Monday, August 30, 2004
Article on new HC asst coach
The Capital (Annapolis, MD)
August 14, 2004 Saturday
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. C6
Cavs coach moves up to D-I
MICHAEL PIPER, Staff Writer
After the 2000-2001 basketball season, there came a time when Andy Sachs had to make a decision. Sachs was an assistant on a successful Indiana University of Pennsylvania basketball team, but he was having trouble landing a job in Division I.
Combine that with the fact that his fiance at the time was an accountant and needed to be near a metropolitan area, and Sachs decided to move back to Anne Arundel County, where he was raised and the rest of his family resided.
Little did Sachs know that his Division I coaching chance would come three years later after working for his friend, Mike Glick, at Archbishop Spalding High School. Sachs learned Thursday of an opening on Holy Cross College head coach Ralph Willard's staff. He talked with Willard on Friday and Monday and was offered the job on Tuesday.
"It happened so fast," Sachs said. "Coach Willard is an excellent coach and this is a program that won three Patriot League titles in the last four years, so it is a great opportunity. I wasn't just applying for any job that opened up, but when this did, I had to look into it. I feel truly blessed right now."
Sachs was so excited he called Glick Thursday morning to share the news when it essentially became official. The Spalding coach, in the process of moving, was awakened by the phone call but was thrilled when he heard the news.
"I'm ecstatic for Andy right now," Glick said. "He's worked really hard to get that opportunity and I think that's an outstanding job. It's great exposure and I was just happy to have him, a coach with his NCAA experience, for three years at Spalding."
Willard, who took Western Kentucky to the sweet-16 and also previously coached at the University of Pittsburgh, has worked under coaches like Syracuse's Jim Boeheim and Louisville's Rick Pitino. He's also seen four members of his staff move on to head coaching jobs in college. Former assistant Tom Crean is the most successful of Willard's proteges, taking Marquette to the final four in 2003. Jim Christian (Kent State), Bobby Jones (St. Fancis, Pa.) and Sean Doherty (Division III Salem State) have all become head coaches and a fifth, Troy Weaver, was one of Boeheim's top assistants and has gone on to the National Basketball Association in a scouting capacity.
Sachs would ultimately like to add his name to that list.
"One of the reasons I was so interested in this job is that a lot of Coach Willard's assistants go on to become head coaches," Sachs said. "You work hard here and he is proud to see you move on when you do. Ultimately, that's where I want to end up."
It wasn't easy for Sachs to break into Division I despite an impressive coaching resume. He was an assistant at Salisbury University from 1988-92 when the Sea Gulls went to two NCAA tournaments. Sachs then moved on to Virginia Wesleyan from 1993-96 and was part of a staff that went to the school's only NCAA appearance. In his five years at IUP, Sachs was an assistant on a team that went to the Elite Eight in 2000 and, after he left in 2002, a team comprised of many of his recruits went to the Final Four.
Still, however, when he applied for an assistant's job at Holy Cross, as well as several other D-I jobs, he was turned away. Willard, however, remembered his name.
"It is hard to break into D-I," Sachs said. "Unless you know some when, when the general job opens up at Loyola or somewhere, you're just not going to get it."
In this case, however, Sachs did have a connection. The veteran coach learned about the opportunity through former player, former Willard assistant and current Clemson assistant Kevin Nickelberry. That got Sachs in the door a second time and this time it landed him the job.
"I interviewed him four years ago and I was impressed with him and his background in college, even if it wasn't D-I," Willard said. "He had had a lot of success and he was well-educated and good dealing with people. He was persistent and, when this job opened up, he seemed like a good fit."
Sachs will be valuable on the recruiting front given his connections in the Maryland area, but he will indeed learn the coaching ropes in a broader sense with Willard. Sachs will recruit, serve as an academic advisor, work on game preparation and help with travel arrangements among other duties.
"I don't say that this is the recruiting coach and this is the floor coach or anything like that," Willard said. "It is my assistants' job to work hard for this program and it's my job to make sure they are better coaches when they leave."
Leaving couldn't be the further from Sachs mind, however.
"I'm just ready to work hard and become a better coach," he said.
