We are keeping our fingers crossed in the hope that we can return to a “normal” version of college basketball this fall: fans in the stands, announcers without masks, etc. Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen but we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. We continue our coverage with North Texas coach Grant McCasland. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach McCasland about getting the 1st tourney win in school history and his expectations for this season.
You played basketball at Baylor: how good of a 5’8” player were you back in the day, and how did you 1st get into coaching? I was not a great player but loved being a part of a team and did anything I could to help them win. I thought that I would get into business after college and worked at a church but loved being a coach more than anything.
In 2007 as head coach at Midland College you beat Chipola College to win the NJCAA title: what did it mean to you to win a title, and how did you balance being a coach with driving the team bus?! It meant that we could set an expectation that anything could happen. You dream about those things but the affirmation was even better. We lost our best player during the season and ended up starting a walk-on after that. It was fun to see the whole process take shape and learn how to win a championship. We are not as important as we think we are, so as long as you are willing to do whatever it takes (including driving a bus) then that is what you should do.
You were an assistant to Scott Drew at your alma mater from 2011-2016 where you won the 2013 NIT: what makes him such a great coach, and how excited were you for him when he won the NCAA title last April? Scott is the ultimate learner and has the biggest heart of service of anyone I have been around. It was a unique experience but it was great to work with a guy who never made it about him: he is the most egoless person and tried to help everyone around him reach their goals. When he was about to win it I knew that he would be even more excited for everyone else. He called me the day of the game to make sure that I had my tickets: he is always about other people.
In 2016 you were hired as head coach at Arkansas State, and after a 20-win season you were hired as head coach at North Texas and had another 20-win season in 2017: how were you able to come in and be so successful at 2 different schools in back-to-back years? The staff was the biggest reason. They were extremely unselfish and cared about our players 1st. We were committed to loving our team while also holding them accountable, which was our goal. We had some hard times but stuck together and had some success.
In the 2018 CBI Finals you lost Game 1 to San Francisco: how were you able to regroup to win back-to-back games to clinch the title? We knew that we would get some home games after starting on the road. It was a long regular season and we did not play well toward the end but won 4 straight games to get to that final series. We knew what it took to bounce back and our fans were tremendous: you do not always get a chance to win a championship in your own building!
In 2020 you won the school’s 1st regular season title in 31 years and were named conference COY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? You know the deal: it is about how you operate as a program. If you watched 1 of our practices you would see that we just have a group of people who love each other. It was a blessing to work with those guys every day.
In the 2021 postseason you had a 4-PT OT win over Western Kentucky in the CUSA tourney title game and then a 9-PT OT upset of Purdue for the 1st NCAA tourney win in school history: how was your blood pressure doing by the end of that week, and where does it rank among the highlights of your career? Every team is unique so it is hard to figure out how that team fits in, but when I look back at the impact we all made on a daily basis it is special. You always dream of playing in the NCAA tourney but to actually win a tourney game as a coach is so unique/difficult. It was as good of an experience that I have ever been a part of after missing out the previous year due to COVID. Blood pressure is not even in the equation: you are just believing in each other.
You lost 3 senior starters from last year (Javion Hamlet/Zachary Simmons/James Reese): how will you try to replace all of that offense/experience? The biggest thing for us is that we cannot replace them: we just have to use our new personnel and will have to move the ball better and play with pace. We will have more of a perimeter attack and will play a little quicker.
Your wife Cece played soccer at Texas Tech: who is the best athlete in the family? My wife: it is not close! She started/played in more meaningful games than me and is tough as nails.
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? Our expectations are high: we are aiming for a conference title at the start of every single year. If you ask our team they would tell you the same thing: they want to get back to the NCAA tourney and are excited to get the season rolling.