Intro news conference with Coach Wicks
Mar 29, 2023 19:52:36 GMT -6
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Post by thetulsawarrior on Mar 29, 2023 19:52:36 GMT -6
You have to win the first game and the Nix new head coach did that. This morning Sundance Wicks injected Red Bull energy into a program that up to now could best be described as morbid. I mean this past season you could see more intensity at a Waffle House at three AM than during most Green Bay home basketball games.
The introductory news conference energy should be bottled for use during finals week exams. Frankly, some of the old videos out there of Coach Wicks scared me. They seemed over the top to the point you wondered if this was an act. Is he channeling his inner Dick Vitale?
He entered the Kress Center on key and on message. The intensity was there without the theatrics. If I was casting a movie with the leading character being a coach who had some setbacks but was wiser for it, I’d cast Wicks.
Athletic Director Josh Moon came to the same conclusion. He says there were 17 serious candidates. 8 made the second round and five were brought to Green Bay for in person interviews. Moon said he was looking for Division One experience. Wicks has been an assistant at three D1 schools. The AD also wanted a commitment to the community, something that was missing with at least one of the former GB coaches. The final element was a coach who had a plan of attack.
Wicks went out of his way to link his experience to the coaching lineage of Dick and Tony Bennett. It’s not a direct link but homage was repeatedly given.
Another thing that stuck me was Wicks eye contact with different segments of the audience, particularly the players in attendance. I wish I knew who was there. YouTube didn’t give me an answer. Wicks says in a way -- the easy options available to student/athletes today allow them to quit the challenging situations that help them grow. The message, “Is the man ready for the Mission?”
The words were also being sent out to recruits. Mentoring, development, opportunity, love, family were words that kept being used. He wants team members who fit a culture of intensity and chemistry. In his words he is offering to build “a field of dreams."
Wicks says he is in the “crisis management” phase of his job. Assistants should be named in the next days, a unified team in itself with no secret meetings dividing them. Today was a win, an impressive performance. Will things work out this time for the Nix men’s basketball program? I don’t know, I hope so. One thing I’m certain of -- Coach Wicks is one heck of a motivational speaker.
The introductory news conference energy should be bottled for use during finals week exams. Frankly, some of the old videos out there of Coach Wicks scared me. They seemed over the top to the point you wondered if this was an act. Is he channeling his inner Dick Vitale?
He entered the Kress Center on key and on message. The intensity was there without the theatrics. If I was casting a movie with the leading character being a coach who had some setbacks but was wiser for it, I’d cast Wicks.
Athletic Director Josh Moon came to the same conclusion. He says there were 17 serious candidates. 8 made the second round and five were brought to Green Bay for in person interviews. Moon said he was looking for Division One experience. Wicks has been an assistant at three D1 schools. The AD also wanted a commitment to the community, something that was missing with at least one of the former GB coaches. The final element was a coach who had a plan of attack.
Wicks went out of his way to link his experience to the coaching lineage of Dick and Tony Bennett. It’s not a direct link but homage was repeatedly given.
Another thing that stuck me was Wicks eye contact with different segments of the audience, particularly the players in attendance. I wish I knew who was there. YouTube didn’t give me an answer. Wicks says in a way -- the easy options available to student/athletes today allow them to quit the challenging situations that help them grow. The message, “Is the man ready for the Mission?”
The words were also being sent out to recruits. Mentoring, development, opportunity, love, family were words that kept being used. He wants team members who fit a culture of intensity and chemistry. In his words he is offering to build “a field of dreams."
Wicks says he is in the “crisis management” phase of his job. Assistants should be named in the next days, a unified team in itself with no secret meetings dividing them. Today was a win, an impressive performance. Will things work out this time for the Nix men’s basketball program? I don’t know, I hope so. One thing I’m certain of -- Coach Wicks is one heck of a motivational speaker.