Hey, what up. Welcome in. I'm Doug Gottlieb. This is all ball. Obviously, since the last recording of this year podcast, a lot has happened. What hasn't happened is we haven't won a game. And to those of you who are coaches who are listening, you're like, man, that's got to be really har right, And the answer is yeah, yeah, it's hard. And the you know, the thing that I take pride in is there's there's no quitting anybody in their staff. There's no quit in our players. We have.
We have a new big guy, Yonatan Levy, who I think we'll get him to join us in a podcast, probably this upcoming week, who came over from Israel. He's still kind of rounding into shape, although round is the shape he fouled out in nine and a half minutes against Northern Kentucky. I am, I am. I'm doing my best to not say anything negative about anybody who blows a whistle during the game, but I'm going to say
that's not why we lost. But it was disconcerting that, man, we really didn't feel like that was a game in which we had we were at a competitive disadvantage on some level in that aspect of it. But here's the part that you got to take ownership of and I actually like is that we're getting better. We're getting better. And I know this is not horseshoes and hand grenades. I know that people look at final scores, and there were some final scores early in the season which looked
closer than they actually were. This last one looked worse than it actually was. We were up ten and it was this six or eight point game and you know, kid actually from Wisconsin D two transfers are really good player, hit three threes late. Kind of that was that. But we're starting to figure out how to play better defensively. We're playing a little bit different often, and I'm improving as a coach in leaps and mountains, my use of timeouts,
my substitutions, all those other things. And look, I know that that. You know, somebody with it has to be like a black heart, or maybe they thought it was just funny to do. They clipped the nobody you thing and made it out like I was saying that about one of our opponents, which was the opposite of what I said. I knew our schedule was too difficult, right, like we needed in my first year to have at least two games where we're playing traffic cones, you know,
just anything. And look at the schedules of other teams in our league and everybody plays them, and we did not. It was a mistake, and you know our scheduling. But the point is that between scheduling, who we take player wise, assignments of roles on coaching staffs, my approach in the summer, my approach in the fall, my approach during the games, manipulation of the clock, manipulation of timeouts, substitution pattern, all these things. I really am learning a ton and I
felt super comfortable early on. I've never felt uncomfortable, but I also knew that I had a lot to learn. And you know, maybe the thing I've learned the most is not just my staff's good. You can lean on them and they're helpful, but you do need an old head. You need somebody who's seen every war and seen everything.
And you know, I've brought in several people to help out during the year, but not fully on staff, and that part is hard and is a miss and something that I'll have to try to adjust to going forward.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Doug Gottlieb Show weekdays at three pm Eastern noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
It's good to be back on All Ball, and I think you will love our guest because he went through his own early struggles as a head coach. His name is Jared Calhoun. He's the head coach at Utah State, the fifteen one of the year, having an unbelievable season, including beating Sandy Use State at San New State, which never happens. Let's get to his journey and how he went from being a player at Cleveland State to now
being the hottest head coach at Utah State. Here's my conversation with Jared Calhoun before we get to your current job or even the Youngstown job. How'd you get to Cleveland State to play?
Yeah, you know, Doug, good question. I was a decent high school player in the Cleveland area Villa Angelas Saint Jose, home of Clark Kellogg and numerous NBA guys and NFL guys, played for a legendary coach in Ted Quasniak. I wanted to get into coaching, Doug. I was really at about the age of thirteen, I kind of knew I wanted to coach college, and we had a legendary coach in town by the name of Raleigh Massimino. Sure, you know, I wanted to play for him, and I wanted to
learn from him. And you know, a lot of the things we do away from the court, game planning, all that stuff is from coach mas Aminos. So that that's how I ended up in the conference that you're coaching in right now.
So yeah, well it was so wait, thirteen, where were you when you're thirteen? And why did you say? Because I have my own story and we were telling it today on radio, give me your thirteen year old story, and why you decided, Hey, this is what I want to do.
Yeah, you know, Doug, So, I grew up with a guy named Maverick Carter. He and I became best friends. He's now running Lebron's Empire. Actually talked to him last night, man, just praying that the people in California are okay. He woke up this morning not known if he had a house that was standing up crazy. So we used to go to the parks all the time and play, and you know, just every weekend we were at the parks, and that's kind of how we grew up playing basketball.
And I just kind and knew that, you know, I was gonna stay around basketball, and I knew I was smart enough to realize I wasn't playing overseas for the NBA, and I just wanted to learn. So that's really kind of why I went there. What was your experience, Like, I loved it, very very difficult. I'll say this, Doug. You know I told you off air man, Uh, it was rough as a player at Cleveland State. We didn't win a ton.
Uh.
You learn a lot when you're struggling, So you know, all the haters that are that are hating on you, you're gonna be just fine. I'm telling you. My first year at Youngstown and my playing days at Cleveland Day were rough. But you come out, you know, much better from some of the struggle. And I think, you know, that's kind of how you build your culture.
