Q and A with Wildcats Boys' Basketball Coach Rob Gibbons

Patch: Being a first-year coach, what are some of the challenges you have faced?

Gibbons: Basically, articulating what you want from the kids. That’s always a challenge because you come in here with a full head of steam, so much energy and enthusiasm, all the coaches do. The toughest part is articulating to the kids where they can transfer what you expect out of them on a day-to-day basis.

Patch: Prior to coming here, what was your experience?

Gibbons: Mainly playing. Coached a little bit, but I played in college and played overseas in Europe for four years in the pros. I’ve always been around the game. I grew up in Jersey. I was fortunate to have been good enough to play for two of the best basketball minds in the game. I played for Bob Hurley Sr. in Jersey in AAU and summers with him. And then Kevin Stallings at Vanderbilt, who is brilliant.

Patch: What made you want to be a coach?

Gibbons: I did it last year. I volunteered for the freshmen. And then the team this year had a situation where the coaching staff was tight from last year, the same crew essentially. And then right before the season, the head coach had to leave for an obligation to another school. So the position opened up, and I said, ‘You know, I’ll give it a shot.’

Patch: What type of program do you want?

Gibbons: It’s going to be a very fast-paced, defense-oriented program. We are going to come to play every night. And that’s one of the things we try to stress is consistency. I think we play our best basketball and our most important part of the game is in practice. We try to say we are going to accomplish one of two things every day in practice: we either are going to get better as a team or get in better shape. And we do that.