For all of our extensive Preseason Coverage – CLICK HERE
West Virginia is so good that even their assistant coaches have 15+ years of head coaching experience! Ron Everhart won more than 250 games as a head coach at Duquesne/Northeastern/McNeese State before becoming an assistant to Bob Huggins. He played high school basketball at DeMatha for the legendary Morgan Wootten and at Virginia Tech he was captain of the team that made the 1985 NCAA tourney. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Everhart about the tragic shooting at Duquesne a decade ago and his longtime friendship with his boss.
You were a 1st-team Catholic Prep All-American for Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten at DeMatha High School: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? He was an amazing coach for so many reasons. He had a unique way of motivating guys without raising his voice. He made us accountable for everything we did, which made us better players/people. He instilled so much confidence in us because he never got rattled. If we were trailing in a game we always thought that we could come back because we worked on that so much in practice.
In the 1985 NCAA tourney as a player at Virginia Tech you scored 4 PTS in a 3-PT loss to Temple: do you think you would have won if Coach Charles Moir had not benched Perry Young/Tim Lewis for 11 minutes due to missing practice? They missed practice because they missed the bus. I think we would have won if we had them, but we played well enough that we could have won anyway. We missed some FTs and failed to box out…but I can promise you that I would love to have that game back!
In the 1986 ACC tourney title game as a grad assistant to Bobby Cremins at Georgia Tech you had a 1-PT loss to Duke: could you have ever imagined that 3 decades later that almost every single guard in that game would become a head coach (Mark Price/Craig Neal/Tommy Amaker/Johnny Dawkins/Quin Snyder)? I could never had predicted that, but the 1 thing I always knew was that Danny Ferry would become an NBA GM. I knew his brother Bob from our playing days. Danny made every big play to keep them in the game.
Take me through your 1st 6 months as head coach at Duquesne:
In March of 2006 you were hired and brought in 10 new recruits: why did you undertake such a massive rebuilding project? It was not by choice: it was probably a necessity. I am big on education and we had a few players who had missed class or a study hall. The very 1st day I had my guys running a few miles because they had not adhered to the rules, and most of them ended up asking for their releases. I thought we were going to be very successful with our recruits.
6 months later you had 5 players injured in a shooting after they left a dance on campus: how did that incident change your life, and how did it impact your thoughts on gun control? It was 1 of the toughest things that has ever happened to any of my teams. It was a random act of violence and was a bad deal. You can look at it 2 ways: if you ban guns from the good guys then only the criminals will have them, but thank god the police were there as soon as possible. I think it was just a couple of high-school dropouts who were looking for trouble.
In the 2009 NIT Aaron Jackson scored 46 PTS (8-13 3PM) in a 116-108 2-OT loss to your alma mater: what are your memories of such an incredible game? It was a great game and Aaron was phenomenal. We certainly played well enough to win but there were at least a dozen plays where we missed a layup or tip-in. We had a great season and felt snubbed by the NCAA tourney, but I looked at it as a great opportunity. We played our hearts out and just did not come out on top.
In 2012 you were hired to be an assistant to Bob Huggins at West Virginia: why did you take the job, and how do you like working for Huggins? It was a dream come true for me. My wife and I are from West Virginia and both of our families still live here. Bob was my childhood hero: I used to rebound for him when he played here. I do not if I have ever made a move without talking to him 1st: he has been instrumental in helping me get most of my jobs. Even if I were still a head coach elsewhere I would still feel honored to get the chance to work for Bob, and I am always grateful to him for giving me this opportunity.
In the 2015 NCAA tourney you had a 78-39 loss to undefeated Kentucky: where does that Wildcat team rank among the best that you have ever seen? I would say they are 1 of the top 2 or 3 teams that I have ever seen, perhaps behind the Louisville or Memphis teams I played against in the early-1980s. The most dominant team I have ever seen was Coach Huggins’ team at Cincinnati in 2000 with Kenyon Martin.
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Virginia/Virginia Tech/Florida: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Early on the Virginia game will be a huge test due to their success last year. Their style is opposite of our own up-tempo game. Florida will certainly be tough, as will Richmond in the Las Vegas Invitational. Coach always wants to play the best teams that we can schedule: I will be surprised if our strength of schedule is not among the top-5 in the nation.
You lost your starting backcourt (Juwan Staten/Gary Browne) but return each of your other top-10 scorers: how crucial will all of that frontcourt experience be to your team’s success this year, and how is the guard situation looking at the moment? Our backcourt is obviously young but we have some guys who played a lot of games as freshmen in the best league in the country. Our frontline will be crucial, especially if Nate Adrian is as remarkably healthy as he looks. They will have to step up and be every-play players. I really like our team: we have great kids who like each other, which makes for a very cohesive locker room.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our main goal every year is to play for a conference championship. Coaches do not even have to say anything: they just listen to their team. Goal 1A is to try to make the championship translate into a trip to Houston.