Jim Jabir – University of Dayton

Jim Jabir was my RA in college, Nazareth College of Rochester, in the early 80’s.  I have known him since I was 17 years old.  Jim truly cares for those around him more than he does himself.  He is the epitome of “selflessness.”  His ability to communicate with those around him, to get in touch with who they are and to connect with them is better than anyone I have been around.  He is caring; he understands the total student-athlete experience and makes it a priority.  He is genuine and real.

Graham Hays does an exceptional job of capturing “who” Jim is and what his relationship is with his players.  As you read this one thing jumps off the page… the article is being written about him and all he talks about is his players, the university and how fortunate he is to be part of their existence.  Humility.  This isn’t just because Jim had a brush with death, it is who he has been since I met him in 1983.

There is no question that if Jim had stayed at Marquette they would be the “UConn” of the Big East as well.  Jim has the plan and the process and Dayton is his vehicle.  Enjoy this.

Jabir making most of second chance

Five seasons after dealing with cardiac issues, coach has Dayton on brink of NCAAs

By Graham Hays ESPN.com

HANOVER, N.H. — Kendel Ross embodies just about everything Jim Jabir believed Dayton women’s basketball could be when the school gave the veteran coach a second chance seven years ago. But for any of those plans to come to fruition, Jabir first needed to receive a second chance at something far more substantial than a profession.

Tim G. Zechar/Icon SMI Jim Jabir hasn't taken a team to the NCAA tournament since 1995 (Marquette), but his Flyers are 17-5 overall and 5-2 in the A-10.

Dayton’s coach admits he’s harder on Ross, now a senior, than just about any player on a Flyers team that remains in control of its postseason fate despite a loss last weekend at Atlantic 10 leader Xavier. Coming out of Canada four seasons ago, Ross was, in Jabir’s words, “the first kid we shouldn’t have got that we got.” He expects excellence out of her, and her mistakes pain him more.

For lack of a more accessible comparison, she is Dayton’s Shane Battier. She does everything that shows up in the box score and half a dozen things that don’t. For better and occasionally worse when stubborn will meets stubborn will, she has a motor and a competitive streak that will not shut off. Tell her you need 15 rebounds in a game and the result is predictable.

“She’s gonna get you 15,” Jabir said. “It’s like clockwork; she’s going to do what you ask her to do. Or she’ll die trying. So it’s this great intensity, it’s this intangible — this will is tremendous. I mean, she’s got this will — and sometimes it works against her, but for the most part it’s been beneficial to us. And I tell her this all the time, too, I love her and I hate her. I mean, she’s so stubborn, you know what I mean? I literally love her and I hate her. There are days I want to kill her and days I can’t get enough of her.”

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The “Truck”

We’re not talking about Leonard “Truck” Robinson, or even Darryyl “Truck” Bryant here…. I mean THE Truck, as in what we all see behind the arena on game days for our TV games.  Obscure, unknown.  Just sitting there minding it’s own business.  Few know what really goes on behind the quiet presence of the outside walls of that vehicle.  I had no idea.

Lyon Video Production Truck for ESPN2

Maybe it’s just me, but I had never seen the inside of a TV production truck.  I’ve done some TV, a studio show “This Week in the NBDL” with Mike Crispino a few years ago, but that was a studio gig.  That is NOTHING like THE Truck, LIVE – on site production.  In the studio (at least the one I was in) there were a few people, it was quiet.  Everything seemed pretty low key, simple.

I was able to get an invite to “observe” an ESPN basketball game from THE Truck.  Did not know what to expect, what I was in for.  Amazing.

First off, let’s talk about set up… you’ve seen THE Truck, it’s not that large.  There are 16+ people inside THE Truck at all times.  People are coming in and out of it all the time, through out the entire production.

I arrived at 5:20 pm for a 7:30 pm game.  The action was already well into the flow.  The anonymous, diligent professionals going about preparing the countless graphics, statistics, intros, video clips, screen shots for the live game presentation.  I say anonymous because we as coaches as well as the fans never get to see these people or understand how hard they are working to make the game look so good.  This is the scouting report and walk-thru phase for us basketball coaches.  One of the amazing parts… much of the stuff that they seem to spend hours preparing before the live game… doesn’t even get used.  As the game unfolds, there is constant re-doing, adding to and adjusting what was done before.

