November 1, 2024 • 36 mins
Wesley Brooks sits down with Mark Schindler to discuss taking over as head coach of Utah State, his excitement for the coming season, taking on new challenges in his role, and more!
You can listen to the pod on
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/theyve-got-now/id1652378572
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2eTVgaVudBvS9yox3XbgGX?si=16a02c3ea75942e8
You can watch the pod on https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSPW9eR1D5GWBw1lRpM8qTDSlliwbGp8J&si=rX7RfQZmuB6XAa3T
As always, a major thank you to James Edwards III for the intro and outro music! If you have not already, follow Mark on Twitter @MG_Schindler and be sure to rate and review the pod! Send any questions, comments, or feedback Mark's way, and enjoy the show.
You can listen to the pod on
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/theyve-got-now/id1652378572
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2eTVgaVudBvS9yox3XbgGX?si=16a02c3ea75942e8
You can watch the pod on https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSPW9eR1D5GWBw1lRpM8qTDSlliwbGp8J&si=rX7RfQZmuB6XAa3T
As always, a major thank you to James Edwards III for the intro and outro music! If you have not already, follow Mark on Twitter @MG_Schindler and be sure to rate and review the pod! Send any questions, comments, or feedback Mark's way, and enjoy the show.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Now I'm really excited to be joined by a first
time head coach, Wesley Brooks from over at Utah State
University over in Logan also spent a lot of great
time working in the great states of Ohio and Michigan,
where I hail from. West first and foremost.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
How you doing, man, I'm great, man, great, glad to
be on here with you, Excited to talk to you.
I think you do a tremendous job in covering the
game of women's basketball. So keep up the great work.
And glad that you allowed me to spend some time
with you today.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Oh, I appreciate it. Man, that's too kind. No, a
lot to dive into. I was excited as soon as
you got the job. I know obviously you have Utah history.
You've been around and in the Mountain time which is
still just like the most insane time zone to me
to get used to.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I've never spent actually the.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
Best time zone.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I'm gonna tell you what the best time zone. Right,
So like it's not three hours, it's two hours. But
for me, like I wake up and it's like you
wake up ten am. You have football on like big
noon kickoff, right, So you got that.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
So you can. You can eat breakfast and do it.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
It's not nine am where you just really trying to
maybe get out of bed on Saturday morning.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
And then so and then last night, right we got
we get out.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
We practiced in the afternoon, but I got home at
like seven, and so that nine o'clock NBA game is
just starting, so it's perfect.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
So it's not.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
And then you catch if it's a good East Coast game,
you catch the third and fourth quarter of that, and
then you get into the you get to see the
whole West Coast game.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
So the time zone works for me, man, it really does.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
No.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I got to find way out there.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
I was debating this ord breakfast with my girls sports.
I was like, you know, I was like, you know,
I got the zoom link.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
What what is mountain time for this? And I was like, oh, okay,
yeah I can. I can work for that. It's like, wait,
you can watch an NBA game story at five pm.
It's like you just finished up work. Obviously for us,
you know, we're always so it's different. But like you know,
I was like, that's that's a pretty good timeline.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
I don't mind that, but yeah, not bad.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
It's not that though, yeah, so I guess to start off,
I want to hit on just you know, obviously I
know the way that this came about. You know, you
got hit up a little bit before the tournament started,
and there was a process from there.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
But knowing you know, where this program.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Was at and kind of coming in and assessing like
what it meant, what you could do with it, and
looking at what it was top to bottom, what was
that like for you?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Because I think that's some of I'm always interested to it.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Yeah, I mean it's one of those things where as
an assistant coach, and I've been assistant basically almost twenty years,
you want to you have aspirations of being a head coach,
and it's one of those things where if you have
not had a head coaching experience you had, you're not
going to get the best job, you know, and so
you have to kind of like it's one of those
(02:46):
things where you have to just you know, usually when
jobs turn over, most of the time it's not the
program or the situation has not been great, so you
just have to prepare for it. But I think for me,
it's one of those things where it's an opportunity and
opportunity to be a head coach, and then obviously being
in Utah, understand the climate of the state, understand you know,
(03:06):
what's important and the values that are important in the state.
And then also just playing in a situation like Utah State,
you have to be different. I don't think you can
just line it up and just be traditional and expect
to come out on top just because of you know,
so many other factors involved. And so I think that's
kind of what my mindset going into it. And then obviously,
(03:28):
you know, I had a lot of support from people
in Ohio State's administration, Kevin McGuff, Jeanie Smith. Uh so, uh,
that's that's kind of that's kind of how everything happened.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
Yeah, no, for sure, especially when.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
You excuse me and hoided well yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Yeah, no, you're good, and especially when you come in too,
like you know, knowing like this, there's a lot of
roster turnover. I think there were what five players left
when you came.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
In or was it.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Yeah, so when we got here, there were five players
left we want into coming back, and so we had
six kids on the roster. We signed nine, and we
have a walk on, so we have a roster of
sixteen as we.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Speak, yeah, which is like again that's I mean, it's
it sounds crazy, but like when you really go through
and talk about it with everybody, like that's that's a
lot of experiences for schools that are having any kind
of change or even just year over, it can be
like that. So you know, coming in though, and again
like getting a feel for for what this university is
and what you could take it to because again this
(04:30):
is I mean it's a parton that's had history before.
Like obviously when breaking people out with the sparks, just
really great stuff there, Like this is MWC is a
tough conference. So coming in and looking at everything, how
did you kind of hit the ground and running with
that and starting to.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
See like okay, this is yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I think you have to start with obviously you got
to have uh, you got to get players. I think
first and most important thing was assembling of staff, and
then once you assemble a staff, getting the players that
you need to get. We're trying to play a certain way.
So for us, you know what I mean, I want shooting,
And everybody who's ever known me knows how much I'm
an admiration of shooting. Being a John Bline disciple at heart.
(05:12):
So shooting is the most important thing in the game
of basketball. I think we forget that at times. That's
why the game is called basketball. So we really tried
to go out and recruit the best shooters that were available,
that were left and maybe they can't they're not the
best athletes, or maybe they're small, but if they can shoot,
you can play this game. And that's what we believe.
So that's kind of what's our focus. And so that's
(05:35):
what we tried to do. And so we're going to
try and build a program and lay the foundation here
year one of a program of shooters and a culture
of shooters, and that's kind of what we really really
focus on. And then obviously we want to play fast
and play a pace to play. Our pace of play,
we want to be right up there, top twenty five
in the country in pace of play. So that's kind
of our goal to do that. And also, you know,
(05:55):
coming from Ohio State, bringing the press with us and
it's kind of implement that in the press at Ohio
State was great, right because we had everybody since well
you have athletes, but the originator of the press where
we got it from, uh he did it with high
school kids, and it was a high school press for
unathletic kids. It's just that it looks that great because
(06:17):
of the players that are in it. So the press
can't be implemented where we're at. So that's kind of
the thing, just trying to lay that foundation of play,
lay that culture, lay that style of play, and it
be organized and have a plan and attack, so as
they say, plan your work, work you're playing.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Yeah, no, I love that saying a couple of things
off that number.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
One, What years were you because I know you were
at a WVU as a grad sistant, right or student?
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
So, so I was a student manager for John Bline
two thousand and four, two thousand and six. They just
honored that Elite eight team a few weeks ago back
at West Virginia. And then like when I was a
graduate assistant, then the Joe Missoulas came, Deshaun Butler, those
(07:00):
guys came when I was a graduate assistant on the
women's side, so we had some crossover with that. But yeah, so,
been around a lot of great coaches, been around a
lot of great people. It's funny that era of West
Virginia basketball. Mike Ganzy is now the GM of the
Cleveland Cavaliers. Johnny West is in the front office with
the Golden State Warriors. Joe Missoula is the head coach
(07:22):
of the Boston Celtics. You have Varius Nichols, he was
on that teams now the head coach at Radford, Frank
Young's at Appalachian State, Rob Summers on the men's sides
at Missouri. So that I mean a lot of basketball knowledge.
I mean I think I think Bline kind of grooms
coaches and when you talk to him, and the time
that he spends and puts into you, Like I had
a conversation with him a couple of weeks ago. I
(07:44):
think the time that he spends and the time that
he puts into his people, and that he values people
and he values the game. And I think this is
his way of kind of giving back to the game
and guarding the game is do how much he can
mentor and teach. So I think all of those guys,
include myself a great Toda as well.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
I love that. I So it's funny.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
I don't I don't know the Ganzies personally, but I
grew up in at Fallows in my car with them
so it's like, yeah, you know.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
You can't shoot it, man, he can.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Shoot it exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
That's my that's my fun fact for people anytime when
they ask where you're from, Like, well, one year Lebron
didn't win.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
State Player of the Year because my dy, let's go yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
So it's like, you know, but it's uh, yeah, it's
incredible when you think of it like that.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
But man, so many things to keep bouncing off with that.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
But I want to touch back a little bit on
like you talked about with pace, because I think so
often like you hear pace and people talk about pace,
like how do you look at balancing pace and shot selection?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Like making sure so value my my, my theory got
proven the other night by my guy, Joe Missoula and
he did in the NBA twenty nine for sixty one.
