Haven't really seen his face before. Looks like his dad.
How sick of questions about his dad do you think this guy is?
He is a great speaker. Better than any of our current coaches--sorry Hurley, lol. I would imagine the acting classes as a kid are paying off, and will pay off even more when he's the face of a program as a HC.
Kind of interesting that he knew he wanted to be a COACH at 12-years-old. Most kids dream of being a player, and settle for coaching when their career is over (or never starts if you're short and lazy like me).
Some of his questions/answers...
What makes a good recruiter?: Diligence, dialed into individual players and their backgrounds including coaches and family members. Wants to know an individual player's values and how they need to be recruited individually.
Why UConn?: Experience with Tom and Hurley in his career. Watched UConn closely over the past few years. Appreciation for our players, intensity, effort, identity, and how the program has grown. Ready to work with players to continue to improvement, and bring in more great players.
What made him connect with Hurley over the years?: They communicate and respect each other. Love the way he coaches and inspires. Hurley brings a "high school mentality" in terms of being invested in relationship building with his players.
Are you sick of hearing about your dad in interviews?: Proud of his dad and his accomplishments. Doesn't have a lot to do with his career at this point. The questions are tiresome--everyone already knows it.
Why did things end at Louisville?: Came as a surprise. He was looking into head coach jobs at a couple schools, but that didn't work out. (sounds like he's a 2 and done, 3 and done guy for us... Mack firing him definitely set his career back a couple years or 3)
What role will you have in player development?: Working through that with Hurley and co. now. Worked with perimeter players before this at Ville and Xavier. Expects to have more "positional blending" this season with guards/bigs. Expects Moore and him to spend time to the bigs.
Have you talked to the players?: Yes. Everyone individually so far. Sanogo, Gaffney, and Whaley are on campus. Spent a lot of time with Whaley already (how can you not LOVE this kid???).
How old were you when you started developing AAU relationships?: He had the Bob gibbons recruiting reports sent to him as a kid in HS. Went to schools and aau in PA/NYC all over as he was in HS and college, even while he was still playing. (wow... this guy LOVES ball)
Is your dad gonna go to games?: Yes. Apparently his dad particularly has a good relationship with Tom.
www.yahoo.com
247sports.com
