There are a lot of great people in the coaching profession and near the top of that list is my pal Jerry Wainwright. Jerry many years working his way through the coaching ranks and after doing a phenomenal job at UNC-Wilmington he is now in his third season at Richmond.

The other day I asked CollegeInsider.com’s Matt Drake to give me three coaches that don’t get anywhere near the attention they deserve. At the top of Matt’s list was Jerry Wainwright. Jerry is also one of the great characters in coaching. A few years back he and CI’s Joe Dwyer did a radio show together, which was extremely entertaining.

Recently I had a chance to fire off five questions to the Spiders’ coach.

DAVE MAGARITY: Today so many guys run the fast track to a head coaching position. You took the old school path, going back to the days of Five-Star. Talk about your road to becoming a head coach.

JERRY WAINWRIGHT: First and foremost, I never once had a goal of becoming a college basketball coach. I loved high school coaching and I was part of it at all levels, freshman through varsity. I sincerely enjoyed my 14 years of teaching and coaching at the high school level, and I only made my way to college coaching because of an administrative change at the last high school where I was employed. I then followed a path of being an assistant coach at Xavier for one year and Wake Forest for nine years before I received my first head-coaching job at UNC Wilmington where I spent eight years. I am now in my third year at the University of Richmond.

I would simply say to you, Dave, that there is no better way to learn the coaching trade than to wash uniforms, drive buses, deal with parents, etc. at the high school level.

MAGARITY: What are some of your priceless memories of those Five-Star days?

WAINWRIGHT: Some of the more priceless memories I have from working at 5 Star would include: (1) Mr. Garfinkel arguing with Brendan Malone on why he should not take Michael Jordan as the first pick of the camp draft. Garf felt an unknown would destroy the competition level of the camp games if he was the first player picked. Only through the perseverance of Roy Williams “sell” did Garf allow Michael to be chosen first. (2) After a week of rain at Honesdale, Garf sliding down a hill like an Olympic skier, not falling and eventually coming to rest saying, “Only a great athlete could have done that!” (3) The countless nights of Garf falling asleep at 3 a.m. at Denny’s in the middle of eating breakfast and then when being awakened, denying that he ever dozed off. (4) The coaching clinics that took place every night with some of the greatest coaches in America sharing their beliefs about the game. 5 Star was a 13-year classroom experience for me and many other coaches as we learned from the best in our profession. (5) Getting fired by Garf at least 2-3 times a day for 13 years for any glitch in the schedule. Of course, I was then immediately rehired 5 minutes later. (6) The greatest memories involve the people who coached in the camp and the kids who played in the camp. Very few days go by when someone doesn’t come up to me no matter where I am in this country and say, “Coach, remember me when I was in camp?” Before AAU, 5 Star was the place to be in summer basketball and it was and always will be where the best teaching of the game takes place.

MAGARITY: A lot of people don't realize that you were one of the first coaches to put a high-priority on strength training. While my size and strength is tremendous, I am little concerned that you may out-perform me in the weight room. How much can you press these days?

WAINWRIGHT: Having a football coaching background and not having strength coaches in the high schools where I worked, I had to fulfill that duty myself. Since my degree had a strong emphasis in exercise physiology, I was always fascinated with strength training and nutrition. I trained hard myself for many years and there is no question it helped me both professionally and personally. However, Dave, at this time I would definitely take a back seat to you, someone who was a stunt double for the Hulk, in terms of the amount of weight that I could lift.

MAGARITY: You have always been a guy that I consider to be a teacher first and a coach second. Maybe you can expand on this.

WAINWRIGHT: I certainly believe that coaching is teaching, and the old saying that it doesn’t matter what you know but what really matters is what you get your players to know has always been true. Young people need to be taught not only the game but also how the game parallels life itself so that they can be successful in all that they do when they put the ball down. I am humbled every day by what I don’t know and I still seek good teachers to help me grow as a person. Coaching a team is easy, but running a program is a 24-7 commitment to developing the total person.

MAGARITY: Lastly, I seem to remember you and my buddy Joe Dwyer were working on putting together a Curling Team for the Olympics. Any chance we could see you sweeping down the ice in Turin, Italy in 2006?

Joe Dwyer is indeed a good man. However, my “curling” skills have diminished in the last several years. You may not see me sweeping down the ice in Turin, Italy in 2006, but you sure could see me sweeping down the aisle in your local supermarket in 2006 if our young kids don’t learn to defend and value the basketball. Anyway, Joe doesn’t need a partner in that he is quick enough to bowl and then run and sweep at the same time.

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