And it's so funny because Jared's Jerry's right next door
and Jared actually hired Joe Missoula at Fairmount State and
now and then Joe Mazula went on to the NBA
(09:00):
and so Jared and Joe are best friends. And I'm like, Jared,
my guy shot sixty one threes. He's like, yeah, West,
he said, but you got to make them, though, I say, yeah,
you got to make them, but I think the more
you take it gives you. It's like the number the
law numbers averages out. So they took sixty one the
other night and then May twenty nine. Here, we're gonna
try and shoot forty a game. Like if you you
(09:20):
go nineteen for forty or twenty for forty, that's fifty percent,
nineteen for forty forty two percent. I mean that's you're
shooting forty percent from three on any given night and
you turn the people over, it's gonna give you a
chance to win.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
So that's kind of what we're gonna do.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
I think, kind of make a make it a math formula,
a numbers game, and money ball it up a little
bit where the Oakland A's over here are the former
Oakland a's. So I think that's kind of what you
that's what that's what that's our goal, that's what we
want to do. That's kind of our game plant as
we as we try and build a.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Program, absolutely, and especially like you mentioned, with recruiting, shooting
and like that being a real primary focus, I want
to ask, like obviously, I think I mean clearly a
value thing whenever you're on McGuff, which is shooting and
being on top of that. But like when you look
at that, obviously you know, I think there are a
lot of reasons why you can look at why that's
most important. But when you think about it, why are
(10:10):
shooting most important to you? And when you especially in
talking about like kind of as a two parter just
in terms of you know, player development and looking at
how you can grow a player over the course of
four years, why why do you view shooting as the
most important thing?
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Because it's called basketball and the ball.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I tell everybody it's called basketball and the object to
put the ball in the net. And obviously there's a
lot of other factors that.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Contribute to that.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
But at the end of the game, the team who
makes the most baskets wins, and so the number one
objective should always be how do you get the ball
in the basket?
Speaker 4 (10:44):
If you can shoot from distance, layups, whatever.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Also, then with the advent of the three point shot,
I mean you get one extra point for your distance.
And then also I think it neutralizes if you're if
you're a small team, because like this is called as
ace of spade, a spade if they're six five sixty six,
they're not coming to Utah State more most likely, like
now there's a possibility I can recruit and I'll get one.
We currently have a sixty kid on our team, but
(11:09):
hot most of the time, they're going to go high major.
And so I can't just line it up and play
it because I told our team today, our shot has
to be our sling shot. We're David and we're gonna
go against Golias, and our shot has to be our
sling shot. And David didn't run up to Goliath and
try and punch goodlif in the face. He attacked from
a distance. And so space and pace is a big
(11:29):
thing for us. And I think also the ability to
make three point shots sets your pace and you.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Can turn it.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
And the game is supposed to be a shooting competition,
I believe, and so we want to turn it into
a shooting competition as much as we can.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Yeah, No, I a preaching my language, man, because exactly,
you can't be it's twenty twenty four. You can't be
in the spot where you're taking you know less than
twenty three is a game. Even that is, you know
the lower level of what we're talking about but like
when you look at this top to bottom again and
talking in that player development spot because especially like being
at a big major, I think that is so crucial
right now is being able to build up.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
For instance, for player development, Mark, we spend the first
forty five minutes thirty to forty five minutes every day shooting.
So we have we got a I mean I stole
this from Mike Neighbors green light shooting drills. So we
have green light shooting drills. We have about seven drills
we emphasize in shooting we do. We make one hundred
threes a day every practice, so we chart that. One
(12:25):
thing you'll hear it constantly our and our practices is
that eyes make layups, feet make jump shots. So we
really really really focus on footwork, how you catch. We
have the B line balls in practice, so with the
B line balls, you'll notice there's a strip going around
the ball. So one thing he's always emphasized to me
(12:46):
is get your players to get a strong catch on
the ball and find the seams of the ball and
in your fingers should be on the middle of the ball,
so catching and releasing like that. So yes, with our
player development and so with our freshmen. Obviously catching shoot
is the foundation of everything, but as we develop over
a four year span, we want to be able to
catch and shoot. We want to be able to come
(13:06):
off footwork, whether it's flaring footwork, downscreen, pin down footwork,
runaway footwork. The different footworks that different shots require is
what we emphasize. Then you go to maybe that's year
two and then year three, were really going to really
focus on off the bounce, you know what I mean.
I think that's what made Taylor Miso at the whole
Ohio State in JC at Ohio State is so unique,
(13:29):
is off the bounce footwork. And then even going back
to my Michigan days with Caitlyn Flaherty, she had a
step back and a bounce that that could create space
and separation and that's I think that's what makes the
great shoots great. So obviously the foundation first with a
lot of good shoot to start off with is catch
and shoot. Then after you catch and shoot, being able
to move off the move and then off the bounce.
(13:49):
So I think that would be the progression, catch and
shoot off the move, off the bounce, or as we
talked about, as we talked about just to clarify just
to really give you a teaching progression of development.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Yeah, that's phenomenal. And I think even digging deeper into
that too.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
When you are looking at recruiting shooters, like obviously, I
mean I and anybody listening as they're on the things
that they're looking for. We like when you are looking
at like this is a shooter, like this is somebody
that I know could come in and make shots for
us at a high level and efficiently. What are the
things that you're looking for, Like, what are the things
that stand out? I give you a prime example. It's
so crazy.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
So we had I think we're gonna have one of
the best shooters in the country this year in the
Nay Skelton, and nobody recruited this kid. She was from Colonna,
British Columbia, and she went to what they do in
Montreal's called c Jet, which is thirteenth to thirteenth grade.
So I get when I get the job, you know,
people are trying to help you find players and they
know where in the pinch. So I get this video
(14:42):
and all I see is the first thing I see
is this kid is shooting from Caitlyn Clark range and
I'm like, dang, okay, and I.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
See it consistently consistently.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
And I'm like, okay, this kid can shoot that far.
Deep I know she can shoot. But then I saw
the consistency and then release and the shot, And now
we got her here on campus. And after the first
couple of practice, the staff looks at me and like whoa.
And so one of another drill that we do is
called fifty and five. I think the first time she
did fifty and five she got like six two and
(15:11):
five minutes, which is a pace about twelve twelve threes
a minute, so, which is pretty good pace, pretty good rhythm.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
You know.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Now, I think her part is developing her at her game.
We'll have to continue to develop her game. But like
I'm looking for, can can they shoot from distance? Can
they consistently make shots? When I'm recruiting shooters, like I'm
on the road, I'm marking down in my in my
head or marking down in my phone gay one for two,
two for three, where are they taking their shots? And
(15:40):
if sometimes they're not going in but the shot looks good,
you'd be like, Okay, they have great form. There's a
there's a there's an intention to what they're doing, and
intention to how they practice, and attention to how they shoot.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
So yeah, no, I like that.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I think one of the things that I've been interested to,
like just looking at like confidence, I think is the
one thing that actually been like fascinated by. Like I
think I used to be like one of those people
who thought, oh, you can teach anybody how to shoot,
like and yes to a degree, but like you can't
will cond I.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Don't think and I and some people may argue with me,
I think in middle school, high school you can.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
I think at our level you can't.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
I think if once you get to this level you
have to recruit shooting, you can't expect. I think, and
you might be able to improve it with reps, but
I think you are who you are. I think the
shot is kind of formed and developed, and so that's
why it's so important for us.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
To recruit it absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And then looking at like the rest of the player
development holistically too, like what are the things that you
feel like are most devoivable and things that you can like, Okay,
somebody comes with you with it, uh, maybe more more
raw with it or or not quite developed there yet.
What are the things that you feel like most capable
of kind of building out and and.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Yeah, so after after, after pace, after after Basically our
conditioning I think is important important. Shooting and conditioning is
important because of shooting obviously, because that's what we're trying
to do, conditioning because of how fast we're trying to play.
But then I think after that to be decision making.
