Friday, November 10, 2017

Coach Joe Pasternack Interview on Filling the Dome

Gaucho Hoops ("GH")Thanks for taking this interview Coach Pasternack.  Can you give us fans an update as we approach the season opener? 

Coach Joe Pasternack ("JP")The whole team really worked hard over the summer on defense.  We've been grinding it out and getting better each day, honoring the process. 


GH: 
1) what did Max Heidegger's summer workout program consist of?  What did he work on to become more consistent with his perimeter shot? 
JP:  Max trained at P3 to work on his body, and worked very hard on an incredible shooting program every day over the summer.  He was very committed to the game of basketball.  He had a really good summer.

GH:
2) How does recruiting domestically for UCSB BB compare with what you expected?   Do recruits voice views about UCSB that meet and/or surprise your initial expectations?
JPWe got very good feedback from high level recruits. We've been very well received.  UCSB is a great academic institution.  You can't play basketball forever, so a great education can set you up for life.  Having five seniors graduating means early playing time is available.  There's the beautiful beach environment, and we've coached a lot of NBA players. It's an attractive situation.

GH:
3) Is international recruiting any more competitive than it was 2, 5 or 8 years ago as more Div. 1 programs seek to tap this resource?
JPYes, international recruiting has become more competitive, a lot of coaches are utilizing that.  All our coaches recruit internationally.  I personally recruited internationally at Cal, New Orleans, and Arizona.

GH:
 4) Are you likely to keep a scholarship in reserve for a transfer that might become available? 

JP:  Yes, for this season.  We are not done recruiting for 2018.


GH:
5) When is the 2017-2018 Men's BB prospectus likely to be posted?

JPNot sure when that is.
GH:
6) What are your expectations from the team in terms of progress and accomplishments for this upcoming year?

JPWe have no expectations.  We are so focused on the process of improving defensively and on offense.  We're focusing on execution.

GH:
7) What has you most excited regarding player improvement?

JPThe team worked really hard over the summer.  We're really excited about how Gabe Vincent has recovered from his ACL injury.  He's a really good player.


GH:
8) The recruiting timeline for the 2018 class started a little late as you joined UCSB in April.  Can you talk about the late start and how that has affected recruiting so far?

JP It's not easy.  We had relationships with these kids, but everyone's recruiting these kids all along.  But we just jumped in and started recruiting, and we built on these relationships.  We utilized the relationships we already had with the players, their families, high school and AAU coaches.

GH:
9) During the introductions, you talked about UCSB as the #8 public University in the nation.  I expect most recruits envision themselves in the NBA.  How much does this actually help with recruits and their guardians?

JP Academics are a big, big deal.  At the end of the day, the players' families and coaches know that they are not going to play basketball forever.  To get a degree from such a prestigious academic institution is a big deal.  That's a big, big deal for everyone is involved in the process.

GH:
10) We were fortunate to add two fine grad transfer student athletes in Leland King and Marcus Jackson.  As UCSB never was able to land a grad transfer previously, was it difficult to add two grad transfers to UCSB?

JPIt was definitely difficult on a lot of fronts but our administration and the School of Education were really supportive of it and we're grateful of that.

GH:
11) Do you anticipate more grad transfers and regular transfers to take up roster spots in the future or do you prefer high school recruits?

JP:  You have to have a delicate mix of both transfers and older guys    It's hard to win in college basketball without veterans.   We also want to teach players the system over the years so high school guys provide that advantage.  We need both of those.  An appropriate mix is important.



GH:
12) How DO you appeal to the athletes that you covet?  What seems to resonate?

JPMy strength is building a relationship and being persistent in the pursuit and evaluating and knowing who we want and going after them.  We don't recruit a million kids   You can't recruit well doing that.

GHMy questions revolve around the team.  Do you have a starting 5?
 
JPNo, right now every day in practice we keep stats and we're still in an evolution process of figuring out who will actually start.  The starting lineup will change.  That's where we are right now.
We're in a situation where we watch our guys and evaluate them, and our starting lineup for game 1 might be different from game 2.

GHWhat kind of stats do you track?

JPWe keep stats on everything:  2's, 3's, and they're penalized for missing them.  Assists, rebounds, post feeds, post catches, steals, blocks, deflections, which team winning.  We compete every day in practice.  We have two teams: blue and gold, and if your team wins, you get points for that.

GHRegarding marketing, can you expand on it?

JPThe biggest thing is I'm going to a lot of fraternities and their chapter meetings, getting them excited about our game on November 11. It's a big deal.  This would be great if you could publish this and get this going here.

1) We're going to have a competition for the fraternities and sororities.  Whichever fraternity or sorority brings the most fans will get free pizza from Dominos.


2) We're giving out free T-shirts to the first 1500 students.

3) I spoke to the freshmen at freshmen orientation.

We got sponsors and raised funds for these promotions.


GHIf the students come to their first game and have a great experience, they'll come back, right?

JPNo question.  Let's really hype this first game.  We're going to fill the Dome.


GHThanks Coach!

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