I agree, I think, and you know, we'll get into kind of some of these things I'm learning, but I you know, I think the hardest thing is a player. I only went through one tough season as a player my first year at Notre Dame and we were nine and seventeen, and I had never been a part of a losing program. And you know, part of it is, I'm sure you this way you played for I played for legendary high school coach as well. You you don't
even think of the possibility of losing. Like I don't remember a game even at Notre Dame that I didn't go in thinking we're go win, you know. And this was this is ninety five ninety six. So the Big East had Yukon had ray Allen. They were number one through three in the country. Nova had carried Kittle's they were two in the country. We played them, you know, everybody had a dude. Syracuse was the fourth best team and they went to the championship. No, they had John Wallace.
This was the year that went to the championship game against priduce Kentucky, and we had him. We're we have them down fifteen at their place on senior night, their senior night, but they just kind of turned it on and beat us down six with the minute to go, beat it and they beat us in the biggest tournament up. By my point was what was what do you remember about the locker room? You're a player, team's not doing well. What do you remember about that Cleveland State locker room.
Yeah, you know, one thing that that really stood stood out was, you know, there was a divide, right there was some guys that were ready to quit. There were some guys ready to still fight. We had a good leader though, Coach mass got us to the finish line. We had good assistant coaches that stayed positive. So I was always under the impression that we could turn it at any time. Unfortunately, the last year it did not work out, and coach Massamino got fired. But you know,
just kind of a disjointed locker room, you know. And so I've seen it as a player, and I saw it my first two years of coaching, and you know, it can be tough, There's no doubt about it.
And that's the craziest thing. I mean, you think about it. Here's a guy who authors arguably or maybe inarguably, the greatest upset in the history of national championship. So obviously knows what he's doing.
Yes, cle Thick fires him.
It's like, you'd love to say it's his fault, but I don't know, but it's his vault, right. It really is the craziest profession and I heard I heard Eli Manning say some one which resonated with me. He had a year where he threw he led the league interceptions.
And I was working for CBS at the time, and I was working in New York, and I remember listening to the interview with Francess and he said, like, you do know him a better quarterback now than when I won a Super Bowl, Like I know more, I see more, just you know, we just had a bad year. And he didn't throw his teammates under the bus and say what I thought I knew, which is like, look, when you don't have as good a team, you gotta take
some more chances. That's when more turnovers take place. But it is really interesting, like in coaching a guy who everybody thinks knows what he's doing. Obviously great Gregaria's personality, and yet UNLV State ends up getting let go after after all that greatness at Villanova. And so it's not like you can't coach it. Obviously was a lot of things, and players are probably the biggest part.
Of it, right, Yeah, I think you know, the players are the lifeblood of the program. You know, I've been head coach for thirteen years and We've only had two losing seasons of those thirteen, so been very fortunate, Doug. They have a lot of good players. You know, been at two places that historically have never really won a lot of college basketball games, so been part of two you know, kind of had to change the culture and
do those sorts of things. But yeah, I mean, I think the players are so important nowadays, and you know that's why we develop a leadership team and certain things on our team because you know, it's a long season. As you know, it can really wear on you throughout throughout a season.
Okay, so you get done and you decide to go and what be a grand assistant Cincinnati.
Yeah, I was kind of a student assistant. I was coaching AAU basketball and coach Huggins was recruiting two of my players. Both kids ended up going to Ohio State, so I said, all I'm out.
Uh they went, Which got which players?
It was Jamar Butler and Matt Turwilliger. I coached these
kids in AU. I was the head coach. I had a good little run with this team, and you know it wasn't really a package deal, but I was going to go there to finish up because my college coach just got fired, and so I went to work with Hugs for one year at Cincinnati as a student assistant, and a guy on his staff, Dan Peters, got well, yeah, Dan, uh, you know, got me my start at Walsh University after one year with coach Huggins, and it changed the trajectory
of my life. It was the greatest coaching experience at Walsh. We won a national championship and I was an assistant there and just thrown into the fire.
What was it like? What? What's you know? Your right out of college? Right and you're at Walsh. How big a school is Walsh?
So we had about fifteen hundred students we were at an AI. We ended up getting Robert Whaley transferred from the University of Cincinnati, one of the last non Division two guys to get drafted. It was my job to make sure Robert did what he was supposed to do, and he did and we started to season Doug That year, I believe we were seven and five and we never lost the game. We won the Division two ANAI national championship. And I was the same age as the players. I
was twenty three. My high school point guard transferred in from Akron that used to play with me, and we took two Lebron James's buddies, Brandon Weams and now the assistant general manager of the Cavs, and a kid named Corey Jones, and off we went to win a national championship. Was crazy.
And then you circle back to work with Hugs later at West Virginia, Right, yeah.
Then I go back Doug to West Virginia as the ops guy four years as director of basketball operations. Back then, you could not be on the court, right, So you're doing a lot of administrative work, You're doing tickets, you know, just doing a lot of different things. And then the fifth year, he moved me up. And then I thought I'd probably never leave unless it was a Division one opportunity. But I took a real, real chance, and I took a Division two job twenty five minutes down the road.
And you know, we had five unbelievable seasons at Fairmont State, and I had a great staff, and you know, I had Joe mazzoul on staff and various guys that are now doing really well, and it was just an unbelievable run.
