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"Coaches Series" - Mike Ekanem (UH Assistant Coach) Interview
99 Plays2 months ago
Welcome to the 3rd in our offseason "Coaches Series" (episode #56) on the No Conference for Old Men Podcast.
The 3 Old Men had the privilege to sit down and chat with Coach Mike Ekanem (UH MBB Assistant Coach). We cover things far & wide as we dive into coach's background, his journey as a player at Texas Lutheran & then playing professionally in Europe, how he transitioned into coaching w/ the San Antonio Spurs organization, and then finally joining UH on Coach Sampson's staff. We bring a depth and insight into Coach's background / perspective that you won't find anywhere else!
- No Conference for Old Men is available for free via Spotify / Apple Podcast / SoundCloud & the GoCoogs.com website; we're also available via the Republic of Football Podcast feed from the folks at Dave Campbell's Texas Football as their only basketball-centric offering
- Intro / Exit music: Ground Zero provided by FreeBeats.io
- Please follow us on https://gocoogs.com/old-men/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Guest Overview
00:00:06
@NoConfForOldMen
Welcome folks to the third installment of our special off season coaches series on the no conference for old men podcast today, where the three old guys have a special guest in university of Houston, assistant coach, Mike Econum joining us for a bit of Q and A.
00:00:12
prairiecoog
you
00:00:19
@NoConfForOldMen
Hopefully i got the pronunciation right there, coach.
00:00:22
Mike Ekanem
You did. Nah, it was good.
00:00:24
@NoConfForOldMen
Uh, also Ed coaches, our newest assistant coach on the staff and for fans that may not know, and hopefully I get this right as well. Coach just joined the UH staff as an assistant coach in May of this year, but prior to joining our staff, he'd already had an extensive resume covering both the college and professional ranks of basketball.
Econum's Coaching Background
00:00:41
@NoConfForOldMen
I'm not going to get into too much detail because we want to hear actually about your journey directly from Coach, but just before coming to Houston, Coach was an assistant coach in the college ranks at Oklahoma State, George Mason, and Sam Houston.
00:00:53
@NoConfForOldMen
And before that, he was part of the men's basketball support organizations of I guess was on Eric Busselman staffs at Arkansas and Nevada, as well as at A&M and Memphis.
00:01:05
@NoConfForOldMen
To round out his experiences, coach BN is coaching career with stints at Louisiana Tech on the women's basketball team and in the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs.
00:01:11
prairiecoog
Thanks.
00:01:13
@NoConfForOldMen
And that's actually where we believe doing coach Sampson cross paths initially. So, and we know coaches had a ah kind of a pattern of bringing in known quantities and folks that he's worked with before.
00:01:26
@NoConfForOldMen
So,
00:01:26
Mike Ekanem
For sure.
00:01:27
@NoConfForOldMen
That's kind of our guess. And Coach was a four-year letterman at Texas Lutheran and completed his bachelor's degree from there, as well as in exercise sciences in 2007, and topped it off with a master's in exercise science from California University of Pennsylvania in 2008, just prior to joining the Spurs.
00:01:44
@NoConfForOldMen
Super impressive background, and we're excited for a Coach to join the podcast today. Welcome to the podcast, Coach Ikanem, and thanks so much for taking time out from your busy schedule.
Career Shift to Coaching
00:01:54
Mike Ekanem
No problem at all. Thank you guys for having me. I'm excited to do this with you guys.
00:01:58
prairiecoog
you
00:01:59
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, we're excited for you to join as well as you know you joining the staff.
00:02:02
.0Bill Walker
Yep.
00:02:03
@NoConfForOldMen
You have super impressive background. So we've actually gathered a bunch of questions from amongst ourselves as well as from listeners. ah Anything else you wanted to kind of cover off before we kick things off or we can go straight into the questions?
00:02:16
Mike Ekanem
No, not at all. Go go for it. Straight into it.
00:02:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay, let's go. So i gave kind of brief highlight of your background. and kind of your journey getting into coaching, but maybe you can spend a few minutes providing listeners with your own perspective on your basketball playing and coaching journey.
00:02:33
@NoConfForOldMen
And really at what point in your playing career did you come to realize that you eventually wanted to get into coaching?
00:02:40
Mike Ekanem
Got you. Yeah, so and a lot of people ask me that question, like, how'd you get into coaching or what was your inspiration to coach?
00:02:47
prairiecoog
you
00:02:48
Mike Ekanem
Growing up, and I'm from Houston, so Houston native, born and raised here, and happy to be back home for one.
00:02:54
@NoConfForOldMen
Nice. Yep.
00:02:54
Mike Ekanem
But just growing up, I never thought I would be a coach. It was always, at a young age, it was like, okay, i want to be a professional basketball player. i want to play in the NBA, like every basketball player, kid's dream.
00:03:07
Mike Ekanem
But then when I got into college, I come from a family of all medical professionals. So nurses, doctors, physical therapists, anything along those lines in the medical field.
00:03:15
@NoConfForOldMen
okay
00:03:16
.0Bill Walker
Mm-hmm.
00:03:20
Mike Ekanem
So my my mom was big on, you got to do something in the medical field. Like that's where the money is.
00:03:25
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay.
