Hoops HD

Eddie Holbrook was hired as head coach at Gardner-Webb at the tender age of 24 and it turned out to be a good fit for all of the parties involved. He went 344-67 during 14 years on the sideline, won 4 conference titles during his 1st 5 years, and had 5 players make it to the NBA. He later spent 4 years at Furman where he made the 1980 NCAA tourney. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Eddie’s former assistant Ron Hooper about coaching a future Hall of Famer and averaging 100+ PPG. Today marks the 8th anniversary of the school officially dedicating “Eddie Holbrook Court” on February 26, 2015, so we take this time to honor his life/legacy.

How did Eddie 1st get into coaching? After college I think he got a job with a high school in North Carolina. He had coaching in his blood: he did not just fall into it.

His offensive philosophy was based on running a fast break: how did he come up with this strategy, and what made it so successful? When I worked for him we recruited to a double-post offensive system so we always knew that we would have at least 2 really good rebounders. We always went for speed at the PG and wing positions. We just figured that we would press a lot defensively and keep the heat on our opponents. We never walked the ball up the floor and tried to defeat the other team in the 1st half based on our physical conditioning and then have our way with them in the 2nd half.

In the late 1960s he recruited future Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore to Gardner-Webb: how did he do it, and where does Gilmore rank among the best players that you have ever seen? He was recruited the year before I got there. That was a time when you could find lesser-known players before other schools got in on recruiting and Coach Holbrook found him early in the process. We were only a 2-year JC school at the time and Coach just pursued him and convinced him to come there because there would be better things for him down the road. It was a win-win. His transition from a raw product was amazing. I do not think that Artis ever missed a class or was late for practice. He worked as hard as anyone on the floor both at practice and during games. He was a shy person but did the work. He was not just tall: he could run and jump and was a very good athlete. We did not just lob the ball to him down in the low post: he would work aggressively to get in the right position so that he did not have to make a difficult offensive move. He was a smart player and a super athlete. He could rebound the ball, make the outlet pass, and still fill the lane. He had a lot of raw ability but really developed his innate abilities. He dedicated himself to the classroom despite not being pushed academically in high school: I never had a single issue with him.

He oversaw the program’s transition from JC to NAIA: what was the biggest difference between the 2 levels? At that time there was not a whole lot of difference because JC basketball was terrific: we had highly skilled players so it was not a huge transition for our team. Our fast break was organized and orchestrated: find the PG, advance it on the 1st pass, and then everyone was off and running. If we did not have the advantage then we would set up our offense. It affects the other team’s offense because they know that if they miss a shot then they will have to bust their butts back down the floor. We had a 12-man fast break drill that began during the 1st day of practice: we did not stop for 5 straight minutes. When you bring a freshman into that environment and give them a few games like that, they will learn that this is the way to play basketball. Our opponents were often not excited to come back out for the 2nd half!

In 1972 his team averaged more than 109 PPG: how on earth did you ever lose a game?! We did not lose that many! We did not get caught up in statistics that much: we just tried to play the game. I recall 1 year in 1977 when we went 30-3: it would have been nice to go undefeated but a loss can also provide motivation to keep your players focused.

What are your memories of the 1972 NAIA tourney (he won 3 straight games before losing to eventual runner-up Wisconsin-Eau Claire)? Our tallest player that year (George Adams) was about 6’5” but was a stud who could really run. That was where our defensive and running philosophy really paid off. The glory days of the NAIA were from the late-1960s into the 1980s with some great teams like Georgetown College, Fort Hays State, and Kentucky State. That year Eau Claire was very good. Teams cherished the chance to go to the national tourney: there were 8 games/day in Kansas City. The Chiefs had some great teams back then and some of their players would show up to watch the tourney. Some of the NAIA teams could compete with the NCAA boys: there is no question about it.

After 14 years at Gardner-Webb he became head coach at Furman in 1978: why did he make the change, and did he have any regrets? Furman came after him very hard so it would have been awfully difficult for him to turn them down. I do not think that he has any regrets. He had good teams for his 1st 3 years there before recruiting became much more competitive but he had a good run. He never changed his coaching philosophy but it was very hard to get kids who were as dedicated as the ones we had at Gardner-Webb. That was the start of AAU summer travel teams in high school with the really good players starting to become pampered. It is not all bad but it does not always serve the players well when they play a lot of 1-on-1 basketball: in college you have to fit into a structure of team play.

What are your memories of the 1980 NCAA tourney (Jonathan Moore had 22 PTS/17 REB in a loss to Tennessee)? That game was in Greensboro, NC. We had a freshman named Tobe Jackson who was a terrific shooter but had a rough night (1-5 FG). It was a very competitive game and if we had made a few more buckets then I honestly think that we would have won the game.

His son Chad is head baseball coach at Charleston: why did he choose baseball over basketball, and how much of an influence was his father on his own decision to become a coach? Chad was a really good high school athlete: he was an option QB and may have won a state title or 2. He was also a really good basketball player and a terrific ball-handler. He was a left-handed hitter who could really run: all he had to do was hit a ground ball to the left side of the infield! UNC recruited him as a baseball player and he set a couple of stolen base records while playing 2nd base. His dad might have had a little influence on him becoming a coach but it was a pretty natural transition to become a baseball coach. I used to babysit Chad and his sister Nicole on weekends because I was single and lived in a dorm. Eddie’s late wife Bobbi worked in the PE department and coached the women’s basketball team: we would kid him that his wife was a better coach than him because she was a heck of a coach! You cannot be a good coach unless your family understands the schedule that must be kept so the kids would spend a lot of time at the gym. Bobbi was always ready to help out and there was a lot of family/fan participation, which made it easier to win games. We took teams to Hawaii, Rio, Rome, London, Mexico City, etc. We would offer our fans a chance to fly with us and the ones who signed up knew that they were helping us cover our transportation costs: we would sell out within 1 hour. It was very impactful and a really good recruiting tool. We would go for big kids anywhere we could find them, New York/DC for PGs, and Indiana for shooters. When you recruit a kid from Indiana and then word gets back that he is scoring 25 PPG for us, you can probably go back there in the future to get some more players! I made a point of getting introduced to Howard Garfinkel at a camp in Long Island: he got a kick out of my North Carolina accent and called me “Coach Hoop”. After a couple of years he would know your style of play and knew which kids would be a good fit from both a basketball and attitude standpoint. Howard was not just trying to make money by selling publications: he worked hard at his job and was a very good reporter on high school basketball players. Howard played a role in our success as well.

When people look back on his career, how do you think he should be remembered the most? When the players came through there they did not love him because he just wanted them to do their job. If they missed class or broke the team rules then there was a penalty. I do not recall any practice that was shorter than 3 hours: it was tough. I was a decent athlete but I do not know if I could have done that. However, the court was named for him several years ago. To a man the players had such a high respect for him and said that playing for him changed their lives. He made them do what they did not want to do but it was something that they needed to do. We have some very successful men who used to play for us: IBM employees, high school coaches, etc. He was very demanding and made sure that our team was always the aggressor on both ends of the floor: that philosophy never changed. There was no standing around in practice or games. I have seen a lot of good coaches who tried to change things here and there…but Coach Holbrook never changed.