Okay, before we get to Fairmont, Okay, you're an opsky My brother's first job at Standing the State with Steve Fisher was the opsky as well, where he grew to be in a full ton of system. What was it like to be in Huggs ops guy? Like? What what were his specific things that he wanted for travel for example?
Yeah, I mean there was there was quite a bit. We had a very very you know, strict menu. He wanted a variety of food on the trips, so we would have an Italian night, a barbecue knight, burger night. I tried to keep them guessing on on the menu the way we traveled, right.
Uh.
You know when we got to the hotel, we were going to do certain things, you know, stretch film when we had recruits in, you know, what what were things going to look like, whether it was the locker room, whether it was back then you could put the things in the hotel rooms, you know. So I really learned, you know, by the.
Way, by the way, by the way, I mean, listen, I understand, I'm not one of these guys that kills the NCAA. But we can pay players now, we can pay.
Them whatever we want to pay them, and yet we cannot leave special things for them inside their hotel rooms on a visit.
Well, Doug, you don't know. Yeah, it's we could.
We could literally pay them whatever we want, but we can't leave like I wanted to. I wanted to leave some cheeseheads, you know, and get a packer's jersey and a name on the back of it. I thought this would be a really cool thing to like, coach, we can't do that.
Yeah, it's you had a great you had a great episode. I've listened to quite a few of your shows. You don't realize, but I'm a big fan of yours. When you kind of you kind of talked about all this stuff in the NIL and the ability to you know, it's just it's crazy times, you know. And now the Juco rule and now the extra year. The rules have changed so much, Doug. Every day I can't keep track of it. I mean, I feel like I'm calling my compliance guy daily to keep up. But back then there
were a lot of rules. You know, there was a ton of rules. So it certainly has changed, and it's crazy.
Well, listen, my ops guy is Dennis Harrington, and he finally came. I said, we actually found a really good a really good hotel right on the water in Cincinnati.
We played Right State and I and and the food was good, the rooms were good, rooms were big, and it was it was a good adavoid des I know though, like being the dobo is the most thankless job because it's it's a little bit like you know that room inside uh where you if you don't get your baggage at an airport, there's that little room you got to go to and you gotta, you know, tell them what your bag looks like and fill a lot of paperwork whatever. No one ever goes in that room and says, hey,
great job, I got my bag, thank you. You know, they only come in there to complain. That's kind of the dobo. No one ever goes like, hey, flight was there on time, food was hot. Thanks. So if you can, if you can, be a dobo, especially for hugs. Right a little the older we get, the more particular we get. You've obviously obviously earned your stripe. Okay, so Fairmont State, how'd you get the job? Forget about the job? So how'd you get the job?
Yeah? I mean I went through the interview process. You know, there was they said, over one hundred guys that interviewed for this job. It had great tradition, Doug. It was literally twenty five thirty minutes from you know, Morgantown, West Virginia. Nice gym needed upgraded. So really just sold a vision of how we were going to get it back. We're going to get into the community. We raised a ton
of money. I had a lot of ties to a lot of the people in the state, and I think most of them thought I was nuts wanting the job, but I wanted to be a head coach. I was ready to call my own timeouts, run my own program. I didn't care what level it was, and it was the best gamble that I ever made. I took a thirty thousand dollars pay raise. We got there the next day after the press conference to practice, and there was everything was set up from the night before, Doug, so
we couldn't even practice. We had to take down the stage the podium, and I looked at my guy that came with me, and I said, what did I just do? Right?
Like?
They didn't have practice for ready to go? And I soon learned we didn't have all the help we had at West Virginia, but it teaches you how to grind, how to work, and then we got a great staff. You know, we just kept getting better and better each year.
What was what was the secret? Like, what's the secret, sauce to your ability to build that culture so quickly?
Yeah, I think it really is the time we spend with the guys, Doug. You know, we do leadership meetings every Monday, so I bring in the three captains of my team. I've done this for a very long time, and I first thing I say is what can I do better? How can we be better? Who's struggling? There's going to be two or three players on every team that are really in the tank and struggling. How can I help those guys? Are you guys happy with the food?
Are you guys happy with the massage? Therapy? You know? What about practice? This is what our week looks like. So I've always done it from like a collaborative effort with the players and empowered those guys. And I have felt that with this generation, this generation, Doug is so different than how you and I came up. They want to know the why. So I give it to him early in the week and I think it's just been uh, you know. Then we've transformed our offense. You know, we've
played fast, We've played free, We've played with space. You know, I learned a lot from from you know, coach Missoula and studying the game, and then we stole the matchup zone from Northern Kentucky and you know here it's been tremendous.
Let's let's get to Let's get to Joe. Yeah, I mean just a really kind of fascinating his own kind of trajectory and brain. First time you met Joie Missoula was wearing went well.
I coached him at West Virginia. You know, he was this this relationship coast back a long way.
Uh.
