Indiana University Athletics
‘Grand Slam’ -- Whirlwind March Lands Walsh First Coaching Shot
3/30/2022 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Brian Walsh gets it, the big picture, the chance to make a difference, the opportunities a coach has to improve lives.
Now, at 32 years old, Walsh is a coach for the first time, the newest member of Mike Woodson's Indiana staff, and if he really isn't new, not when you consider he's been around the program for six years, he does have a new role that's been decades in the making.
"It's about being here for these kids," he says, "not only on the floor, but off the floor in life. Having them navigate academics, a social life, what it looks like when they are done. Just being someone that they can count on, forever, not just when they leave here, but as they go through life and need different things. That's big to me."
So is being a coach after years of behind-the-scenes work, including last season's role as team and recruiting coordinator.
"I'm super passionate about (basketball)," Walsh says. "I love it. I've been doing it for a long time, like ever since I was a little kid. I think my first word was ball. This is what I feel like I was born to do, and I just love it. It's really not work for me.
"To bring that enthusiasm and excitement every day to the guys, I do feel like it's good, positive energy, and again I'm just really excited."
Walsh is part of Woodson's reorganized staff. Assistant coaches Kenya Hunter and Yasir Rosemond were promoted to associate head coaches. Walsh got his first shot at college coaching.
"Brian is someone who made a tremendous impact very early on in my tenure," Woodson says in a university release. "I believe he is someone who can help continue the positive progress that is being established at IU. I continue to be impressed by his contributions and I think he will flourish in his new role."
Walsh's whirlwind March started with the birth of his daughter, Isla, with wife, Jessica. That caused him to miss IU's victory over Michigan in the Big Ten tourney. Then came the trip to Dayton for a win over Wyoming in the First Four and then to Portland, Ore., for a NCAA tourney encounter with Saint Mary's.
And then, finally, a coaching job offer.
"Yeah, it's been emotional," Walsh says. "It's been amazing. This is an absolute home run and grand slam in my young career."
How did the job offer come?
"It was March 24, Thursday," Walsh says. "There were some other opportunities that were presenting to me in the college basketball world. I wanted to be transparent with Coach
Woodson and let him know what was going on."
Walsh texted Woodson. A few minutes later, Woodson called him.
"I was holding my daughter in my arms and my wife was sitting to my right," Walsh says. "I put the phone on speaker and listened to him, and he offered me the job to bump me up.
"It was unbelievable. I believe in Coach Woodson at the highest level.
"He's an unbelievable coach. A really good man. We had a blast this year. We accomplished a lot."
That includes Woodson's growth as a college recruiting after decades of NBA experience.
"He's been great," Walsh says. "There's really not much that he hasn't done or experienced.
"Recruiting was new to him, but he explained to us, like, 'Hey, this isn't my first time recruiting. I've recruited megastars in the NBA and you're dealing with hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of contracts.'
"So, it wasn't entirely new to him. Talking to high school kids might be different than what he's used to, and talking to parents, but when we get kids here and he talks with them on a one-on-one setting, he's really, really good.
"He's the finisher."
Walsh has his own recruiting responsibilities given his contacts in his home state of Pennsylvania, plus in Ohio from his time at Dayton, as well as Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.
"I think my specialty is the Midwest," he says. "I feel the relationships I've built in Indiana are very strong. The surrounding states, I guess you could call it my bread basket."
As far as his coaching strengths, Walsh says it starts with "relationships."
"As long as these guys have been at Indiana, I've been here.
"I haven't been able to be on the floor teaching them, but I was a guard not too far removed, so I can relate with a lot of what they are going through, what's going to be expected and asked of them -- shooting, fundamentals, ball handling.
"Especially with Coach Woodson and how he wants to play, I'll be fine in that area of teaching and being with those guys on the floor."
That includes improving three-point shooting, a Hoosier weakness in recent years.
Walsh instructs from experience. He was once a three-point shooting hot shot out of Pennsylvania good enough to win the state's Gatorade Player-of-the-Year award. That earned him a scholarship to Xavier, where he played on back-to-back Sweet 16 teams.