So we do a lot of we as we're moving on,
we do a lot of disadvantaged drills, a lot of
(17:06):
small sided games, and a lot of drills teaching how
to read numbers.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
One more drills.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
So I think shooting, conditioning, and decision making is the
foundation of what we're trying to do player the development wise,
and then once that happens, the decision making actually leads
to the passing. I mean, it makes you a better
passer obviously, like I said, fundamentally, in high school, middle school,
even elementary school, you're taught bounce pass, chess pass and
all that, so people know how to make those passes,
but when to win and why and what we're trying
(17:36):
to accomplish, and that thing that that decision making is
so so important.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
I like that so much because especially like you're talking
about like I feel like so often, you know, people
look at the game and they just compartmentalize everything and
separate it, but so much of it all goes hand
in hand because like, all right, if you're a great shooter,
if you're coming off a flare screen, you're going to
get chased, and you're going to have these opportunities to
read things off of the screen and off of off
an advantage.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Okay, you have to grow that, you have to be
able to see how.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
You can take advantage of those things, and I think
like it all just kind of goes again hand in hand.
Like obviously it's different, you know, reads is a point
guard are going to be a little bit different than you
know if you're coming with more of a wing. But like, no,
that's that's really interesting and I think it was. It
was cool too because you know, going back through and
I've i mean I've watched your stuff on all their
stuff on YouTube for the last couple of years too,
and especially looking at the stuff that you were already
(18:22):
doing with ball screen decision making, you know, eight years
ago compared to now is like it's really cool to
see what that could.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Continue to look like.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Yep, and especially in teaching decision making, what do you
think is like maybe, uh, kind of the most key
aspect because again I feel like that is probably I mean,
it goes right in tune with with Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
So for instance, like the other day, so we had
a close scrimmage, and so the team's likes to we
call this second or heads of ball screen. So what
we try and do is we try and do shooting
drills where we're trying to do odds lely the reads.
And the first thing I taught the team, and I
taught them this early on. If you're seeing the boss
stuff is how to read is it a double side,
single side whatever, single side, tag, double side, is it empty?
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Obviously we're trying to teach that.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
But then we try and teach like kind of the
solution after that. Right, So the team we played in
a close scrimmage, they like the heads, So we taught
them how to short roll.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
We taught the post how to short roll.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
We taught the player how to when you're hitting that
short roll pass to how to take the hesitation dribble.
Speaker 4 (19:20):
Or to retreat retreat retreat ribble.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Backs to give you the space to make the short
roll pass coming off that how to hit the lift
coming all that, how to pitch your head to hit
the roller going in. So we just drill those type
of concepts. So we're trying to drill solutions. Obviously, there's
many different ways to play pick and roll coverage. So
you got second, you got drop coverage, you have switching.
So based on how they play, we try and have
(19:45):
a solution, and we try and give our players three
three solutions. Sometimes there may be four, but for the
most part, three different solutions that they can use to
counter how the ball screen defense is going to play.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
You know.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, we try and drill it with shooting drill and
try and drill it with individual development, and that's what
the decision making in the shooting goes hand in hand
and as well now becomes a passing drill as well.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
But yeah, no, I like that because I think a
lot of that is I mean, that's such a great
point with hitting on being able to teach solutions because
nothing's ever going to look the same. It's always going
to be you know, nothing is ever as perfect as
you make it up to be in your mind.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
I think so much of it is how do you
play off those things? How do you you know.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Just play the game and that that that that really
stands out absolutely. I wanted to ask too, because you
mentioned earlier talking about building out your staff, and I
think one of the fun things of me for me,
like going through and look at your staff failure's a
lot of intentionality and kind of building out. Like obviously,
Joe and and Valida have you know, a wealth of
head coaching experience and have been around. I've CJ coach
(20:50):
T two, Like, there's a lot of people who have
been here that have that head coaching experience as well.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
So I was wondering, like in.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Building that, was that something that you did intentionally or
just like obviously I'm sure they're great people as well.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
I don't know them, but yeah, it was very intentional.
So honestly, you know, I've known b for years of
later for years.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
She's excellent at what she does.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
She has a very very familiar with the state of Utah,
so she understands how to recruit to it and.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
What all that entails.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
I also like the fact that she's been a head
coach and she kind of has that motherly feeling, So
I like that about her and just like her expert
of knowledgiest and I mean she's coached men as well,
so I like that about her. And she kind of
has she she has a great eye for the game,
and she helps me with the defense.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
But and she helps me with recruiting as well. And
then Joe, I think Joe is just.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
He helped me with the pace of play and how
fast we want to go. The fact that he was
at Saint Francis PA and put eighty on Yukon as
a sixteen seed even though they lost like one twelve
to eighty. The fact that his team was able to
score eighty points against a pretty good Yutah Yukon team
a few years back, that's always impressed me. He's always
(21:59):
done a good job to pay to play. His teams
have always been top ten in the country pay to play,
which is something that we really wanted to establish here.
And me and Joe had got to know each other
through the years is talking basketball and so to have
to be able to bring somebody like him along would
be great.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Cj was really good for us. It's the transition.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
She understand how Utah State works, the process, what it
would take to do certain things. So keeping her in
for the girls the returners and then just helping us
as a new staff transition. I think that was excellent.
Alexis Hyder I had to excuse me. I had the
privilege a coach and he or at North Texas. Then
when I left, she ended up transferring to LSU. Played
two years when Nicki Fargus at LSU before playing overseas
(22:41):
several different places. So this somebody who I've recruited, known
since like nineteenth grade and coach, and so she could
bring that perspective.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
And then our.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Other two Josie got a call from Jeff Walls and
Jeff Wall said, if you don't hire this person, you're stupid.
And it's Jeff Walls telling me that, then I better
do it. It's hard to say no, right, yeah right,
I mean he's not going to this call and just
say that. And so Jeff Walls and Stephanie Norman both
said the same thing to me.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
So we hired her.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
And she's a Utah native, played at UVU before transferring
to Douly be able to finish up and she's been
excellent for us as our operations. And then the unsung
hero is kind of Kaylee Quinn, who I guess just
through you know, just doing going through the process, got
to know and she's just excellent with us, keeping me organized,
keeping our playbook organized, keeping the video organized, and it
(23:34):
always have fresh ideas offensively for us.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
And so just I love our staff. I think we
all fit together.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
They all understand the vision of where we're trying to
go and how we're trying to do this, and so
it was a very intentional to how we hired.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Yeah, I wanted to ask kind of going off that,
like with with Kaylee and just video in general, like
how that is obviously mean, I know it's your first
time as head coach, but in general, how that's kind
of changed because I feel like obviously, you know, if
you go back ten years or so, like a lot
of people who are higher up assistance or head coaches
maybe don't have the same intuitiveness with using center Jerius.
Speaker 4 (24:09):
Well, so this is so just check this out right.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
So I'm a big forty nine er fan, right, So, Uh,
I studied a lot of forty nine of coaches. I
studied Harball, I study Kyle Shanahan, so about seven or
eight years ago. Uh, one thing that I saw camp
kylech I read that Kyle Shanahan. It did was he
had every practice that he ever had on video. He
(24:32):
had every every play in his offense on video. So
about four years ago when I was at Michigan and
then through the Ohio State things, I have every like
have every practice, every cut up, everything like that. And
so in hiring Quinn, like one of the things we
were trying to establish is our style of play.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
But I had to teach it to our sister. I
had to teach it to.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Our staff and stuff. And so we have every practice,
you know, from Ohio State. We have every clip you
know what I mean. I mean I just studied like
and I hoard stuff. I'm an information dunker. I have
all my stuff from Michigan. I hoard it like like
that's how you have to be. You have to be
a horder of information to be great, and then you
have to apply that information to turn it into success.
(25:15):
And so we have I have B line stuff I
have I showed showed Jared. I have a B line
practice notebook from twenty years ago with every practice in it,
every every game plan in it. So I'm a horder
information now. Getting some of this stuff to digital is
that's what I have to do next book. We hoard information,
so I have twenty years of knowledge that we're going
(25:38):
to try and apply and use.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
So I feel like I was prepared to be a
head coach.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
I feel like video that's how I learned because I
did not play college basketball, So I watched a lot
of film, studied a lot of people, and just tried
to put systems in place, systems and standards in place
so that it can ensure your success. And we may fall,
but it's the system and then numbers. If we played
to it, it'll help us get to where we want
(26:02):
to go.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
No, I really like that because I think it's just
interesting to see how differently people do approach video and
uh in that position in general, but like coming from
more of a video background too, I love hearing that
with respect systems because you'll you'll have an appreciation for this.
I did like a four or five hour synergy at
it the other day and actually hit the delete button
and there's anything Synergy, so it's like, it's one of
(26:25):
the worst days of my life. I was like, Wow,
that's what we do.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
We'll pull stuff from Synergy and then what I started
doing with that just maybe in five to ten minute
increments screen record. I don't know if you have a
map book with screen record and then once you screen.
