Having grown up in a basketball family, did you always know that this was the career path you wanted to pursue?

I could not imagine a life without sports. Our dad exposed us in Jersey City where we grew up with all types of sports, from Little League baseball to football, basketball, track – we were always very active. The competitive fire was developed at a very young age by being involved in so many different sports, and then as you get older you start to narrow your focus. As we approached high school, we knew that it was necessary to commit to basketball to be able to play at a high level and to be able to get a college scholarship. My brother and I knew that the only way we were going to be able to go away to college was if we got a college scholarship. Once basketball became the central figure in our lives during our high school days, I knew that I was going to either play and then coach, or coach straight away.

It has not always been a smooth journey. How important has it been to have resilience as you have navigated your career?

I think that most successful people have experienced a lot of setbacks and losses along the way, and this builds up a resiliency and a toughness which is necessary to learn and grow from the mistakes. I have always had self-awareness, especially as I got into coaching. While I feel that my playing career gave me a good understanding of the game, I realized when I entered coaching that year after year I needed to get better to develop and evolve as a coach. Unfortunately, sometimes the best way to get better is to fail.

When you look at the state of college sports today, with the transfer portal and NIL deals and players entering the NBA draft after one year, is it harder for a program to build a culture?

It definitely is, and it can be tempting to take shortcuts but, in the end, that weakens your culture, or you end up without a true culture; you don’t have a program – you just have a team. I have no interest in being a coach in basketball if I am not part of a program that is recruiting young players, getting them on the court right away, and continuing to develop them over time. It is about building a bond between you and them through a lot of hard work. This is what keeps me excited and coming back for more.

While you are always looking for the best talent, how much do you factor in personality and program fit during the recruiting process?

We look for old school parents and old school high school coaches and old school mentors around the kids we recruit. Our program is not about selling sizzle – it is about selling substance. It is about the year-round commitment that we make to our players and exhibit every day that they are on campus. Our staff is here and committed to our players – we are here around the clock for our players. We look for young people who prioritize that and for families that are looking for that type of coaching commitment.

It is about the commitment of our entire staff. I have always tried to hire the smartest people and best coaches who are focused on building relationships and creating a vision for what our program can do in terms of developing and winning. Kimani Young and Luke Murray are two of the best coaches in the country and will be incredibly successful head coaches. Tom Moore is an amazing coach to have around me. They challenge me to be my best every day and have great ideas and suggestions that have been critical to our success.

You are known to be a very passionate coach which is clear when watching you on the sidelines. Will you discuss your coaching style?

Most of that passion during a game is directed at the officials or to engage the crowd, particularly at home games since our play style – our aggression and the way we attack – lends itself to us having a very passionate bench. When you play against us, there is a special energy on our bench which is probably why we lead the country in warnings from officials for our whole bench to sit down – not just me.

What people do not see behind closed doors is the scouting work of Kimani and Luke and me; the detail of structured, high-energy, super-competitive practices; the countless hours of film work, both as a group and as individuals. We are doing this 11 months a year.

What are your views on the state of college basketball today?

I think that the NIL was much needed for these student-athletes who bring so much value to college basketball and it provides a great opportunity for them to begin to think like businesspeople and entrepreneurs.

With regard to the transfer portal, I think we need some guardrails. For players to play for four or five different colleges allows for a lot of freedom in the short term but, in the long term, I think it unfortunately allows young people to run from ever really addressing the things that they need to do to be successful – the habits and behaviors and mentality needed to succeed. I think the transfer portal today also hurts an athlete’s ability to develop a network. If you play at three or four schools, you do not have a network in terms of a university and a coaching staff that you were with for three or four years. These networks are critical in creating opportunities for players in life after basketball.

How important is it for you to build a strong alumni network for the program and to stay engaged in your players’ lives after they leave the university?

Being someone who the players respect and who they know will tell them the truth and care for them is extremely important to me. I believe in radical honesty and telling them what they need to do to improve and get better. I am also there for them when they need to be picked up or need a hug during the tough times. We develop a bond that is there throughout the rest of their lives, and it is about being there to always tell them the truth, give them advice, and care about them.

How hard is it when you are with your father and brother to not talk about basketball?

No one has ever asked me that. It is really hard. It is usually about sports and family since this is where our interests are. For us, it is all about family, close friends, and sports.

With the success that you have achieved, are you able to enjoy the process and appreciate the journey?

I prefer the process over the destination. I grew up in an incredibly high-achieving, striving household which always had me thinking about the next thing. My staff and I have been talking about next year’s roster since last February. There are times when I take moments to enjoy it, such as when I am in my truck heading home and I see a nice sunset and I think about what we just accomplished, but for the most part I am about the work and experiencing it with a group of people – which is a beautiful moment.