00:03:25
prairiecoog
Mm-hmm.
00:03:25
Mike Ekanem
And I'm like, that's where several years later, I'm like, no, mom, the money's actually in coaching.
00:03:31
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay.
00:03:31
Mike Ekanem
But yeah. No, so I went to school to play basketball at Texas Lutheran, but my degree was I had planned on doing physical therapy.
00:03:41
@NoConfForOldMen
okay
00:03:42
Mike Ekanem
So I was along that path. I did all my prereqs and all that stuff and had a decent college career, small college ball, but I got an opportunity to play overseas after plan after playing college.
00:03:56
Mike Ekanem
And then the more I played, the more I was around basketball, the more i was around those coaches, I'm like, yeah, I'm not going back to do any more school.
00:04:02
prairiecoog
Thank you.
00:04:06
Mike Ekanem
i wanna I don't want an office job.
00:04:07
@NoConfForOldMen
Uh,
00:04:08
Mike Ekanem
I don't want a medical professional job. I want to be around basketball like the rest of my life, or at least as long as that itll like God allow me to do it. to do it so Just being ah ah like playing overseas a a few years and then just being around basketball, I just got that itch to stay in the game and just find a way to stay in it.
Internship with Spurs
00:04:30
Mike Ekanem
I got the internship with the Spurs.
00:04:33
prairiecoog
Thank
00:04:33
Mike Ekanem
And I was able to see all facets of the program, like from the strength and conditioning side to the athletic training side, video on the court, front office. And I was just like, yeah, this is what I want to do.
00:04:46
Mike Ekanem
So it it was with the Spurs that I kind of got that itch to like, this is what I want to do the rest of my my life and my career.
00:04:53
@NoConfForOldMen
So how did you get connected with the Spurs? Did you have a previous, uh, relationship of some, you know somehow with someone in the organization there or.
00:05:02
Mike Ekanem
I did not. I didn't have a a relationship. or And everybody always says it's like coaching jobs or it's all about who you know, who can make a phone call for you and who like, who do you know that can get you this job?
00:05:11
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, exactly.
00:05:15
Mike Ekanem
And I found that out along my career. But That initial job or internship with the Spurs, it was just I met one of the coaches.
00:05:25
Mike Ekanem
actually met one of the Spurs coaches. We had a great conversation, and it was about playing and coaching and everything. like He invited me to a practice, so invited me to a Spurs practice, and I'm just a big – it's just my personality, big networker.
00:05:37
@NoConfForOldMen
Nice.
00:05:42
Mike Ekanem
Like, hey, whose hand can I shake or whose name can I remember?
00:05:45
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep. It's great.
00:05:46
Mike Ekanem
Or who can I introduce myself to? i did just that and i ended up getting offered an internship spot on the strength and conditioning side. So with the strength coach, Mike Brungard at the time, and it just led into a job and and eventually in the video room and then on the floor.
00:05:56
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:06:06
Mike Ekanem
And then I got into college coaching. So it was that was my start.
00:06:09
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, that's fantastic. And was it at the Spurs that you actually initially met coach Sampson?
00:06:16
Mike Ekanem
It's crazy because everybody's like, Coach Sampson doesn't hire from outside of the family.
00:06:21
@NoConfForOldMen
Right.
00:06:21
Mike Ekanem
he It's always somebody that he knows, somebody that played for him, was a manager for him. And everybody on staff is that way except for myself. And everybody that has worked for him in the past has always come from some type of
Professional Ties and Training Experience
00:06:33
Mike Ekanem
relationship with him.
00:06:36
Mike Ekanem
I got to the Spurs. I had just finished playing in Ireland. I got to the Spurs in March of 2008. Around the same time Coach Sampson got there,
00:06:45
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:06:45
Mike Ekanem
He was more of like a kind of advisor in the front office. We really didn't cross paths because I was in like the strength conditioning room.
00:06:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh, interesting.
00:06:53
Mike Ekanem
And then everybody always thought like, where'd this guy come from? Maybe was from the Spurs. Like that's how he knows Coach Sands.
00:06:57
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:07:00
Mike Ekanem
It actually wasn't, but... We got a lot of like just common things like the Spurs. And then I worked at Memphis for Tubby Smith, who's one of Coach Sampson's best friends.
00:07:10
Mike Ekanem
So like Kellen said it the other day, we were talking to a recruiter and like, yeah, Mike didn't come from directly within the family, but he's like the third cousin, away from something like that, because I worked for one of Coach's best friends.
00:07:10
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:07:19
prairiecoog
it different Mm-hmm.
00:07:24
@NoConfForOldMen
that's great.
00:07:25
.0Bill Walker
Nice. Well, i've I've got a couple of questions for you, but but first I'm going to ask one that's a little off script just because of your time at the Spurs. and When I played in high school, I wore a former Spurs number and had posters all over my room, and he was my all-time sports idol.
00:07:43
.0Bill Walker
So ah ah my my leading into everything, my question is, did you ever get any time with George Girvin?
00:07:52
Mike Ekanem
not Not personally, but I actually, George Girvin has a school, at least at the time, I think he still has the school, has a school and like training facility in San Antonio.
00:07:54
@NoConfForOldMen
Hmm.