Speaker 4 (26:40):
Record that stuff, you have it.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
And so that's kind of what I started doing because
I've done the same thing with Synergy.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Yeah, it's terrible. It's actually the worst thing ever.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Going off that too though, like you mentioned terms of
just putting systems in place and being there and having
that preparation to be a head coach.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Has there been anything that taking you by surprise? Drowning
put it? But like you'll getting used to, you know, okay,
being a head coach.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
I think for me when I was a kid coming up,
like I didn't used to think about it, but like
you get to know some most people like wow, there
you have to do so much stuff that is not basketball,
So like what has that been like kind of getting
your customers.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Like yeah, yeah, So we try to like I'm very
fortunate to have staff and I'm trying to delegate because
I think it's so essential that we do try and
keep it on basketball. And so I have a great administration,
We have great support. Dyna Sabo has been excellent. Bobby
He's been excellent, who's kind of our administrator over women's
(27:34):
men's and women's basketball, so they they they've helped taken
a lot off the plate.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
Josie has helped taking a lot off the plate. B
has helped taking a lot off the plate.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
So I can't focus on basketball, so I've kind of
tried to delegate, uh, those things out. But I think
three things, Like, you know, kind of when you're not
the head coach, sometimes you just you're always going, You're
going recruiting a lot as an assistant, So I'm very
excited to always get the practice, which is and I
don't have to I mean, I do have to recruit,
(28:03):
but as a head coach, you're probably more there than
the assistant obviously, right, So I'm always excited to go
to practice. The other thing is that the final decision
is always on you, so you're like, oh, okay, so
that's that, and then my mind never turns off. So
the staff. I always joke with the staff. I'll see something,
I'll text it to him at eleven o'clock at night,
or I'm up early at six am and I'm texting
(28:25):
them and they don't have to necessarily respond, but I'm
just texting it out because of the idea like or
something like that. So between this always being at practice
because you're a head coach and that assistant, the final
decision making all goes with you and your mind never
cutting off, I would say those are the biggest three
things that I've noticed being a head coach.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Yeah, what what was maybe you know, in terms of
having that first practice when you got to have your
first official practice on campus, what was the feeling like
and kind of was it you just kind of you know,
felt like any other practice were you able to just
kind of It's.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Weird though, you say that because I think that's one
of the things working for you know, Ken Barnsrico, working
for Kevin McGuff, especially Kevin McGuff, because I think we're
probably more like I'm more like him in the style
and more like him and this the way I would
like to run a practice. It just felt like it
kind of just felt like it was already like we
(29:18):
were still at Ohio State.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
And that's kind of how.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
I feel I wanted to And that's kind of how
like you know, and like I told somebody the other day,
it's like that man, Kevin McGuff means so much to me,
like he doesn't like when you talk about him and
give him praise and stuff like that. But the influence
and how he shaped me into being able to get
an opportunity like this, I'll be forever grateful for him
(29:42):
and this how he has has kind of just shaped
me as a head coach and kind of has helped
my mindset as a head coach. So this having that
first practice, it was kind of like, oh, this is
what we do. I mean as I looked at old
practice plans and it's rolled out and this act like
it was.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
The only thing is he wasn't there. That act like
it was just like that. So uh, that's kind of
how it was. And yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
No, Yeah, that's that's cool to have that because I think,
you know, there's an idea of like, you know, once
you get to that spot, you feel like, okay, maybe
it's going to be like how do you handle it?
But you know you're so prepared for it, so locked
in it's just like it's there. Yeah, So that's awesome
to hear about, you know, going off that too in
terms of talking about having you know kind of how
how how former you know, head coaches have kind of
(30:29):
empowered you and portant to you. What other things you
kind of take like you mentioned like obviously your time
with Kim up in Michigan. You've obviously been all over
the place, but like what is uh what are some
of the main takeaways you have that have kind of
built up to have you where you're at and and
that you want to keep carrying on with with Utah State.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Yeah, I mean I just think this the a winning mentality, Uh,
this learned. I think I learned that from every head
coach I worked for, even Lamb Roberts. This the winning mentality,
the relationships that I learned from her, how she had
with her players, this constantly, this being in their ear
even as a head coach.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
And I just think for me this like I've learned something.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
From everybody on on the on the way coming all
the way up from the ground up.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
So uh, this trying and impart different things.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
I would say, like for coach Blon, that's the first
coach I probably worked for, is shooting Mike Carrey, who's
now an assistant at Central Florida.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
Defensive mentality.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Then I work for a lady named Jolanas Wells brought
in a Texas Southern and she taught me really recruiting
her and Karen Aston, I would say, really helped me
learn how to recruit at a high level. I think
Karen Aston is one of the best recruiters in the country.
She's the head coach now u TSA. She's an accent
Like the things I learned and recruiting from her are
this timeless.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Then Mike Peterson, who's working with Atlanta dream a little bit. Now,
this this the structure of how he did things and
he kind of how he kind of set up his
pace in some of his defensive terminology. Then Robert's relationship
with players shooting basketball, Kim I think anybody who knows
Kim bones let me go the intensity and grit that
(32:09):
she plays with, the intensity and the grit that she
plays with, as well as Kevin McGuff this the patient's
poised and the ability to execute at a high level offensively.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
So yeah, no, definitely, and to close out too, just
in terms of you know, looking I know, obviously it's
your one, so you don't want to get too far
ahead thinking about it. But I was talking about it
with somebody the other day at a program, and I
think like one of the things that I think was
really cool of being around you guys a little bit
the last couple of years with the Ohio Stagers, just
in general, like there is a connection to the pro level,
(32:44):
Like I think there's a very absolutely intense understanding of
like this is what it takes to get here.
Speaker 4 (32:49):
Yeah, I think, and I'd be remissed.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
I think I learned that from Carla right, And I
didn't work for Karla, but I worked with her and
Carla Morrow, who should be a head coach who's excellent
with her. I think she's a defensive mastermind. She's probably
one of the best defensive minds I've ever been around.
I think she's an unsung hero for coach McGuff.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
You know, a lot of times.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
People coach McGuff obviously with the offense in the press,
but our half court defense has been was tremendous because
of Carlamrrow and this the things and the way she
preps preps the kids, the way she the way you
study her, and it's the way she had us prepared
defensively in the half court. I've taken that some of
that stuff here, so this to give her her props.
I mean she coached in the WNBA with the Sky
(33:31):
and just to give her her props.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
I mean, she's this amazing defensive coach.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
And so I think this really helped Ohio State as
a program overhaul when you mix the offensive genius of
Kevin McGuff and the press that he wants to instill,
and you put the half court that Carlo Marlow has brought.
I mean, she's ready to be a head coach whenever
she chooses to be, even if she chooses to go
back to the W. But she has an understanding of
player development as well that she got from the W,
(33:55):
you know what I mean. And this kind of McGuff
has done really well with Kelsey Mitchell and all the
other kids, Taylor JC, all those kids. There's a sense
of development that we're trying to develop pros. We're trying
to get kids to go overseas and so it's it's
a point of emphasis and it's a thing that they
really emphasize. So that that program, that's why that program
is where it is, and we're trying to imitate that here,
(34:16):
you know what I mean. Obviously this program has not
been there, but we're going to try and imitate and innovate.
Speaker 4 (34:22):
That's what we're trying to do. I mean, that's the model,
that's the.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Blueprint, and anything anything we can do to copy that
should lead to our success.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Absolutely, And you know, kind of going off that too,
like how do you I think making that visible but
also like or making it feel like visibly attainable, I
think is the way to put it, because like, I
think there's a especially in college basketball right now, there's
like I mean a lot of programs that are preparing
you to be a great college basketball player, but maybe
aren't showing.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
You like and they're not saying that's wrong, but like
you know, if.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
You're but we run like so even now.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Obviously we may not have w NBA players at this point,
or maybe we might develop one, you know, but I
think we have a w NBA system. Like it's funny
when our girls cut on when our girls watch go
through practice, watch our plays, and if they were to
cut and they cut on something, and I have one
kid who's high level shying and stuff cut on you
that West they're running out stuff.
Speaker 4 (35:16):
I say, yeah, because we're running the same stuff.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
If you watch the Links and the Liberty and all
and the ass especially the acest because we do a
lot of the stagger screens and stuff. You'll see a
lot of the same concepts that they're running. It's not
the traditional three out, two in for our one end,
but we have a language that we'd like to implement
our offense with and the kids see stuff on TV
and even to the point where we've done some edits
(35:39):
where you'll see us running it and then I layer
it behind The next clip is a w NBA clip
and they see it and they're like, oh wow, yeah,
and so it actually makes them want to watch the
w NBA more, uh, and even watch the NBA more
because you'll see the clip. You'll see what they're doing
at that level here, and that's what we try and
sell the recruits.
