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Chris Mack | College of Charleston Head Coach

Zach Gelb Show / Zach Gelb
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April 4, 2025 4:57 pm

Chris Mack | College of Charleston Head Coach

Zach Gelb Show / Zach Gelb

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April 4, 2025 4:57 pm

Chris Mack, head men's basketball coach at the College of Charleston, shares his insights on the NCAA tournament, the Final Four, and the challenges of coaching in today's college basketball landscape, discussing his team's performance, the strengths and weaknesses of other teams, and the impact of the transfer portal on the sport.

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Alrighty, rock and roll and we continue day number two, Westwood One's coverage of the NCAA tournament, the Final Four on Radio Row.

It is the Zach Gelb Show Coast to Coast on the Infinity Sports Network. And now joining us is the head men's basketball coach at the College of Charleston. And that, of course, is Chris Mack here with us. Coach, appreciate the time. How have you been? I've been great, Zach. Thanks for having me.

Well, I appreciate you coming on. So here at the Final Four, I'm going to start with Florida because they were the team going into this tournament that I thought was playing the best basketball, even though I thought Duke was the best team. How do you try to slow down someone like Walter Clayton Junior when, even when he's not on, there's moments at the end where he just pops off and takes over a game?

He's been amazing. You know, we actually scrimmaged Florida in our first behind closed doors scrimmage this year was our first taste of playing somebody different. And so we traveled down to Gainesville and we played them.

And first of all, their size is unlike anything I've really ever seen. You know, warm ups that they just they look like an NBA team. I don't think Walter played that hard against us in that day and they absolutely steamrolled us. You know, we got back on the bus with our head, you know, in our hands and trying to figure out like, are we this bad or are they that, you know, incredible?

And turned out to be the latter. We felt like we left there. You know, we were looking at a top five, top ten type team. They've proved it all year long. And just to see his play down the stretch in the biggest of big moments, I mean, they're down 10 with three and a half, four minutes to go against Texas Tech and to be able to win that game in the manner which they did. They're special. They are absolutely special.

They're hard to keep off the glass. They come at you in waves and they've got a killer when the game's on the line. Now, on the flip side, you have Bruce Pearl, right, who's been around forever. What he's done at Auburn has been sensational in 2009. He's coaching Todd Golden in the Maccabi games, then you have Bruce Pearl coaching with Todd Golden when he first got to Auburn. I know relationships are basketball and that's a big part of this game, but does it give one coach an advantage over the other when both are so familiar with each other? You know, I think that probably depends on, you know, the type of players they have and how much scouting they do. Some teams are just really more hell-bent on worrying about themselves rather than getting into all the weeds of what an opponent does.

Especially when you have to turn the page in a quick turnaround from Saturday to Monday. Of course, these guys have ample time to prepare for one another. I don't think there's necessarily an advantage in terms of, you know, one guy knowing a little bit more or having a little bit of an edge versus the other. It's going to be a great game. Both teams have high-level athletes, have systems they really believe in, and I think it's going to be a great game. You know, I do give the edge to Florida just because, again, I go back to Walter Clayton. I think he's a little bit more reliable than Pettiford, a guy that's a freshman.

And so they're both really good and I wouldn't be surprised if either one of them advanced. We know that Kelvin Sampson had to spend a few years away from the game, also Bruce Pearl as well, right? You had to spend a few years away before getting this job at the College of Charleston. Just how do you, when you get that next opportunity, kind of reinvent yourself and make the most out of the opportunity? Well, I think it's a matter of, you know, how did I spend the time away? And so, you know, you learn different things. You know, when you're actually coaching your team and you're in it day to day, you're really in the cave with you, your assistants and your team.

Maybe from time to time, you'll call some colleagues and ask for advice. But you're so hunkered down with your team that you don't really have an opportunity to really study others and maybe take in a practice or two. I spent a lot of time around Kelvin Sampson in my two years away. I spent at least three trips down there just sort of listening and, you know, following their defensive identity and how he carves that day in, day out. How he coaches his best player, his point guard. You know, things that, you know, I think good coaches sort of steal from everybody a little bit and try to make it how they see it for their program.

