A Few Minutes with UD Coach Brian Gregory
(Okay, Maybe an hour, but it is good)
by Bill Kintner
OMAHA, Neb – Just several hours before Dayton takes on the Bluejays of Creighton, University of Dayton coach Brian Gregory sat down with me for an interview.
He talked about this year’s team, his coaching philosophy, recruiting, scheduling and eating. This is an interview that should make any Flyer fan proud and provide a peak into the Dayton program for any interested basketball fan.
Bill Kintner: You now have a couple of games under your belt; could you give me a brief overview of this year’s team?
Brian Gregory: We are bringing some guys back, but we are still a very young team. I think the biggest challenge for us this year is for freshmen that played a lot of minutes last year, where just playing with energy was what we demanded of them. Now, we demand in addition to playing with energy, having greater execution and performing better. The fact that our interior players, outside of James Cripe, are all freshmen and sophomores puts us in a tough position. The guys have gained weight and added strength and they’re much better players now than they were last year. Our guard play is solid and Brian Roberts is going to be a terrific player before it’s all said and done. Roberts and Monte Scott have both elevated their games and it’s important that we take advantage of that. They are in completely different roles than they were last year and they’re now both go-to guys and they’re going to have to face that challenge.
BK: You’ve played two games now, is there anything that has surprised you so far?
BG: We’re a good shooting team and we’re not shooting the ball very well right now. We’re a very good free throw shooting team and we’re shooting abysmally from the free throw line. I think those things usually even out, but we won’t be able to play as well as we’re capable of playing unless we make shots. We’re still kind of a perimeter-dominated program, so I think it’s important that we’re able to knock down some shots. Defensively, we’re good but not as good as we can be. I think the guys understand how we’re supposed to play, but still it takes some time for them to completely embrace everything in terms of this system.
BK: When your team doesn’t shoot well, is there anything you do to work on the shooting, or is it plays that you run to get your players more shots?
BG: I think it’s both of those things. One, the guys have to spend some extra time getting some shots and we’re in a tough stretch with six games in thirteen days. Two, you’ve got to make sure your better shooters are making good shots. I think of the Miami game, we got some shots up but I don’t necessarily think they were very good shots. If you aren’t taking good shots, you’re not going to make good shots.
BK: When I saw the score of the Miami game and I was sure it wasn’t right. What happened in that game?
BG: I think they went after us and we didn’t respond well. It wasn’t like we didn’t do some good things – we out-rebounded them by 20 and we got to the offensive glass – but we were impatient and that led to quick shots, bad shots and twenty-something turnovers. Against that team, because there are fewer possessions than in a normal game, you just can’t do that. It puts you in too big of a hole. We should have lost by 40.
BK: What did you work on since that game?
BG: Well, I think our poise and patience on offense. It’s very important. We play Creighton tonight and we will be challenged on that as well. They are the best team we’ve played and, maybe, the best team we’ll play all year. We need to understand who we are and what we are good at, and that’s kind of a blue-collar team that plays hard, scraps, finishes its plays inside off the offensive glass. We have two pretty good players that can score some points and we need to give them shots, and the other guys need to understand that role and really perform that role. There is nothing wrong with being a blue-collar team. We have to sell kids more now-a-days that it’s okay to be a blue-collar type player.
BK: I hear coaches talk about blue-collar teams, are there any white collar teams because I never hear a coach say, “I have a white-collar team?”
BG: I think there are some. I think that there are some really good ones. That’s the way they play and there’s nothing wrong with that. I think what it is that they play at a pace that is somewhat free-flowing and they are the ultra-talented team that play very freely and loose. Some players are the type of players that are best in those programs and some coaches are best coaching those programs. I just know I’m not one of them.
BK: Tell me about the A-10 this year. Have you been able to get your arms around it?
