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November 17, 2009
When Jeff Bower was named the 8th head Coach in Hornets history it provided him with yet another opportunity to illustrate his versatility.
Beginning as an Advance Scout under then General Manager Bob Bass in 1995, Bower has also served as Director of Scouting, Assistant Coach, Assistant General Manager, Director of Player Personnel, and most recently General Manager for the past four seasons. So, this is his seventh different assignment in the organization. Now he occupies the most important coaching position in the organization – Head Coach.
I sat down with the Hollidaysburg, Pa native to find out how the transition from front office to courtside seat is going:
BL: HOW DID YOUR FIRST DAY AND YOUR FIRST GAME AS A HEAD COACH IN THE NBA GO?
JB: There are so many different things going on. From dealing with the change to shifting to the demands of players and their needs and our ability to organize and move forward to prepare to play the Blazers and Hawks in a back to back. I’d say it was an action-packed couple of days. The first night was short, it seems.
BL: WHAT SURPRISED YOU MOST ABOUT THE FIRST NIGHT?
JB: The biggest surprise for me was the number of people that reached out to contact me and say how much they were rooting for us. (This included different basketball people and friends from as far back as high school). That was the biggest surprise of all, the number of people who I never expected to hear from. The surprise of the unknown was the thing. We started off the season talking about being ready for the challenge of the unknown and we sure ran into it here.
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JB: One of the things we’re attempting to zero in on is some of the foundations of our team and of our organization. A lot of it comes down to our executable things. From the coaching and teaching standpoint they can be changed by emphasis and by teaching resiliency in staying after it. But it all has to happen on the court. That’s really one of the first things we have to do. Change the external stimulus and challenge our players. We have to challenge them to go a little bit beyond what they’ve done and not be as comfortable with where they are. That’s something we’ve attempted to do.
BL: THAT’S A CATEGORY, YOUR OPTIMISM OF NOT THINKING YOU CAN DO SOMETHING BUT RATHER KNOWING YOU CAN DO IT THAT SORT OF REFLECTS WHAT OWNER GEORGE SHINN HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT.
JB: Exactly. The plan and the ultimate ending for the plan have got to be one that is sound, methodical, and achievable. Once you are able to look at it in those terms the score will take of itself. So you can then focus back on the foundations and the little things in the process to get there. That’s how we’re going about it, and imparting a way of thinking into our players as a collective thought process.
BL: YOU PUT THIS ROSTER TOGETHER. YOU BELIEVE IN THESE PLAYERS. TELL ME WHAT YOU TRULY BELIEVE ARE THE STRENGTHS OF THIS YEAR’S TEAM.
JB: I think the thing that we’re hoping to see is a group of guys that play together, play off of each other and that have strengths that all balance each other. Individually, every player here has a niche that he has nurtured as his calling card for the league, whether it’s a perimeter shooter, a post up presence or a defensive-oriented guy. Our vision is getting all of those pieces performing at their highest levels and then putting them together to make a combination of a good team. That’s what this is all about, how the team functions and how it plays together for the ultimate results.
BL: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE AND IS THERE A COACH OR A GROUP OF COACHES THAT HAVE HAD A GREAT INFLUENCE ON DEVELOPING THAT STYLE?
JB: A lot of what we’re doing is going back to my days as a college coach more than anything and past experiences and past emotional approaches. I’ll be myself, I’ll react with emotion at times and try to pull back at times depending on the impact it has on my group. Everything that I do should be geared toward getting a response. I want to create a response from my players and from my team. If we’re flat and running in mud I need to get them out of it. It’s my job to get them out of whatever state of mind they’re in. If we’re emotionally high and charged my job is to keep them calm and settled down and focused on the task. What my style is is to be myself. From a tactical standpoint I’ve got to be able to judge what our group needs and provide that for them to keep them grounded.
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JB: I think the fastest way to be playoff-ready at the end of the year is to play them now. Our season and what we’re playing for now and preparing for is all geared for us growing and being prepared to play in a playoff series. So, the further along they can be, the better they will be this early in the year. The quicker they learn the more confident they can be.
BL: TIME FOR FANS TO LEARN SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT THEIR NEW HEAD COACH. THINGS NOT RELATED TO THE PRESS CONFERENCE AND THE JOB CHANGE. I UNDERSTAND YOU’RE A NEW YORK YANKEES FAN…HOW BIG A FAN?
JB: It goes back to my days in Poughkeepsie, NY in the late 80s and early 90s because you couldn’t see the Pirates. I grew up a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. I became a Yankees fan and my wife (Lisa) and her whole family are Yankee fans, so I kind of just got swept up in it. I became a Yankee fan during the Stump Merrill days so I feel proud that I joined the bandwagon during those days as opposed to the renaissance years!
BL: ARE YOU OLD SCHOOL OR NEW SCHOOL?
JB: I would probably be old school, but I really am just a fan. I’m as intrigued as can be with the strategy of a baseball game and reading Tony LaRussa’s books, and it’s really fascinating to me but when it comes to that I’m just a fan who doesn’t know what’s going on, but likes to sit in the sun.
BL: I GET THE IMPRESSION YOU’RE THE KIND OF GUY WHO WOULD ENJOY SITTING BACK AND READING MONEYBALL AND ADMIRING HOW A TEAM COULD BE PUT TOGETHER THAT WAY.
JB: Oh yeah! Moneyball is obviously a book in my library for a long time since Michael Lewis first wrote it. We had a copy of that and actually had breakfast with Tony LaRussa one day out in Oakland during the moneyball craze.
BL: WHO DID YOU ADMIRE ON THE BASEKTBALL SIDE WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP?
JB: I guess I was NY Knicks fan because we were able to get their games on cable. It was a thrill to meet Willis (Reed) for the first time and then work with him for three years – it was quite an honor.
BL: WAS REED ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE PLAYERS TOO OR WERE THERE OTHERS?
JB: Willis was great and one of my favorites. I always thought a lot of Bill Bradley just because of all that he was about as a player and what he accomplished when he was done.
BL: TWO FINAL SUBJECTS: WHEN YOU DO GET TIME TO RELAX, WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO? AND, WHAT BOOK AM I MOST LIKELY TO FIND IN YOUR LIBRARY?
JB: I’ll throw JOURNEY out to you (I guess his theme song would be, “…Don’t Stop…Believing…”). I think they’re gonna make it…(laughing). And my one hobby would be collecting books. I would say my favorite one is on Bill Walsh after his death and a two volume series of books that delved into the footprint of the New England Patriots.
