5-ON-5 WITH WEBER STATE'S JOE CRAVENS                                                                                                                >>> CollegeInsider.com

DAVE MAGARITY: In all year years of coaching, what is the dumbest thing that ever earned you a technical foul?

JOE CRAVENS: I have probably done quite a few dumb things, but I don't get a lot of technicals. One that comes to mind was my first technical ever as a head coach, when I took over for Majerus. We were playing BYU at Utah in the Huntsman Center in front of a sell out crowd. We were behind by about ten or twelve early in the game and things just weren't going very well. I was young enough and dumb enough to think listening to the Dick Vitales of the world talk about how getting a technical can change the momentum of the game was good. So I decided I was going to get the crowd involved it the game. I come running out on the court, with my arms flailing and the intent of getting a technical.

I think David Hall and all the WAC officials felt sorry for me because I was such a young, dumb punk. He looked up at me kind of aghast, put his arm around my shoulders almost like a fatherly type embrace and said to me almost in a whisper "Joe, what are you doing out here in the middle of the court?"

That caught me off guard. He walked me back over to the bench, again almost fatherly, and said, "You know I'm going to have to give you a technical for this." Then he walked over to the scorers table and literally whispered the technical foul to him. At this point BYU is at the free throw line shooting two free throws and no one in the stands even knew what happened. There was no scene created to indicate a technical foul had been called so my attempt to get the crowd involved failed miserably. But we did come back to win the game.

MAGARITY: As you alluded too, you were pressed into action as Utah's head coach when Rick Majerus was sidelined by heart bypass surgery. How challenging was that transition in-season?

CRAVENS: I don't know if it was a challenge or adjustment for me. I had been an assistant for several years at that point and that short move over from the assistant's seat to the head coach's seat was much more stressful and all encompassing. I didn't try to change anything, but rather just deal with the move.

As an assistant coach you have a different relationship with the players. I don't know if that was challenging, but it was the biggest thing I had to do. Another thing I remember realizing was that being head coach was much more than just wearing a suit and tie and talking to the media after the game. It rules you whole life. As an assistant I was concerned with recruiting, scheduling and other things, but as a head coach your are concerned with the team and that is about all you are concerned with.

MAGARITY: Speaking of adjustments, how difficult has the adjustment to life without Jermaine Boyette been?

CRAVENS: The place we miss Jermaine the most is down the stretch of close games. In the last five to seven minutes he could go out and make big plays both on the offensive and defensive ends. He could go out and create his own offense and get to the basket and get us two or three baskets in tough situations. I think this is where we miss him the most. In our losses this season I don't think our player consciously stood around and waited for Jermaine to make the play. But in those same situations last season, that is exactly what he did.

That is our biggest adjustment, I think we are making headway there, but I have looked down the bench to find him a couple of time during those situations and he is nowhere to be found.

MAGARITY: Along with John Calipari, you have the reputation of playing anyone, anywhere, anytime. Talk about your scheduling philosophy.

CRAVENS: I have always believed that you have to play good people to become better. With that said, I am also cognoscente of not scheduling myself out of a job. I think you have to have some success early in the year or your players can lose faith in you and your system.

Each year we play our instate rivals and those are very big games and very tough games to win. If you are not careful sometimes your team lets out a sigh of relief after those games and then they are not ready to for the conference season. Even so we still try to play two or three really good out-of-state opponents, in tournaments as well.

MAGARITY: Lastly, give me a particular character, from ANY movie, which would best sum up Joe Cravens?

CRAVENS: I have two young daughters and I can't remember the last time I saw anything other than a Disney move or a PG movie so I don't feel very qualified to answer this question, but I did get some input from others.

My wife said Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump" and my secretary says "Tom Cruise in "Cocktail." I didn't see "Cocktail" so I don't know if that is a compliment or along the lines of my wife's answer. If I go way back, I did really enjoy "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." In my mind, maybe I'm like Robert Redford in that movie.

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