Eagle6Man
03-16-2006, 11:19 AM
http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/img/03-06/0316gillispie.jpg
By RACHEL COHEN / The Dallas Morning News
"We are going to turn dreams into reality, and it's not going to take as long as people think."
–Billy Gillispie, introductory news conference, March 24, 2004
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Out for a run last Sunday, Texas A&M's men's basketball coach started reminiscing about a local radio appearance he made not long after he was hired. His interview over, he had tuned in to hear what the hosts had to say.
"Man, that guy looks like he's convinced he's going to win here," one of them marveled. "I've been around here for a long time – I don't know if he knows what he's up against."
No NCAA Tournament appearances since 1987. No Big 12 victories the previous season. Apathetic fans. Locker rooms Gillispie calls "the worst I've seen in Division I basketball."
"A lot of people had that thought process," Gillispie said, as if they were the crazy ones, not him.
Then again, you can claim anything you want when it's Selection Sunday and your team's name just appeared in a bracket.
At a school where 20-loss seasons were a regular occurrence, Gillispie has surpassed 20 wins in each of his two years. The craziest assertion he's making these days is that his coaching methods aren't different than anyone else's.
Stu Starner begs to differ. Starner, a fund-raiser for Aggies athletics, spent 18 years coaching Division I basketball, serving as UT-San Antonio's head coach from 1990 to 1995.
"He has unique qualities that not every coach has chosen to implement," Starner said.
During his job interview, Starner observed the Aggies' practice before their first exhibition contest under Gillispie. He expected the light workout most coaches hold on game day. Instead, he saw a practice as intense as any.
No honeymoon
Alvin Brooks, the former Houston head coach, remembers the first Gillispie "boot camp" preseason conditioning workout he experienced after joining his UT-El Paso staff in 2003. It began at 6 a.m., and Brooks figured the coaches would address the players for a couple minutes, then they'd do some stretching and light jogging before easing into the drills.
Well, the coaches did address the players for a couple minutes. "At 6:02," Brooks said, "he is screaming, his eyes are bulging, going at full blast."
After Gillispie arrived at A&M, the Aggies' best player, Antoine Wright, was considering transferring. Then, one weekend, Wright went to Atlanta with some friends and returned late. Gillispie suspended him.
Wright was stunned. Here he was, the guy Gillispie could least afford to lose, and the coach was pushing him away.
As players' off-season workouts went on without him, though, Wright noticed something. The same guys who were so quick to quit the previous season looked a little tougher, a little better.
Wright decided to stay.
Key buffer
Gillispie lists his most important hire as trainer Matt Doles, though players might find his reasoning a bit sadistic. Doles determines if someone is injured or just hurting; if it's the latter, he gets him ready to practice through the pain.
Another key hire was Jerrance Howard, who had played under Gillispie when he was an assistant at Illinois. The energetic 25-year-old, whose official title is athletic assistant, is the perfect conduit between the coaches and players.
Billiy Gillispie has the Aggies in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1987.. "No matter what happens during practice, after those two hours are over, he's got a unique way of making those guys feel great about themselves no matter how I made them feel that particular day," Gillispie said.
"When it comes from Jerrance, whereas all the other coaches are older guys, he's young, so he knows exactly what's going on," center Joseph Jones said.
Valuable walk-on
But the most critical addition might have been someone not on the staff. At UTEP, Gillispie had a walk-on named Josh Johnston, whose parents happen to be Aggies and whose brother and sister lived in College Station. Johnston decided to transfer to A&M after Gillispie took the job.
He arrived on campus during the second session of summer school and stopped by a pickup game. The players immediately started peppering him with questions about Gillispie.
What's this like? What's he going to do with this? Is he really crazy?
How did he answer the last one?
"Um, how do I put this?..." Johnston paused, searching for the right words. "All great ones are."
During his first boot camp at UTEP, Johnston found himself wondering what he had gotten himself into. Then the Miners started winning games, wearing out opponents with their superior conditioning and preparation, all the way to the NCAA Tournament.
Johnston could tell his new teammates, "Trust me, this is all worth it." Coming from a fellow player, they believed him.
Billy Gillispie's coaching style had Acie Law (right) thinking about transferring. Point guard Acie Law and Johnston quickly became close friends. During boot camp, Gillispie's caustic style distressed Law so much that he kept telling his parents he wanted to transfer. Would he have stayed if not for Johnston?
"Ain't no telling," Law said.
One day, Johnston invited Law over to show him the DVD of UTEP's NCAA trip. Law got chills watching the players celebrate the moment they found out they were in.
"I said right then that's a feeling I wanted to experience," Law said. "Josh told me if I stick around and listen to Coach G and give good effort, he would help me get there."
