Vegas Sports Talk Uncensored Podcasts
4/5 Cofield & Co. with new Utah State basketball coach Jerrod Calhoun
Final four in Phoenix and it's been a big day of Utah State folks. We've actually had Jared Calhoun in with us, the new head coach. We just talked to Danny Sprinkle a little while ago before that. Ryan Hoemsell, and we know plenty about USU from the Mountain West Conference. So you tell us what it's like here the first couple of days after you get a job. And this is a really good job with a lot of tradition. >> Yeah, I mean, first and foremost, thanks for having me. Extremely excited to be with you. I think it's an incredible job, right? Tradition, great coaches, great fans, great players. So the expectations are very high and we welcome that. But as far as getting the job, I'm sure Danny said the same thing. Getting a staff, getting your roster situated, those are all the priorities right now. >> So I will tell you just enough to get a job. When we saw you got the job, I wasn't familiar with you, Youngstown State. And both of us start frantically looking up like, okay, Mormon ties to former coaches like what's going on here. >> Do you have ties at all to Utah State or any previous coaches? >> Well, again, been out there a few times, took a couple whoopings. One was with Youngstown State. So it's a job that, I follow the Mountain West. I love the conference, fell in love with their team this year. I told Coach Sprinkle a couple nights ago, he and I talked for over an hour. What a great league, six teams, the NCAA tournament. But I think they were looking for a coach that could provide some offense. Diana has been awesome, our athletic director, the administration. So we're going to play a fun style, we're going to score the basketball. And I think that's what kind of, we kind of drew each other together. >> There are a lot of reasons, it's a great job and you just kind of laid them out. But it is from a regional standpoint, you have spent your entire life in one region of the country. It's very different. Do we make too big of a deal of that of recruiting areas, that sort of thing? Is it a tough thing to go across country and kind of do that in a different part of the nation? >> I think a lot of people make too much of it. If you think about it now, 50% of the rosters are coming from the portal. So if you have connections all over the country, I don't think it hurts you. But we will make sure that we have a presence on our staff of a West Coast or two guys. So we can get into the different high schools and junior college and that sort of thing. But it's not going to be a challenge, we'll work through that. >> What about the mountains are a challenge, just from a living perspective, it's a different world. >> You know, I told Diane, I told our players, I told some of the donors that I met. We lived in West Virginia, so I was at Fairmont State. We had three restaurants, we lived across the street from Cowles, so we love Logan. This fits us, it's a college town. The mountains are beautiful. And I think the state of Utah has great players. We've had a lot of good basketball players, so we're excited about being there. So what is this like, you take over a job, it's this convention of just all these codes. I'm sure you're talking to people, you're making the small talk of everybody, you're doing all that. You're also trying to build a roster, build all that, like what does this kind of whirlwind like for you? >> Yeah, you know, I flew across the country twice this week. And then we had this plan, so it's worked out really well. I'm getting a chance to interview some guys here the next few days. This is the first day I wore our logo, because I have to speak next, so I wore it. But just trying to go under the radar, because there's a lot of coaches here, they're trying to get jobs. So it can be a little hectic as you're walking around talking to people. But listen, I started at the bottom as a student manager, I was a walk-on, NAI assistant. This is a job that certainly I don't take lightly, and I'm more ready to attack it and feel very honored to be the coach. >> Coach Brinkle just, he mentioned that some of the coaches have to perfect the fake cell phone call. We're kind of walking through the lobby just, hey, let me, I'll be on the phone, I don't need to talk to everybody. Have you worked on that yet? >> That's a great line, Coach Brinkle, I'm not sure. He shared a lot with me about Logan and the Aggies, but not that one. But, you know, I got my wife and kids here, so a lot of times when you're walking around with them, they'll leave you alone. >> What are your impressions of the conference? You said you're a big fan in terms of the top programs in the conference? >> It's incredible, right? We had more teams in the NCAA tournament than all but two conferences. So, how does that happen? Great coaching, right? Richard Petino