And so that time away, that was the time that I feel like I got to branch out and sort of see some different things that maybe I would apply once I got back into it. Chris Mack here with us, Kelvin Sampson. So I went to Temple University, so I saw what he did in the American Athletic Conference. Then he goes to the Big 12. You know, it's weird to call Houston a dynasty because they haven't won a national championship yet. And what we do, it's kind of all right, dynasties and the NFL and basketball, it's three championships. But what he's been able to do and take this level of Houston to this new standard, multiple conferences, tons of years of success. It's just hats off to him.

Oh, it's amazing. I mean, people, you know, probably realize that follow college basketball. I mean, you know, Houston was a wreck of a program when he took over. I don't think it was a very desirable job.

You know, he goes to the American and he absolutely kills it. And I think there was a little bit of skepticism. OK, we'll see what happens when he gets to the Big 12. And they've gotten better.

They've gotten they've actually gotten better. And I don't think that he's done it necessarily with household names from time to time. He'll get a five star. But for the most part, he's getting these obscure guys out of high school, you know, that are that are long, that have potential. And he gets them to play so gosh darn hard that when you watch a Houston team, you know what you're getting. And I think this year, you know, you know, with his guards, you know, whether it's sharp, you know, whether it's L.J. Cryer, whether it's the transfer point guard from Oklahoma, he's got some dudes that are capable of scoring. And obviously he's going to need that on Saturday. How do you find a way to slow down Duke and be in it in the final few minutes to have your chance to go to the championship game on Monday?

It's a tough ask. You know, they've been they've been sensational here, especially the last month of the season. You know, I think it's so underrated how difficult it is for teams to score around the basket.

You know, so much attention is given to Cooper flag and rightfully so. How talented he is on both ends of the floor. But, you know, now, which I mean, what he does around the rim and, you know, so hard to score to around the basket that the pressure that Duke can apply on the perimeter overwhelms you. And so Houston's got to do what they do best, and that is defend. And then they got to figure out a way that maybe they can get some turnovers. Maybe they can offensive rebound against those guys and get some stickbacks. Maybe they can get a Cooper flag and foul trouble. But again, that's a big ask. And that's going to be a really difficult challenge for the Houston Cougars.

But if anybody's up to it, you know what he's done and the times where they've played, you know, teams like a Kansas on the road and come away with a victory, you know, show that they have some credibility to do so. Outside of the campus that you're currently on, just being absolutely beautiful. What stood out to you this year, looking back at your number one at the College of Charleston?

Well, I would say that, you know, it was chaos in the very beginning. I think most coaches, when they go from, you know, one job to another, they generally bring their entire coaching staff. You know, I was on the beaches of Florida, not coaching. And so while I had a bunch of colleagues and guys that I thought of that if I were to be back into it, that I'd pick up for the staff, I still hadn't been with those guys in a couple of years.

And so that was a huge challenge. You're trying to assemble a roster, you're trying to assemble a coaching staff and you're trying to do with some type of continuity. I think a year from, you know, a couple of days ago, we now have stability with our coaching staff. We know what we're about. So, again, I think the transfer portal teams are going to be very, very, you know, fluid from year to year.

There's going to be a lot of change. But to have stability with your coaches and sort of know what we're about, I think gives us a leg up. And we had a really good year, but, you know, we want to win a championship.

We want to play in the tournament and we intend to do so. I always say about your university now, you know, I saw Jeff Goodman when Pat Kelsey was there doing a stroll and it was like an unbelievable, really nice piece. I go, if that campus could make Jeff Goodman look good, man, it must be a real beautiful campus.

It is. I mean, it's one block off of King Street, which if anybody's been there is the heartbeat of Charleston, you know, from restaurants to open air bars to high end shopping. I mean, just tourists everywhere, bachelor parties, bachelorette parties. And then, you know, you've got beaches in any direction 10 minutes away.

It's just a weather year round. It's a great place for to be a college student. It's a great place to be a basketball coach. And, you know, we're trying to combine, you know, what we do well as a staff with what Charleston brings to the table and hope so we can have a team that CAA champions. There's more change than ever now in college basketball players and coaches.