By RACHEL COHEN / The Dallas Morning News
"We are going to turn dreams into reality, and it's not going to take as long as people think."
–Billy Gillispie, introductory news conference, March 24, 2004
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Out for a run last Sunday, Texas A&M's men's basketball coach started reminiscing about a local radio appearance he made not long after he was hired. His interview over, he had tuned in to hear what the hosts had to say.
"Man, that guy looks like he's convinced he's going to win here," one of them marveled. "I've been around here for a long time – I don't know if he knows what he's up against."
No NCAA Tournament appearances since 1987. No Big 12 victories the previous season. Apathetic fans. Locker rooms Gillispie calls "the worst I've seen in Division I basketball."
"A lot of people had that thought process," Gillispie said, as if they were the crazy ones, not him.
Then again, you can claim anything you want when it's Selection Sunday and your team's name just appeared in a bracket.
At a school where 20-loss seasons were a regular occurrence, Gillispie has surpassed 20 wins in each of his two years. The craziest assertion he's making these days is that his coaching methods aren't different than anyone else's.
Stu Starner begs to differ. Starner, a fund-raiser for Aggies athletics, spent 18 years coaching Division I basketball, serving as UT-San Antonio's head coach from 1990 to 1995.
"He has unique qualities that not every coach has chosen to implement," Starner said.
During his job interview, Starner observed the Aggies' practice before their first exhibition contest under Gillispie. He expected the light workout most coaches hold on game day. Instead, he saw a practice as intense as any.
No honeymoon
Alvin Brooks, the former Houston head coach, remembers the first Gillispie "boot camp" preseason conditioning workout he experienced after joining his UT-El Paso staff in 2003. It began at 6 a.m., and Brooks figured the coaches would address the players for a couple minutes, then they'd do some stretching and light jogging before easing into the drills.
Well, the coaches did address the players for a couple minutes. "At 6:02," Brooks said, "he is screaming, his eyes are bulging, going at full blast."
After Gillispie arrived at A&M, the Aggies' best player, Antoine Wright, was considering transferring. Then, one weekend, Wright went to Atlanta with some friends and returned late. Gillispie suspended him.
Wright was stunned. Here he was, the guy Gillispie could least afford to lose, and the coach was pushing him away.
As players' off-season workouts went on without him, though, Wright noticed something. The same guys who were so quick to quit the previous season looked a little tougher, a little better.
Wright decided to stay.
Key buffer
Gillispie lists his most important hire as trainer Matt Doles, though players might find his reasoning a bit sadistic. Doles determines if someone is injured or just hurting; if it's the latter, he gets him ready to practice through the pain.
Another key hire was Jerrance Howard, who had played under Gillispie when he was an assistant at Illinois. The energetic 25-year-old, whose official title is athletic assistant, is the perfect conduit between the coaches and players.
Billiy Gillispie has the Aggies in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1987.. "No matter what happens during practice, after those two hours are over, he's got a unique way of making those guys feel great about themselves no matter how I made them feel that particular day," Gillispie said.
"When it comes from Jerrance, whereas all the other coaches are older guys, he's young, so he knows exactly what's going on," center Joseph Jones said.
Valuable walk-on
But the most critical addition might have been someone not on the staff. At UTEP, Gillispie had a walk-on named Josh Johnston, whose parents happen to be Aggies and whose brother and sister lived in College Station. Johnston decided to transfer to A&M after Gillispie took the job.
He arrived on campus during the second session of summer school and stopped by a pickup game. The players immediately started peppering him with questions about Gillispie.
What's this like? What's he going to do with this? Is he really crazy?
How did he answer the last one?
"Um, how do I put this?..." Johnston paused, searching for the right words. "All great ones are."
During his first boot camp at UTEP, Johnston found himself wondering what he had gotten himself into. Then the Miners started winning games, wearing out opponents with their superior conditioning and preparation, all the way to the NCAA Tournament.
Johnston could tell his new teammates, "Trust me, this is all worth it." Coming from a fellow player, they believed him.
Billy Gillispie's coaching style had Acie Law (right) thinking about transferring. Point guard Acie Law and Johnston quickly became close friends. During boot camp, Gillispie's caustic style distressed Law so much that he kept telling his parents he wanted to transfer. Would he have stayed if not for Johnston?
"Ain't no telling," Law said.
One day, Johnston invited Law over to show him the DVD of UTEP's NCAA trip. Law got chills watching the players celebrate the moment they found out they were in.
"I said right then that's a feeling I wanted to experience," Law said. "Josh told me if I stick around and listen to Coach G and give good effort, he would help me get there."