Speaker 4 (35:56):
We're going to develop you.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
We're going to help you grow your game, but we're
also running a system that when you get there, it
will not.
Speaker 4 (36:03):
Be foreign to you.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
Yeah. No, that's awesome, man. I love hearing that. Well, Wes.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
I am so excited to see how you guys keep
putting this thing together.
Speaker 3 (36:12):
The season is literally just around the corner, which I
can't wait for. Man.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
But to everyone listening and watching, thank you for it.
Of course, keep up with all things Utah State, Aggie's
it's going to be a great season. It's going to
be an exciting time in the next couple of years
with this West West and his staff build this thing
up and Wes thank you again.
Now I'm really excited to be joined by a first
time head coach, Wesley Brooks from over at Utah State
University over in Logan also spent a lot of great
time working in the great states of Ohio and Michigan,
where I hail from. West first and foremost.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
How you doing, man, I'm great, man, great, glad to
be on here with you, Excited to talk to you.
I think you do a tremendous job in covering the
game of women's basketball. So keep up the great work.
And glad that you allowed me to spend some time
with you today.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Oh, I appreciate it. Man, that's too kind. No, a
lot to dive into. I was excited as soon as
you got the job. I know obviously you have Utah history.
You've been around and in the Mountain time which is
still just like the most insane time zone to me
to get used to.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
I've never spent actually the.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
Best time zone.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I'm gonna tell you what the best time zone. Right,
So like it's not three hours, it's two hours. But
for me, like I wake up and it's like you
wake up ten am. You have football on like big
noon kickoff, right, So you got that.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
So you can. You can eat breakfast and do it.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
It's not nine am where you just really trying to
maybe get out of bed on Saturday morning.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
And then so and then last night, right we got
we get out.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
We practiced in the afternoon, but I got home at
like seven, and so that nine o'clock NBA game is
just starting, so it's perfect.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
So it's not.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
And then you catch if it's a good East Coast game,
you catch the third and fourth quarter of that, and
then you get into the you get to see the
whole West Coast game.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
So the time zone works for me, man, it really does.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
No.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I got to find way out there.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
I was debating this ord breakfast with my girls sports.
I was like, you know, I was like, you know,
I got the zoom link.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
What what is mountain time for this? And I was like, oh, okay,
yeah I can. I can work for that. It's like, wait,
you can watch an NBA game story at five pm.
It's like you just finished up work. Obviously for us,
you know, we're always so it's different. But like you know,
I was like, that's that's a pretty good timeline.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
I don't mind that, but yeah, not bad.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
It's not that though, yeah, so I guess to start off,
I want to hit on just you know, obviously I
know the way that this came about. You know, you
got hit up a little bit before the tournament started,
and there was a process from there.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
But knowing you know, where this program.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Was at and kind of coming in and assessing like
what it meant, what you could do with it, and
looking at what it was top to bottom, what was
that like for you?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Because I think that's some of I'm always interested to it.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Yeah, I mean it's one of those things where as
an assistant coach, and I've been assistant basically almost twenty years,
you want to you have aspirations of being a head coach,
and it's one of those things where if you have
not had a head coaching experience you had, you're not
going to get the best job, you know, and so
you have to kind of like it's one of those
(02:46):
things where you have to just you know, usually when
jobs turn over, most of the time it's not the
program or the situation has not been great, so you
just have to prepare for it. But I think for me,
it's one of those things where it's an opportunity and
opportunity to be a head coach, and then obviously being
in Utah, understand the climate of the state, understand you know,
(03:06):
what's important and the values that are important in the state.
And then also just playing in a situation like Utah State,
you have to be different. I don't think you can
just line it up and just be traditional and expect
to come out on top just because of you know,
so many other factors involved. And so I think that's
kind of what my mindset going into it. And then obviously,
(03:28):
you know, I had a lot of support from people
in Ohio State's administration, Kevin McGuff, Jeanie Smith. Uh so, uh,
that's that's kind of that's kind of how everything happened.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
Yeah, no, for sure, especially when.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
You excuse me and hoided well yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Yeah, no, you're good, and especially when you come in too,
like you know, knowing like this, there's a lot of
roster turnover. I think there were what five players left
when you came.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
In or was it.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Yeah, so when we got here, there were five players
left we want into coming back, and so we had
six kids on the roster. We signed nine, and we
have a walk on, so we have a roster of
sixteen as we.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Speak, yeah, which is like again that's I mean, it's
it sounds crazy, but like when you really go through
and talk about it with everybody, like that's that's a
lot of experiences for schools that are having any kind
of change or even just year over, it can be
like that. So you know, coming in though, and again
like getting a feel for for what this university is
and what you could take it to because again this
(04:30):
is I mean it's a parton that's had history before.
Like obviously when breaking people out with the sparks, just
really great stuff there, Like this is MWC is a
tough conference. So coming in and looking at everything, how
did you kind of hit the ground and running with
that and starting to.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
See like okay, this is yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I think you have to start with obviously you got
to have uh, you got to get players. I think
first and most important thing was assembling of staff, and
then once you assemble a staff, getting the players that
you need to get. We're trying to play a certain way.
So for us, you know what I mean, I want shooting,
And everybody who's ever known me knows how much I'm
an admiration of shooting. Being a John Bline disciple at heart.
(05:12):
So shooting is the most important thing in the game
of basketball. I think we forget that at times. That's
why the game is called basketball. So we really tried
to go out and recruit the best shooters that were available,
that were left and maybe they can't they're not the
best athletes, or maybe they're small, but if they can shoot,
you can play this game. And that's what we believe.
So that's kind of what's our focus. And so that's
(05:35):
what we tried to do. And so we're going to
try and build a program and lay the foundation here
year one of a program of shooters and a culture
of shooters, and that's kind of what we really really
focus on. And then obviously we want to play fast
and play a pace to play. Our pace of play,
we want to be right up there, top twenty five
in the country in pace of play. So that's kind
of our goal to do that. And also, you know,
(05:55):
coming from Ohio State, bringing the press with us and
it's kind of implement that in the press at Ohio
State was great, right because we had everybody since well
you have athletes, but the originator of the press where
we got it from, uh he did it with high
school kids, and it was a high school press for
unathletic kids. It's just that it looks that great because
(06:17):
of the players that are in it. So the press
can't be implemented where we're at. So that's kind of
the thing, just trying to lay that foundation of play,
lay that culture, lay that style of play, and it
be organized and have a plan and attack, so as
they say, plan your work, work you're playing.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Yeah, no, I love that saying a couple of things
off that number.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
One, What years were you because I know you were
at a WVU as a grad sistant, right or student?
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
So, so I was a student manager for John Bline
two thousand and four, two thousand and six. They just
honored that Elite eight team a few weeks ago back
at West Virginia. And then like when I was a
graduate assistant, then the Joe Missoulas came, Deshaun Butler, those
(07:00):
guys came when I was a graduate assistant on the
women's side, so we had some crossover with that. But yeah, so,
been around a lot of great coaches, been around a
lot of great people. It's funny that era of West
Virginia basketball. Mike Ganzy is now the GM of the
Cleveland Cavaliers. Johnny West is in the front office with
the Golden State Warriors. Joe Missoula is the head coach
(07:22):
of the Boston Celtics. You have Varius Nichols, he was
on that teams now the head coach at Radford, Frank
Young's at Appalachian State, Rob Summers on the men's sides
at Missouri. So that I mean a lot of basketball knowledge.
I mean I think I think Bline kind of grooms
coaches and when you talk to him, and the time
that he spends and puts into you, Like I had
a conversation with him a couple of weeks ago. I
(07:44):
think the time that he spends and the time that
he puts into his people, and that he values people
and he values the game. And I think this is
his way of kind of giving back to the game
and guarding the game is do how much he can
mentor and teach. So I think all of those guys,
include myself a great Toda as well.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
I love that. I So it's funny.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
I don't I don't know the Ganzies personally, but I
grew up in at Fallows in my car with them
so it's like, yeah, you know.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
You can't shoot it, man, he can.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Shoot it exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
That's my that's my fun fact for people anytime when
they ask where you're from, Like, well, one year Lebron
didn't win.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
State Player of the Year because my dy, let's go yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
So it's like, you know, but it's uh, yeah, it's
incredible when you think of it like that.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
But man, so many things to keep bouncing off with that.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
But I want to touch back a little bit on
like you talked about with pace, because I think so
often like you hear pace and people talk about pace,
like how do you look at balancing pace and shot selection?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Like making sure so value my my, my theory got
proven the other night by my guy, Joe Missoula and
he did in the NBA twenty nine for sixty one.
