The Weekly Ten With Assistant Coach John Mahoney
12/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2009
Every week, MGoBlue.com's Brad Rudner and Scott Brimacombe will sit down with a different member associated with the Michigan men's basketball program for 10 questions, called "The Weekly Ten". Scott will come up with the questions and Brad will get the answers.
This week, we sit down with assistant coach John Mahoney to talk about his coaching career, his thoughts on the team so far and Larry Bird.
Check back every week all season-long for more installments!
10. You've been an assistant coach at Duquense and Robert Morris and the Director of Basketball Operations at West Virginia. Have you ever wanted to be a head coach at the Division I level?
"That is the ultimate goal. Everybody would love to do that. It's always been something I've dreamed of. Hopefully it will be soon."
9. Who is the best player you've ever coached?
"There are a lot of good players who I've been affiliated with. At West Virginia, you had guys like Kevin Pittsnogle and Mike Gansey. Manny Harris here. There were a few other guys at Duquesne and Robert Morris who I've been very fortunate to have been around."
8. What message do you try to implant in your players that will help them in their future off the court?
"Preaching good habits. Work hard, be on time, be responsible. If you take care of all that, on and off the court, you are developing great habits to have. It's about taking care of your business and getting stuff done."
7. How would you advise someone who wants to get into coaching? Where do they start?
"It depends on what level they want to get to. High school coaches are obviously much different than college. High schools are always looking for help, someway, somehow, so that's a great place to get involved in. Camps at local high schools or at the university is also a great place to start."
6. What satisfaction do you get out of coaching on a day-to-day basis?
"Seeing the kids develop on and off the court, watching them grow. They come in as freshmen and they are inexperienced, but after watching them grow for a couple of years, it's pretty cool to see."
5. What's the biggest mistake you've made in your coaching career? A missed opportunity?
"I've been very, very fortunate to have things fall into place for me. I had a great opportunity to be a head coach at Mount Aloysius College, which at the time, was perfect for me. Then I had an opportunity to be an assistant coach at a small Division I school, Robert Morris, and that parlayed into further opportunities at Duquesne and West Virginia with Coach Beilein. Everything has worked out."
4. As a Division I men's basketball coach, how do you separate work life from home life? Is it difficult?
"It's tough, but you have to set that time away. I usually get home at 6 or 7 p.m. on different days, so those two hours you are at home, you have to put everything aside and try to dive in to what your children did that day. Then when they go to bed, it's back to being a college coach, whether it's on the phone or watching film. You have to balance it out as best you can."
3. How did you get your start as a college coach? Was it something you always wanted to be or did you fall into it?
"I've always wanted to be a coach. I got involved in high school and started to be a JV coach. I got hired at another school and was the youngest head coach in the WPIL (Pittsburgh) and I was there for 10 years. I didn't want to do that forever, but that's when I got the opportunity to make the next step. Like I said, it has worked out pretty well for me so far."
2. Through seven games on the season, what do you see as Michigan's primary strengths and what do the players need to improve on?
"We have talent, some great players and great young men here. We need to develop some leadership mostly -- who is doing what and when and where and why. That's big for us right now. We have a bunch of shooters and when they are not shooting well, we need to get their confidence back. We have to believe in each other and see who is going to lead this team."
1. Quickly take me through a day in the life of an assistant basketball coach.
"In the morning, recruiting and trips. Watch film and taking notes. We got some kids coming in to do some extra shooting drills then weights, practice and by the time that's all done, it'll be 6 or 7 p.m. On average, I'd say we spend about 11 or 12 hours per day on basketball, so it's easily half the day."
DOUBLE BONUS
Who would you rather have on your team, Kobe or LeBron?
"See, I'm old school. I want either Larry Bird or Magic [Johnson]. You couldn't go wrong either way. The thing that people don't realize is Bird was feared in his time. He could be on the borderline of being arrogant or a jerk, but he was a very tough-minded person. So was Magic. For the purposes of the question, though, I'd have to say Kobe."
