December 31, 2011

Diary Series: Mitch Gilfillan, Asst. Coach - Ball State

As the non-conference portion of the season winds down and teams prepare for conference play, the Holidays provide a moment to reflect on the preseason, the start of practice and the first 8 to 10 games of the year.  The accomplishments, setbacks and challenges each team in the country faces are analyzed over-and-over with common themes stemming from each basketball office: how do we improve and where do we go from here?  Amid these tough questions, we can easily forget how important the people are around us who stabilize the program and help make the program “Go.”

In a Division I basketball program, like any company or corporation, it takes a team effort from top-to-bottom for your business to thrive and beat competitors.  Regardless of the occupation, certain jobs are thankless and go unnoticed despite tremendous work and effort.  Well, in college basketball, it’s no different.  Certain jobs go unnoticed and often receive no credit.  Specifically, I’m looking at you, director of basketball operations, video coordinators, managers and administrative assistants across America!  Call them whatever title you’d like, their jobs are critical for a program to flourish and run smoothly.  If done poorly or with little effort, the effects can be felt throughout the program. Let me provide a brief rundown of responsibilities that go-along with serving in one of these roles: a college basketball staff 101 if you will.

The NCAA allows four “coaches” on a staff who are permitted to recruit off campus, coach on the floor and scout opponents among other things.  The rest of the staff consists of “non-coaching staff members” with widespread job titles but of equal importance.  First, the director of basketball operations (a.k.a. DOBO a.k.a. doesn’t that already sound thankless?!), typically is the “go-to-guy (or girl)” for everyone’s questions affiliated with the program: student-athletes, coaches, managers, administration…you name it.   A normal day for a DOBO may include any of the following questions:  Do you have our recruiting budget?  What time is practice?  Bus leaves when?  Where is my post-game cheese pizza?  When are study tables? How did you miss that foul in practice (DOBOs are allowed to ref practice)!? I need 4 tickets to this away game, you got the names? Where is the entrance to this arena?  Does the hotel in Athens, Ohio have free internet?  What time is the bus driver in Buffalo picking us up?  Do you have those compliance papers?  Why isn’t this airplane taking off?  Lol, well you get the point.  I believe the DOBO is the anchor or backbone to any program and must be someone the head coach can trust with serious responsibilities.  At Ball State, we are lucky to have Mickey Hosier (Ball State ’00) who once led BSU to the NCAA Tournament serve in this capacity.  For Mickey and the rest of you DOBOs out there, thanks for all you do.  Your work is appreciated!

Video coordinators (VCs) are another important cog in any basketball program.  Let’s make this clear, not all programs have this position (certain DOBOs/assistants cringing right about now) and we are fortunate at Ball State to have Michael Bennett (Ball State ’05) serve in this capacity.  As VC, they may hear the following at any moment of the day: Do you have the practice film?  Who is filming the game tonight at Arizona?  Is there a way to film this game back home despite being out-of-state for our game? Can I have every game this team has played so far…and, maybe a couple from last year?  Is there a reason this film doesn’t have sound?  This game is fuzzy; can you call them back and get a different one?  Also, certain other thankless responsibilities fall into the VCs lap and they do it without hesitation, at least ours does!  For Michael and the rest of you VCs out there, thank you on behalf of the staff.  Our jobs would be even more difficult without you.

As important as DOBOs and VCs are to any program, student-managers also play a major role in a program’s success.  Smart DOBOs and VCs hire and seek out student-managers who love basketball and are willing to help in anyway.  At Ball State, we have terrific managers who clean the bus, rebound after practice, keep stats, wipe-up sweat, arrive early and stay late to name a few.  A couple of my fellow College Chalktalk writers have written on behalf of student-managers before.  I echo their sentiments and say, “Great job, we appreciate your effort on top being a student at this University!”

Lastly, many programs have administrative assistants who do multiple tasks for the University and the basketball program.  These may include secretaries, assistants to the VC or DOBO (yes, some programs have this role!), special assistants to the head coach and even student-assistants who work around the office.  Also, many University’s have a Sports Information Director (SID) who are yet another extension of the basketball staff and good ones makes a difference.  At Ball State, we are fortunate to have Matt McCollester who does a fantastic job.

Again, for all those who help our basketball program or your respective program, thank you for your “thankless” efforts!  If your goal is to move up the basketball coaching ladder, continue working hard and treat your job and the responsibilities it entails like it’s the most important job on the staff.  Your efforts will be rewarded.

Go Cards!