And it's so funny because Jared's Jerry's right next door
and Jared actually hired Joe Missoula at Fairmount State and
now and then Joe Mazula went on to the NBA
(09:00):
and so Jared and Joe are best friends. And I'm like, Jared,
my guy shot sixty one threes. He's like, yeah, West,
he said, but you got to make them, though, I say, yeah,
you got to make them, but I think the more
you take it gives you. It's like the number the
law numbers averages out. So they took sixty one the
other night and then May twenty nine. Here, we're gonna
try and shoot forty a game. Like if you you
(09:20):
go nineteen for forty or twenty for forty, that's fifty percent,
nineteen for forty forty two percent. I mean that's you're
shooting forty percent from three on any given night and
you turn the people over, it's gonna give you a
chance to win.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
So that's kind of what we're gonna do.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
I think, kind of make a make it a math formula,
a numbers game, and money ball it up a little
bit where the Oakland A's over here are the former
Oakland a's. So I think that's kind of what you
that's what that's what that's our goal, that's what we
want to do. That's kind of our game plant as
we as we try and build a.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Program, absolutely, and especially like you mentioned, with recruiting, shooting
and like that being a real primary focus, I want
to ask, like obviously, I think I mean clearly a
value thing whenever you're on McGuff, which is shooting and
being on top of that. But like when you look
at that, obviously you know, I think there are a
lot of reasons why you can look at why that's
most important. But when you think about it, why are
(10:10):
shooting most important to you? And when you especially in
talking about like kind of as a two parter just
in terms of you know, player development and looking at
how you can grow a player over the course of
four years, why why do you view shooting as the
most important thing?
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Because it's called basketball and the ball.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
I tell everybody it's called basketball and the object to
put the ball in the net. And obviously there's a
lot of other factors that.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Contribute to that.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
But at the end of the game, the team who
makes the most baskets wins, and so the number one
objective should always be how do you get the ball
in the basket?
Speaker 4 (10:44):
If you can shoot from distance, layups, whatever.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Also, then with the advent of the three point shot,
I mean you get one extra point for your distance.
And then also I think it neutralizes if you're if
you're a small team, because like this is called as
ace of spade, a spade if they're six five sixty six,
they're not coming to Utah State more most likely, like
now there's a possibility I can recruit and I'll get one.
We currently have a sixty kid on our team, but
(11:09):
hot most of the time, they're going to go high major.
And so I can't just line it up and play
it because I told our team today, our shot has
to be our sling shot. We're David and we're gonna
go against Golias, and our shot has to be our
sling shot. And David didn't run up to Goliath and
try and punch goodlif in the face. He attacked from
a distance. And so space and pace is a big
(11:29):
thing for us. And I think also the ability to
make three point shots sets your pace and you.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Can turn it.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
And the game is supposed to be a shooting competition,
I believe, and so we want to turn it into
a shooting competition as much as we can.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Yeah, No, I a preaching my language, man, because exactly,
you can't be it's twenty twenty four. You can't be
in the spot where you're taking you know less than
twenty three is a game. Even that is, you know
the lower level of what we're talking about but like
when you look at this top to bottom again and
talking in that player development spot because especially like being
at a big major, I think that is so crucial
right now is being able to build up.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
For instance, for player development, Mark, we spend the first
forty five minutes thirty to forty five minutes every day shooting.
So we have we got a I mean I stole
this from Mike Neighbors green light shooting drills. So we
have green light shooting drills. We have about seven drills
we emphasize in shooting we do. We make one hundred
threes a day every practice, so we chart that. One
(12:25):
thing you'll hear it constantly our and our practices is
that eyes make layups, feet make jump shots. So we
really really really focus on footwork, how you catch. We
have the B line balls in practice, so with the
B line balls, you'll notice there's a strip going around
the ball. So one thing he's always emphasized to me
(12:46):
is get your players to get a strong catch on
the ball and find the seams of the ball and
in your fingers should be on the middle of the ball,
so catching and releasing like that. So yes, with our
player development and so with our freshmen. Obviously catching shoot
is the foundation of everything, but as we develop over
a four year span, we want to be able to
catch and shoot. We want to be able to come
(13:06):
off footwork, whether it's flaring footwork, downscreen, pin down footwork,
runaway footwork. The different footworks that different shots require is
what we emphasize. Then you go to maybe that's year
two and then year three, were really going to really
focus on off the bounce, you know what I mean.
I think that's what made Taylor Miso at the whole
Ohio State in JC at Ohio State is so unique,
(13:29):
is off the bounce footwork. And then even going back
to my Michigan days with Caitlyn Flaherty, she had a
step back and a bounce that that could create space
and separation and that's I think that's what makes the
great shoots great. So obviously the foundation first with a
lot of good shoot to start off with is catch
and shoot. Then after you catch and shoot, being able
to move off the move and then off the bounce.
(13:49):
So I think that would be the progression, catch and
shoot off the move, off the bounce, or as we
talked about, as we talked about just to clarify just
to really give you a teaching progression of development.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
Yeah, that's phenomenal. And I think even digging deeper into
that too.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
When you are looking at recruiting shooters, like obviously, I
mean I and anybody listening as they're on the things
that they're looking for. We like when you are looking
at like this is a shooter, like this is somebody
that I know could come in and make shots for
us at a high level and efficiently. What are the
things that you're looking for, Like, what are the things
that stand out? I give you a prime example. It's
so crazy.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
So we had I think we're gonna have one of
the best shooters in the country this year in the
Nay Skelton, and nobody recruited this kid. She was from Colonna,
British Columbia, and she went to what they do in
Montreal's called c Jet, which is thirteenth to thirteenth grade.
So I get when I get the job, you know,
people are trying to help you find players and they
know where in the pinch. So I get this video
(14:42):
and all I see is the first thing I see
is this kid is shooting from Caitlyn Clark range and
I'm like, dang, okay, and I.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
See it consistently consistently.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
And I'm like, okay, this kid can shoot that far.
Deep I know she can shoot. But then I saw
the consistency and then release and the shot, And now
we got her here on campus. And after the first
couple of practice, the staff looks at me and like whoa.
And so one of another drill that we do is
called fifty and five. I think the first time she
did fifty and five she got like six two and
(15:11):
five minutes, which is a pace about twelve twelve threes
a minute, so, which is pretty good pace, pretty good rhythm.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
You know.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Now, I think her part is developing her at her game.
We'll have to continue to develop her game. But like
I'm looking for, can can they shoot from distance? Can
they consistently make shots? When I'm recruiting shooters, like I'm
on the road, I'm marking down in my in my
head or marking down in my phone gay one for two,
two for three, where are they taking their shots? And
(15:40):
if sometimes they're not going in but the shot looks good,
you'd be like, Okay, they have great form. There's a
there's a there's an intention to what they're doing, and
intention to how they practice, and attention to how they shoot.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
So yeah, no, I like that.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I think one of the things that I've been interested to,
like just looking at like confidence, I think is the
one thing that actually been like fascinated by. Like I
think I used to be like one of those people
who thought, oh, you can teach anybody how to shoot,
like and yes to a degree, but like you can't
will cond I.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Don't think and I and some people may argue with me,
I think in middle school, high school you can.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
I think at our level you can't.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
I think if once you get to this level you
have to recruit shooting, you can't expect. I think, and
you might be able to improve it with reps, but
I think you are who you are. I think the
shot is kind of formed and developed, and so that's
why it's so important for us.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
To recruit it absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And then looking at like the rest of the player
development holistically too, like what are the things that you
feel like are most devoivable and things that you can like, Okay,
somebody comes with you with it, uh, maybe more more
raw with it or or not quite developed there yet.
What are the things that you feel like most capable
of kind of building out and and.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Yeah, so after after, after pace, after after Basically our
conditioning I think is important important. Shooting and conditioning is
important because of shooting obviously, because that's what we're trying
to do, conditioning because of how fast we're trying to play.
But then I think after that to be decision making.
So we do a lot of we as we're moving on,
we do a lot of disadvantaged drills, a lot of
(17:06):
small sided games, and a lot of drills teaching how
to read numbers.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
One more drills.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
So I think shooting, conditioning, and decision making is the
foundation of what we're trying to do player the development wise,
and then once that happens, the decision making actually leads
to the passing. I mean, it makes you a better
passer obviously, like I said, fundamentally, in high school, middle school,
even elementary school, you're taught bounce pass, chess pass and
all that, so people know how to make those passes,
but when to win and why and what we're trying
(17:36):
to accomplish, and that thing that that decision making is
so so important.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
I like that so much because especially like you're talking
about like I feel like so often, you know, people
look at the game and they just compartmentalize everything and
separate it, but so much of it all goes hand
in hand because like, all right, if you're a great shooter,
if you're coming off a flare screen, you're going to
get chased, and you're going to have these opportunities to
read things off of the screen and off of off
an advantage.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Okay, you have to grow that, you have to be
able to see how.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
You can take advantage of those things, and I think
like it all just kind of goes again hand in hand.