reached out to me, fabulous guy. Steve Alford and I have the same agent. So, pretty familiar with a lot of these guys, respect all of them. We understand the challenge from a coaching standpoint and talent, but the venues are awesome. I'm excited about walking into these venues with sold out crowds and different styles. >> And different elevation. Now, you guys are higher up there, and then, man, there's some spots. When you're ready to go, you better be in shape. >> It's a crazy league, because obviously, UNLV is not at much elevation in the San Diego state. I mean, their crowd alone makes it a challenge, but yeah, the road venues and the challenges on the road are nuts. >> No question. We want to be the most prepared, the most disciplined, but also, you know, a big part of it, as you said, is conditioning, right? And we'll play nine or ten guys, so hopefully that'll help us. But, you know, we're currently meeting with all our guys, trying to figure out our roster, and then we'll move forward. >> So I'll tell you this, and I brought this up. This has been years, and we've been talking about this. The conference is much more physical than people think, right? I'm from Big East Country. I've been gone, you know, from there 30 years now, and I always hear about the toughness of the Northeast. This is a big boy, like, physical, a lot of post-play, too. >> Yeah, yeah, you know, we've watched a ton of tape here in the last three, four days, but as I said, I've watched them pretty much all year long, right? And I was part of that Big East, you know, with Coach Huggins at West Virginia, where we went to the Final Four and won a Big East title. So we're going to bring a presence out there from our length, our size, hopefully on the perimeter and definitely the front line. You know, you look at San Diego State, some of these teams, they can really defend and make it hard on you. >> What do you know about Vegas? >> You know, I've never played there, so never been out there for a game. You've been out there two or three times for AU events, great city, obviously Coach Krueger did a great job this year. One of their players, I coached his father, Robert Whaley Jr., his dad, Rob Whaley, great story. One of the last Division II guys that ever get drafted, played for us at Walsh University back in 2005. So I actually watched a lot of UNLV because of him this year. >> Rob Whaley, he's aggressive, I love his play, just gets the ball just goes. >> So we used to call him Boy Boy and I was a 23 year old assistant and Boy Boy was two years old. He would get on the bus with us and sometimes as the bus made the turns, he'd be rolling down the aisle on our way to NAI games back in 2005. >> So we got to bring up, we didn't mention it during this discussion, the big fella Cleveland State fan? >> Yeah, we were just talking about you have played Cleveland State. First of all, before that, you played for Coach Massamino. So what are your memories of him, obviously some UNLV ties there, what did you learn from him? >> You know what, I've been very blessed. I played for a Hall of Fame coach, I worked for a Hall of Fame coach. Coach Mass taught everything about togetherness and family, right? His wife would make the pasta and we'd go over there on the weekends. But Cleveland State, we had a guy named a big show, as you remember, as your brother played for Yale. He was a great fan at Cleveland State back in the day. But nothing compared to the herd and out in Utah State, I could tell you that. >> I was just going to mention, if you don't know about them already, if you've never been in the building, they are, that's the best San Diego State will go mad at this. But that is the best student section in the conference. And man, if you guys are going to go up tempo, I swear, every time UNLV has been there and I've seen it happen to other people, it feels like when you go in there, the court is like tilted up. I don't know what, the runs in that building, and those fans are a big part of it. They show up for every game and they are allowed. >> Yeah, I've got a chance to meet with the herd president, the new president. You have to be appointed. It's a major, major deal. There's 3,700 tickets for our students. Most of those games, it's packed. So when I talked to Danny, he said they call it spectra magic, right? Playing a spectrum, it's magical. Not just even coaches time there, but for 20, 30 years, there's been a lot of magic in that building. >> And they're changing the schedule now, so everyone has to go there. >> Yeah, I love that. I think it's a true format, right? 20 game season, I think it's really good. >> Well, congrats on the gig, and well, I guess we'll talk to you. I can't remember one mountain west conference media days in October somewhere. So we'll talk to you there. >> Look forward to meeting you guys, again. >> All right, thanks so much, appreciate it.