SORRY

I wanted to apologize to all the people that have been following my blog and have shown me support from the start. I also wanted to thank all the amazing people of the Alabama Huntsville basketball family, which have made my time at UAH so special. Not only is this a program with a great tradition but most of all it is a program of great character and substance. The year in a half that I spent at UAH will always be one of the most special times in my life. I wanted to thank the players, coaches, boosters, supporters, fans, and all of the Charger community for giving me an amazing experience. If you have not heard yet, I have been hired by Mark Price at Ouachita Baptist University to be his assistant. I have been extremely consumed by the new position and the blog has suffered. I currently have set-up a new blog page which is obubasketball.blogspot.com I will include many similar types of postings, but the main goal of the blog will be to keep the Ouachita faithful updated on the men's basketball program. Once again I want to thank all of the people that have followed my blog page and hope you continue to follow on my new page!

Thank You,

Coach Rutigliano

Know Your Weaknesses

I was sitting in the Memphis Airport on Friday and came across a great article in the Memphis Commercial Appeal about the new University of Memphis Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Josh Pastner. In it, Pastner speaks about the hiring of his two new assistant coaches: Willis Wilson (former head coach at Rice University) and Glynn Cyprien, who made stops at Kentucky, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, and UNLV.

In the article, Pastner says that the main reasons that went into the decisions for these hires were the abilities of these men to cover up for his weaknesses. Pastner had this to say regarding the hiring: "I did a lot of research and talked to other people about finding the best guys to fit me. I understand my weaknesses, so I was trying to find guys that picked up my weaknesses. I'm excited about it. They're both good guys, and that's important to me, being on the same page, having loyalty and caring about the players."

In a career field that is driven by egos, it is nice to see that someone truly understands what must be done to be successful. A coach can be good at many things, but it is very rare to be great at all. This is why it is vital that as a head coach, you hire a staff that complements you, bringing their strengths to shore up your weaknesses and who are loyal to your program.

Never Become Complacent

The Florida Gator’s Football team is coming off a 2008 National football title and many programs would be satisfied with this success; not the Gators. In a article on ESPN.com, Head Coach Urban Myers speaks about the importance for a team to stay hungry and not lose its edge. Myers also says that the three most important things for a team to maintain to repeat as national champions are: maintain your edge, remain a disciplined team, and keep players healthy.

Many times a team with such a great deal of talent will lose its work ethic and desire to improve. Linebacker Brandon Spikes had this to say about the number of players returning from last year's championships team, “Yeah, we've got a lot of returning starters, but we've just got to keep grinding, keep getting better, the success we had last year was last year. People aren't going to care about none of that this upcoming season. We're going to have the target on our backs, and we know that. It feels good to know you're returning all those starters. But if we don't do all the small things we did in the past, it can all go down the drain. The national championship's not going to win any games for us next year."

The Gators realize how difficult it is to repeat as national champion. In 2006, they defeated Ohio State 41-14 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl national championship game and then posted a disappointing 9-4 mark in 2007. One of the greatest advantages that Florida will have coming into this year is Tim Tebow's decision to return to school for his senior season in hopes to win another title. Tebow had this to say about achieving another national title in 2009, "If we see someone slacking off, we tell them we have to work harder. We lost a lot of leadership off that first team. We don't want to have it happen again. We're going to go out with the same edge and try to beat everybody."

"Our biggest thing is not getting complacent; when you've got two national championships already, it's easy to get satisfied. We've got All-Americans on this team, guys with All-SEC honors. It's easy, man. You say, 'What else can I do?' But nothing beats winning a championship." - Brandon Spikes-

Interview Tips

In today’s ultracompetitive job market due to the economic hard times we are currently facing, jobs and especially making it to the interview process are hard to come by. An article in The Wall Street Journal, shares do’s and don’ts with individuals in the search of a career opportunity. Here are some of the tips that the article enlightened me with:

Do’s
-Stand out for the right reasons
-Show up 10 minutes prior to interview
-Firm handshake
-Do your homework on the job (research)
-Make sure you are a strong fit for the position
-Wait at least a week before checking on your candidacy

Don’ts
-Arrive 1 hour early for a interview
-Discuss your financial hardships
-Talk about projects you completed with previous employers
-Be over aggressive
-Let employer know that you are only looking to stay with the employer for a short time period
-Over enthusiastic
-Talk pay until you have been offered a job

In reading this article I realize that the information is targeted more for candidates looking to land a job in larger business in the cooperate world. With this said, many of the tips can be helpful for candidates pursuing and field of work. The take home message that I learned from the article is be a great self-promoter of yourself and don’t bring your outside anxieties and problems into a interview. Always remember when interviewing, "There's a fine line between enthusiasm and over enthusiasm."

Turnover in Division I Basketball Hits Record Low

USA Today reported that the number of division I institutes that will start the 2009-2010 college basketball season with a new head coach has tied an all time low. Next year if there is no more turnover there will be 24 new head coaches in division I. This ties the fewest turnover since 1966 when there was also 24 new head coaches. The problem with this is in 1966 there was only 182 division I basketball programs and going into the upcoming season there will be 330. One of the big reasons for the minimal turnover is in the last two years there have been 124 new coaches hired in these combined two years.

I can tell you in my small amount of time in coaching that the wait is definitely worth it. If you are someone that is looking to get into college coaching this might not be the best year. I would stay the course and keep pursuing your dream because it is a special game and there is no career more rewarding. Continue your climb on the ladder of success and don't let anything or anyone get in the way of your dream. It is always important to remember that if you, "love what you do, you will never work a day in your life!"

Technology: Good or Bad?

Came across a very interesting article in the South Bend Tribune regarding technology and the ongoing battle the NCAA faces in keeping up with it. The issue that is discussed is college students using Facebook as a recruiting tool for perspective student athletes.

A North Carolina State Freshman created a Facebook group called “John Wall PLEASE come to NC STATE!!!!” According to the NCAA spokesman Erik Christianson said the group considers its rules “technology neutral, a Facebook page is simply a high-tech way to try to influence recruits.” What Christianson is trying to keep away from high school athletes is the intrusion into their personal lives and the opportunity for the student-athlete to make a college choice on their own. In the past to keep up with technology coach’s opportunity to utilize text messaging was also taken away by the NCAA.

The problem that arises when looking at this monitoring of Facebook is the question; is a student losing their First Amendment rights from the contract that a university signs with the NCAA. This is still a very questionable topic that I’m sure the NCAA and many universities across the country with battle in the upcoming months. I am also sure that in the upcoming year their will be additional technology that will push the limits of the guidelines that the NCAA sets forth.

Silence is GOLDEN

The Atlanta Journal constitution had an article on the leadership skills of Georgia Tech’s junior safety Morgan Burnett. Defensive coordinator Dave Wommack came into the season hoping that Burnett would embrace the role as the leader of his defensive and that’s exactly what he did. Said Womamck on setting the tone for the younger players, “He’s done it more by example, but I’ve heard him say a couple things. He’s not going to holler at anybody or anything like that. He’s got a quiet calm and the players watch him and I told him that.”

When a coach has leadership from the upperclassmen it makes it much easier for players to sell-out to the program and fully understand what you are trying to accomplish. It is extremely difficult if your upperclassmen don’t take this role and the younger players don’t have anyone to follow.

The one thing that Burnett does that is extremely important is that he leads by example. Many players believe it is the players that speaks the loudest who is the leader. This is a misconception in sports, actions speak much louder then words and I much rather have a player who leads by example. I never want a player that only gives “lip service” I much rather have a player that is able to gain the trust and respect of his teammates by what he does on the playing field.