Right. You've been to Xavier, you've been to Louisville, and we know what you've been able to do when you're at your current school. People are always going to throw your name and it's a credit to what you do in the mix for other jobs that are perceived to be bigger.

You know, just this morning, I'm seeing your name get floated out there for for Texas A&M. Just how do you address that with your players? Because we've seen in this tournament. Right. Will we do it one way?

Kevin Willard do it another way. And there's really no right answer, in my opinion. Yeah, I don't think there is a right answer. And, you know, sometimes things that they could talk about publicly or in the media aren't necessarily true.

And so it's hard to dispel, you know, rumors. You know, I feel great about being in Charleston. You know, I'm not going to Texas A&M.

You know, it's never been a consideration. You know, I get flattered as any coach would when opportunities, you know, come around. But they have to be right for me and my family. If that time ever came where I felt that, you know, there was a better opportunity for our family. When I address it with our team. But, you know, right now I have no intention of being anywhere else but Charleston and Texas A&M. You know, they've got a great program.

Their SEC is high level, but it's not for me and it's not the fit that I would want for my family at this time. Right now, entering this 2025 season, I know it's early. Where do you think you're at as a basketball coach? I think you're always evolving.

I think that the portal has made it wild, you know, this time of year. I don't think it really changes anything when you actually get your guys and you get them in summer school, June and July. You're certainly building towards, you know, the season. When you're out there coaching your players, when you're watching film with them. You know, all the things that we do, every coach does on a daily basis. Road trips, being together, bonding, you know, fighting for a championship together. None of that stuff changes.

What changes is the spring and just the roster volatility. And being able to be accepting of that, adapted to that, has allowed me, you know, to have peace of mind with that. You know, and it's always been a relationship business.

You know, how you develop relationships with the student athletes that you're coaching. And you can still have that, but it is very, very different. It's not as long lasting at times.

It's a little bit more transactional. I don't necessarily think it's great for the game, but it is what it is. And, you know, again, we're going to try to do the best job that we can for our student athletes. I'm always going to be grounded in that as a coach. Well, I see Chris back.

So I understand, right? Xavier fans obviously wanted to keep Sean Miller. When I look at it from afar, I totally get why he elected to go to Texas.

I don't crush him for it whatsoever. But give me a thought or two about Sean Miller going to Texas and then Richard Pitino taking over Xavier. Yeah, I mean, you know, Sean's an elite level coach, elite. And I know that he's always wanted to get to a Final Four. And I'm of the belief that Xavier and Texas, you know, can get to a Final Four.

You know, a lot of things have to happen, have to be put in place. You know, I think I can't speak for Sean, you know, why he made that jump. You know, every coach's decision making process is different. But I do know that Texas is going to be really happy with the coach they have. He's an ass kicker. He is truly one of the best coaches in the game. He taught me a lot. And at the same time, who Xavier's replacing Sean with is a terrific coach in his own right. I think as a young guy in the Big Ten, you know, he took some lumps at a school that is not necessarily a Big Ten contender every year.

Let's be honest. I think he learned a lot. He went to a place that has a very passionate fan base in New Mexico. He crushed it there. And so I think he's young. I think he's energetic. I think he'll bring a passion, you know, to the people of Cincinnati and Xavier University in particular. And so I wish him well. It's my alma mater.

It's where I played. Not too well, because I don't want to be the all-time winningest coach for a long time. And, you know, he's got a few years to get there. Well, we talk about things that are out there.

Right. And who knows if they're true or not. Were there any legs to some of the rumors of maybe you going back there? I mean, again, you know, we were in consideration. We considered it as a family. Again, Charleston is such a special place.

I don't think people understand until they actually put their feet on the ground there. And what our fans have done for the program, the loyalty they've showed, you know. So, again, for us, Xavier is a great place. And it'll always be home for me. But Charleston has really become a special place in our sort of home away from home. So I'm very happy where I'm at.

And I think Xavier is in a good spot with Coach Patino. Well, Coach, we really appreciate your time. Thanks so much for stopping by. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
Whisper: medium.en / 2025-04-04 18:58:54 / 2025-04-04 19:05:40 / 7

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