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NC State Basketball

Roberson: "How Do You Say No To This?"

October 12, 2018
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New NC State assistant men's basketball coach Roy Roberson talks about his decision to join the Wolfpack coaching staff.


This is your first taste of recruiting… what’s that like?
That’s interesting because I’ve never had to travel as much as I have here. Recruiting is a different animal -- but if I can go to a husband and wife or a business setting and talk about money, those conversations we all need, but don’t want to have, then I should be able to transfer that skillset and talk to kids about chasing their passion of playing college basketball.

Some of the dynamics are very transferrable, but you have some other things you have to deal with. It’s all about relationships. As long as you can look well and speak the part and forge relationships with people and check all the boxes then everything will take care of itself.

What is the adjustment to being an assistant coach as opposed to a head coach?
The answer to that is there’s always a good cop, bad cop relationship. The assistant coach’s role is to be supportive of the head coach and forge relationships with the student-athletes, support them and be there to cool them down when the head coach throws gas on them.

Coach and I have similar coaching philosophies: how we feel about defense, how we feel about tempo, how we feel about spacing. The difference is I have to be in a support role instead of a leadership role.

That hasn’t been an issue because of the relationship he and I have.

Did you ever get any technicals when you were the head coach in high school?
I would typically get one per season. If you ask anybody they would probably tell you I’m pretty passionate and intense and fiery. Most of the officials in the area would know that as long as we could have dialogue I was pretty easy to calm down.

At the end of the day I’m going to give my kids my effort and in return I want their best effort and the best effort from the officials. As long as everybody understands that, we can find some common ground.

How did this opportunity come about for you?
Coach and I have had a relationship that goes back many, many years. We’ve had passing conversations about what if this, what if that. It was a situation where all the stars aligned and all the boxes got checked. It was the right opportunity at the right time.

Was it an easy decision?
Absolutely. How do you say no to this? If you’re passionate about this game, you don’t say no to the opportunity to coach at the highest level. It was a lifestyle change for me because I had to shut down a business, or reorganize a business I should say. Pick up family and move. The decision was easy; the logistics took some finagling, but we’re working it out.

What is your role on the staff?
I don’t know that I have a clearly defined role yet. Just to be on the road and recruit players. I’ve been in a support player of Coach Johnson working with the bigs. I’ve had some other duties that have been assigned. We’re still figuring it out.

How do you guys handle recruiting? (Who recruits which players)
I don’t think there's a recipe for that. I think you evaluate anybody with talent and then throw them in a bowl and it shakes itself out as you look at positions and what the needs are. There's no recipe for that; you find talent and go through the cycle of making sure you get what you need.

What are your early impressions of the players?
I think we’re hard working. We compete, play hard and with a lot of passion. I think that’s a trademark of Coach Keatts, his philosophy, and what he believes in and what makes him successful. No predictions; everybody is undefeated at this stage so we’ll see how it goes.

 
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