BG: Well, I think from top to bottom, the league may be as good as it’s ever been, because you’re looking at 18 of the top 20 scorers in the conference are back. Thirteen out of 15 all-conference players are back. It’s incredible when you look that Temple has everybody back, Xavier has everybody back, and UMass has almost everybody back. Most teams have four or at least three minimum starters back. So the league was young last year and was very good at the end of last year. When you add Charlotte and St. Louis into the mix, it only gets tougher.
BK: It seems that scheduling has almost become an art form. Some teams try to schedule for wins, others try to schedule for RPI or some combination. Some conferences give direction on how to schedule. What is your scheduling philosophy?
BG: We have a couple of things we have to do, obviously. We have to have a certain amount of home games, non-conference, due to the fact that economically it’s important for the rest of the athletic department and our program as well. So, what we try to do is to try to schedule three quality home games and that leaves four games that we consider guarantee games, where we pay teams to come in. That extra game is either a real high quality road game, like a couple of years ago when we went to Duke to play, or its either an exempt tournament, like this year we’re playing the Las Vegas Classic, or depending upon the team, like last year we played an extra guarantee game. And so, that gives us some flexibility with the eleventh game depending on what we’re trying to accomplish. Obviously, scheduling is one of our most difficult jobs, because a lot of people don’t want to come into the UD arena and play. At least, in terms of high-quality opponents.
BK: Will that change a little bit every year depending upon whether you have a young team or a more experienced team, you might tweak that a little bit?
BG: Yeah. Going into this year, we obviously upped our schedule from last year. We scheduled playing at Creighton, at Cincinnati, at Miami, and in the Las Vegas tournament where we play two top forty teams; we’ll play Northern Iowa and Cincinnati again. You try to schedule according to the best team that you have. You don’t want to over schedule too early if you have a really young team, but at the same time, if you have a real quality team, you want to have some challenges in the pre-conference schedule.
BK: Tell me a little about recruiting and your recruiting philosophy. What do you look for in a player?
BG: The most important thing is where we want to recruit – we want to recruit inside-out, meaning we want to take care of recruits in our own back yard, first, to make sure that Dayton is a great place for them. But, we’ll go anywhere to recruit kids; we have a tremendous product to sell. We have great staff in terms of guys that believe in that. We want to recruit high-quality players that are high-character kids. We’ll recruit against just about anybody – we believe in the program that we have to sell. All we need to have is the opportunity to show them, because we if we do, then we have a pretty good chance to get them. When they can see our place, see our arena, see our facilities and see how important basketball is, it’s a pretty unique situation.
BK: When you’re selling Dayton, what’s the number one thing that you’re selling?
BG: I think just how important basketball is. Kids want to go to a place where they know the work they’re going to put in is appreciated because the program is important. The program is supported within the university and within the community. I’ve also said I’m going to demand a first-class effort because they’ve got to understand that they’re playing in a first-class environment. Our biggest selling point is that they’re playing in a first-class environment. They walk into the Donoher Center; they walk into the arena, and on campus with our academics. If they need academic help, they’ll get it. Everything is done in a first-class manner. Guys understand that this is a big-time program.
BK: How is it different recruiting at Dayton than at Michigan State?
BG: I like to get it so that the gap is smaller. I think we’ve made some headway in some of that stuff. At least at Michigan State, we still recruited, we didn’t select who came there. There’s only a couple of schools out there who can do that. I like to recruit players that Michigan State is recruiting. Maybe they’re not the impact recruits, but they’re good enough to play there. In order to do what we want to do, those are the type of kids that we need to recruit.
BK: When you decided to come to Dayton, what did this job offer you? What drew you to come here?
BG: As an assistant, you’re always looking at a couple of key factors. One, does the place have a basketball tradition? Dayton obviously had that. We’ve been to a final four and a national championship game. It was some years ago, but it’s not like it’s never been done. Two, what type of leadership does the university have? In Dan Curran and Ted Kissell we have two unbelievable leaders. All you have to do is drive through campus to see the changes these men have made. Those guys have a vision and there’s no doubt that they get things done. Three, we’ve talked about recruiting. We have a great recruiting base. But, about the most important thing is that I knew the expectations and the goals of the program were a match with what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to have a ceiling put on the program. I wanted to try to get everything together and see exactly where we could get to and I think we’re taking the steps to do that.
