Wed 27 Aug 2008
Article on new mens basketball coach Mike Maker.
Coaching for 17 years in the topsy-turvy world of Division I college basketball, Mike Maker always had a knack for landing on his feet.
He spent 11 years as one of the top assistant coaches at Dartmouth before working three years as an assistant at Samford University in Alabama, two years at the University of West Virginia and last year at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.
But not since the 1984 graduate of North Salinas High was coaching the Hartnell College women’s basketball team during the 1990-91 season, had Maker held the title of head coach.
That was until last week when Maker, 42, was named head coach of Williams College, a Division III school in Williamstown, Mass.
I am no basketball expert, so could someone walk me through Maker’s career progression? Did he leave Dartmouth because his career was stalled there? Why would he leave West Virginia to go to a similar(?) job at Creighton?
“I’ve had some close calls (at getting a head coaching position),” Maker said. “I was a finalist last year at Princeton and I had a chance at VMI. It was well worth the wait. For me, this is a dream job.”
If your “dream” is coaching at a place like Williams (where academics are much more important than athletics and the TV cameras never visit), then why would you leave Dartmouth to spend time at places like Samford, West Virginia and Creighton? Why would you consider VMI, a place as different from Williams as an undergraduate college can be?
Coming to Williams College is nearly as much a family reunion as it is another chapter in what has been a long and successful coaching career for Maker.
“I’m only couple of hours away from where my dad was born and raised,” Maker said. “I have family in the area. I feel humbled and honored to have this job.”
Maker interviewed for the coaching position at Williams College eight years ago and has remained friends with some members of the basketball program ever since.
“Williams represents everything that’s good about college,” Maker said. “It’s a top liberal arts college, and to me its academic level makes it seem like a mini-Stanford.”
It is always a good idea to hire faculty with close ties to the region. They are more likely to stay at Williams. Note the importance of networking. Even though Williams turned down Maker 8 years ago, he kept in touch with them. You can never do too much networking.
Is the “mini-Stanford” line a compliment or an insult? Opinions differ. Our athletes are much smarter than the athletes at Stanford. Our non-athletes are less smart. Bug or feature?
“It’ nice to have your own program and put you own stamp on it,” Maker said. “And to do it at a place like Williams College is quite overwhelming.”
Williams College went 17-8 overall last year and returns three starters.
“We have 14 players coming back and four coming in,” Maker said. “We’re going to Italy in August, and I’ll use that to get to know the players.”
Are you a member of the class of 2012 who wanted to try to walk on to the men’s basketball team? Think again. Coach Maker has 4 players coming in and you aren’t one of them.
Print • Email| « College Chaos | A new ephblog feature begins … » |
6 Responses to “Dream Job”
Trackbacks & Pingbacks:
-
Pingback from Eph Hoops: Rivalry Edition : EphBlog
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:06 pm
[...] in his first season. Good luck to both Eph squads, and in particular to new hoops coach Mike Maker as he gets his first taste of the Williams-Amherst [...]
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post
If a comment you submitted does not show up, please email us at eph at ephblog dot com. Please note that commenters are required to use a valid email address when submitting comments.
Rory says:
WVU’s entire staff changed when Bob Huggins took over. Creighton’s a good program and “assistant” is a vague term–he may indeed have moved up in rank depending on what his duties were.
In basketball world, Dartmouth is not somewhere you want to be. being a finalist in Princeton’s search is impressive if true.
His dream, clearly, was to run a basketball team at a school with some history of success and perhaps not to land at too big an institution. VMI, Princeton, and Williams all fit that bill. good luck to him and the team.
August 27th, 2008 at 1:01 pmfrank uible says:
Coaches tend to wax poetic when they take new jobs.
August 27th, 2008 at 1:48 pmJeff Z. says:
First of all, a student can certainly TRY to walk on to the team. The odds of making the team (especially men’s basketball, which has a very large roster) are low, but it can happen. There are numerous examples of non-recruited athletes who end up making a varsity squad at Williams. It is certainly difficult but not impossible. Even if you don’t make varsity, there is a JV squad. If you play well and develop as a player, there is a possibility of making the varsity later in your time at Williams. Again, a long shot, but still a chance at intercollegiate competition.
Rory answered your other questions.
Speaking of stories about Williams coaches, great article on Dave Clawson:
http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2008/aug/23/student-game-clawson-boils-down-background-basics/
Given the passion of SEC fans (bordering on insanity) I doubt that there are more than 10 Eph alums under more intense scrutiny by more people this fall than Clawson … but if does well in this job (especially given his extensive head coaching experience) he will have his pick of many of the top Div I openings in the country.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:54 pmJPM says:
David:
I’m new this blog and thought this was as good an opportunity as any to jump into the discourse and respond to your post.
First, regarding your point about walking on to the basketball team, I’m proof that it can be done. I was not a recruited basketball player coming out of high school in NYC. I applied ED to Williams and was accepted. When I matriculated, I decided to try out for the basketball team. I played on the freshman team my first year (I was recovering from a broken wrist) and then played three years on the varsity. I started my last two years and was voted one of two co-captains in my senior year. I’ve found that one of the many great things about athletics at Williams is that a student who has the desire and ability to pursue intercollegiate athlethics is given every opportunity to participate. He/she may not have the talent to start (or make the team for that matter); nonetheless, the opportunity to try out and compete is available. At many college and universities, if you are not a recruited athlete, you don’t have the opportunity to even tryout.
Regarding your points on the career of Coach Maker prior to his hiring, one can only speculate as to why he left Dartmouth. I do know that Dave Faucher was the head coach at Dartmouth during Coach Maker’s 11-year tenure at Dartmouth. Assuming that his ultimate goal was to become a head coach, he may have felt that this goal could only be achieved by moving on from Dartmouth. In addition, while I cannot comment on the basketball program at Samford, both John Beilein (the former head coach at West Virginia when Maker was an asst at WVU and the current head coach at Michigan) and Dana Altman (the head coach at Creighton) are highly respected in the college coaching community and are considered to be two of the better coaching minds in college basketball. The opportunity to learn as an asst coach in these programs certainly broadened Coach Maker’s basketball experience and enhanced his resume.
I will not repeat some of the other comments posted in response, but I will add that given the fact that Coach Maker was a finalist for the Williams job eight years ago and a finalist for the job at Princeton, he’s impressed the various search committees for these respective coaching positions that were highly sought after in the college coaching community.
As a strong supporter of Williams athletics in general and the basketball team in particular, I welcome Coach Maker to the Williams faculty and “family.” He has big shoes to fill, as he follows in the footsteps of both Harry Sheehy and Dave Paulsen. I wish him much success in Williamstown.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:19 pmnuts says:
Who better than two-time All-America in basketball Harry Sheehy ‘75 to make the decision about which candidate for the position would make the best coach and leader for the men’s basketball program?
August 27th, 2008 at 5:17 pm