Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Special Assistant to the Head Coach
- Email:
- jbaker@ia.ua.edu
- Phone:
- 205-348-4551
Josh Baker joined the Alabama men’s basketball program in May 2019 as the special assistant to the head coach.
Baker, a successful head coach at the high school level, reunites with Oats as the two were college teammates at Maranatha Baptist (Wis.) University (1993-97) and coached together for nine years (2002-11) at Romulus (Mich.) High School.
“Josh and I go all the way back to college, and he is someone I have a ton of respect for,” Oats said. “He helped me get the Romulus program off the ground and running. We worked there together for nine years and won a lot of games together. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. He then took over a Southfield Christian program that hadn’t won much prior to his arrival and turned that into a perennial state championship contender. Josh has proven that he knows how to run a program, and he has a great basketball mind. Josh is a great person that has no ego and just wants to see our program succeed. He’s a winner at a very high level and is going to be a tremendous asset for the Alabama basketball program.”
Baker spent eight years (2011-19) as the head coach at Southfield Christian High School in Southfield, Mich. While there, he led the program to unprecedented heights. During that span, Baker’s teams went 181-30, with a 97-1 conference record and eight Michigan Independent Athletic Conference titles. In fact, the Eagles currently own an 82-game winning streak in conference play dating back to January 2013.
During his time at Southfield Christian, Baker’s teams won eight Michigan Independent Athletic Conference (MIAC) titles, six regional titles and five state titles (2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019). Baker led the Southfield Christian basketball program to four state titles as a head coach and another as an assistant since joining the school for the 2011-12 season. Most recently, Baker led Southfield Christian to a state title in 2018 and 2019.
Baker was the MIAC Coach of the Year six different seasons, named the Michigan Regional Coach of the Year on three occasions and twice was chosen as the Michigan High School Athletic Association Coach of the Year, earning the honor in 2012 and 2018.
Prior to his Southfield Christian stint, Baker spent nearly a decade on Oats’ staff at Romulus High School (2002-11), while also coaching alongside current Alabama assistant coach Charlie Henry. After Baker left for Southfield Christian in 2011, both he and Oats remained close friends and even won a state title in the same year (2013) at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join the men’s basketball program at The University of Alabama,” Baker said. “I’m excited to have my family be a part of a special place. I can’t wait to start working with Coach Oats again. I believe in his system, his coaching style and how he develops players. This is a dream come true, and I just can’t wait to get started.”
