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It took Northeastern almost a quarter-century to make it back to the NCAA tourney last March, but the man who led them there will probably not have to wait another 25 years to return. Coach Bill Coen begins his 10th year as head coach of the Huskies and returns 4 starters from last year’s 23-win team. He spent 17 years as an assistant to Al Skinner at Boston College/Rhode Island, and even won 3 conference titles as a player at Hamilton College. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Coen about losing to the Irish last March and hosting the Spartans this December.
You played basketball at Hamilton College: how good a player were you back in the day, and how did you get into coaching? I was extremely average as a player but had an outstanding team experience. My head coach Tom Murphy is a Hall of Famer and is now 1 of my assistants: he is also 1 of my inspirations.
You worked as an assistant to Al Skinner at Rhode Island/BC: what makes him such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you ever learned from him? He is an outstanding coach with so many strong qualities. I was his assistant for 17 years, during which time he took numerous teams to the NCAA tourney and created great programs at both schools. The attribute that stands out to me is his patience, both with player development as well as professional/career goals.
In 2006 you were hired as head coach at Northeastern: why did you take the job, and how long do you plan on sticking around for? After being a D-1 assistant for almost 2 decades I felt that I was ready to become a head coach. I was anxious to see if I was good enough and I got an opportunity in Boston at a high-academic institution, so it was an outstanding fit for me both personally and professionally. I learned a lot of lessons from guys like Al (who had a long-time stay at 2 different schools) as well as Coach Murphy, but 1 of the most important is that if you want to make a difference at a program, then you need to have a long-term plan. I am starting my 10th year and would love to be here as long as they will have me.
In the 2010 NIT you had a 2-PT loss to UConn after going scoreless in the final 3 minutes: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? I would not categorize it as devastating, but rather a “missed opportunity”. We played well enough to win but just came up short down the stretch. I was very proud of that group of guys because they were the 1st players I recruited here and they were great for our program.
In the 2015 CAA tourney you won 3 games in 3 nights to clinch the school’s 1st conference tourney title in almost a quarter-century: what did it mean to you to win the title, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? It was an extremely thrilling time for our program with the excitement level at an all-time high. I think the NCAA tourney is the most exciting sporting event in the world, so it was a galvanizing occasion for our school, our fans, and our alumni. We will cherish it for a long time.
In the 2015 NCAA tourney you had a 4-PT loss to Notre Dame: how close did you come to pulling off the upset, and what did your team learn from that game that you think will help you this year? We had the ball with 30 seconds to play down by 2 PTS, so we were 1 play away from beating a red-hot Irish team that was playing as well as anyone in the country at the time. Hopefully our guys understand that playing hard/smart/together will allow us to compete at a high level.
Your non-conference schedule includes a home game against Michigan State in December: how are you preparing to face the Spartans? I think it will be a historic event on our campus. Tom Izzo is a Hall of Fame coach and we know that we will face a tough-minded physical team. We will have to be at the top of our game to compete against a high-quality opponent.
Your conference schedule begins at Elon on New Year’s Eve: do you have to change your preparation at all when coaching on a big holiday to help maintain the team’s focus? We have a game at NC State less than 48 hours before that so I expect us to be dialed in for our conference opener. Every game matters but it is important to get off to a good start in conference play: I do not think that we will have to alter our preparation.
You return 4 starters from last year: how crucial do you think all of that experience will be to your team’s success this year? Those guys need to be able to set the tone for us throughout the season. They have played an awful lot of college basketball and won a CAA title, so that experience will be invaluable as we move through the challenges of our schedule.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our goals are the same every year: we want to compete for a league title, which is what everyone else wants to do as well. My expectations are to focus on the moment: you want to talk about cutting down the nets at the end of the year, but you have to be committed to improving each and every day.