You know, I was the best man in his wedding. He was on my staff for three years. We go on you know, family vacations together. You know. His dad was just dynamite. I mean he kep drive from from Rhode Island in the middle of the night, go to the game, sleep, go back the next day. I mean, just an interesting guy. But Joe had a fire. You know as a player, Doug, you could see it. You know, he really just transformed his life after college. He really
devoted his life to God. He just grew grew so much, you know, spiritually basketball wise. I saw the change after year two, and I encouraged him. We shared an office, right, so our office was like a closet at Fairmont State. So the number of ideas that we had were just ridiculous. I mean, both of us never stop with ideas. We're probably not great for each other. We wanted to reinvent the game of basketball, and we laughed because neither one
of us was very good back then. But we just developed a great relationship and threw things off of each other. And you know, I just people ask me all the time and with interviews and stuff. When he won the title, are you surprised? Well, obviously yes, But did I knew he would be ready? Yes, if he ever got the opportunity, that guy was going to be ready. He had been planning for a long time. And uh, I think he's gonna go down as one of the greats. I mean,
he inherited a great team. But you know he demands the team. Uh you know, I've been to their practices. The players love him and he runs great stuff.
No, he does run great stuff. Wasn't Wasn't he a holdover from bee Line? Though?
Yeah?
Yeah, that's maybe the most amazing part, right is you know, here's the guy who was a B line holdover. And you know, so oftentimes now guys want to you know, he didn't recruit me. I'm not his guy. They want to leave like that's maybe an untold remarkable part about the story is that he played for both he was a B line guy, but then you know, he became kind of a signature of of that that Final four team,
right in terms of his leadership with it. This really impressed, like of the impressive things is one of the most impressive parts.
Yeah, I mean, Doug, we inherited quite a few good players Dayshaun Butler, which is now on Joe's staff, well Easton Smith Camp Thurman. You know back then, you you know, those kids didn't transfer at the rip they do now, right, So, yeah, he we ran the one three one zone. That's how we beat cal Perry in the Elite eight to go to the Final Four.
And yeah again and for people obviously basketball people who listen to this, they know this. But I mean you're talking uh three lottery picks on Kentucky just a dominant team and they could do nothing with the one three nothing. Now, I will tell you, and I mean I know your guys at Youngstown. I mean they'll, they'll, we're we're tinkering with it. So my high school coach became a junior college coach and won four state titles in cal Point. And he says he was the only guy that bee
Line ever let stay with this team. That he was there for like two weeks. So he became kind of a savant with the one three one funneling guys, baking and fanning, and so we've been it's we we broke it out for two possessions Wright State and gave them to Lambs.
But you guys play them Sunday, right, Doug? Do you play Youngstown next Sunday?
We do? We do? We played, We played on Sunday. We have you know, and as you know, the Horizon League kind of weird schedule, no games this week, which we needed. Then we played Milwaukee. Then we don't play until Friday, Friday, Sunday, Wednesday.
So uh so, well, yeah, your league is full of zone. It's a people don't realize. The Horizon League is a clunky, kind of a weird league to coach, and it makes you really think you got the Northern Kentucky zone, you got the Oakland zone, you got Cleveland State playing a million defenses. You know, it's a weird league, Doug, I think it is.
It's a it's a weird league. But I'm really impressed by the level of toughness and competitiveness for these teams. Like they're just one team is is is tougher than the next, you know it. So as we kind of you know, learn from what we need to get. Obviously we need to get older, but now older doesn't do it. You need just really tough minded, super competitive kids, because we just we just get beat up on the boards. And just like again, I look, I look at Milwaukee
we're playing Saturday. I like their team because they're just tough, you know, even when things aren't.
But I've coached against bart and they're gonna play fast and in free and you know, so you got to probably slow them down, I'm sure.
So so you get all the way to being the runner up right in the at Fairmount, Yeah, what's that like? Where you've built this thing into do you know, four years, three straight tournaments going all the way to the championship game and then you got an opportunity to go to Division One. But as you point out at Youngstown, at
the time hadn't won. What's that like to the competitor and you wants to finish it and wants to win the national title as you did at the NAIA level, and yet you always wanted to be a Division one head coach. What was that like?
Yeah? Great question, man. Frustrating right, Uh, you know I lost to Ben McCollum, very very good coach at Drake, good buddy of mine. Do you play those guys, Drake?
Yeah? Yeah, we actually we ran a We didn't guard two of them and we kept it. We were down four with four to go. Man, they are so connected defensively.
Yeah, I mean all those kids have played for him. That's obviously a competitive advantage. But you know we we lost to them by eight or nine points in national championship. Frustrated. I think we had one of our worst offensive games. You know, I don't know if he just tells me this, but he said if we played ten out of ten, he thought we'd beat him nine out of ten, he said, by far the hardest national title that he won, but he won four of them. But I get the nicest texts, Doug.
So I go back to my hotel room and I get a text from Jim Tressel, who is the president at Youngstown State, wanting to talk and talking about him losing I believe two or three national championships at Youngstown and would you have interest in the job. So fast forward twenty four hours after the game, I'm on the phone with Joe Missoula at my house basically asking him if he's going to take you leave the G League
and take the job. Because we were so tight knit, our coaches and our players that we really wanted Joe to get the job. So I felt relieved and I felt like it was the right thing to do, take a new challenge with Joe getting the opportunity to run Fairmount State. So it worked out really well.
Be sure to catch live editions of The Doug Gottlieb Show weekdays at three pm Eastern noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio in the iHeartRadio app.
So you get to you, you get the Youngstown What was it like?
