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We hope you are ready for a season unlike any other: testing, distancing, and bubbles, oh my! Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, or whether anything actually will happen…but in the meantime we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches/administrators in the country. We continue our coverage with new UC Riverside coach Mike Magpayo. He started in real estate, then became an assistant coach a decade ago, and was hired in July as head coach of the Highlanders, . HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Magpayo about his international roster and his expectations for this year.
You previously served as CEO of a multi-million-dollar real estate company in California: how did you like the business, and how did you get into coaching? I ran a real-estate company during the boom but also coached a high school basketball team. When the crash happened in 2007/2008 we barely survived it and in 2010 I was moving to New York City to get my masters’ degree in real estate. I wrote letters to a bunch of college head coaches and the only 1 who wrote me back was Kyle Smith. He said that if I gave up everything else and was willing to start at the bottom then he would give me a shot…and he did.
As an assistant at Campbell/Columbia you helped manage a “Moneyball” type of statistical system: how much importance do you place on analytics? A lot! It is a huge part of our program here because that is how I learned it at Columbia. My last 2 bosses came from the St. Mary’s coaching tree, which is where they learned it themselves. All of Coach Randy Bennett’s disciples use a similar system. I believe in a lot of the analytics but it is mostly a tool I use to hold the team accountable. We track everything (even in practice) and then post it: it is a fully-transparent program.
Last March as an assistant at UC Riverside you were scheduled to play UCSB in the Big West tourney quarterfinals before learning that everything was canceled due to coronavirus: what was your reaction when you 1st heard the news, and do you think that it was the right decision? We are competitors so of course we wanted to play. We were in the same hotel as UCSB and ate next to them in the dining room. We were really bummed because our team was trending in the right direction at the time. I cannot believe it was 7 months ago: we just started practicing with the new protocols and our guys were dying during their 1st 4-minute workouts! I am trying to lead us back to where we were last season.
In July you were hired as head coach at UC Riverside: why did you take the job, and how is it going so far? The joke is that there are no bad jobs because there are only 357 of them in the country! I am from Southern California and am a product of the UC system. Coach David Patrick left us a full cupboard of players who are 100% committed: so far so good. We are practicing/working out so that is all we could ask for.
You are the founder/president of the Asian Coaches Association and are now the 1st-ever D-1 head coach of Asian heritage: how big a deal is it, and why did it take so long? We have to give Rex Walters some credit because he is half-Asian. In the NBA Finals we see Coach Erik Spoelstra and his own grind to become a head coach: he opened the door and hopefully I can keep it open for the next generation. The Asian Coaches Association had 13 people at our 1st meeting but our most recent meeting had around 150-200 attendees. There are a lot of Asian coaches out there for both men/women. Coach Spoelstra texted me after I got the job and just told me to represent.
Last year you had 1 of the best defensive teams in the nation: what is the key to playing good defense? I give all of the credit to Coach Patrick. We built it with size: our difference is that we have 6 guys who are at least 6’9” and we do not have a guy shorter than 6’3” on our team. We are long/gritty/tough, which helps with both rebounding/defense. We recruited size and utilize it in our schemes: we will not change too much defensively so the guys should be able to have a seamless transition.
Your roster includes several players from Australia/New Zealand: what sort of recruiting philosophy will you have? Coach Patrick and I are branches of the St. Mary’s tree, where international players were always part of the puzzle. We have 9 players from down under: it might be the largest # in all of D-1. We want great guys with a great work ethic who you would not be afraid to let them watch your kids. They come from a culture who have a great approach to practices and building a team, which has helped us become a winning program.
You graduated your senior backcourt of Dikymbe Martin/Khyber Kabellis but bring back almost everyone else on the roster: how will you try to replace all of that offense/leadership? We are lucky to bring in 2 transfers from big-time programs in Flynn Cameron (DePaul) and Jock Perry (St. Mary’s). I think that they will help us with both offense/leadership: they are older and know how to work.
You have a birthday coming up next month: what will it be like to celebrate during a pandemic? The biggest news is that my wife is pregnant! I am getting too old so I do not even want to celebrate my birthday. 7 months without doing what I love to do (coach) has been brutal. I could not be happier right now just to be working on the game that I love.
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? The only team in our league who we have not beaten during the past 2 years is UC-Irvine but we were right there last year. We do not talk about it as much right now but we will hold our guys to a high-performance standard every day. I expect us to compete at the top of our league and I have a lot of confidence in this group.