James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Madison Magazine - Summer 2008 - Index

dUKeSTUrF
Unlimited
expectations
Q&A with new men’s basketball
coach Matt Brady
Teresa garbee (’08), a
student assistant in the
JMU sports media relations
office, sat down
with new head men’s
basketball coach Matt
Brady in april to talk about the future
of the program. Brady was appointed
in March at a press conference at the
Convo. He joins the JMU staff after
spending the last four seasons as the
head coach at Marist College, where
he compiled a 73-50 record.
Madison: How did you get into
coaching?
Brady: i have been playing basketball
since i was a little guy in fourth
grade. i quickly grew a tremendous
passion for basketball. When i played
basketball at siena College, i knew at
that point that i was going to want
basketball to be a part of my life
forever. i started to explore a different
avenue to stay in basketball and
the most obvious to me was college
coaching. Through a friend of
a friend, i got my first opportunity
at the University of Rhode island in
1987-88 and was on a staff that went
to the sweet sixteen in the nCaa
tournament. at that point, it was a
formal conclusion that i was going to
try and do it for my lifetime. [Brady
spent 17 seasons as a division i assistant coach for three teams
before joining Marist].
Madison: What do you enjoy most about coaching?
Brady: Making a difference in young players’ abilities and young
players’ lives. i like to stay connected to the people i have recruited
and coached ... i hear from players whom i coached 15 or 20 years
ago and that makes me feel good about what i am doing.
Madison: What is something you can’t live without?
Brady: My family. Basketball is great, and i
love what i do. every morning i wake up, and i
feel like i have a great job, but my family means
everything to me. [The Bradys have an 8-yearold
son and 5-year-old twin boys].
Madison: What is something most people
don’t know about you?
Brady: i love to read. There would be no way
JMU Athletics Director Jeff Bourne (inset) says, “Brady is a tactician, he
understands the game. He has the ability to coach student-athletes to a
higher level, and that’s been proven. He brings with him a fine network of
recruiting over this country, but more particularly up and down the Eastern
Seaboard. He appreciates tenacious defense and the finer parts of the
game, working hard and going that extra mile.”
‘The first and
foremost goal
is to have a
winning team.’
— Matt Brady
anyone would know that because this job,
at least initially, takes so much of your time. ... i really like just
going off by myself and reading a book.
Madison: What are you looking forward to in your first JMU season?
Brady: Trying to change and turn the fortunes of the men’s
basketball program. i am excited about the potential of this program,
but i say it all the time — the only thing that concerns me
is not the future of the program, but the immediate future of the
program, and to me that is the very first game
and the very first season. ... i’m most interested in
helping the seniors have a great season.
Madison: What is one thing you want your
players to know about you?
Brady: i really care that they enjoy their college
experience. My greatest hope is that we have a lot
of success here in basketball. However, at the end of
14 Madison Magazine photographs by brian dillensnyder (’08)