00:08:02
Mike Ekanem
And I would train kids on the side just to make a little bit little bit of pocket change.
00:08:06
prairiecoog
Thank you.
00:08:07
Mike Ekanem
And I would train at George Girvin's facility.
00:08:08
@NoConfForOldMen
Wow.
00:08:09
Mike Ekanem
So I've met before, but haven't really had, not spent a lot of time with him.
00:08:09
.0Bill Walker
Oh, nice.
00:08:09
@NoConfForOldMen
Very cool.
00:08:11
.0Bill Walker
Yeah.
00:08:14
Mike Ekanem
I've i've met him. i know G a little bit. Yeah, great dude and was a great player.
00:08:18
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh yeah.
00:08:18
.0Bill Walker
Okay.
00:08:20
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:08:20
.0Bill Walker
yeah i've Yeah, I've met him a couple times as well, but I yeah never really got to know him. All right, so we'll get back into it. yeah As the newest member of the of the coaching staff,
00:08:31
.0Bill Walker
I don't think many people are aware of yeah what what your specific role
00:08:34
prairiecoog
Thank you.
Role at UH and Coaching Philosophy
00:08:36
.0Bill Walker
is.
00:08:36
.0Bill Walker
And if you don't mind, if you let let everyone know you know exactly you yeah what your areas of responsibility are and and and just what ah what ah what what your role is going to be going forward with the team.
00:08:48
Mike Ekanem
For sure. So as with the other assistants, I'm big with recruiting.
00:08:53
@NoConfForOldMen
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:08:53
Mike Ekanem
Recruiting and coach doesn't give us like a specific region or area you have to you recruit the West, you recruit the South, you recruit the East. It's not that it's all about relationships. So who do you have relationships with?
00:09:06
prairiecoog
Thank you.
00:09:06
Mike Ekanem
Who can you get in with? That's one of my biggest responsibilities is recruiting. and bring your relationships to us and what players can you help find that you know fit us here at Houston.
00:09:18
Mike Ekanem
then position wise, a player position wise, I work with the bigs. So the fives, the centers, and that'll be Cedric Lott, Khalifa Sacco and Jacob McFarland.
00:09:23
@NoConfForOldMen
okay
00:09:31
Mike Ekanem
So those three of our true fives, Jojo Tugler is kind of four or five both positions.
00:09:39
.0Bill Walker
C-NAC?
00:09:41
Mike Ekanem
C-Nag is – he's more of a – yeah, little bit.
00:09:43
.0Bill Walker
More of a four?
00:09:44
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay.
00:09:45
Mike Ekanem
So he's – Kellen has the fours. So Kellen and I have C-Nag.
00:09:47
prairiecoog
Thank you.
00:09:47
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:09:49
Mike Ekanem
Kellen and I have JoJo and Chase McCarty.
00:09:49
.0Bill Walker
Gotcha.
00:09:54
.0Bill Walker
Okay. Got it. Uh, you, and Steve, Steve alluded to this. You, you've coached at a, quite a few places, probably racked up some good, uh, frequent flyer miles, but, uh, you know, with what you've, you've been under some great coaches, uh, you know, you mentioned Tubby and, and obviously, you know, Steve Lutz last season, uh, uh, Eric Musselman, uh,
00:10:19
.0Bill Walker
What, yeah I guess, what have you taken from from those coaches as you come to U of H? and And what is it after after being at all all the other places that that made U of H appealing to you and made you want to come to U of H?
00:10:29
prairiecoog
Thank
00:10:36
.0Bill Walker
Obviously, you mentioned being from here, which I wasn't aware of, but I'm sure that at least played a little role.
00:10:43
Mike Ekanem
For sure. so yeah, you said I racked up some freaking fire miles. I think I racked up a lot I gave a lot of my money to moving companies too.
00:10:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:10:51
prairiecoog
but to
00:10:51
.0Bill Walker
oh Good
00:10:53
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:10:54
Mike Ekanem
Yeah, I've been all over the place. But no, I mean, I've worked for some great coaches, Hall of Fame coach and Tubby Smith, Hall of Fame coach and Greg Popovich.
00:11:00
@NoConfForOldMen
ye
00:11:03
Mike Ekanem
I worked for Quinn Snyder in the G League. worked for Teresa Weatherspoon, who's a Hall of Famer at at Louisiana Tech one year as a women's assistant. Buzz Williams, Eric Musselman, Josh Pastner.
00:11:14
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:11:15
prairiecoog
Thank you.
00:11:16
Mike Ekanem
Jason Hooten at Sam Houston State, Tony Skin at George Mason, who was just the A-10 coach of the year last year, and then Steve Lutz most recently Oklahoma State. I've learned so much from all those coaches. They're all unique in their own ways and just learned a lot from all of them, and I think
Culture and Success at UH
00:11:31
Mike Ekanem
– my trajectory as an assistant coach or in this basketball business has just continued to go up but i wouldn't be at houston uh without all of those stops without any of those guys uh learned a lot from all of them and then just houston to answer the second part of your question it's just a no-brainer it's a no-brainer like i had uh yeah there was a
00:11:53
.0Bill Walker
Yeah. Nice.
00:11:57
Mike Ekanem
an agent that called one of my good friends. He represents one of my good friends. And he was like, hey, would Mike have any interest in Houston? They might have a ah ah spot opening up.
