Harris Adler is in his tenth season at La Salle under head coach Dr. John Giannini. Adler manages all aspects of the team’s recruiting, scouting, scheduling, and he oversees the academic progress of each the team's student-athletes.
Adler was instrumental in the Explorers 2012-13 Sweet 16 season, in which the team won 24 games, including three in the NCAA Tournament over Boise State, Kansas State and Ole Miss. The Explorers also recorded key ranked wins over #9 Butler, #16 VCU and #12 Kansas State and finished third in the Atlantic 10, which was ranked as the seventh best conference in the nation.
Adler was also influential in the Explorers 2011-12 season in which the team won 21 games and reached the NIT, the first postseason appearance for the program in 20 years. The 21 wins were also the team’s most since 1990.
He played a key role in recruiting nine all-Atlantic 10 players, five Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team selections and two Atlantic 10 Student-Athletes of the Year. Two student-athletes received Academic or Scholar All-America recognition.
Prior to La Salle, Adler served for two years as assistant coach of the men’s basketball program at the University of Pennsylvania under then head coach Fran Dunphy. At Penn, Adler was an integral part of the staff that led the team to an Ivy League Championship and an NCAA Tournament bid in 2003.
During Adler’s two seasons coaching at Penn, the team amassed a record of 39-16 (.709). At Penn, Adler assisted in the team’s recruiting and scouting, and he also served as the head coach of the Penn junior varsity squad, compiling a record of 21-7 (.750).
Previously, Adler was an assistant coach at Centenary College (2001-02), where he helped the men’s basketball team achieve their first winning season in eight years. Adler began his basketball coaching career as a graduate assistant at Rowan University (1999-01), where he was part of a coaching staff that led the team to the Division III Sweet 16.
Adler has also gained international head coaching experience leading Maccabi USA teams. Adler served as the head coach for Maccabi USA team in the European Maccabi Games in Rome in 2007, where he led the team to a bronze medal. In 2006, Adler led the Maccabi USA Team to a gold medal at the Inaugural Australia International Maccabi Games in Sydney with a 7-0 record. He was also an assistant coach of the gold-medal winning Maccabi USA team at the 18th Maccabiah Games in 2009 and the bronze-medal Maccabi USA team at the 17th Maccabiah Games in 2005.
Adler holds a master’s degree in higher education administration from Rowan University and a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science. Adler is also a licensed pharmacist.
