECH ASSISTANT COACH 1989-91
DAVIDSON COLLEGE ASSISTANT COACH 1981-1989
BELMONT ABBEY ASSISTANT COACH 1980-81
WINGATE UNIVERSITY ASSISTANT COACH 1979-1980
CATAWBA COLLEGE ASSISTANT COACH 1978-1979
EDUCATION:
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA CHARLOTTE 1981 MA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING
CATAWBA COLLEGE 1978 BA HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
 

Coach Jim Baker's Coaching Achievements

CATAWBA COLLEGE
20 YEAR RECORD AS A HEAD COACH at CATAWBA COLLEGE 344-236 60%
14 WINNING SEASONS
9 - 20+ WIN SEASONS AND 2 - 19 WIN SEASONS OUT OF 20 SEASONS
AVERAGED 17.2 WINS SEASON PER SEASON (19.5 WINS FOR FIRST 17 SEASONS)
RECEACHED 100TH  WIN 5 SEASONS AND 2 GAMES
REACHED 200TH WIN IN 11 SEASONS AND 25 GAMES
RECORDED 300TH WIN IN 16 SEASONS
GUIDED CATAWBA TO THE FIRST NCAA TOURNAMENT IN 1998
GUIDED CATAWBA TO 9 NCAA TOURNAMENT IN 20 SEASONS - 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2009, AND 2010
REACHED NCAA II “SWEET SIXTEEN” IN 1998
WON SOUTH ATLANTIC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP 6 TIMES – 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2007, AND 2010
REACHED SOUTH ATLANTIC TOURNAMENT FINALS 8 TIMES AND WON 6 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2008, AND 2009
SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT RECORD OF 24 – 11
WON 7 CATAWBA CLASSICS, CONCORD CLASSIC, BARBADOS SHOOT OUT, AND ROLLINS TOURNAMENTS
SOUTH ATLANTIC “COACH OF THE YEAR” 5 TIMES -1996, 1998, 2001, 2005, AND 2007
SOUTH ATLANTIC DISTRICT “COACH OF THE YEAR” – 1998
COACHED 3 SAC CONFERENCE “PLAYERS OF THE YEAR”
COACHED 33 SAC ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
COACHED 3 SAC “FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR” PLAYERS
COACHED 6 “SAC TOURNAMENT MVP’S”
COACHED 7 ALL-DISTRICT PLAYERS
COACHED 3 ALL-AMERICAN PLAYERS
COACHED 1 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE “MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR”
COACHED 20 1,000 PLUS SCORERS
GRADUATED 64 0F 68 (94%) OF SENIORS THAT FINISHED PLAYING AT CATAWBA.

 FIVE OF COACH BAKER'S PLAYERS ARE MEMBERS OF THE CATAWBA COLLEGE SPORTS HALL OF FAME.
BUILT CATAWBA BASKETBALL CAMP (TIMEOUT BASKETBALL CAMPS) INTO ONE OF THE LARGEST CAMPS WITH OVER 20,464 KIDS ATTENDING IN 30 YEARS AND 1,631 TEAMS ATTENDING CATAWBA TEAM CAMP.
CHAIRMAN OF SOUTH ATLANTIC COACHES 2006-07 AND 2007-08
NCAA REGIONAL BASKETBALL COMMITTEE 2005-06 AND 2006-07
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BASKETBALL COACHES D2 CONGRESS – 10 YEARS
CONDUCTED BASKETBALL COACHING CLINICS AND CAMPS FOR 18 YEARS IN BELGIUM, AND ALSO CAMPS AND COACHING CLINICS IN FRANCE, LUXEMBOURG, BARBADOS, COSTA RICA, AND ICELAND
PUBLISHER AND EDITOR FOR 20 YEARS NATIONAL MONTHLY BASKETBALL NEWSLETTER “TIMEOUT” AND “THE BEST OF TIMEOUT” BOOKS One, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six
EDITOR OF CD-ROM “THE BEST OF TIMEOUT” RELEASED IN 1998 AND PUBLISHED 8 BASKETBALL INSTRUCTIONAL BOOKS AND 5 BASKETBALL VIDEOS
 U.S.A. ADVISOR TO THE BELGIUM WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM 1989 -1999
AUTHOR OF "WIN WINNERS WIN AND LOSERS LOSE" CONCEPTS OF CHAMPIONS AND TRAITS OF LOSERS and "THE PROCESS" TAKING THE STAIRS TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING GREAT.  www.whywinnerswinandloserslose.com
19 OF COACH BAKER'S PLAYERS FROM CATAWBA WENT ON TO PLAY PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL.

 18 OF COACH BAKER'S PLAYERS FROM CATAWBA WENT INTO COACHING HS OR COLLEGE BASKETBALL
INDUCTED INTO THE CATAWBA COLLEGE SPORTS HALL OF FAME IN OCTOBER 2021  AND THE SALISBURY-ROWAN SPORTS HALL OF FAME IN AUGUST 2024. IN 2024, BAKER RECEIVED THE  CATAWBA COLLEGE DISTINGUISHED  ALUMNI AWARD FOR CAREER ACHIEVEMENT.  

CENTRAL CABARRUS HIGH SCHOOL
SEVEN-YEAR RECORD AS A HEAD COACH at CENTRAL CABARRUS HS 132-53 71.3%
LED CENTRAL CABARRUS HIGH SCHOOL FROM LAST TO FIRST IN FOUR SEASONS TO WIN THE 2020-21 SOUTH  PIEDMONT CONFERENCE CHAMPION WITH A RECORD OF 11-1. FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP SINCE 2006.
IN 2021-22, WON BOTH THE SOUTH PIEDMONT REGULAR SEASON AND THE TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP AND UNDEFEATED REGULAR SEASON OF 24-0 AND A 30-1 RECORD.

IN 2022-23, WON BOTH THE SOUTH PIEDMONT REGULAR SEASON AND THE TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP AND UNDEFEATED REGULAR SEASON OF 24-0 AND A 32-0 RECORD.

IN 2023-24 WON BOTH THE SOUTH PIEDMONT REGULAR SEASON AND THE TOURNAMENT

CHAMPIONSHIP AND UNDEFEATED REGULAR SEASON OF 24-0 AND A  33-0 RECORD.
LED CENTRAL CABARRUS HIGH SCHOOL TO THE 2023 AND 2024 NCHSAA 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A 32-0 AND 33-0 RECORD FOR A TWO-YEAR RECORD OF 65-0 AND THREE-YEAR RECORD OF 95-1.

LED CENTRAL CABARRUS HIGH SCHOOL TO 5 3A PLAYOFF APPEARANCES AND A FINAL FOUR APPEARANCE IN 2022, 2023, AND 2024 PLUS  19 STATE PLAYOFF WINS.
2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 SOUTH PIEDMONT CONFERENCE "COACH OF THE YEAR".
2022, 2023, 2024 DISTRICT #9 "COACH OF THE YEAR".
2023 AND 2024 NC BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION BOYS "COACH OF THE YEAR"
2023 CHARLOTTE OBSERVER BOYS BASKETBALL  "COACH OF THE YEAR".
2023 HIGHSCHOOLOT.COM NORTH CAROLINA MALE  "COACH OF THE YEAR"

2023 NATIONAL FEDERATION HIGH SCHOOL COACHES ASSOCIATION NC BOYS BASKETBALL "COACH OF THE YEAR"