00:12:09
Mike Ekanem
And my my buddy was like, absolutely. Like, yeah, that's enough. I don't even have to call Mike and ask.
00:12:15
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:12:16
Mike Ekanem
But just everything Coach Sampson has built here.
00:12:19
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:12:19
Mike Ekanem
I was at Memphis with Josh Pastner and Tubby Smith for four years, and it was right when Coach Sampson first got the Houston job and got into the league in the American Conference. And I saw, like, you can see it from day one.
00:12:32
Mike Ekanem
like You can see it, the culture he was building.
00:12:33
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:12:34
prairiecoog
you
00:12:35
Mike Ekanem
And it did not take long for him to win here.
00:12:38
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:12:39
Mike Ekanem
So that alone, like just working for a coach like Coach Sampson, being a part of a program and the culture that he's established here and the success, the recent success. And then just Houston is just, I mean, he's brought it to just such an elite level.
00:12:53
Mike Ekanem
It's a household name now. It's, I'm, go to these AAU tournaments and watch high school players play, and you wear Oklahoma State on your chest.
00:13:00
prairiecoog
you
00:13:03
Mike Ekanem
Nothing against any other school I've worked at, but Oklahoma State on your chest and walking around, and nobody speaks to you. ah You You got to go find your kids.
00:13:11
.0Bill Walker
Nice.
00:13:11
Mike Ekanem
You walk around with Houston on your chest, and every coach wants to stop you and say hello. And, hey, how do you guys do this? What do you do about this?
00:13:16
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:13:17
Mike Ekanem
How's Coach Sampson? And every kid is like, oh, man, he's from Houston. Yeah. like wearing, you know, Duke or Kentucky on your chest. Like he's done a great job of building the culture here, building the program here, got it to an elite status.
00:13:29
Mike Ekanem
And it's just ah just so much name recognition, a household name now.
00:13:34
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. And it's all been coach that built it from, cause we were basically had lost it all for decades until coach came.
00:13:35
.0Bill Walker
nice
00:13:36
Mike Ekanem
Oh, absolutely.
00:13:40
Mike Ekanem
Absolutely. <unk>s He's done a great job with that.
00:13:41
.0Bill Walker
Yeah.
00:13:42
@NoConfForOldMen
So, so let me ask you this, right. Especially as the newest member of the staff and you're seeing the the culture and the program and how we run things up close with fresh eyes, right.
00:13:53
Mike Ekanem
Sure.
00:13:53
@NoConfForOldMen
At this point, especially after coming from some really strong programs, right. you know, Coach Lutz's program, and then Eric Musselman, you've been with them at two stops with huge success there.
00:14:05
@NoConfForOldMen
How do you compare and contrast a little bit in terms of, I mean, obviously not to give away any trade secrets, but just kind of how each coach runs their program and what they emphasize? Can you give a couple examples of how it's different from, yeah you know, one program to another?
00:14:25
Mike Ekanem
For sure. I would say, just being here the last three months, it's one, quote like the question I get the most from just anybody on the outside, peers in the business, of family and friends, like, man, what is it about Houston?
00:14:34
prairiecoog
Thank
00:14:42
Mike Ekanem
Like, how has it been? And just in the past three months, like I have seen why they've been so successful. the work that coaches put in, the players put in the character, like just the character individuals we have.
00:14:51
@NoConfForOldMen
Hmm.
00:14:58
Mike Ekanem
We got guys that want to get better, guys that want to be great, guys that have tasted a national championship game and know what it takes to get back there.
00:15:06
prairiecoog
Thank you.
00:15:08
Mike Ekanem
So every day I walk in the office or walk on the court to work with the guys or even our conditioning sessions, like the energy level is always high. like Coach Sampson, like he brings it every single day. And I guess that's where culture comes from.
00:15:24
Mike Ekanem
He brings the energy. Everybody feeds off of him. It's just been amazing. it's It's been amazing from the from the staff to the players to the managers. Everybody's on the same accord.
00:15:36
Mike Ekanem
And that's different from some other places I've been, not to throw any other programs under the bus. I've been with a lot of successful programs.
00:15:42
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, very successful. Yeah.
00:15:45
Mike Ekanem
At Arkansas, we went to the Elite Eight with Eric Musselman.
00:15:47
@NoConfForOldMen
Hmm.
00:15:48
Mike Ekanem
We were at Nevada. We were and top 10 in the country the entire year and had a great, great team there.
00:15:50
prairiecoog
Thank you.
00:15:54
Mike Ekanem
But it's just a huge difference in just the culture, the culture as a whole.
00:16:00
@NoConfForOldMen
Hmm.
00:16:01
Mike Ekanem
Like I've been on staffs where everybody is divided or everybody's trying to one up the next guy or how can I do this better than him?
00:16:06
@NoConfForOldMen
Hmm.
00:16:09
Mike Ekanem
Or, OK, he just taught or he did this scout. My scout needs to be better whatever. This coach said something, now I got to say something, you know, or how can I get on coach's good side? No, that's that's not the way here. Like, it's a great culture and it's everybody's on the same page trying to be or reach the same goals.
00:16:30
prairiecoog
Hey, Coach, I've heard.
