The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, January 9, 1995 - 3
PQ&A: VANCOUVER GRIZZI
Former Wisconsin coach discusses past
influences, future plans
At the age of 38, and after being
associated with professional bas-
ketball for only five seasons, Stu
Jackson was tabbed by the
Vancouver Grizzlies, one of the
NBA 's two new expansion fran-
chises, to be their.Vice President of
-Basketball Operations and General
Manager.
Jackson's first major coaching
job came in 1985, when he was
named as one of Rick Pitino's assis-
tants at Providence College. He
stayed with Pitino as an assistant
coach for the New York Knicks and
took over as head coach once Pitino
departed for Kentucky in 1989.
Following his stint in New York,
he worked in the NBA offices before
being named head coach at Wiscon-
sin where he was asked to rebuild
the basketball program. In his sec-
ond season in Madison, 1993-94, he
took the Badgers to theirfirstNCAA
tournament in 47 years.
This past summer the Grizzlies
asked Jackson to be a part of the
"ground floor" of their franchise.
,leealizing that this was the position
that he had strived for throughout
his career, he took the post with
open arms.
Daily Sports Writer Alan
Goldenbach spoke with Jackson re-
cently about' his new job in
Vancouveras well as his many other
experiences in basketball.
This is part two of a two-part
series with Jackson.
* Daily: The man whom you re-
placed in New York was Rick Pitino,
whom you assisted for two years in
New York, and before that two years
at Providence College. Do you still
stay in contact with him?
Jackson: Sure. Rick's like a big
brother to me. He's someone from a
coaching standpoint, as well as a
man, that I respect a great deal. I
cherish my relationship with him
and at least once a year try to get
down to Kentucky and see him and
tell him what he's doing wrong and
have a bite to eat.
D: Did working with another
young coach like Pitino help you in
your job as a head coach?
J: It helped me realize that age
wasn't a factor as long as you are
repared, organized and focused
anti that it can be done. He epito-
mizes that.
D: You have shifted jobs from
college to the pros not only once,
but now twice. Does it affect your
basketball thinking at all?
J: Well, when you are coaching,
the games are vastly different. Com-
ing in as a general, it's completely
new territory from coaching at either
level, college or pro. So this is some-
what different coming into the ad-
ministrative level. But at the same
time, it's a position that I've prepared
my whole career to undertake. But
they are two vastly different worlds.
now as a general manager of an
expansion franchise.
D: Was it difficult going from a
very hands-on position in coaching,
a very intense job, to maybe a more
laid-back job like the one at the
NBA?
J: No, it was just a different
focus. I always have taken agreat
deal of pride in versatility as a per-
hiring." It set the standard for other
professional sports organizations. I
think it's indicative of the overall
league philosophy.
D: I know that you're starting a
new job, one that will require a lot
of time to reach your ultimate goal
of an NBA championship. But are
there any other goals that you hope
to reach before your career is over?
J: Well, as you mentioned, one
is an NBA championship. And also
to run a franchise that is going to be
the Cadillac franchise in the league.
Our objective here is to do it the
right way and do it in such a way
that people recognize the Vancouver
Grizzlies as being one of the league's
premier franchises.
D: One thing that an expansion
franchise usually doesn't have to
worry about is selling tickets and
drawing fans. However, it has been
said that the Grizzlies have had a
little bit of trouble doing so. What
can you attribute this to?
J: Well, of the four recent ex-
pansion franchises, two of them had
a great deal of difficulty, particu-
larly in Orlando, that didn't make
their goal until December 27th. It's
a tough sale. I think the entertain-
ment dollar is one that is dwindling
and when you are taking it across
the border into a new market, and a
new country such as Canada, pro-
vides a unique challenge. It's
brought about a refocusing on mar-
keting the product aggressively and
we've done that. So it looks like
we're going to get our tickets sold.
D: So you don't foresee this as a
big problem?
J: Well, it was a challenge. I don't
want to make light of the effort that's
already been undertaken. It's some-
thing we had to go through and now
we can put it behind us and move on
to putting the team together.
D: Even though you've only been
off the court for not even a year -
maybe you can relate this question
to your time in the NBA front office
- but do you miss coaching at all?
J: I don't miss it that much. I
wasn't ready to give it up, but at the
same time, I've had to refocus my
sights on other ventures.
D: Sometime later in your ca-
reer, maybe once you get the Griz-
zlies off the ground, do you see
yourself going back into coaching?
J: I don't see it, but at the same
time, I don't necessarily rule it out.
It's just not what I really want to do
right now.
-
RACHEL BACHMAN
Mj Bach's Score
Tnathlete thrives
amid sea of slackers
t wasn't the meals of honey-glazed ham and potatoes so much as the
excesses of red and green M&Ms in between them. Or maybe it was
both. Either way, your eating habits, coupled with a steady diet of
Fiesta and Freedom Bowls, have done you in. Now, with New Year's
Resolutions nearly two weeks from being forgotten, you're hearing the
silent nag: "Why couldn't I have had more discipline?"
Some people don't have that problem. Some people, like Michigan
student and triathlete Vince Chmielewski, can't bother with such things.
Pain, consistency in training and a monitored, low-fat diet are everyday
parts of the athlete's life. So far, the sacrifices have paid off: In 1991,
Chmielewski won the 15-19 age division in Honolulu's Waterfront
Triathlon, and he hasn't yet slowed down. Since then, he has competed in
25 triathlons.
One day, he hopes to compete in the Ironman, consisting of a 2.4-mile
swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run. The winners finish in a little over
eight hours. Eight hours. Spent in class, that amount of time is an eternity.