Oh, first two years, Doug. That's why I'm rooting for you. I love guys that have to have to figure things out. You know, you're you're at a historical place that I think could be good. Right, you got to get your inprint. You gotta you know, and that's what we did. You know, the first year we won eight games. We were not very good. We were two and eleven in the non league. What's crazy is we start on the Horizon League three
and zero and we think here we come right. And I think we ended up winning five or six games that year, and I learned more about running a program during those trying times. The biggest mistake I didn't do was work out. I got I became very, very depressed, almost bottomed out. But I found new life at the end of the year, and we came back and we improved on eight wins. I believe we won thirteen or fourteen the next and then we went for five straight
winning seasons. But you know, those kids went through a lot with me, and I'll cherish that, and they've made me the person and the coach. And it was tough, man, it was really really tough losing like that.
You know, you had won previously, so you knew what you were doing would work. But I do think that anybody who's reasonable you get that crisis and confidence. Is this going to work here? Or is it gonna How'd you overcome that?
Yeah, we were just looking for you know, small wins. You know, in fact, we played out here at Utah State and we got excited about about our team diving on the floor because we hadn't We hadn't dove on the floor for the last three games. So we finished two and eleven first year, and at halftime I was going nuts because they were diving on the floor. You know,
things like that. Trying to keep a positive outlook, not lose the team, and just really try to state mentally locked in and not burn out, because I think you see a lot of coaches, especially in our world today, that can fizzle out. So I just tried to from year one to year two, get the kids that really wanted to be there, kind of fit who we are, and developed a leadership team and just not look back.
You know, the Horizon League championship team of two years ago. Obviously I saw that team because close with my boy and they played you guys in the n it at your place. What's that like? Because we always you know, when I'm working on TV, we always champion the team that wins it, right, but we never talk about the
other side. You take the worst team in the league, you turn them over six years into a league champion and your reward is you have to go beat everybody again and win the Horizon League tournament and you don't what's that feeling like from a guy who had you know, you've been in the National Championship game, you'd won a national championship at the NA level, but to win the league and to build, because that's really what you're trying to build, Like then tournament's great, but you want to
win your league? What what is what are those emotions like?
Yeah, that's that's that's a great, great point. You know, it was frustrating. I felt like, you know, at our level, at your level, there needs to be a little more of a home court advantage. I always thought, you know, back in the day, you know, the Horizon League champion, when Brad Stevens and Gary Waters were in the league, if you won the regular season, it was at the host site. Right. I feel like at the Horizon League level, you've got to protect a one seat a little better.
Right at the end of the day, where college sports are headed, the power for us are going to own uh the the NCAA tournament. It's just the reality. So if you get a team that's older connected can go win a game in the tournament. You got to protect that seed. And you know, Indy's a great experience. Doug. I think Julie your commissioner. Now I've been, you know, part of the Big East, have been part of the Mountain West. I think she's big time. I think she's
really really good. I think she could, you know, continue to climb. I think the Horizon League does the best they can, but I think it needs to go back to the host site and protect that because there was definitely very very deflated and now with the n i T that being cut for load to mid majors as well. I was very thankful that we got to host an n i T first round game against Oklahoma State and we just happened to be able to do it because you know, Oklahoma State had something in their arena. But
it was deflating, you know it was. It still sits in my stomach to this day that I didn't win a Division two national championship. We're eight points away and I wasn't able to get Youngstown to the NCAA Tournament. But I feel like I left it in a good place. I have great friends. My one of my good friends was able to get the job again, you know, and he you know, he was able to get a couple of guys that are in my wedding on his staff
hired there. So it's just a neat thing when you can leave a place and you kind of see like other guys get their opportunity and.
You know it.
So, yeah, I think that that was very frustrating.
Okay, you you get the job at you toasting. Now, this is a place that I know really well. I've done a ton of their games. They've had an Actually, my the high school coach I told you about to be given a junior college coach. He sent several players there back when coach Morril was there. They have had quality coach after quality coach after quality coach. There's a really high bar set there, but especially with this day and age sprinkles there a year and he's gone and
he takes he takes the best players. What's it like to take over Utah State? Now you finally get to essentially a high major with their success and you've been winning a different part of the country and the coupver wasn't bear but it definitely has been rated.
Yeah, I mean the first thing we had to do, Doug was was really do our research on the current roster. I think so many guys come in and really spend you know, I've done this three times and I've made mistakes every stop. So I said, I'm not going to make the same mistake. The biggest mistake I made at Youngstown I spent too much time with the donors raising money because we had no locker room, we had no this,
we had no that, no budgets. I wanted to spend the first two weeks really getting to know every player so great O Sabor, Joshua Duje, good big time players that transferred out of here. I had countless meals with I worked them out. I gave everything I had to everybody in the program for the first two weeks and tried to figure out who wanted to stay, who wanted
to be a part of this. And we did a really good job of building those relationships, trying to sell our vision of how we want to play offensively and defensively. Did the research with Coach Morrell. He was my first call. Talked to Coach Sprinkle, talked to Craig Smith, talked to Ryan Odom and it was really neat Doug. I thought one thing here that they nailed. They had four players on the interview process. So when I walked into a room, I had one hour with these kids, and I had
watched thirty one games on Utah State. It was a job that I always wanted. I feel like you can win a national championship here because the home court advantage, the location. We have great high school basketball in Utah. We're starting to get a lot of prep schools. There's some really good juke goes in the area. And we just hit the ground run and the kids were brought in in the portal, you know from you know, the returning guys and the new guys. It's been an incredible,
incredible story. You know, we lost great Osibor to the portal and Nil and obviously his relationship with Coach Sprinkle. We lost Joshaduje. We did lose some guys. We didn't keep them all, but the ones we kept, I'd tell you they really want to be here.