00:16:30
@NoConfForOldMen
nice
00:16:30
.0Bill Walker
Wow, that's really it that's oh sorry i was go say that's really interesting.
00:16:32
prairiecoog
Yeah.
00:16:35
.0Bill Walker
You'd think that with the success that Coach Sampson's had, of H program has had, that other schools would would you know take take a pretty close look and ah and notice that the reason that that we've been so damn good is the culture and and and and try to replicate that.
00:16:59
Mike Ekanem
For sure. and the And you you say that, and it's like these three months that I've been here, I've seen so many other college coaches come in the gym.
00:17:05
.0Bill Walker
Mm-hmm.
00:17:12
Mike Ekanem
And Coach Sampson has an open door.
00:17:13
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:17:13
Mike Ekanem
Like, hey, you want to try to – you want to see what we do or try to come emulate this with your programs? I've seen so many other college coaches come in and just, hey, I just want to watch for a couple days. And they're sitting there taking notes, and Coach Sampson says it all the time. Like,
00:17:28
Mike Ekanem
You can't just build a culture overnight. Like you're not going to come in here and take notes and take it back to your program and it's going to instantly change.
00:17:31
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
Recruitment and Player Focus
00:17:36
Mike Ekanem
It takes some time and it's not the culture, it's the standards.
00:17:36
.0Bill Walker
Yeah.
00:17:39
Mike Ekanem
He has standards and he doesn't deviate from those standards. So that's that's the biggest thing with with this with this program and the biggest comparison or contrast with other programs that I've been at.
00:17:51
Mike Ekanem
There may be standards, but okay, well, that kid can get away with some things.
00:17:57
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yep.
00:17:57
Mike Ekanem
And then this kid can't or that coach can do this.
00:17:57
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:18:00
Mike Ekanem
And no, there's standards across the board here and coach doesn't change from it.
00:18:05
prairiecoog
So, uh, uh, coach, I've heard coach Sampson say, know, uh, on videotapes all that kind of stuff.
00:18:06
.0Bill Walker
That's awesome.
00:18:12
prairiecoog
He said, you know, nothing we do is unique, you know, X and O wise, uh, the uniqueness comes in the accountability. And that's the difference between our program and the rest of them.
00:18:24
prairiecoog
You know, another coach can come watch practice. And, you know, most coaches know X's and O's, you know, and and, you know, we're not going to out scheme anybody.
00:18:27
@NoConfForOldMen
Mm-hmm.
00:18:33
prairiecoog
You know, it's it's the accountability of that's that's the difference. And I believe, you know, he he was saying that's where the culture comes from. It's holding everybody accountable every day.
00:18:46
Mike Ekanem
Absolutely. Every single day. But then you got coaches holding each other accountable. Coach Sampson holding the program accountable. But you got players holding each other accountable as well. You got leaders on this team, three returning starters, a lot of returning players.
00:19:02
Mike Ekanem
Coach doesn't have a track record of a lot of transfers. Like recruit the right guys and those guys stay.
00:19:05
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:19:06
.0Bill Walker
ye
00:19:08
Mike Ekanem
Those guys stay, those guys develop. And yes, a lot of coaches come in and try to, you know, let me take notes and let me let me see if I can take this back to my program.
00:19:15
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:19:18
Mike Ekanem
But I guess culture can't be mimicked, you know, or necessarily taught. Like those things got to happen organically and it got got has to happen with the right people and the right people in place.
00:19:29
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, it, I mean, say it's no different than in the work, other workplaces as well, right? With leadership, it starts from the top and whether that person at the top has got the stomach for the kind of discipline and and the confrontation that's needed at times to maintain that culture.
00:19:46
Mike Ekanem
Absolutely.
00:19:47
@NoConfForOldMen
Right. And we've seen it in space with coach Sampson. Right.
00:19:51
Mike Ekanem
For sure. No, it's been every day. I'm just amazed.
00:19:55
Mike Ekanem
I'm amazed. Like just everything I'm learning as a coach and I just it's helping me grow as a coach, as a person. But then, like I said, you just see, OK, this is why they've been so good.
00:19:55
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:20:09
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah,
00:20:10
prairiecoog
Mm-hmm.
00:20:10
Mike Ekanem
It's crazy. And I'm happy and blessed to be a part of it.
00:20:13
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah. We're lucky to have you here as well.
00:20:16
.0Bill Walker
Absolutely.
00:20:17
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, and you had mentioned earlier on right how important recruiting is to kind of the lifeblood of a program, right, as you continue to replenish the talent.
00:20:28
@NoConfForOldMen
And your reputation, at least, has been as a very effective recruiter from your previous stops as well.
00:20:34
Mike Ekanem
percent.
00:20:36
@NoConfForOldMen
So we're looking forward to to kind of the role that you play moving forward on that front.
00:20:40
prairiecoog
Thank
00:20:42
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, are you, you know, focused, you had mentioned that coach doesn't divide it into, you know, regions and things like that. It's about relationships. Does, does he focus you on any positions or it's really everyone can recruit all the different positions. It's based on relationships and looking at the the right talent.
00:21:03
Mike Ekanem
That's it. it's It's based on relationships and evaluating um and and not not really position. what Like it's not I'm trying to go find bigs or find point guard.