BK: What is your coaching philosophy in terms of how you run a program?
BG: When it comes to the running of the program, everything is going to be run in a very first-class manner. Everything is going to be run in a very demanding manner. I’m a very demanding coach in terms of our players: basketball-wise, academically, and socially. I let them know that right from the start they are going to play for a program where they are going to get coached every day. If they don’t want to play in a program where they’re coached every day, where academics will be stressed, then they won’t be interested in playing here. We try to put everything out there so guys know exactly what they’re getting. I want guys to come to Dayton that really want to play for me and to understand and really believe in the things we can get accomplished at Dayton. If they feel that way, then they’ll be a really good fit.
BK: Now I am going to name a coach and I want you to just give me a few words on him, okay?
BG: Sure.
BK: Bob Huggins.
BG: Intense competitor, underrated coach and I just think he is a great coach.
BK: Sean Miller.
BG: I’ve known him since we were 18 years old. I think he is going to do a great job at Xavier. He has a great basketball IQ and he is a people person.
BK: Can you beat him in a game of one-on-one?
BG: Nah, he was a much better player than I was. (laughing)
BK: Charlie Coles.
BG: Obviously his coaching ability has withstood the test of time. He has always had good players and they play extremely hard. He still has a pulse on players today, which is hard for a coach with his experience to do.
BK: Tim Buckley.
BG: I don’t know him that well as a head coach. One thing I do know is basketball-wise and recruiting-wise, there are not a lot of guys who work harder than him.
BK: Paul Biancardi.
BG: People don’t understand how difficult that job is. I think with the type of players he has brought in, he has a reputation as a recruiter. I think he is a great recruiter and I think he is an even better coach than recruiter. I think he had proven that in his first two years there.
BK: Bobby Lutz.
BG: I don’t know him that well, but from watching his teams play, they run a lot of different things at you and still they always seem to know exactly what they are supposed to be doing. He has done a good job of mixing high school players and junior college players. The success he has had in Conference USA speaks volumes for him as a coach.
BK: Thad Matta.
BG: A much better coach than people give him credit for. He is a tremendous competitor.
BK: Tom Izzo.
BG: He’s the best! He does everything well. He recruits well and he coaches well. He’s been too hard on himself. And as always, your greatest strength is your greatest weakness. That is probably why he had the program that he has though.
BK: Travis Ford.
BG: They (EKU) beat the crap out of us last year. They did some good things against us. They exposed us in the first game in terms of some of the weaknesses that we were going to have. I think he is a good addition to the Atlantic Ten.
BK: As a big time coach, I think people look up to you. So I am sure fans have in interest in where you eat. What are your top two or three restaurants where you love to eat?
BG: The Pine Club is one, obviously. The truth is that I don’t go out to a lot of restaurants. I usually get room service on the road. I’ve gone to eat a lot at the Pine Club. The only other place I go to eat quite a bit is Dominic’s, where we have our pre-game meals.
BK: If we look at what CDs are on your CD player, what would we find?
BG: I think I have a pretty wide variety of music that I like. Probably in there right now would be U2 and probably Babyface. Let’s see, Sting and the Police would be in there. Some jazz, maybe the guy with the curly hair, Kenny G.
BK: When you are not doing basketball, what do you do in your spare time?
BG: When I am not coaching I try to spend time with my family. I have two daughters who are just unbelievable, so they are my focus.
BK: When you get up in the morning, what makes it worth getting up?
BG: I think the thing that really gets me going is we have a chance of doing something really special here. I really believe that I think I have a group of guys who believe that. I have a group of kids coming in the future that believe in that. I am excited about staying on course and seeing this thing through.
BK: That’s a wrap!
BG: Great.