I noticed behind you are all the Mountain West trophies, right the recent mouse most trophies. And what's interesting about that to me is it's like, I there's some Coach Bennett stuff and I was like, I didn't earn that. Let's not put that in my office. I didn't earn that. How do you handle that? How do you handle you know, Ryan had great success, Sprinkle had great success, Craig had
great success. Coach more obviously incredible historic success. How do you handle just the awards and what you decided to keep and what you said to us in your new office.
Yeah, that's really funny. So I told our staff the other day, Doug, I said, why are these trophies not in the trophy case inside the spectrum? Well, the trophy case is so old. We don't think it'll be able to hold the trophies because these newer trophies wait so much. And they said, Coach, every time we bring in a recruit, we need to sell our history. One thing you feel about this job, Doug every day, and Danny you know, told me this and we talk quite a bit, is
it's a pressure cooker. Right, So you know, I think they just think we're going to win in the spectrum and we're just going to go to the NCAA tournament. And you know we've been able to do it. We've had a niche here, right, We've had great international players. We've had great high school players. Our fan base is elite. Now we're in a whole new ballgame. Right, I'm the first coach to actually coach in the NIL world. You know, we're we're middle tier in the NIL. Right, We're probably
six or seventh in total dollars for our roster. Right, We've got to continue to move the needle on that. In two years, we're going to opt into revenue sharing. We're going to be in the same league as Gonzaga, Right, So we got to keep changing and keep growing with this job. And I think you know, it's a storied program. It really is, and it's it's an honor to be here, man, Like I wake up every day really really, you know,
just proud to come in. And when you have good players Doug and good kids that buy into your offensive system and defense. It's been unbelievable really, because I've had two jobs.
How do you identify in the portal who can play for you?
Yeah, So we have a kind of a metrics you know, the point guard position. We really really value winning at that point guard position. We really value speed. Right, So we took Date and Allberry from Queen's. He didn't win a ton of games, but he's really really fast. We really study efficiencies. We talk with the kids about efficiency, right. So one thing that I learned from Joe, it's not you know, it's not the minutes, it's not the points.
We don't ever talk about that during the recruiting. We talk about how much better can we make you and your decision making in offense? Right, So we assist on sixty five percent of our makes. So we do a ton of red drills that I got from Joe, whether that's a pick and roll, read an off ball screen, read a drive, read a post read. We want our guys to make high level decisions on the basketball court. We want to play at a certain tempo. You know,
we have certain criteria for every position. This is the first year that I've had a non shooting starting five, So our backup is a shooting five. I got to have one big guy that can stretch the d. We want a lob threat. We want rim protection from the five, and then we want three point guards on the roster. I think so many teams are handcuffed because they only
recruit two. You got to have three, and then versatile wings that can not only play out of pick and rolls, but you know, read defenses, drive the ball, make threes and interchangeable, right, the two, three and four is very interchangeable for us.
What is the one thing you do better now than you did five years ago at Youngstown as a coach?
Yeah, great question, more patient, better plan? You know, I would say, communicate better with our guys. Don't overreact. You know, I think you know you're there's a time you have to show emotion. There's a time you have to get on guys. I coached very angry two games ago, and I didn't like it. After the game, I couldn't sleep, but the kids, I couldn't get him to move. We were playing Fresno State coach Wahlberg had his team more ready than mine. So I became very angry, very angry
during the game at halftime. That's not me, That's not who I am. So I got to be kind of consistent how we're going to run the daily operation. I rely on my assistance a lot more. Doug, I would say, you know, you're you're going to learn that.
You know.
Empowering others is I think one of the greatest gifts we can do as head coaches have them take ownership of things, whether it's you know, skill work development, you know, empowering your ops guy, making sure our players think our managers, you know, our student managers. Two of my best friends were managers. I started off as a manager at Cleveland State and worked my way as a walk on. So you know, you have to acknowledge everybody in the program
a lot and give thanks to those people. And I think that rubs off on your team, and then everybody, you know, really enjoys being around each other.
You mentioned that the Horizon is a lot of zone, kind of a Mucket up league. He in out West. You got a little bit of everything there. I was you, Sandy, the State has built theirs with defense and rebounding, scoring in it. Just in that points to win. Coach Wahlberg, you mentioned at Fresno, right, he's the dribble, he's the you know, dribble, drive motion, shoot a ton of threes,
a little bit of a quirky style. What have you noticed that's different about Mountain West basketball from Horizon League basketball or Big East basketball?