00:21:13
prairiecoog
you
00:21:14
@NoConfForOldMen
Uh-huh.
00:21:15
Mike Ekanem
it We sit as a staff. We assess the roster. OK, who are seniors and are definitely gone? you know, and then, or who could potentially leave. So we got these spots available.
00:21:29
Mike Ekanem
So we kind of know like what positions we need, but then there's also just best available. Like if you have a relationship with the top 10 player in the country and you can get us in with them, like we can cater to program to, you know, fit the need of, of, or that player to fit the need of our, our roster.
00:21:45
prairiecoog
Thank you.
00:21:48
Mike Ekanem
yeah,
00:21:49
Mike Ekanem
It's not not necessarily recruiting certain – each coach recruiting certain positions.
00:21:49
@NoConfForOldMen
OK.
00:21:49
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:21:54
Mike Ekanem
It's just go out and find the best players that can fit and fit within our culture and that are good players.
00:21:59
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. yeah
00:22:00
.0Bill Walker
So so is it sorry is it safe to assume that ah that going forward, we we can we could look forward to three five-stars and a four-star coming in every year?
00:22:01
@NoConfForOldMen
and but
00:22:14
Mike Ekanem
I wish we could say that, but I will say that Coach Sampson and the staff have done a phenomenal job by giving Houston the name that it has right now.
00:22:20
prairiecoog
Thank you.
00:22:26
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:22:27
Mike Ekanem
And we talk to these kids, or at least I know I do.
00:22:28
.0Bill Walker
help
00:22:30
Mike Ekanem
I talk to kids, and they're top players in the country, and they're excited to hear from me.
00:22:35
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:22:35
Mike Ekanem
you know like i'm I'm calling from other schools, and they they might not answer my call.
00:22:36
.0Bill Walker
That's great.
00:22:39
Mike Ekanem
But from Houston, like they're excited about it. so
00:22:42
@NoConfForOldMen
So let me ask you this though, again, being new with the program and you've recruited highly effectively at some big time programs, even prior to this, but you've likely been, i guess, oriented to the type of player that coach Sampson is looking for, right?
00:22:58
prairiecoog
Thank
00:22:59
@NoConfForOldMen
And the traits that he's looking for has got to be different, right? To survive the kind of, you know, program that we run. So You know, what, what have you learned and how you, you know, what you focus on in terms of traits, right?
00:23:12
@NoConfForOldMen
Beyond the talent level, what are the traits that you've had to maybe adjust, uh, in terms of what you're looking for specifically with the kids?
00:23:13
Mike Ekanem
Uh-huh.
00:23:21
Mike Ekanem
So there was a kid, course I can't mention any names, but there was a kid that I was recruiting, had a great relationship with the kid, his mom, his dad, was a former player, his entire circle.
00:23:24
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:23:36
Mike Ekanem
And this was at Oklahoma State, recruiting the kid.
00:23:39
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep. Yeah.
00:23:41
Mike Ekanem
He would have been a great sign and there. And a top 10 player in the country. And I get here and i get the job and it's like, okay, who do you have relationships with? Let's start with those and, you know, start recruiting those those guys or continue recruiting those guys.
00:23:59
Mike Ekanem
And then we'll we can add to that. And then my first few days on the job, guess, well, first few weeks, like when the guys got back and I saw the team, I saw practices, I saw started to see the culture.
00:24:15
Mike Ekanem
I mean, and I've seen it before playing against Houston at other places.
00:24:16
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:24:19
Mike Ekanem
So you've seen it from afar, but you don't really know until you're like actually here.
00:24:24
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:24:25
Mike Ekanem
And then i I thought after while, I was like, yeah, that kid, yeah, he he can't play.
00:24:29
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:24:29
Mike Ekanem
He doesn't.
00:24:30
.0Bill Walker
Wow.
00:24:32
Mike Ekanem
He's a very, very talented player, but he's a little too finesse, a little too prima donna for what we're looking for, not the type of character that'll fit here.
00:24:34
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:24:38
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:24:40
.0Bill Walker
Hmm.
00:24:42
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:24:43
Mike Ekanem
So it a little bit of a learning process.
00:24:43
prairiecoog
Mm-hmm.
00:24:46
Mike Ekanem
Now I got it, and I i know the type of guys Coach Sampson wants.
00:24:48
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:24:51
Mike Ekanem
And, yeah, we want talented players for sure, but he's done well with not the most talent.
00:24:56
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:24:57
Mike Ekanem
I mean, he's won with talent.
00:24:58
.0Bill Walker
Yep.
00:24:59
Mike Ekanem
He's won with not the best talent. And it's all about how hard they play. So when I'm out watching these high school guys or if we're watching transfers or how hard they play,
00:25:05
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:25:11
Mike Ekanem
The coach tells you to run through a brick wall. It should be like, you know, should I go head first or how fast do you want me to go?
00:25:16
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. Yeah.
00:25:17
prairiecoog
Thank you.
00:25:19
Mike Ekanem
that's what we're really looking at is guys that play hard, guys that play with a chip on their shoulders, guys that are talented, of course, and have some type of translatable skill. But most importantly, can you defend?