He transferred to Akron where, as a junior, he shot 44.2% from three-point range in conference play, 43.4% overall. He shot 40.9% from three-point range for his college career.
Can he pass on that success to Hoosier players? It starts, but certainly doesn't end, with recruiting better shooters.
"You look at the (high school) numbers and you want to see if it can translate at the next level," Walsh says. "But at the same time, these guys on our team, they are really good shooters. A lot of it has to do between the ears.
"These guys want to perform for these fans. They want to win. No one wants to win more than our players, and they put in a ton of time.
"It's a combination of them being in a good space in their head mentally and also it's our job as coaches to recruit the best talent and recruit skills that will translate from high school to college."
How does a guy go from support staff to assistant coach at a high-profile program?
Belief.
"It's all about the guy who is leading the program and does he believe in you," Walsh says. "I think Coach Woodson believes in me. That's the major thing.
"The head coach is the only one who matters. If he feels you can do the job, (he bumps) you up from support staff to a full time."
As team and recruiting coordinator, Walsh couldn't work with players in practice. Now, he's totally involved.
"In my previous role, I couldn't do anything on the floor. I was pretty much just an encourager on the sidelines. Now I'll be on the floor and instruct and present scouting information and present the scout from a team that we play the following day. All those things will be new, in addition to getting out from behind the desk."
Walsh will hit the recruiting trail, something he's always wanted to do.
"That's what I'm most looking forward to. That's getting out and seeing guys at these AAU events and getting to be with families and recruits in their homes and just building that relationship even more."
Walsh was director of basketball operations under former coach Archie Miller's staff. When Miller was let go in the spring of 2021, Walsh didn't know what was next for him.
Then Woodson made an offer he couldn't refuse -- take on the role of team and recruiting coordinator.
"I was trying to figure it out," Walsh says. "I was in limbo, looking for opportunities. It was a very uncertain time for me and my wife."
Uncertainty ended in part because of Walsh's support within the program.
"I had some people go to bat for me here at IU. I was fortunate to get the opportunity to work for Coach Woodson. I feel like I was able to bring value to him in some areas that he needed, and they just let me run with my job."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Brian Walsh gets it, the big picture, the chance to make a difference, the opportunities a coach has to improve lives.
Now, at 32 years old, Walsh is a coach for the first time, the newest member of Mike Woodson's Indiana staff, and if he really isn't new, not when you consider he's been around the program for six years, he does have a new role that's been decades in the making.
"It's about being here for these kids," he says, "not only on the floor, but off the floor in life. Having them navigate academics, a social life, what it looks like when they are done. Just being someone that they can count on, forever, not just when they leave here, but as they go through life and need different things. That's big to me."
So is being a coach after years of behind-the-scenes work, including last season's role as team and recruiting coordinator.
"I'm super passionate about (basketball)," Walsh says. "I love it. I've been doing it for a long time, like ever since I was a little kid. I think my first word was ball. This is what I feel like I was born to do, and I just love it. It's really not work for me.
"To bring that enthusiasm and excitement every day to the guys, I do feel like it's good, positive energy, and again I'm just really excited."
Walsh is part of Woodson's reorganized staff. Assistant coaches Kenya Hunter and Yasir Rosemond were promoted to associate head coaches. Walsh got his first shot at college coaching.
"Brian is someone who made a tremendous impact very early on in my tenure," Woodson says in a university release. "I believe he is someone who can help continue the positive progress that is being established at IU. I continue to be impressed by his contributions and I think he will flourish in his new role."
Walsh's whirlwind March started with the birth of his daughter, Isla, with wife, Jessica. That caused him to miss IU's victory over Michigan in the Big Ten tourney. Then came the trip to Dayton for a win over Wyoming in the First Four and then to Portland, Ore., for a NCAA tourney encounter with Saint Mary's.
And then, finally, a coaching job offer.
"Yeah, it's been emotional," Walsh says. "It's been amazing. This is an absolute home run and grand slam in my young career."
How did the job offer come?
"It was March 24, Thursday," Walsh says. "There were some other opportunities that were presenting to me in the college basketball world. I wanted to be transparent with Coach
Woodson and let him know what was going on."
