
This article originally appeared
in Basketball Times.
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DRIVING AROUND PHILLY
It was March of 1997 and the
University of Massachusetts had just been beaten soundly
in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament. The
speculation was that the loss would probably send the
Minutemen to the NIT. But it was hard to surmise that in
the aftermath.
After the winning coach provided a less than courteous
brush off, it was time to make the long journey back
from Philadelphia, but on the way to the exit the man
with the smile turned the corner. For the next twenty
minutes the man was all smiles, talking about the game,
his little girl, wife and his own snappy attire. But
anyone who knows James Flint will tell that it’s just
another “Bruiser” tale.
It’s been nearly eight years since his rookie campaign
as a head coach at UMass, but aside from changing his
coaching residence, little has changed. When you run
into Flint three things are certain. One, you can always
count on a big smile. Two, he will always say, “I can’t
complain.” And lastly, you are sure to get a good story
about his coaching mentor, John Calipari.
“Cal thinks he taught me everything I know about
coaching,” laughs Flint. “That’s not true, but it is
true that he has learned a lot about clothing and style
from me.”
It’s unclear who is helping who more, but it’s clear
that Calipari’s track record helped lay a path for
Flint’s future success as a head coach. But Flint’s
coaching career didn’t begin in Amherst, MA.
After earning All Atlantic 10 honors as a senior in
1987, Flint embarked on his coaching career as an
assistant to Ron “Fang” Mitchell at Coppin State. Flint
would spend two years learning the inner workings of
division I coaching. “He gave me my first shot,” says
Flint. “I was fortunate that he gave me an opportunity
to come and work with him. I learned a lot from Fang.”
Mitchell remembers thinking that Flint had a lot of
promise. And according to Mitchell, Flint was literally
aboard for the ride. “I had to cart him all over
Philly,” laughs Fang. “He didn’t have a car so I had to
drive him everywhere. I am just glad he went to have
success because now he can afford his own car.”
While Flint and Mitchell were cruising around
Philadelphia, John Calipari was completing his first
season at UMass. The Minutemen finished 10-18, but it
was clear to see that Calipari had the program headed in
the right direction. It was a direction that Flint
liked.
“Cal was building something at UMass and I thought it
would be a great opportunity,” says Flint. “Once I got
there and saw the direction, I knew we could do some
great things there. It was going to take a little time,
but we could really do some big things.”
In the next seven seasons the Minutemen appeared in the
postseason seven times (two NIT and five NCAA bids),
including three Sweet Sixteens, two Elite Eights and one
trip to the Final Four. Mitchell may have driven Flint
around, but Calipari took him on a ride to a head
coaching position. But unfortunately Flint would become
a victim of the success that he was a part of.
In five seasons Flint racked up some impressive
credentials.
- Winningest first-year coach in UMass history (19 wins)
- Fastest Coach in UMass History to reach 30 wins
- Fastest Coach in UMass History to reach 40 wins
- Second Fastest Coach in UMass History to reach 50 wins
- Third winningest coach in the 93-year history of UMass
basketball (86 wins)
But despite his impressive accomplishments, the UMass
brass showed him the door in the spring of 2001. His
removal was a disgrace. It was yet another in a long
line of coaching dismissals that was made for the sake
of making a change. But in typical Flint fashion,
Bruiser never expressed any ill-harbored feelings. A lot
of coaching say one thing in the pressroom and tell a
different tale in private, but that’s not the case with
Flint. Instead he viewed the ride at UMass as being a
gas tank, half full and not half empty.
“It just didn’t work out,” says Flint. “I spent twelve
years at UMass and I enjoyed everyone one of them. They
gave me an opportunity to become a head coach. You can’t
ask for anything more than that.”
Some were still surprised that UMass did in fact dismiss
Flint, despite the rumors. But many thought that Flint
would have a difficult time finding another head
coaching job because UMass had failed to make the NCAA
tournament in each of his final three seasons. It was a
fact that didn’t bother Drexel athletic director Eric
Zillmer at all.
Prior to Drexel’s appearance in the 2001 Pepsi Marist
Classic (Poughkeepsie, NY), Zillmer spoke at length
about how happy he was that Flint had become available
as a head coach. According to Zillmer, he knew within
minutes of his initial interview with Flint that he was
the man for the job. He left Philly as a wet-behind the
ears assistant and was returning as a well-seasoned head
coach. It was a perfect fit.
“Having a chance to get back to Philly was great,” says
Flint. “I was really excited about the opportunity to
come home, but I was more excited about the commitment.
They made every possible effort to further promote the
program. Coach Cal always says that coaches don’t win
championships, administrations win championships.”
The visibility was a far cry from the foggy atmosphere
in Amherst. In his final two seasons, little was done to
put a positive spin on UMass basketball with Flint at
the helm. Ironically, Drexel’s new program has faired
better over the past three years than his previous place
of employment.
Flint has proved himself to be both an excellent
recruiter and coach, but the key to his success is Flint
the person. There is no hidden agenda and no bowl of
sour grapes. With Flint you can always count on those
three things. You’ll get a big smile, a typical “I can’t
complain” response and a good story about Coach Cal or
possibly Fang Mitchell.
“He gave me a couple of rides,” laughs Flint. “He didn’t
drive me all over Philly. His memory is playing tricks
on him.”
And you can add a fourth certainty. Today he is driving
around Philly on his own in a very nice automobile.
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