00:25:30
Mike Ekanem
Can you play hard? Are you going to do what the coach asks you to do without, you know, talking back to the coach and things like that? And then can you rebound for your position?
00:25:40
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:25:40
Mike Ekanem
oh
00:25:41
@NoConfForOldMen
But, but so let me ask you this, especially as the program has reached greater heights, right? From a visibility perspective, prestige perspective with the kids and things of that nature.
00:25:47
Mike Ekanem
Thanks, sir.
00:25:52
@NoConfForOldMen
And we've noticed it as well, regardless of, i know Coach always emphasized that we don't look at star rate ratings and things like that. We're our own judge of talent, but it's been very noticeable in terms of the caliber of talent that each class is basically raising the bar.
00:26:04
prairiecoog
you
00:26:09
@NoConfForOldMen
Now, as you're starting to talk with some of these more well-known kids on the the recruiting front. Is it tougher to find kids that have that kind of hunger and that kind of desire, kind of those traits that you're looking for that fit the Houston program?
00:26:29
Mike Ekanem
I don't know. I don't know if I say, I don't know if I would say it's tougher to find those kids, but in this day and age and like this NIL era, you do find a lot more, uh, entitled kids.
00:26:39
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:26:44
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:26:44
Mike Ekanem
so, Being the brand that Houston is now and the brand that Coach Sampson has has leveled it up to be, we don't have to cast as as wide of a net.
00:26:56
Mike Ekanem
know, recruiting board isn't 30 and 50 guys to try to get two or three.
00:26:56
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:27:02
Mike Ekanem
We can narrow it down to seven or eight.
00:27:05
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh, interesting.
00:27:05
Mike Ekanem
i can
00:27:06
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:27:06
Mike Ekanem
to try to get four or five, you know, they've in the past few years, like they've had a great track record of landing the recruits that they're, they're in with.
00:27:08
@NoConfForOldMen
Yep.
00:27:13
prairiecoog
Thank
00:27:16
Mike Ekanem
So, think it's just such a big brand that it's, it's not tough to find those guys that fit, like, especially the guys coach wants right now.
00:27:22
@NoConfForOldMen
okay
00:27:26
Mike Ekanem
He wants coach, he wants guys that want to win, want to be successful, want to be pros, want to be the best they could possibly be. And so we're, we're, we're shooting for the top with that, but our, just, we keep it tight with the number of guys we go after.
00:27:38
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah okay yeah thanks for the insight there Now, as we pivot and we start looking for this upcoming season, where basically we're running it back with three of five starters returning.
00:27:50
prairiecoog
Thank you.
00:27:54
@NoConfForOldMen
And as Bill had mentioned, right, we've got three five-star freshmen joining the team.
Development of Big Men at UH
00:27:59
@NoConfForOldMen
Kind of new on the staff, you're starting to to work with the bigs, just trying to get a perspective of, you know, how the key players that are returning in your position group, as well as the new kids, how are they adjusting to your coaching and your development plans for them?
00:28:16
Mike Ekanem
So and in my position group, I have the three the three true fives in Cedric Locke, Khalifa Sacco, who's new, transferred from Sam Houston, and then Jacob McFarlane, who missed a year last year with injury.
00:28:29
@NoConfForOldMen
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:28:32
Mike Ekanem
But I think it's been kind of easy, and and I'm in a learning process as well because I'm a new guy. But with – said and Jacob having been through the program, having know the culture, know what it takes, you know, they were there in the national championship game on that run.
00:28:52
Mike Ekanem
they've been great helping even myself and Khalifa, like get adjusted to it. And it's been i think it's been a pretty smooth transition, to say the least. But just having those leaders and and said who's been here for three years, for three and a half.
00:29:10
Mike Ekanem
And and Jacob, who's been here for a year. That's helped a ton.
00:29:17
.0Bill Walker
Well, you've got another veteran to that I imagine that that can help a bit in a Coach Beard.
00:29:23
Mike Ekanem
Oh, absolutely. So, yes, so Casey and I are together with the fives and he's he's been great for me.
00:29:28
@NoConfForOldMen
Oh, that's right. Yeah.
00:29:28
.0Bill Walker
Yeah.
00:29:30
Mike Ekanem
So definitely Coach Beard and then and then those two those two returning guys have been huge.
00:29:37
prairiecoog
Coach, I got a question for you.
00:29:38
.0Bill Walker
Yeah.
00:29:38
prairiecoog
You mentioned Chase working with the fours. it Does he play guard also, the two or three?
00:29:45
Mike Ekanem
Yeah, Chase is versatile. Chase will be like ah more of a stretch four.
00:29:46
prairiecoog
Okay.
00:29:49
Mike Ekanem
He's probably one of the better shooters on the team. and So he can stretch the four. He could be a mismatch at the four. But, I mean, he's truly ah a wing.
00:29:56
prairiecoog
Okay. Thank you.
00:29:57
Mike Ekanem
Yeah.
00:29:57
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay, nice. And, know, as part of coaching the kids and, um and I'll just say within the position group that you're working with, you know, each kid is different, right? They come from different backgrounds.
00:30:11
Mike Ekanem
For sure.
