#11 Baran Aslan (Sophomore)
I want a coach who pushes us to be better every day on and off the court. Someone who holds us accountable, demands effort and builds a culture where we trust each other and compete at the highest level. It’s not just about X’s and O’s, it’s about leadership, discipline and having a vision for the program. A great coach knows how to develop players, adapt to the team’s strengths and make everyone buy in. Even after I graduate, I want to see this program keep growing with a coach who builds a winning mindset and a strong team culture.#14 Braden Allen (Sophomore)
I would be looking for a coach who can hold players accountable. I want a coach who is more of a coach than someone who tries to be friends with his players. I think it’s important that the coach is all in and works on getting everyone to buy into the program. I think the school could benefit by finding a coach that is all of those things and more!
#5 Judah Simfukwe (Junior)
When it comes to a future head coach, I want a coach who brings a great culture and holds everyone to that culture’s standards. I want a coach that makes decisions based on facts, not on pride or anger. I want a coach who is motivated to win and someone who can be loved by players. I want a coach who is willing to change if something isn’t working, and willing to listen to players and be coachable in moments where it is needed. I also want a coach who wants to recruit good character guys, not just guys based solely off skill. I think this will all help build our culture into a winning culture.
#30 Kahmi Bracey (Sophomore)
It’s most imperative that whoever gets the hire can establish a culture. From my two years here I believe that is a big part of what we have been missing. It has felt at times that we almost have no standard and efforts made to create some type of culture have fallen short, especially with the amount of players that have come and gone. It is hard to create some type of consistency in light of that. I also think we would benefit from a coach that can be more personable. Many times there have been major disconnects between players and coaches based on just how the players were being talked to. And it’s hard to build a relationship with your players if no one really wants to have a relationship with you as the coach no matter how many times you say your players can talk to you about anything.
#34 Juraj Minarovjech (Sophomore)
For me, a coach should be someone who has a plan, that wants to win and helps us improve. Coach has to be the calmest person in the gym, who plays to win and doesn’t let his ego or emotions dictate his actions. It should be someone who knows what to do when the game plan isn’t working and knows how to adjust and still win. I think that this past season we played the same way whether it was working or not. I believe that basketball is like a game of chess, where you cannot play the same way every time. Coach should also understand his players, and their playstyles and backgrounds in order to get the best of them.
#0 Andre Bradford (5th year)
As a player who departed from the team during the season, I would hope the new team gets a coach who’s a “player’s coach.” By that I mean someone who really values the relationships they have with their players. The best teams are families: they go into wars for each other. Having strong relationships are directly correlated with winning. Also, I believe that it is important for the coach to actually have real in-game experience. I believe this to be important because directing through serious real in-game situations takes real feel for the game and cannot always be simulated by film.
#23 Marcus Northern (Sophomore)
For the future of the team, I want to see a coach that is willing to make this program a winning program. A coach that is also willing to rebuild the program around the guys that are here now. Lastly, I would like to see a coach build a new system while implementing a lot of pick and rolls in the offense that can get the guards a lot more involved.