Yeah, we did a study, you know, in the offseason on every team, uh kind of you know, how they guarded pick and rolls, how they guarded off ball screening, you know, a lot of different things. The thing that I've noticed in the Mount West offensively with teams very deliberate, a lot of pick and roll, slower paced league outside of New Mexico, UH coaches want to you know, kind of call a lot of sets. They want to get the ball to their best players. Defensively at just a
huge emphasis on gap defense over helping. You have to make below the free throw line reads. You have to have the bill to make decisions at the rim, late kickouts, a physical presence, Doug. The biggest difference between your league, which I think is really really good. Lot of good like upcoming coaches, those middle age type of coaches that have their niche, and then you throw a great campy in there that is going to throw a million sets at you and play this the weirdest son I've ever seen.
I still can't figure it out. And he spoke at my clinic when we were in the league together and he's one of my best friends of this day. Just a lot of things, you know, like so you gotta I think you got to do this as a head coach. You've got to have a system. You can't be a control freak. I think you've got to be great in ATOS.
We have really done a good job in ATOS. If you look at our efficiency, our baseline out of bounds, I think we're in one of the best teams in the country at executing and we do a tremendous job in our off ball screening actions. I think everybody lives in picking rolls. We've done more off ball screens this year than I've ever done, and I got a lot of that from Joe with the Tatum and Brown, those
wide pinned downs, those screen of ways. You know, there's a lot of things you can do and be creative with some of those off ball screens, but physical and just a really good league.
Has it setting yet? You know that that how easy this transition, at least perception wise, has been. Has it? Has it? I mean you're thirteen and one.
You know, yeah, when you're winning, it's it's really easy.
Right.
I think everybody thinks that Tim Miles can coach vance can I mean every is.
A perfect example, right, Tim Elevant coach in the same league obviously different resources now, right, but dominated the league when he's at Calorio State, and now it's really hard in San Jose. So but I mean my point is, like, you know, there's apprehension with anything, and obviously you know all the benefits to Utah State, but my goodness, the start has to has to feel really good as it as it set in. When you look around, you're like, this is this works here, it'll work anywhere.
Yeah, you know what it does, Doug. It just kind of reaffirms to your players that hey, what we're doing, you know, can can work in the game. And we've been elite in the last three to four minutes of every game we've won. You know, really what gave us confidence. We went into Saint Mary's and won on the road, right then the San Diego State, which hadn't been done
here in eighteen years, went on the road. Then we go on the road, you know, to Nevada and placed you know, Coach Alford, which has been awesome to me. We have the same age and he's kind of you know him and Coach Dutcher been really good to me. Those guys are awesome guys. Have admired them from Afar. You know, we're all fans of each other, and you know, me being a you know, a younger coach, and I've
always watched the Mountain West. Those guys been great, So it just kind of shows you, you know, we've we've adjusted it to the game of basketball. Our players are efficient players. And when you put we over me, and everybody has all the different slogans and all the different signs, and ours is real simple, we over me. The third bulletin of every game is put the team over yourself, right,
and that can go a million ways. Right, make the extra assists, make a screen assist, make a one more assist, you know, defensively, communicate the coverage right, stop the ball that's putting the team over yourself. And you know, these kids have really embodied that and we were able to do that at Fairmounty and Youngstown. And you know, if we're lucky enough, fortunate enough to get in the NCAA tournament, I think will be a really hard out because the
way we play, we're really good on both sides. Those are the good mid major teams that make a run at it. Doug, I think you've been doing it so long, from your playing days to your you know, your coverage of the tournament and your your show and now obviously coaching, you've seen it. You got I have connectivity on both sides. Because you could have a bad shooting night. We've been able to overcome that. You could have a grand offensive night and not guard, which we had the other night
at San Jose. You got to win in a variety of ways, and I think those are the best teams.
What would it mean to you to make that NZA tournament.
It'd be incredible. You know. I've been wanting to get back there for some time, you know, but not only make it, Doug. You know, I think I truly believe this. At Utah State you can win a national championship. You know. I've talked to Dusty May, He's a good friend of mine. Almost did it at Florida Atlantic coach Dutcher, at San Diego State coach Larnaga, at George Mason Brad at obviously Butler twice. There's been a whole slew of teams that not only made it at our level, but also almost
won a national championship. And I think moving forward we can do that.
Yeah, there's a lot of people that you know, some of the older guard getting out because for a myriad of reasons, but one reason they don't like the road we're on. You know, the portal is a lot. You go to transfer out right away, makes it really hard. You mentioned you're a locker room wh you're at Cleveland State. You know guys that quit, guys that were staying. Now you have Hey are guys wearing about next year where they're going to play next year when you're in the
middle of your year. What about you? What are your thoughts on on where college basketball is, where we're headed, and what you would like to see evolve out of this path?
