Season preview: South Florida assistant coach Rod Strickland

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There are plenty of NCAA assistant coaches who were good point guards during their playing days, but there is only 1 men’s (I see you John Stockton!) basketball assistant who ever led the NBA in APG in a single season.  Rod Strickland led the NBA with 10.5 APG in 1998, and is ready to begin his 2nd year as an assistant to head coach Orlando Antigua at South Florida.  On the court, he was an All-American at DePaul before playing in the NBA for 17 years.  Off the court, he worked for Coach John Calipari at Memphis/Kentucky and is the godfather of NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Strickland about working for Coach Cal and getting a shout-out from the Wu-Tang Clan.

In the 1987 NCAA tourney as a player at DePaul you scored 16 PTS in an 8-PT OT win over St. John’s: how much of a home-court advantage did you have while playing at the Rosemont Horizon, and how were you able to overcome a 4-PT deficit with 19 seconds left in regulation? We definitely had a home-court advantage, which helped us overcome the deficit. We just stuck with it and never gave up while our crowd kept us going, which gave us a lot of confidence to keep fighting.

You were a 2-time All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? It felt great! Every time you move to the next level you try to see if you are good enough, so once I got to college and received some accolades it gave me the confidence that I had a chance to be a pro.

In the summer of 1988 you were drafted 19th overall by your hometown New York Knicks: did you see that as a validation of your college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? It validates you as a basketball player. A lot of young guys now think they will be a pro even if they are only in the 3rd grade, but back in the day I just kept trying to make it to the next level. It was a relief to finally get drafted.

You made the playoffs during each of your 1st 9 years in the NBA while playing for 4 different teams: what is the biggest difference between the regular season and the postseason? The intensity and focus, without a doubt. Once the playoffs start it is like a whole different animal. Teams get locked in and pay attention to detail: everything is magnified.

In 1997 Wu-Tang Clan came out with its 1st single “Triumph” from its 2nd album “Wu-Tang Forever”: what was your reaction when you heard the final line of the song that goes “Guaranteed made ’em jump like Rod Strickland”?! That was crazy when I 1st heard it on the radio. To this day people will come up to me and quote me the line. It was exciting to be mentioned by 1 of the top rap groups of all-time, especially in that era. It was another validation for me in the hip-hop community and was very exciting.

In 1998 you led the NBA with 10.5 APG: what is the key to being a great PG? You need great players around you. I was always a passer who tried to create opportunities for other guys. When I came off of a ball screen I knew where everyone was at on the court. You have to keep your options open and be a playmaker: as nice as it is to score 30 PTS, sometimes I liked having 15 AST even more. That is why I played so many years with so many teams: I could adjust to anyone.

Your godson is 2012 NBA ROY Kyrie Irving, whose father Drederick was your childhood friend: what was Drederick like as a player, and how good do you think that Kyrie will be by the end of his career? If Drederick was playing now with all of the camps/exposures, he might have ended up as a pro. He was really good: when you see some of the moves that Kyrie makes, he does some things that his father could do as well. We grew up playing together and did similar things: he just happened to be more of a scorer while I played the point. When I see Kyrie, I see his father, and I think the sky is the limit for him. He is young but has already accomplished a lot. He is a bright young man and I think he will have a Hall of Fame career and then do some big things once basketball is over.

You used to work for Coach John Calipari at both Memphis and Kentucky: what makes him such a great coach, and what will it be like to face him again the day after Thanksgiving when the Bulls play the Wildcats? He has a fierceness about him and a competitive spirit. He wants to be #1 as bad as anyone and his own focus makes everyone else around him focused. He is always on the ball and is thinking several steps ahead to keep himself in front of everyone else. It will be great to walk down the sideline and shake his hand. He is a special person who helped me get my start in this business: Cal is my guy!

You return 3 of your top-4 scorers from last year: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success this year? I think it will be great. Our guys have gotten better both individually and as a team, so having them back and adding some new guys around them makes me excited to see how things work out.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? The goal is simple: to win as many games as possible and compete every day in practice and in games. We want our opponents to know that we will play hard. We had a young group last year so we have to create an identity this year: hopefully that will translate into wins.