ESPN2's Production Crew for Maryland @ Virginia

There is so much going on, constantly… everyone talking on headsets at the same time, clacking away on computers, countless monitors full of video or different camera views and recorded material.  All the while, no one seemed the least bit confused with all the action or ticked off that you everyone was talking over everyone else.  The build up… the final meeting and rehearsal.  Running like a well oiled machine.

As we’re getting close to game time, I soon realized that part is NOTHING compared to once the game starts.  I felt a shot of adrenaline as the countdown started to being on the air.  You could feel excitement rise in THE Truck.  Game Time!

Tip off.  Talk about precision chaos!  The prep time was nothing compared to this!… Jeff, the producer, barking out commands – Scott doing the same, all coordinated, all in sync.  Amazingly enough, there is very little stress coming from any of  their voices… just instructions: which camera, when to zoom in, go wide, fade to another, bring in a stat or replay.  Even a little bit of humor.  Amazing.

ESPN2's Producers

They work in the live four-minute chunks coordinated with the scorers table and always wanting to steal a few extra seconds to make the presentation of our game more enhanced for the viewers.  They are having fun.  There are no time-outs, no real breaks in the action for this crew.  The live game action is also cluttered with preparing for the next dead ball, media timeout or stoppage when they figure out what is needed to be placed into the presentation.  The announcers (Carolyn Peck, Bob Wischusen and Rebecca Lobo) become extensions of the people in THE Truck, but honestly – very few in here listen to what they are saying.  They realize this.  It is all part of the show.  I could hardly concentrate on what the announcers were saying about the game with all the action in side THE Truck.

All of this made me think of our role as coaches on the sidelines.  Seeing nearly two dozen games over the last two months, I’ve seen screaming, teaching, ranting, raving, the calm, the studious – all of it.  The calm, humorous, deliberate and directive manner in which this crew went about their business was re-affirming that is the best way to go.

After seeing all this action in THE Truck, I’ll stick to coaching… it’s WAY easier to manage than the presentation and production of a live basketball game!

A special thank you, again, to everyone involved and to those unseen who make live basketball games just amazing events to watch.

Popularity: 26%

Play of the Day – BOB & 1/2 Court ATO

Today’s Play of the Day comes from Seton Hall Men’s @ UConn last night.

First is a Seton Hall ATO play, perfectly executed at the end of the first half for a lay-up.  The easy basket cut the UConn lead to 3.

PLAY OF THE DAY

I have not figured out how to take clips from ESPN360.com, but I am totally hooked on watching the games there.  I can get in two games a day easy.  Best part…. haven’t lost one yet!

Enjoy.

Popularity: 17%

Why is UConn Women’s Basketball Better than Everyone Else?

Coach Auriemma comments to the Hartford Courant on why his UConn Huskies are better than everyone else.

Simple, but true.

Thanks to Mark Thomas for sharing this with us.

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Former Rutgers Guard Seeks Overseas Path to W.N.B.A.

Epiphanny Prince

What started at Rutgers the last three years, had a couple month stop in Russia is now headed for Botas Spor, a team in Adana, Turkey – an American-friendly city near a United States military base about 90 minutes by airplane from Istanbul.

Epiphanny Prince began her professional playing career for Spartak Moscow and Head Coach Pokey Chatman.

I heard she had yet to play because owner Shabtai von Kalmanovic was working on her Russian pass port when tragedy struck.  Piph is fortunate to land in Turkey.  This could be a blessing in disguise for Prince.  More playing time is on the horizon and that will give WNBA General Managers a more valuable body of work to assess her draft status.

The story does not elaborate on how the progress is going towards moving her family from their Brooklyn home.  The focus of Piph’s journey has been reported as two-fold: 1.) Provide for her family and 2.)  Prepare better for WNBA.

Let’s update this in a month and see how her progress is going.

From GREG BISHOP, New York Times

Popularity: 46%