00:30:11
@NoConfForOldMen
you know trying to get the messaging across and the coaching across. Sometimes it takes different approaches to kind of communicate and reach and get the messaging across. And just kind of curious from a coaching and a leadership perspective, what is your philosophy and approach to kind of working with the kids and making sure that your message is getting across as you're coaching them up?
00:30:35
Mike Ekanem
I think with me is you could coach them hard, but you got to love them harder. Like they got to know first and foremost, how much you care, how much you care about them, how much you care about them getting better, how much you care about winning as much as they should be, should care about winning and being in the success of the program.
00:30:40
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah. yeah
00:30:52
Mike Ekanem
So I think every player is different in, in your approach and how they learn and how you have to coach them. But I think we've been blessed with,
00:31:04
Mike Ekanem
just so a great group of guys. Again, that just comes like credit to our staff and their recruiting, just recruiting guys that are high IQ players, can take coaching, can take criticism, can continue to just like keep that culture what it is.
00:31:22
@NoConfForOldMen
All right. I think that's all the questions that we had gathered here today. I don't know guys, did you you did either of you have any additional questions for coach?
00:31:32
.0Bill Walker
I think we've about covered everything.
00:31:32
prairiecoog
that
00:31:34
@NoConfForOldMen
All right. I mean, coach, any, any kind of last messages that you want to send out to fans is the newest member of the coaching staff.
Future Vision and Fan Engagement
00:31:42
Mike Ekanem
Just, again, really reiterate how excited I am to be a part of University Houston basketball. It's gone to like extremely high levels, and it's it's it's a blessing to be a part of bar of the program and excited about what what the season has in store.
00:32:03
Mike Ekanem
Come out and support.
00:32:05
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah, it...
00:32:05
prairiecoog
I've got a question for, for coach.
00:32:08
Mike Ekanem
Yep.
00:32:09
prairiecoog
Where do you see yourself in 15 years? You're, you're still a young guy.
00:32:13
Mike Ekanem
For sure. In 15 years, mean, golly. Yeah. I know it.
00:32:19
@NoConfForOldMen
That's a long time, Tom.
00:32:20
Mike Ekanem
yeah
00:32:20
prairiecoog
Okay. well Okay.
00:32:20
@NoConfForOldMen
Maybe five years.
00:32:21
.0Bill Walker
Yeah. Yeah.
00:32:22
prairiecoog
10 years. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go eight or eight or 10.
00:32:24
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:32:25
prairiecoog
Okay.
00:32:26
Mike Ekanem
No, no problem at all. Eight or 10 years. So I mean, I'm tired of moving. So i'm up yeah um I plan on being at University of Houston and and helping this thing keep that upward trajectory as long as I can.
00:32:38
Mike Ekanem
And then hopefully it leads to growing, learning more from Coach Sampson and the staff and then becoming a head coach one day for sure.
00:32:44
prairiecoog
Okay. Awesome. Yep. That's what I was kind of getting at.
00:32:46
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:32:47
prairiecoog
You know, what you know is your dream to be to be a head coach. So, yep. Awesome.
00:32:52
Mike Ekanem
It is. And no rush at all with that. is I mean, I still got young and in the business and still got a lot to learn. and I'm at a ah ah place that I want to stay.
00:33:03
Mike Ekanem
So I'll be here as long as it takes.
00:33:04
prairiecoog
Yep.
00:33:05
.0Bill Walker
Nice.
00:33:05
@NoConfForOldMen
yeah
00:33:07
Mike Ekanem
And eventually that'll come. But no rush at all.
00:33:10
prairiecoog
awesome
00:33:10
@NoConfForOldMen
That's awesome. I mean, welcome, welcome to the staff coach.
00:33:11
.0Bill Walker
Great.
00:33:11
prairiecoog
ye
00:33:13
@NoConfForOldMen
We're really excited.
00:33:13
Mike Ekanem
Thanks so much.
00:33:13
prairiecoog
Yep.
00:33:15
@NoConfForOldMen
to have you here, man.
00:33:15
Mike Ekanem
Absolutely. Thanks so much.
00:33:16
prairiecoog
Yep.
00:33:16
Mike Ekanem
Thank you guys for having me.
00:33:17
.0Bill Walker
Yeah, thanks. Thanks for being on.
00:33:18
prairiecoog
We appreciate it a whole lot.
00:33:19
.0Bill Walker
This was great.
00:33:21
prairiecoog
Yep. Yep.
00:33:21
@NoConfForOldMen
Yeah.
00:33:22
@NoConfForOldMen
Okay, so that's it for this episode 56 of the No Conference for Old Men podcast. Hope you all enjoyed it. And again, would really appreciate it if folks would follow, subscribe, or collect our podcast, depending on your podcast platform of choice.
00:33:34
@NoConfForOldMen
We're also available via the Republic of Football podcast feed from the folks at Dave Campbell's Texas Football as their only basketball-centric podcast. Or at the gocooks.com website for those that prefer to digest the content that way.
00:33:46
@NoConfForOldMen
We appreciate the continued support from all. Also, please give us a follow on our Twitter account, No Conference for Old Men. And again, we are in our offseason cadence, but please stay tuned as we continue to publish each one of the coaches' interviews in this special series.
00:34:00
@NoConfForOldMen
So please be on the lookout and download and listen as the next episode drops. Take care, everyone.