Men's Basketball Assistant Coaches 2007-2008

Len Desautels

Len Desautels is the voice of experience. When he speaks, everybody listens.

The veteran of the men’s basketball coaching staff, Desautels returns for his 16^th season as Brian Baptiste’s top assistant coach.

Desautels has an extensive background coaching background. He coached high school basketball in Bloomfield, Connecticut before moving to Cape Cod, where he was the head boys’ basketball coach at Bourne High School for nine seasons before joining the Corsairs. Three years ago, he served as an assistant coach for the Boston Frenzy of the American Basketball Association while they were based at UMass Dartmouth.

A 1967 graduate of Central Connecticut State University, Desautels earned his bachelor’s degree in social studies. He earned a master’s degree from CCSU in 1971.

A native of Turners Falls, MA, Desautels resides in Plymouth with his wife, Jan. He has two sons: Eric, who lives and works in the greater Washington, DC area, and Mark, a captain in the United States Army.

Paul Hart

UMass Dartmouth Athletic Hall of Fame member Paul Hart returns for his second season as an assistant coach.

In three seasons at UMass Dartmouth, Hart scored 1,297 points, grabbed 526 rebounds and added 222 assists. He averaged 16 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, and was a major contributor to Corsair teams that qualified for three consecutive NCAA Division III tournaments, and won two Little East Conference Championships. A member of the 1985-86 team that went 22-7 and was UMass Dartmouth’s first representative in the NCAA Division III Tournament in 11 years, Hart was also a member of the 1986-87 team that went 27-1 and is also enshrined in the Corsair Hall of Fame. During his senior year, the team went 24-4, and was 73-12 in his three seasons.

Nick Correia

Nick Correia has always enjoyed sports and working with young athletes. He will be in his second season of doing both this year as an assistant coach at UMass Dartmouth.

Correia began his coaching career when he hung out with his uncle, former New Bedford High School Head Coach Ed Rodrigues, and helped out. That led to a position coaching the Bristol Stars, an area Amateur Athletics Union basketball team. Correia worked with several players who earned college scholarships during his four years with the Stars,

He moved on and has coached the Rhode Island Athletic Basketball Club for two seasons.

A native of New Bedford, where he played tight end on the football team, Correia played collegiate football as a freshman at Western New England College. He also assists at NBHS, coaching wide receivers for the freshman football team.

“I love sports, and I love to work with kids,” said Correia. “Coach Rodrigues and Coach Baptiste are good friends, and I was asked to help out.”

Correia assists as a recruiter as well as with floor coaching. “Hard work and honesty are important in recruiting,” said Correia. “It’s also important to build relationships. I learned a lot from coach Baptiste my first year as far as Xs and Os are concerned. I would like to stay here and continue to learn and develop as a coach.”