Q&A with COACH PEGUES Assistant coach Mike Pegues talks about his career path, recruiting big men and more
Q: Describe your journey into coaching and your career path up to this point. A: “My transition into coaching was really unique because as a player, I never saw myself as a coach. I always wanted to play. Once I got back home from playing overseas, it wasn’t long before I naturally gravitated to work- ing with kids and getting back to the game that I love. I started coaching AAU basketball with the D.C. Assault program, one that I played with as a kid. I made some phone calls and eventually wound up being an assistant coach at O’Connell High School working for Morgan Wootten’s son, Joe Wootten. He was actually my assistant fresh- man coach when I was a freshman in high school so Joe and I had a great relationship going back to my ninth grade year. He found out I was interested in doing some high school coaching so he gave me a call and asked me if I would come over to O’Connell and help him out. That was one of the best decisions I’ve made. Because of the notoriety that I gained through those two experiences, I was
CHRIS MACK DINO GAUDIO LUKE MURRAY MIKE PEGUES KAHIL FENNELL ANDREW LENTZ TY SAMPSON ANDY KETTLER HEAD COACH ASSISTANT COACH ASSISTANT COACH ASSISTANT COACH DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS ASSISTANT AD FOR MBB VIDEO COORDINATOR STRENGTH COACH XAVIER ‘92 OHIO ‘81 FAIRFIELD ‘07 DELAWARE ‘00 REDLANDS ‘04 BALL STATE ‘10 ILLINOIS ‘13 ASHLAND ‘01 @COACHCHRISMACK @COACHDINOGAUDIO @COACHLUKEMURRAY @COACHPEGUES @KAHILFENNELL @LENTZ @TYSAMPSONUL fortunate to parlay that into a video coordinator job at VCU. I got to know Shaka Smart in the summer and we had a mutual friend in Dave Telep. I learned a lot about college athletics on the coaching side of things when I got to VCU. Shaka was a relentless worker and a great mentor to me. Not ironically, all of his assistant coaches at the time became head coaches. I learned a lot from all of those guys; Mike Jones, who is now the head coach at Radford, Mike Rhoades at VCU and Will Wade at LSU. All of those guys taught me a lot about the demands that go into being a really good college coach, the passion and work ethic it takes. It was a great experience for me. Following that season, I was able to land a job back at my alma mater, which was great. I thought that I had really made it at that point, being able to go back to Delaware and be an assistant coach at a place that I loved so much. That was big for me to go back and be an assistant for two years under Monte Ross, who is a great coach, great guy and great mentor to our players. We got a lot better over the course of those two years. It wasn’t long before I got a random call from Chris Mack at Xavier and that was the start of my tenure under Coach Mack.”
Q: Talk about Morgan Wootten, who you played for at DeMatha Catholic High School, and Mike Brey, who you played for at the University of Delaware and what makes them special. A: “Both guys are great people. They’re all about the right things and being the right person first, being a good student and then thirdly, being a good basketball player. They had their priorities in order. They wanted to make sure that as young men we were about the right things, that we understood the importance of being a good person, taking care of our academics and of being business-like in the classroom and on the court. They didn’t just tell you a bunch of things that they weren’t about. They were guys that got up early. They were always available and there for you in whatever capacity that you needed them. They were most importantly great teachers. You learned a great deal about the game every day you showed up for practice. You learned a great deal about what it meant to be a responsible young man from watching them go about their day, how they took care of themselves and their families and also how they took care of us as players. They always wanted what was best for us whether we had a good day or a bad day. They were the same guy every day.”
Q: How did they influence your approach to coaching and teaching the game? A: “Both guys had a really good way about them in terms of getting their point across. I never heard Coach Wootten raise his voice or say a curse word. I can’t say the same for Mike Brey, but they were both effective in their own ways in making sure everybody was on the same page. The passion that they brought, the organization to every practice. Both guys were phenomenal teachers. Both guys were also incredibly positive. They had a way of making you feel really good about yourself even when your confidence may have wavered somewhat. They found a way to make their point about whatever it was you were doing incorrectly but at the same time making you feel really good about who you were as a player and giving you that confidence to go out and play at your very best.”
Q: When you’re on the recruiting trail and knowing you’re going to be coaching them when they get on campus, what do you look for as you’re recruiting big men? A: “The game is really changing. Guys that are 7-feet tall want to play on the perimeter. You get a lot more guards that are looking to post up than bigs so the game has been inverted a little bit. Some of the things I look for in a big, and any player honestly, is how hard they play. Do they compete and get after it? Are they passionate about winning? I think the thing that you have to consider first and foremost is the intangibles. How well do they get along with their teammates? How do they communicate with their coach, their opponents, the referees? Do they have great body language? How do they react when things go well and when things don’t go well? And then you start to examine the physical aspects of their game. Do they run the floor hard? Do they com- pete and can they catch, for instance? I think that’s a huge deal for big guys. When they catch the ball, are they able to catch it in traffic and absorb contact? Can they use both hands? Can they play with their back to the basket? Can they face up? Can they step out and make jump shots and handle the ball? Here at Louisville, we want all-encompassing big guys. We want truly skilled big guys that are capable of doing a little bit of everything. I think in this day and age, versatility is probably the best attribute to anybody’s game.”
Q: Once they’re on campus, what’s a consistent point of emphasis for you in working with your big guys? A: “I would say competitive spirit, coming ready to play every day and playing hard. We can always iron out technicalities and strategy, but I think the bottom line for our big guys is to show up to work ready to go. Be prepared to compete every day. Get after it. Play hard. Communicate. Know what it is that you’re supposed to be doing on any given segment of practice. Know your responsibilities and do it at a high level. When you’re talking offense, I want our guys to be aggressive, demand the ball in the post and play with great pace. Be unselfish and make great decisions. Defensively, protecting the rim. Being there for their teammates. Communicate ball screens. Move your feet, play hard and be a force in the paint, being a presence down there and anchoring our defense from the box.”
Q: What would you recommend to young coaches that are trying to break in to the industry and move up? A: “I think what helped me first and foremost was being a good guy. My track record as a player and student-athlete through college, I treated people the right way. I’m a firm believer in you never know where your help is going to come from. And not just because of that but on principles alone, I think it’s important to treat people the right way and the way that you want to be treated. Just doing that, you can really put yourself in a position of elevation. Get out of your comfort zone. Expand your network. Be willing to go out and meet new people, certainly in the game of basketball at whatever level. Get to know as many people as you possibly can and gain as many perspectives on the game as you can. Gather all of that information and eventually use it as a means to develop your own identity as a coach. Be a student of the game. Know the history of the game. I think all of those things are obviously things any young coach can do to put themselves in a position to get ahead in this business.” UOB OFFENSE | ELEVATOR UOB OFFENSE | FLEX DOWNSCREEN UOB OFFENSE | BOX GUARD UPSCREEN UOB OFFENSE | BOX HANDOFF UNDER 2 UOB OFFENSE | FLAT DOWN NARROW UOB OFFENSE | FLAT FLEX UOB OFFENSE | FLAT RETURN UOB OFFENSE | FLAT STS UOB OFFENSE | RACE WIDE (ZONE) UOB OFFENSE | SLANT (ZONE)