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 q nd "Jim aft i6,!~ A .