The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Adds Two Assistant Coaches To Men's Basketball Staff
7/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
July 12, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB men's basketball head coach Mike Davis has named Walt Fuller and Mike Jaskulski as assistant coaches on his staff. The hiring of the two veteran, well-respected coaches was announced Monday and becomes effective immediately.
Fuller has been in the coaching business for 24 years and joins the UAB staff from La Salle University, where he spent the past five seasons as the associate head coach. Jaskulski comes to Birmingham after spending the past four years at Conference USA rival UCF and has now been in the coaching business for 33 seasons.
"I am thrilled about the opportunity to work with both Walt and Mike," Davis said. "I have a lot of respect for both of them. They have both shown to be major assets at every place they have been. They each have great reputations as excellent recruiters and on-floor coaches. Both work very hard to be successful and are anxious to work for, and represent, UAB and our basketball program."
While with the Explorers, Fuller served as recruiting coordinator and worked with all facets of the program during his five-year tenure. Prior to joining La Salle, Fuller was the top assistant at the University of Virginia for former UVA head coach Pete Gillen from 1998-2005. He helped the Cavaliers to five consecutive postseason appearances from 1999-2003, including the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
Fuller joined Gillen's staff after spending the previous four seasons as an assistant coach at the College of William & Mary. During his last season at William & Mary in 1997-98, the Tribe posted a 20-7 record and tied for the Colonial Athletic Association regular season championship.
Fuller was also an assistant coach at his alma mater, Drexel University, for six years. In his final season with the Dragons in 1993-94, the team compiled a 25-5 record, won the North Atlantic Conference Championship and earned an NCAA Tournament berth. Drexel also finished as conference runner-up twice during Fuller's tenure and won the regular season title in 1992-93.
A two-time captain of the Drexel basketball team, Fuller helped lead the Dragons to an East Coast Conference Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth during the 1985-86 season. He finished his collegiate career ranked first on Drexel's list for games played (116) and was second on the school's career free throw percentage list (80.5 percent). He was voted the team's Most Valuable Player after the 1985-86 season and received the Dragon "D" Award as the squad's top defensive player.
During his 23-year coaching career, he has recruited eventual NBA players Malik Rose (Drexel), Roger Mason (Virginia) and Sean Singletary (Virginia). Fuller has also been responsible for recruiting a dozen players who now play overseas.
Fuller earned his degree in business administration from Drexel in 1987. He is married to the former Martina Colbert of Philadelphia, Pa., and they have a son, Walt, Jr.
"I am very excited to be here at UAB with coach Davis and his staff," Fuller said. "Coach Davis is nationally known and has had great success. He has continued the trend of the UAB basketball tradition that was started by Gene Bartow. I am thrilled to be a part of that tradition and feel fortunate to be a part of something as special as UAB basketball. I am very happy to be a Blazer."
Jaskulski, who has eight years of head coaching experience in his 33-year career, comes to Birmingham after spending his last three seasons as UCF's associate head coach. He helped the Knights finish in the top half of the league standings each year during his tenure.
Jaskulski went to UCF after eight years as an assistant coach in the BIG EAST and Atlantic Coast conferences. A top recruiter, Jaskulski served on the Florida State staff from 2002-06. He also was on Miami's staff from 1993-97.
 Newly appointed UAB assistant coach Mike Jaskulski.  |
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For four seasons, beginning in 1997, Jaskulski served as the head coach at Towson. In his first season at Towson, his team led the America East in scoring defense and 3-point field goal percentage. Off the court, his players excelled in the classroom. During his tenure, 10 of 11 seniors earned their degrees.
Before his time at Miami, he spent five years as an assistant coach at Maine, helping build the Black Bears into one of the premier programs in the America East. From 1988-93, Maine won 32 conference games and advanced to the league title game in 1991.
A 1976 graduate of St. Norbert College in Wisconsin, Jaskulski began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater. He worked at St. Norbert from 1976-82 and then served for two years as an assistant at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. He was the head coach at Loras from 1984-88 and recorded a 62-48 overall record, including a 19-10 mark in 1984-85.
Jaskulski led the Duhawks to the National Catholic Basketball Tournament semifinals four times and helped the squad to a third-place finish in 1988. He oversaw the program's move from the NAIA ranks to the NCAA Division III level. In 1987-88, Loras ranked third in the NCAA Division III statistics in team defense.
He is married to the former Marcia Anne Hendricks. The couple has two daughters, Katie and Carly.
"Having coached against Mike Davis and his teams, this was an easy decision for me to make to come to UAB," Jaskulski said. "Coach Davis always has fundamentally sound teams, and his teams always play hard. That was very evident when we played against UAB. There is something special about basketball at UAB. The tradition in this program and what coach Gene Bartow created in such a short period of time is remarkable. I am ecstatic about becoming a part of the great tradition and look forward to working hard to keep the proud tradition and success of UAB basketball."
