Walter McCarty stood close enough to Brad Stevens to learn some of the secrets to his success as a basketball coach.
The newly appointed University of Evansville men’s basketball coach discussed some of Stevens’ best qualities in an interview SB Nation’s Harry Lyles Jr. published Wednesday morning. McCarty was an assistant coach on Stevens’ staff from 2013 until late last month, when Evansville hired him away.
He’ll begin his first head-coaching job armed with three key lessons he learned from Stevens: man-management, time efficiency and the benefits of a positive culture.
“It was always just picking his brain,” McCarty said. “‘Why did you do this? What do you think about this?’ He’s phenomenal. He’s still a big part of what I’m doing here, he’s texting me, checking in, how things are going. He helped me prepare for this moment.
“Just the way he treats people. Basketball is basketball, but Brad has a lot of great ideas, and is one of the smartest minds out there. I think the way he treats people, the culture that he creates, how efficient he is, and with guys’ time, their recovery time. Balancing all those things, I think he’s the best at doing that. The way he treats people, man. All of that stuff you wouldn’t think carries over, but it does. And it helps him be a better coach. It helps our team be a better team.”
McCarty is finalizing his coaching staff, and Evansville reportedly will announce the new members next week.
Chances are McCarty’s coaching team also will learn some of Stevens’ tricks of the trade.