@ 8:09 PM
The Capital (Annapolis, MD)
August 14, 2004 Saturday
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. C6
Cavs coach moves up to D-I
MICHAEL PIPER, Staff Writer
After the 2000-2001 basketball season, there came a time when Andy Sachs had to make a decision. Sachs was an assistant on a successful Indiana University of Pennsylvania basketball team, but he was having trouble landing a job in Division I.
Combine that with the fact that his fiance at the time was an accountant and needed to be near a metropolitan area, and Sachs decided to move back to Anne Arundel County, where he was raised and the rest of his family resided.
Little did Sachs know that his Division I coaching chance would come three years later after working for his friend, Mike Glick, at Archbishop Spalding High School. Sachs learned Thursday of an opening on Holy Cross College head coach Ralph Willard's staff. He talked with Willard on Friday and Monday and was offered the job on Tuesday.
"It happened so fast," Sachs said. "Coach Willard is an excellent coach and this is a program that won three Patriot League titles in the last four years, so it is a great opportunity. I wasn't just applying for any job that opened up, but when this did, I had to look into it. I feel truly blessed right now."
Sachs was so excited he called Glick Thursday morning to share the news when it essentially became official. The Spalding coach, in the process of moving, was awakened by the phone call but was thrilled when he heard the news.
"I'm ecstatic for Andy right now," Glick said. "He's worked really hard to get that opportunity and I think that's an outstanding job. It's great exposure and I was just happy to have him, a coach with his NCAA experience, for three years at Spalding."
Willard, who took Western Kentucky to the sweet-16 and also previously coached at the University of Pittsburgh, has worked under coaches like Syracuse's Jim Boeheim and Louisville's Rick Pitino. He's also seen four members of his staff move on to head coaching jobs in college. Former assistant Tom Crean is the most successful of Willard's proteges, taking Marquette to the final four in 2003. Jim Christian (Kent State), Bobby Jones (St. Fancis, Pa.) and Sean Doherty (Division III Salem State) have all become head coaches and a fifth, Troy Weaver, was one of Boeheim's top assistants and has gone on to the National Basketball Association in a scouting capacity.
Sachs would ultimately like to add his name to that list.
"One of the reasons I was so interested in this job is that a lot of Coach Willard's assistants go on to become head coaches," Sachs said. "You work hard here and he is proud to see you move on when you do. Ultimately, that's where I want to end up."
It wasn't easy for Sachs to break into Division I despite an impressive coaching resume. He was an assistant at Salisbury University from 1988-92 when the Sea Gulls went to two NCAA tournaments. Sachs then moved on to Virginia Wesleyan from 1993-96 and was part of a staff that went to the school's only NCAA appearance. In his five years at IUP, Sachs was an assistant on a team that went to the Elite Eight in 2000 and, after he left in 2002, a team comprised of many of his recruits went to the Final Four.
Still, however, when he applied for an assistant's job at Holy Cross, as well as several other D-I jobs, he was turned away. Willard, however, remembered his name.
"It is hard to break into D-I," Sachs said. "Unless you know some when, when the general job opens up at Loyola or somewhere, you're just not going to get it."
In this case, however, Sachs did have a connection. The veteran coach learned about the opportunity through former player, former Willard assistant and current Clemson assistant Kevin Nickelberry. That got Sachs in the door a second time and this time it landed him the job.
"I interviewed him four years ago and I was impressed with him and his background in college, even if it wasn't D-I," Willard said. "He had had a lot of success and he was well-educated and good dealing with people. He was persistent and, when this job opened up, he seemed like a good fit."
Sachs will be valuable on the recruiting front given his connections in the Maryland area, but he will indeed learn the coaching ropes in a broader sense with Willard. Sachs will recruit, serve as an academic advisor, work on game preparation and help with travel arrangements among other duties.
"I don't say that this is the recruiting coach and this is the floor coach or anything like that," Willard said. "It is my assistants' job to work hard for this program and it's my job to make sure they are better coaches when they leave."
Leaving couldn't be the further from Sachs mind, however.
"I'm just ready to work hard and become a better coach," he said.
@ 8:09 PM
