CORVALLIS, Ore. – On the court and in the court, Warner Pacific University head men’s basketball coach Jamayne Potts is living his legacy by making a difference in people’s lives.
In just two years at the helm of WPU, the Knights boast a 19-22 record – despite a challenging 2021 spring season due to pandemic complications – and have qualified for their 14
th-straight CCC Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank.
When Potts took the WPU position, not only was the country in the middle of a pandemic, but the Portland area was on strict lockdown and his Knights weren’t allowed to compete during their normal season time. The Oregon Health Authority didn’t approve the Cascade Collegiate Conference’s Return to Play Plan until February of 2021.
Potts took that first unusual season in stride and has faced even more adversity this year. WPU shut down athletics for a couple of weeks, forcing the Knights to forfeit four games. The Knights bounced back and went on a four-game winning streak, including beating Lewis-Clark State College – last year’s NAIA runner-up – to qualify for the conference tournament.
His coaching style has a lot to do with the Knights’ success: a mixture of intensity and laid back.
“A lot of depends on the situation,” said Potts. “At practices I’m on the guys a lot more so by the time I get to the game, I can be calmer because I feel if I appear frantic, then they will be frantic. As a coach, I always try different approaches to motivate guys, keep them motivated, and find their button to push to bring out the best in them.”
While the X’s and O’s are important, Potts also wants his Knights to leave the program with a great experience they can look back on.
“I want them to look back and say they enjoyed their time in our program, that they had great memories, and that they miss it all, including the hard times,” said Potts. “I still hear from former players when I coached at Burbank High School and they still talk about their experience during that time. They said it was the best basketball experience they’ve had. It’s a lifelong memory.”
Potts also wants his players to graduate and since he took over at WPU, the Knights boast a 3.14 average team GPA. Five Knights have been named to the CCC Academic All-Conference list and five earned WPU Dean’s List recognition.
“I care about these guys and their life after Warner Pacific University,” said Potts. “I want them to take what they’ve learned from being in the program and apply it to life. I try to get them to see what they do now, they will also have to do later. Right now, they have to balance school, basketball, and a few have to balance family life with it. Later they will have to balance family, life, and work. If they are going to miss or be late to practices or class, they have to notify their coach or professor. Later they will have to notify their boss or if they become the boss, employees will have to notify them. Players have to work as a team now and communicate. They will have to do the same in the workplace. So, I just pray they can apply those life lessons once they leave the program.”
Potts is no stranger to the NAIA. He played for Bethany University in college after leading Bakersfield College in points and assists, but when Potts played at Bethany, the NAIA was split into two divisions. Now, the NAIA is one division, which Potts thinks elevates the competition.
“It’s always been really competitive but even more so now,” said Potts. “I think the thing that makes NAIA so special is that it’s really no different than NCAA in terms of competitive level. NAIA plays NCAA Division schools whether it’s DI, DII, or DIII. We travel just like those schools and there are so many different types of players in NAIA. I love the fact that it is just one level and not divided into two levels.”
When his playing career was done, Potts knew he wanted to get into coaching.
“I got into coaching because it was a way to compete in the sport I love for the long term,” said Potts. “I knew playing basketball itself wouldn’t last forever and that coaching would give me a lot more longevity.”
He started getting the “coaching bug” when he would go on trips with his college coach Andrew Snelgrove to scout games. He also would go back home to Los Angeles during his summers off to help coach at his high school alma mater.
Prior to WPU, Potts was an assistant coach at Lake Forest College. He was an exceptional head high school coach, but this is his first head coaching job at the collegiate level, something he has had to adjust to.
“I think the biggest transition to coaching at the collegiate level from the high school level is that there aren’t any bad coaches who can’t coach at the college level,” said Potts. “I don’t mean that as a knock to coaches at the high school level because there are a lot of great coaches at the high school level, but there are also coaches at the high school level that aren’t so great. In college, every coach is great, even if their record is poor. You have to prepare hard night in and night out. You have to be on your game.
“Another big transition to the collegiate level is the traveling part,” added Potts. “It is some long days when you have to be on the road.”
That aspect is especially relevant in the CCC, where teams compete across the Pacific Northwest from Oregon to Washington to Idaho for basketball, but that’s also what Potts thinks makes the CCC special.
“The CCC is so special because it is honestly one of the top conferences in the country,” said Potts. “There are usually three to four colleges that are ranked in the top-25 from our conference. Then another one that receives votes. I think it’s also special because depending on the sport, our conference travel states are Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and California.”
Competing in one of the top conferences in the NAIA is challenging, but there are other challenges Potts faces as a head coach.
“The biggest challenges I face as a coach are: making sure players don’t get too high off wins and not too low off losses, keeping them healthy as much as you can, and recruiting,” said Potts. “You have to keep your players balanced. Getting too high on wins can cause your team to get arrogant; get too comfortable, and the team starts to feel like they are invincible. Getting too low on losses can cause a team to lose confidence and hurt team morale.
“Fighting to keep them healthy as much as you can during this covid pandemic is another challenge,” added Potts. “You can’t protect them completely from it. You can talk to them about making smart decisions to protect themselves and each other, but you aren’t with them 24-7. So, you just pray they are being safe.
“Another big challenge is always recruiting,” concluded Potts. “We don’t have the same resources as University of Oregon so it’s challenging to sometimes get players.”
On March 16, 2021, the Knights grabbed their first win under Potts, a 96-70 dominating victory over Multnomah University to start the year.
“I remember how I felt after winning my first game as a head coach because I feel the same after every win,” said Potts. “I’m happy we won because a lot of work goes into it. So, whether it’s my first win, ninth win, 20
th win, etc., it feels the same. It feels great, we did our job and now we start mentally preparing for the next game.”
When not leading the Knights, Potts also is the vice president at Potts and Associates, a family-owned business with his father that represents employers in unemployment insurance matters, labor board (wage & hour) issues, discrimination issues, and act as a resource for HR Departments.
“We provide consultation for employers on labor law matters and human resource matters,” said Potts. “We also provide training seminars for employers in the area of sexual harassment, diversity, active shooters, documentation, and a ton more.”
Potts, who got his undergraduate degree in business management and is finishing an MBA, started working for the company when he was 15 years old doing filing during the summers. Each year, it progressed to something more and when he turned 20, Potts started going in front of Administrative Law Judges to handle unemployment insurance cases for employers.
Two years later, Potts was handling wage and hour cases. He may be a part of the family that owns the business, but Potts earned his way up from the bottom. Being a part of the family also gives Potts the flexibility to coach and both allow Potts to live out his passions for helping people and competing.
“I enjoy what I do because I love helping people,” said Potts. “I love interacting with clients in different types of industries. I believe this type of work is the same as coaching. I love helping student-athletes reach their full potential and I have to compete in both jobs. For coaching, I prepare for games and strategically figure out how to win. It’s competitive. When I have a case for work, it’s the same thing. I have to prepare for my case, go over weaknesses and strengths of the case, and try to win. It’s also competitive. So, that’s what I love about it.”
Whether it’s on the court or in the court, Potts is "Living the Legacy" and making an impact on people’s lives.