Walsh texted Woodson. A few minutes later, Woodson called him.
"I was holding my daughter in my arms and my wife was sitting to my right," Walsh says. "I put the phone on speaker and listened to him, and he offered me the job to bump me up.
"It was unbelievable. I believe in Coach Woodson at the highest level.
"He's an unbelievable coach. A really good man. We had a blast this year. We accomplished a lot."
That includes Woodson's growth as a college recruiting after decades of NBA experience.
"He's been great," Walsh says. "There's really not much that he hasn't done or experienced.
"Recruiting was new to him, but he explained to us, like, 'Hey, this isn't my first time recruiting. I've recruited megastars in the NBA and you're dealing with hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of contracts.'
"So, it wasn't entirely new to him. Talking to high school kids might be different than what he's used to, and talking to parents, but when we get kids here and he talks with them on a one-on-one setting, he's really, really good.
"He's the finisher."
Walsh has his own recruiting responsibilities given his contacts in his home state of Pennsylvania, plus in Ohio from his time at Dayton, as well as Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.
"I think my specialty is the Midwest," he says. "I feel the relationships I've built in Indiana are very strong. The surrounding states, I guess you could call it my bread basket."
As far as his coaching strengths, Walsh says it starts with "relationships."
"As long as these guys have been at Indiana, I've been here.
"I haven't been able to be on the floor teaching them, but I was a guard not too far removed, so I can relate with a lot of what they are going through, what's going to be expected and asked of them -- shooting, fundamentals, ball handling.
"Especially with Coach Woodson and how he wants to play, I'll be fine in that area of teaching and being with those guys on the floor."
That includes improving three-point shooting, a Hoosier weakness in recent years.
Walsh instructs from experience. He was once a three-point shooting hot shot out of Pennsylvania good enough to win the state's Gatorade Player-of-the-Year award. That earned him a scholarship to Xavier, where he played on back-to-back Sweet 16 teams.
He transferred to Akron where, as a junior, he shot 44.2% from three-point range in conference play, 43.4% overall. He shot 40.9% from three-point range for his college career.
Can he pass on that success to Hoosier players? It starts, but certainly doesn't end, with recruiting better shooters.
"You look at the (high school) numbers and you want to see if it can translate at the next level," Walsh says. "But at the same time, these guys on our team, they are really good shooters. A lot of it has to do between the ears.
"These guys want to perform for these fans. They want to win. No one wants to win more than our players, and they put in a ton of time.
"It's a combination of them being in a good space in their head mentally and also it's our job as coaches to recruit the best talent and recruit skills that will translate from high school to college."
How does a guy go from support staff to assistant coach at a high-profile program?
Belief.
"It's all about the guy who is leading the program and does he believe in you," Walsh says. "I think Coach Woodson believes in me. That's the major thing.
"The head coach is the only one who matters. If he feels you can do the job, (he bumps) you up from support staff to a full time."
As team and recruiting coordinator, Walsh couldn't work with players in practice. Now, he's totally involved.
"In my previous role, I couldn't do anything on the floor. I was pretty much just an encourager on the sidelines. Now I'll be on the floor and instruct and present scouting information and present the scout from a team that we play the following day. All those things will be new, in addition to getting out from behind the desk."
Walsh will hit the recruiting trail, something he's always wanted to do.
"That's what I'm most looking forward to. That's getting out and seeing guys at these AAU events and getting to be with families and recruits in their homes and just building that relationship even more."
Walsh was director of basketball operations under former coach Archie Miller's staff. When Miller was let go in the spring of 2021, Walsh didn't know what was next for him.
Then Woodson made an offer he couldn't refuse -- take on the role of team and recruiting coordinator.
"I was trying to figure it out," Walsh says. "I was in limbo, looking for opportunities. It was a very uncertain time for me and my wife."
Uncertainty ended in part because of Walsh's support within the program.
"I had some people go to bat for me here at IU. I was fortunate to get the opportunity to work for Coach Woodson. I feel like I was able to bring value to him in some areas that he needed, and they just let me run with my job."
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