Like obviously it's different, you know, reads is a point
guard are going to be a little bit different than you
know if you're coming with more of a wing. But like, no,
that's that's really interesting and I think it was. It
was cool too because you know, going back through and
I've i mean I've watched your stuff on all their
stuff on YouTube for the last couple of years too,
and especially looking at the stuff that you were already
(18:22):
doing with ball screen decision making, you know, eight years
ago compared to now is like it's really cool to
see what that could.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Continue to look like.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Yep, and especially in teaching decision making, what do you
think is like maybe, uh, kind of the most key
aspect because again I feel like that is probably I mean,
it goes right in tune with with Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
So for instance, like the other day, so we had
a close scrimmage, and so the team's likes to we
call this second or heads of ball screen. So what
we try and do is we try and do shooting
drills where we're trying to do odds lely the reads.
And the first thing I taught the team, and I
taught them this early on. If you're seeing the boss
stuff is how to read is it a double side,
single side whatever, single side, tag, double side, is it empty?
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Obviously we're trying to teach that.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
But then we try and teach like kind of the
solution after that. Right, So the team we played in
a close scrimmage, they like the heads, So we taught
them how to short roll.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
We taught the post how to short roll.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
We taught the player how to when you're hitting that
short roll pass to how to take the hesitation dribble.
Speaker 4 (19:20):
Or to retreat retreat retreat ribble.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Backs to give you the space to make the short
roll pass coming off that how to hit the lift
coming all that, how to pitch your head to hit
the roller going in. So we just drill those type
of concepts. So we're trying to drill solutions. Obviously, there's
many different ways to play pick and roll coverage. So
you got second, you got drop coverage, you have switching.
So based on how they play, we try and have
(19:45):
a solution, and we try and give our players three
three solutions. Sometimes there may be four, but for the
most part, three different solutions that they can use to
counter how the ball screen defense is going to play.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
You know.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, we try and drill it with shooting drill and
try and drill it with individual development, and that's what
the decision making in the shooting goes hand in hand
and as well now becomes a passing drill as well.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
But yeah, no, I like that because I think a
lot of that is I mean, that's such a great
point with hitting on being able to teach solutions because
nothing's ever going to look the same. It's always going
to be you know, nothing is ever as perfect as
you make it up to be in your mind.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
I think so much of it is how do you
play off those things? How do you you know.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Just play the game and that that that that really
stands out absolutely. I wanted to ask too, because you
mentioned earlier talking about building out your staff, and I
think one of the fun things of me for me,
like going through and look at your staff failure's a
lot of intentionality and kind of building out. Like obviously,
Joe and and Valida have you know, a wealth of
head coaching experience and have been around. I've CJ coach
(20:50):
T two, Like, there's a lot of people who have
been here that have that head coaching experience as well.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
So I was wondering, like in.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Building that, was that something that you did intentionally or
just like obviously I'm sure they're great people as well.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
I don't know them, but yeah, it was very intentional.
So honestly, you know, I've known b for years of
later for years.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
She's excellent at what she does.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
She has a very very familiar with the state of Utah,
so she understands how to recruit to it and.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
What all that entails.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
I also like the fact that she's been a head
coach and she kind of has that motherly feeling, So
I like that about her and just like her expert
of knowledgiest and I mean she's coached men as well,
so I like that about her. And she kind of
has she she has a great eye for the game,
and she helps me with the defense.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
But and she helps me with recruiting as well. And
then Joe, I think Joe is just.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
He helped me with the pace of play and how
fast we want to go. The fact that he was
at Saint Francis PA and put eighty on Yukon as
a sixteen seed even though they lost like one twelve
to eighty. The fact that his team was able to
score eighty points against a pretty good Yutah Yukon team
a few years back, that's always impressed me. He's always
(21:59):
done a good job to pay to play. His teams
have always been top ten in the country pay to play,
which is something that we really wanted to establish here.
And me and Joe had got to know each other
through the years is talking basketball and so to have
to be able to bring somebody like him along would
be great.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Cj was really good for us. It's the transition.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
She understand how Utah State works, the process, what it
would take to do certain things. So keeping her in
for the girls the returners and then just helping us
as a new staff transition. I think that was excellent.
Alexis Hyder I had to excuse me. I had the
privilege a coach and he or at North Texas. Then
when I left, she ended up transferring to LSU. Played
two years when Nicki Fargus at LSU before playing overseas
(22:41):
several different places. So this somebody who I've recruited, known
since like nineteenth grade and coach, and so she could
bring that perspective.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
And then our.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Other two Josie got a call from Jeff Walls and
Jeff Wall said, if you don't hire this person, you're stupid.
And it's Jeff Walls telling me that, then I better
do it. It's hard to say no, right, yeah right,
I mean he's not going to this call and just
say that. And so Jeff Walls and Stephanie Norman both
said the same thing to me.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
So we hired her.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
And she's a Utah native, played at UVU before transferring
to Douly be able to finish up and she's been
excellent for us as our operations. And then the unsung
hero is kind of Kaylee Quinn, who I guess just
through you know, just doing going through the process, got
to know and she's just excellent with us, keeping me organized,
keeping our playbook organized, keeping the video organized, and it
(23:34):
always have fresh ideas offensively for us.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
And so just I love our staff. I think we
all fit together.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
They all understand the vision of where we're trying to
go and how we're trying to do this, and so
it was a very intentional to how we hired.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
Yeah, I wanted to ask kind of going off that,
like with with Kaylee and just video in general, like
how that is obviously mean, I know it's your first
time as head coach, but in general, how that's kind
of changed because I feel like obviously, you know, if
you go back ten years or so, like a lot
of people who are higher up assistance or head coaches
maybe don't have the same intuitiveness with using center Jerius.
Speaker 4 (24:09):
Well, so this is so just check this out right.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
So I'm a big forty nine er fan, right, So, Uh,
I studied a lot of forty nine of coaches. I
studied Harball, I study Kyle Shanahan, so about seven or
eight years ago. Uh, one thing that I saw camp
kylech I read that Kyle Shanahan. It did was he
had every practice that he ever had on video. He
(24:32):
had every every play in his offense on video. So
about four years ago when I was at Michigan and
then through the Ohio State things, I have every like
have every practice, every cut up, everything like that. And
so in hiring Quinn, like one of the things we
were trying to establish is our style of play.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
But I had to teach it to our sister. I
had to teach it to.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Our staff and stuff. And so we have every practice,
you know, from Ohio State. We have every clip you
know what I mean. I mean I just studied like
and I hoard stuff. I'm an information dunker. I have
all my stuff from Michigan. I hoard it like like
that's how you have to be. You have to be
a horder of information to be great, and then you
have to apply that information to turn it into success.
(25:15):
And so we have I have B line stuff I
have I showed showed Jared. I have a B line
practice notebook from twenty years ago with every practice in it,
every every game plan in it. So I'm a horder
information now. Getting some of this stuff to digital is
that's what I have to do next book. We hoard information,
so I have twenty years of knowledge that we're going
(25:38):
to try and apply and use.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
So I feel like I was prepared to be a
head coach.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
I feel like video that's how I learned because I
did not play college basketball, So I watched a lot
of film, studied a lot of people, and just tried
to put systems in place, systems and standards in place
so that it can ensure your success. And we may fall,
but it's the system and then numbers. If we played
to it, it'll help us get to where we want
(26:02):
to go.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
No, I really like that because I think it's just
interesting to see how differently people do approach video and
uh in that position in general, but like coming from
more of a video background too, I love hearing that
with respect systems because you'll you'll have an appreciation for this.
I did like a four or five hour synergy at
it the other day and actually hit the delete button
and there's anything Synergy, so it's like, it's one of
(26:25):
the worst days of my life. I was like, Wow,
that's what we do.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
We'll pull stuff from Synergy and then what I started
doing with that just maybe in five to ten minute
increments screen record. I don't know if you have a
map book with screen record and then once you screen.
Speaker 4 (26:40):
Record that stuff, you have it.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
And so that's kind of what I started doing because
I've done the same thing with Synergy.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Yeah, it's terrible. It's actually the worst thing ever.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Going off that too though, like you mentioned terms of
just putting systems in place and being there and having
that preparation to be a head coach.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Has there been anything that taking you by surprise? Drowning
put it? But like you'll getting used to, you know, okay,
being a head coach.
