by PointGuard » Sat Mar 29, 2014 2:27 am
What a surprise ta get a call from Bret Vandergard and be asked to be one a his assistants. I first met Bret when he came down to a basketball camp in New Orleans where I was workin'. He came inta camp under the radar. West coast high schoolers don’t get much publicity in the southeast U.S. But he quickly showed he was not only a very good player, but a guy who listened carefully and watched intently, learnin' from the coaches and other players, and then workin' hard ta put what he found out inta action. It was easy ta form a strong bond with such a talented and focused kid. Although mah career never went far, we continued ta communicate by phone and over the internet. But I hadn’t seen him hide nor hair of him in near on 12 years.
When he called, he said he needed a recruitin' assistant and wanted me. I had ta ask where Eastern Washington University was, but after a short conversation (and me nearly dropping the phone when he said he wanted me ta be his FIRST assistant coach), I hopped on board the “Eagle Express”, packed my bags and family, and drove us all over 2000 miles in our old car ta come ta the smallest town I’ve ever lived.
Bret had already had a realtor find a couple homes that could accommodate mah wife Jacinda, our 3 kids and myself. We opted ta rent one of those homes, knowin' that assistant coaching jobs can quickly evaporate. Fortunately mah wife was able ta get a transfer from one government job ta another and is now workin' at Fairchild Air Base, so her commute is no problem at all.
The kids were bummed ta have ta move at the end of a school year, but by the time school starts here late this August, they should feel fine 'bout things since we’ve got them inta activities here already.
But you’d probably like ta know more 'bout the basketball program than mah family.
The basketball program is definitely a work in progress. More ta the point, I think it’s been a work in decay the past several years so almost anything is up fer EWU basketball from here.
Fer one thing, we don’t have a single senior on this coming year’s squad. The team will be composed of 5 juniors, 5 sophomores, and 5 freshman. I’m not yet sure who will assume a leadership role on this team, but be damned sure that I’m going ta be pushing a few guys in that direction.
Are any of the 15 guys any good? It’s hard ta tell yet, but I think there are a few that will step ta the forefront and give us a chance to win a few games.
Coach V has assembled a pretty good group of assistants, if I do say so myself.
His 2nd assistant is Lawrence Montgomery. I had never heard of him, but again that’s because he’s from the Pacific Northwest and has primarily been in high school coachin'. He’s 43 years old and blind as a bat (he wears very thick horned rimmed glasses). I don’t think he really has any plans ta jump up in the college coachin' ranks, but from our discussions it seems he places extremely high importance on academics fer our players. He expects players ta comply with directions, but that is tempered with a very laid back approach, so I think players will like him. He knows basketball well within the state and region and how ta evaluate players, so his position as our scout is a natural.
While Coach V was an assistant at Portland State several years ago, he met the man he just hired as 3rd assistant, Kevin Gebbers. I like callin' him Kevin Goobers, but he don't like it none, so I have ta watch mahself. Kevin was assistin' at Montana at the same time. Kevin left coachin' shortly thereafter and only recently returned as head coach at a small community college in Utah. Kevin has a good feel fer all aspects of basketball and should be a key asset fer us.
So that brings us ta the only remainin' assistant…me. I’m 37 years old and love meetin' and talkin' with folks. Mah forte has been (and will be) recruitin'. Most of mah coaching time in college basketball has been for Division II teams so this is a big step up for me. Additionally I have the added challenge of becomin' familiar with life (and customs and interests) in Washington State (where we are mostly likely ta get most of our recruits), and ta a lesser degree within the Western United States. But I'm hopin' they will find my drawl somethin' they will remember. I’d like to say I could pull in a few quality recruits from Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama, but doubt many will seriously consider coming ta a small program at a remote college so far away from home. I’d really like this position ta lead to a head coach job sometime in the future, but I know I have a lot ta learn and need to develop mah skill level in many areas of the game. As far as academics is concerned, as long as we can sign players who will meet our SAT requirements, ah’m satisfied (particularly if they’re studs).
With no recruitin' to do this first year since no scholarships will be available, I'll be workin' on developin' a good strong network up in this region and also will be workin' hard with the rest of the staff ta whip this team into shape. The staff has coalesced well so I think this is gonna be a fun ride.
Talk with ya'll later.
[Aside: Jamal Smith—(O)20; (D)20; (R)39; (S)20; (PD)20; Rep)8; Lawrence Montgomery—(O)20; (D)20; (R)20; (S)52; (PD)20; (Rep)9; Kevin Gebbers—(O)25; (D)25; (R)25; (S)25; (S)25; (Rep)9.]
Dynasty Threads:
Fedora-CB;Town Crier-CB;FIve Friends/Foes-CB;Media Perspective-CB;Whatever It Takes-CB;Who's Bret Vandergard-CB;Gym Rat-CB;Repairman-CB;S. Mastroani-TPG;V. Stevenson-TPG