Can you imagine spending it with a heart rate above the Mendoza Line?
For Chmielewski, such experiences are "a release." He likes training for
and competing in triathlons so much, "I'll probably be doing them
forever," he says.
Granted, the races in which Chmielewski competes are shorter - most
have 1500-meter swim, 40-kilometer
bike and 10-kilometer run segments.
But to compete at race pace, he
follows a year-round cross-training
schedule that would make Bruce
Jenner wince.
Even the rigors of the U.S.
Military couldn't faze Chmielewski,. . . , '
a Monroe, Mich. native. Of his Navy r
basic training four years ago, he
says, "It was fun. Three months
before I went in, I said, 'I better get
in shape for this because it's gonna 4
kick my butt.' It was pretty wimpy,"
he says with a shy grin. Chmielewski
may be the first enlisted man to ever ,
get out of shape at boot camp.
Still, he credits the Navy for
getting him interested in triathlons - Chmielewsk
it stationed him in Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii. Under persistent sunshine, Chmielewski began training in his time
off from his job as a computer programmer.
He survived the hazards of street training (three times he's been hit by
cars while biking, once suffering a broken wrist) to advance to 1993's
national competition in Chicago. His times are just 10 minutes away - not
much in a two-hour race - from being good enough for the 2000
Olympics in Sydney, Australia, where the triathlon competition will make
its inaugural run.
But, Chmielewski says, "There's a lot of people in that little gap (of time)."
For now, the 22-year-old freshman in Computer Science puts in his time
in the Intramural Building, doing drills in the pool one day, biking indoors
the next. He's gearing up for a race in St. Petersburg, Fla., at the end of
April. And, in the midst of the throngs of Sega- and party-weary college
students, Chmielewski diligently keeps logging miles.
Sometimes, his lifestyle prompts him to make value judgments on those
around him. He says his roommate "will sit down with a tub of ice cream
and eat the whole thing. I just think, 'You're going to kill yourself."'
His point is valid - a lot of college students do more sitting than anything
else. But instead of to make us feel guilty, maybe the Vinces of the world exist
to coax and challenge us: Maybe you can refuse that fifth piece of pizza;
perhaps you won't collapse a lung on a 20-minute treadmill. If a Michigan
student can bike 100 miles, surely you can make it to your nine o'clock class.
Chmielewski says his roommates are getting better. They're starting to
eat pasta, jog a little. "They still drink too much beer," he says.
Hey, lets not go overboard.
VANCOUVER GRIZZLIES
D: In between your jobs in New
York and Wisconsin, you held a
position in the NBA front office.
What was your title there?
J: Director of basketball opera-
tions.
D: Even though you were there
for only a very short time, what can
you say about that job?
J: It was a great experience get-
ting a chance to work for the best
professional sports organization in
the world. I had an opportunity to
work with Rod Thorn, the Vice
President of Operations, who really
taught me what the business of bas-
ketball was like in the NBA. It's an
experience that I'm drawing on right
son. Whether it is in the coaching
arena or the business of basketball,
you have to attack each of the posi-
tions equally focused.
D: There's been a definite in-
crease in the number of African-
Americans holding positions high
in the front offices of NBA clubs.
Besides yourself, there's Isiah Tho-
mas in Toronto and M.L. Carr in
Boston, who were just named to
their positions within the last year.
This must make you very happy not
only to see this progression, but to
be a part of it as well.
J: I am and it's a credit to the
league. The NBA has always been
on the leading edge of "minority
Intrasquad meet unites 'M' harriers
*Women's track and field boosts confidence for '95 campaign
U I
By EUGENE BOWEN
Daily Sports Writer
It wasn't the largest meet in the
world, and it wasn't the most stress-
ful. In fact, the Wolverines were the
only runners there.
Nevertheless, the Michigan
.ntrasquad, held Saturday, was an
important event for the women track
and field athletes.
"The meet brought the team to-
gether a lot," junior Monica Black
said. "I think any members' doubts
about each other were eliminated
through this meet."
Black removed any doubts about
her when she achieved a personal
goal of six feet and clinched first
*lace in the high jump.
Junior pentathlete Beth Gould,
who took first place in her event,
saw the Michigan Intrasquad as even
" 'The meet brought the
team together a lot.'
- Monica Black
Michigan track and
field high jumper
more.
"We all got to see what we needed
to work on," she said. "I personally
want to work on my technines in
team.".,
Okwumaba took second in the
400 meter with a time of 1:01.10. Here is the Michigan
Freshman Pauline Arnill, who indoor track 1995 sc
took first in the 800 meter (2:13.69),
was less stressed about this meet Date Event
than some other freshmen. 1/14 Indiana Dat
"I treated the meet more like a 1/1Red Simmons I
workout," she said. "I wasn't too 4/28 Michigan Interc
worried." 2/4 Meyo invitation
Still, the freshmen and the other 2/11 Penn St/MSU/
Wolverines will take a great deal of 2/18 Eastern Mich.(
what they learned in the Michigan 2/25-
Intrasquad with them into other, 2/26 Big Ten Champ
more competitive meets. 3/4 Sllverston Invita
"I like the fact that everyone was 31
supportive of each other," Felton said. 3/11 NCAAChampio
"I was told how to be a less nervous
and more productive runner."
Interviews with over fifty law school
admissions officers reveal:
How the admissions process really works
How to write an effective personal statement
What makes a strong recommendation
Where to apply to maximize your chances for acceptance
ow to prepare for the first year of law school - and beyot
I
:11
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"Jim aft i6,!~ A .