Speaker 1 (27:03):
I think for me when I was a kid coming up,
like I didn't used to think about it, but like
you get to know some most people like wow, there
you have to do so much stuff that is not basketball,
So like what has that been like kind of getting
your customers.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Like yeah, yeah, So we try to like I'm very
fortunate to have staff and I'm trying to delegate because
I think it's so essential that we do try and
keep it on basketball. And so I have a great administration,
We have great support. Dyna Sabo has been excellent. Bobby
He's been excellent, who's kind of our administrator over women's
(27:34):
men's and women's basketball, so they they they've helped taken
a lot off the plate.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
Josie has helped taking a lot off the plate. B
has helped taking a lot off the plate.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
So I can't focus on basketball, so I've kind of
tried to delegate, uh, those things out. But I think
three things, Like, you know, kind of when you're not
the head coach, sometimes you just you're always going, You're
going recruiting a lot as an assistant, So I'm very
excited to always get the practice, which is and I
don't have to I mean, I do have to recruit,
(28:03):
but as a head coach, you're probably more there than
the assistant obviously, right, So I'm always excited to go
to practice. The other thing is that the final decision
is always on you, so you're like, oh, okay, so
that's that, and then my mind never turns off. So
the staff. I always joke with the staff. I'll see something,
I'll text it to him at eleven o'clock at night,
or I'm up early at six am and I'm texting
(28:25):
them and they don't have to necessarily respond, but I'm
just texting it out because of the idea like or
something like that. So between this always being at practice
because you're a head coach and that assistant, the final
decision making all goes with you and your mind never
cutting off, I would say those are the biggest three
things that I've noticed being a head coach.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Yeah, what what was maybe you know, in terms of
having that first practice when you got to have your
first official practice on campus, what was the feeling like
and kind of was it you just kind of you know,
felt like any other practice were you able to just
kind of It's.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Weird though, you say that because I think that's one
of the things working for you know, Ken Barnsrico, working
for Kevin McGuff, especially Kevin McGuff, because I think we're
probably more like I'm more like him in the style
and more like him and this the way I would
like to run a practice. It just felt like it
kind of just felt like it was already like we
(29:18):
were still at Ohio State.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
And that's kind of how.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
I feel I wanted to And that's kind of how
like you know, and like I told somebody the other day,
it's like that man, Kevin McGuff means so much to me,
like he doesn't like when you talk about him and
give him praise and stuff like that. But the influence
and how he shaped me into being able to get
an opportunity like this, I'll be forever grateful for him
(29:42):
and this how he has has kind of just shaped
me as a head coach and kind of has helped
my mindset as a head coach. So this having that
first practice, it was kind of like, oh, this is
what we do. I mean as I looked at old
practice plans and it's rolled out and this act like
it was.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
The only thing is he wasn't there. That act like
it was just like that. So uh, that's kind of
how it was. And yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
No, Yeah, that's that's cool to have that because I think,
you know, there's an idea of like, you know, once
you get to that spot, you feel like, okay, maybe
it's going to be like how do you handle it?
But you know you're so prepared for it, so locked
in it's just like it's there. Yeah, So that's awesome
to hear about, you know, going off that too in
terms of talking about having you know kind of how
how how former you know, head coaches have kind of
(30:29):
empowered you and portant to you. What other things you
kind of take like you mentioned like obviously your time
with Kim up in Michigan. You've obviously been all over
the place, but like what is uh what are some
of the main takeaways you have that have kind of
built up to have you where you're at and and
that you want to keep carrying on with with Utah State.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Yeah, I mean I just think this the a winning mentality, Uh,
this learned. I think I learned that from every head
coach I worked for, even Lamb Roberts. This the winning mentality,
the relationships that I learned from her, how she had
with her players, this constantly, this being in their ear
even as a head coach.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
And I just think for me this like I've learned something.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
From everybody on on the on the way coming all
the way up from the ground up.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
So uh, this trying and impart different things.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
I would say, like for coach Blon, that's the first
coach I probably worked for, is shooting Mike Carrey, who's
now an assistant at Central Florida.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
Defensive mentality.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Then I work for a lady named Jolanas Wells brought
in a Texas Southern and she taught me really recruiting
her and Karen Aston, I would say, really helped me
learn how to recruit at a high level. I think
Karen Aston is one of the best recruiters in the country.
She's the head coach now u TSA. She's an accent
Like the things I learned and recruiting from her are
this timeless.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Then Mike Peterson, who's working with Atlanta dream a little bit. Now,
this this the structure of how he did things and
he kind of how he kind of set up his
pace in some of his defensive terminology. Then Robert's relationship
with players shooting basketball, Kim I think anybody who knows
Kim bones let me go the intensity and grit that
(32:09):
she plays with, the intensity and the grit that she
plays with, as well as Kevin McGuff this the patient's
poised and the ability to execute at a high level offensively.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
So yeah, no, definitely, and to close out too, just
in terms of you know, looking I know, obviously it's
your one, so you don't want to get too far
ahead thinking about it. But I was talking about it
with somebody the other day at a program, and I
think like one of the things that I think was
really cool of being around you guys a little bit
the last couple of years with the Ohio Stagers, just
in general, like there is a connection to the pro level,
(32:44):
Like I think there's a very absolutely intense understanding of
like this is what it takes to get here.
Speaker 4 (32:49):
Yeah, I think, and I'd be remissed.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
I think I learned that from Carla right, And I
didn't work for Karla, but I worked with her and
Carla Morrow, who should be a head coach who's excellent
with her. I think she's a defensive mastermind. She's probably
one of the best defensive minds I've ever been around.
I think she's an unsung hero for coach McGuff.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
You know, a lot of times.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
People coach McGuff obviously with the offense in the press,
but our half court defense has been was tremendous because
of Carlamrrow and this the things and the way she
preps preps the kids, the way she the way you
study her, and it's the way she had us prepared
defensively in the half court. I've taken that some of
that stuff here, so this to give her her props.
I mean she coached in the WNBA with the Sky
(33:31):
and just to give her her props.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
I mean, she's this amazing defensive coach.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
And so I think this really helped Ohio State as
a program overhaul when you mix the offensive genius of
Kevin McGuff and the press that he wants to instill,
and you put the half court that Carlo Marlow has brought.
I mean, she's ready to be a head coach whenever
she chooses to be, even if she chooses to go
back to the W. But she has an understanding of
player development as well that she got from the W,
(33:55):
you know what I mean. And this kind of McGuff
has done really well with Kelsey Mitchell and all the
other kids, Taylor JC, all those kids. There's a sense
of development that we're trying to develop pros. We're trying
to get kids to go overseas and so it's it's
a point of emphasis and it's a thing that they
really emphasize. So that that program, that's why that program
is where it is, and we're trying to imitate that here,
(34:16):
you know what I mean. Obviously this program has not
been there, but we're going to try and imitate and innovate.
Speaker 4 (34:22):
That's what we're trying to do. I mean, that's the model,
that's the.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Blueprint, and anything anything we can do to copy that
should lead to our success.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Absolutely, And you know, kind of going off that too,
like how do you I think making that visible but
also like or making it feel like visibly attainable, I
think is the way to put it, because like, I
think there's a especially in college basketball right now, there's
like I mean a lot of programs that are preparing
you to be a great college basketball player, but maybe
aren't showing.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
You like and they're not saying that's wrong, but like
you know, if.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
You're but we run like so even now.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Obviously we may not have w NBA players at this point,
or maybe we might develop one, you know, but I
think we have a w NBA system. Like it's funny
when our girls cut on when our girls watch go
through practice, watch our plays, and if they were to
cut and they cut on something, and I have one
kid who's high level shying and stuff cut on you
that West they're running out stuff.
Speaker 4 (35:16):
I say, yeah, because we're running the same stuff.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
If you watch the Links and the Liberty and all
and the ass especially the acest because we do a
lot of the stagger screens and stuff. You'll see a
lot of the same concepts that they're running. It's not
the traditional three out, two in for our one end,
but we have a language that we'd like to implement
our offense with and the kids see stuff on TV
and even to the point where we've done some edits
(35:39):
where you'll see us running it and then I layer
it behind The next clip is a w NBA clip
and they see it and they're like, oh wow, yeah,
and so it actually makes them want to watch the
w NBA more, uh, and even watch the NBA more
because you'll see the clip. You'll see what they're doing
at that level here, and that's what we try and
sell the recruits.
Speaker 4 (35:56):
We're going to develop you.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
We're going to help you grow your game, but we're
also running a system that when you get there, it
will not.
Speaker 4 (36:03):
Be foreign to you.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
Yeah. No, that's awesome, man. I love hearing that. Well, Wes.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
I am so excited to see how you guys keep
putting this thing together.
Speaker 3 (36:12):
The season is literally just around the corner, which I
can't wait for. Man.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
But to everyone listening and watching, thank you for it.
Of course, keep up with all things Utah State, Aggie's
it's going to be a great season. It's going to
be an exciting time in the next couple of years
with this West West and his staff build this thing
up and Wes thank you again.
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