Yeah, Doug, So the show that I loved you did the show in Lara Andega, I believe a couple of weeks ago. I listened to that when we were on the road, and you know, I agree with a lot of the things that you have said about it. It's not going anywhere, it's not changing, but just a couple things. Right. So, we're fifteen and one. We're top twenty five in the country. I think we're the only mid major team in the
country right now to be ranked. San Diego State's been there, Drake's been there, whoever, But right now, as of today, then it'll change, right I ask my guys. Today there's fourteen guys on my roster. Eight of them have been contacted by NIL agents. Eight of the fourteen. Various schools have tried to try to get involved, right one being not too far from here. It's totally out of control. It's off the rails. Anybody that thinks it's not they're crazy, right,
So it's not going anywhere. How can we change it? You know? Hopefully the revenue sharing is going to be really good. We're not going to that till twenty five, twenty six. You know, I really really worry about the Horizon League and schools like yourself, that coaches like yourself that are doing it the right way, developing players, you know, out raising money, you know, really taking care of your players,
and you guys just being a feeder system. You know, I worry about that with us, with my current roster. It's on my mind every day. Can we keep this team together, you know, because I think if we can, it can be special. But I think, you know, with the ni L, we have to have multi year contracts. If a kid leaves, it has to be a buyout, and there needs to be a whole restructure of the landscape there.
I think, I think, I think the multi year deal is a big thing, I think. I honestly, the hard part is and look, you know, do you contacted, kid? Do you not contact I haven't contacted anybody. My guys are told do not contact they kid, we have players that have been contacted despite the fact that we're two and fifteen or the opposite of the inverse of it.
But I think that's the hard part is everyone tells you, hey, once they hit the portal, it's too late, right, But like, okay, but I thought we're not supposed to talk to him before they hit the portal. Like, I don't even know how that works. And obviously you have the nil agents, you have the parents, you have the au coaches, and then you have the rumors of or this guy's leaving, Like where did you hear that from? You know, I think that the contacting of players on your roster. I
think that's the part that and the multi year deals. Uh, you know, they got got to have the multi year deals, and then the contacting of players your roster just has to has to be eliminated. I don't know how.
You know, Yeah, Doug, I'll lose my lose my mind, and I'm sure you would too. I think that's just totally unethical. You can't do it. Uh, they back channel, they're going through the AAU coaches that sort of thing. You know, we have two really good players that are trying to be poached now, and I just take it ahead on. I asked the guys, I explained to them what the NIL agent can do for him. I do think some guys it's good for But a lot of guys can negotiate these deals themselves, right, So I see
both sides to it. But certainly, uh, the older coach uh is is definitely there's a frustration level around the country. You're seeing Hall of famers get out. But like guys like yourself and I, we got to figure this out, right. We gotta be a voice. Certainly with your platform you can have a bigger voice. But I do think there'll there'll be some changes here in the next couple of years. With it.
Last thing moving from your West Virginia and Ohio for such a period of time. What's in Utah been like for you?
You know, Doug, It's beautiful. I wake up every day we face mountains, the Wellsville Mountains. It's the most peaceful, one of the safest safest environments. College Town. Just it looks like a postcard, right, It literally looks like a post guard of the mountains. Every day it's been different. I have grown a lot bit, you know, I always dreamed of coaching on the West coast, you know, in the Mountain West. Never in a million years what I think I'm in Logan, Utah coaching the Utah State Aggie.
So sometimes times, you know, it is so real and I think it's.
So much better where you are. And look, I'm a Southern California got but the care factor is so minimal in comparison to where you are. Your league cares right New Mexico they care, you know, sunny at Wyoming as they start winning, they care. You know, when I did the Mountain West Tournament, there was a year there where when coach Hi had a going at Wyoming where between Wyoming, New Mexico Utah State, you know Utah back then was
in it in San Diego State. And then you know, if you U and OLV is good, that place is just alive. I actually, I think the Mountain West is the best because people legitimately care and show up. Obviously Utah State being you know at the top end of it, along with New Mexico, but you kind of end up nailing it, whereas the West coast, you get too far west. There's too many things to do and basketball is just kind of far down the list. And that's really why I left as a player. Was my sister was a
UCLA cheater leader. My brother went there. We were season tickelovers. But I can't tell you how many games I went to, like nobody cared. Yeah, you know, and USC famously nobody cared. And everywhere I went on a visit, they cared. So I think there is a but Utah is a special place and they love basketball.
They absolutely love ball here. You know, it's.
Neat never a Mormon church that doesn't have a hoop.
Everyone, every single every single street we got a hoop.
You're right, hey, listen, I I really appreciate. I know how how valuable time is in the season. Uh, it's great to catch up with you. Let's do so in person at some point in time. But you guys are killing it, and thanks for joining me.
Coach, I'm rooting for you. Just don't don't beat my penguins. On Sunday, I'm going to tune into that get my number. I appreciate you, man, it's a big honor for me.
Well, what a great conversation with coach Calhoun. And obviously you can hear like he has thought of everything in terms of who, what and where and why they're recruiting, and you know, I mean like, look, there's a guy who's put together a plan and executed that plan at now three different locations. And as a as a young coach, I learned a lot in that conversation. I think you probably learned a lot and listening to it as well.
Thanks so much for listening and reminded. The Doug Gottlieb Show airs daily three to five Eastern twelve to two Pacific on Fox Sports Radio iHeartRadio app. You can also download that podcast. We have a daily pod and the radio show is pod pod version as well. Just type in Doug we ever get pods in the meantime. Thanks for listening. We'll be back soon. This is all ball