|
 When
the University of Dayton went looking for a new
basketball coach, the Flyers were in an enviable
position. Unlike programs in need of rebuilding, the
University was looking for the coach who would take
an already successful program -- a ranked team
coming off a 24-win season -- and raise it to the
next level. UD turned to Brian Gregory, one of the
rising stars in the coaching profession, to do just
that.
Gregory's two-year record of 42-20 is second only to
Don Donoher's remarkable 45-13 record in his first
two seasons. Dayton was 24-9 in Gregory's first
season winning the EA Sports Maui Invitational
(Gregory is the only rookie coach to win the
prestigious early-season tournament) at the
beginning, and winning the Atlantic 10 West at the
end. After taking a veteran team to the 2004 NCAA
Tournament, Gregory guided one of the youngest teams
in the country (six freshmen averaged at least 11
minutes a game) to an 18-11 record, finishing tied
for second in the A-10 West. CBS Sportsline.com and
collegeinsider.com chose Gregory as their 2004-05
Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year.
He began his tenure at Dayton with a 9-0 record, the
second-best start for a new UD coach in the 100-year
history of varsity basketball at the school. Only
Harry Solimano, who won his first 25 games over a
three-year span that began in 1911, did better.
Neither of the two coaching giants of Flyer
basketball-Tom Blackburn nor Donoher-got out of the
gate as strongly as Gregory.
Gregory brought with him to Dayton the knowledge of
what it takes to win championships, and a reputation
as a top-notch recruiter. On the court, his Flyers
won titles in their first two opportunities with the
trophies from Maui and the A-10 West division. The
first recruiting class Gregory and his staff signed
to play for UD was ranked as high as 17th in the
nation.
He also demonstrated his skills as a bench coach,
making savvy move after savvy move in the
championship game of the Maui Invitational. Since it
was Maui, it would be tempting to say that UD coach
Brian Gregory drew up the defense that turned the
tide in the Hawai'i game in the sand, but
figuratively speaking you wouldn't be far off.
Down eight at halftime, the Flyer coaches refined
one of their zone defenses with a secretive
walk-through at halftime with the Hawai'i team just
a few feet away. Here's Gregory's post-game
description: "We thought if they started clicking on
offense we might try the zone. But it was close
enough for most of the first half, we wanted to save
it for the second half, so they couldn't make any
adjustments at halftime. We actually did a
walk-through of what we wanted to do at halftime. Up
where the locker rooms are, there is an open space
right outside the locker room door. We put the
defense in right there. I told everyone to make sure
they were quiet because Hawai'i was just on the
other side of the divider they put up between the
two teams up there."
The strategy and execution it took to win at Maui
didn't go unnoticed. ESPN's Jay Bilas made this
observation after the tournament: "...Gregory did a
great job of preparing his team, and his handling of
the second half of the Hawai'i game was outstanding.
Gregory's call for a lob play out of a critical
timeout was well-conceived and well-executed, worthy
of a veteran coach."
Gregory, 38, was named the Flyers' 18th head coach
on April 9, 2003 (although he is just the fifth UD
coach in the last 57 years). He came to Dayton from
Michigan State, where he was associate head coach on
Tom Izzo's Spartan staff. While at MSU, he was part
of two Final Four teams, including Michigan State's
national championship team in 2000.
"We're excited to introduce Brian Gregory as the
head men's basketball coach at the University of
Dayton," Vice-President and Director of Athletics
Ted Kissell said at the press conference naming
Gregory as head coach. "He has learned from three
great coaches. He knows what it takes to create a
championship program. Brian Gregory is a winner."
"In addition to his professional credentials, Brian
is a great fit for the University of Dayton and the
Dayton community." Kissell continued. "He has
demonstrated that he will recruit young men of
strong personal character who will be winners on the
court, in the classroom and in the community."
"I'm honored and excited to be named the head
basketball coach at the University of Dayton,"
Gregory said. "It's a program rich in tradition with
tremendous community and fan support, and a great
foundation has been laid for this program."
"I've been well-prepared by my mentors-Jud Heathcote
(former Michigan State coach), Kevin O'Neill
(current Indiana Pacers assistant coach) and Tom
Izzo (current Michigan State head coach)-and look
forward to building a championship program at UD."
A native of Mount Prospect, Illinois, Gregory has 15
years of coaching experience, with 12 of them coming
in the Big Ten. Teams he has been with have reached
the post-season in 12 of his 15 seasons. He began
his coaching career in 1990 at Michigan State
University on Jud Heathcote's staff until 1995, and
then Tom Izzo's staff when Izzo succeeded Heathcoate.
In 1996, Gregory followed Stan Joplin when Joplin
went from Michigan State to become Toledo's head
coach. After one season at Toledo, Gregory returned
to the Big Ten by joining Kevin O'Neill's program at
Northwestern. Gregory returned to Michigan State for
the 1999-2000 season when he joined Tom Izzo's staff
in East Lansing. After two seasons serving as an
assistant coach, Gregory was elevated to Associate
Head Coach for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.
In his last stint at Michigan State, the Spartans
went to the NCAA tournament all four seasons,
reaching the Final Four in 2000 and 2001, and
winning the NCAA national championship in 2000.
In the four years coinciding with Gregory's return
to Michigan State, the Spartans had a national
championship, two Final Four appearances, three
Elite Eight appearances, four NCAA bids, two Big Ten
Championships, four players drafted in the first
round of the NBA draft, and MSU signed six
McDonald's All-Americans.
While preparing to be a head coach, Gregory had been
recognized as one of the top assistant coaches in
the country by such recognized publications as The
Sporting News and Sports Illustrated.
As a recruiter, he was part of four Top 10
recruiting classes at Michigan State. He also helped
bring a Top 20 recruiting class to Northwestern.
Gregory is the fourth Tom Izzo assistant to land a
Division I head coaching position. In addition to
Joplin, Marquette's Tom Crean (who took Marquette to
the 2004 Final Four) and Arkansas' Stan Heath (who
took Kent State to the 2002 Sweet Sixteen) are part
of Izzo's coaching family tree.
Gregory graduated from Oakland University in
Rochester, Michigan, in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts
in Secondary Education. While at Oakland, he was a
three-time all-conference selection, and was named
an Academic All-American in 1990. He was inducted
into Oakland's Hall of Fame in 1997. Before
transferring to Oakland, Gregory spent one year at
the United States Naval Academy, and was a teammate
of David Robinson on Navy's 1985-86 team that
advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight (note: That was not
the Navy team that played in the NCAA tournament in
UD Arena. Navy beat LSU and lost to Maryland in 1985
at UD Arena.). He also holds a master's degree in
Athletic Administration from Michigan State (`92).
Brian and his wife Yvette have two daughters --
Isabella, who was born in 2001 and Elyse, who was
born in January of 2005. |
