men's basketball Coaches

A proven winner as a head coach, Chris Downs has led St. Lawrence University to 11 postseason appearances. In his 14 years at the helm of the Saints, Downs has guided St. Lawrence to an NCAA Elite Eight, an NCAA Sweet 16, an ECAC Championship, two ECAC finals, and numerous conference championships.

Coach Downs, who became the all-time winningest coach in St. Lawrence men's basketball history in February of 2010, has compiled a career record of 229-144 for an average of nearly 17 victories per year. He has led the team to the two highest single-season win totals in the school's history - 23 in 2007 and 24 in 1998 - while also guiding the Scarlet and Brown to a first or second place finish in the conference in 10 of his 14 seasons.

James Bechtel Jr., formerly the assistant coach of the Shepherd University basketball program, joined the St. Lawrence University basketball staff as the assistant coach in the fall of 2010. 

Before coming to St. Lawrence, Bechtel served as an assistant basketball coach at Susquehanna University (2005-2008) where he helped lead the Crusaders to the conference playoffs in 2007 and to the first Landmark Conference regular season championship in 2008.  He was the recruiting coordinator for Western Pennsylvania, Southern New York and New England and recruited the 2007 MAC Rookie of the Year, the 2008 Landmark Player of the Year, and five All-Conference team selections. Bechtel's other duties included assistant director of the Susquehanna basketball camps, head junior varsity coach, and the strength and conditioning coach. 

Dr. Traci Fordham-Fernandez will serve as the men's basketball team's Faculty/Staff Mentor for the 2010-11 season.

Education History:
B.A. - University of Wisconsin
M.A. - University of Wisconsin
Ph.D. - Syracuse University

Current Professional/Research Interest:
"The study of human interaction means that almost anything in the world is open for investigation. Currently, I am finishing a manuscript on the Rotary International Youth Exchange program and how this organization 'teaches' global citizenship and intercultural communication to U.S. and foreign teenagers. I continue my research on discourses of 'mixed raciality' in the U.S. as well as my research on dialogue-centered and multimodal pedagogies.

As a radical proponent of liberal education, I am energized daily by my students and in the classroom. I work in and write about 'faculty development,' which is the process of thinking about and practicing better teaching (and learning). I am currently the Vice Chair of Faculty Council where I am honored to do the good work of faculty governance." -- Dr. Fordham-Hernandez