YOUNGSTOWN – Michael Grant doesn’t care what other coachesaround the country might say about the Youngstown State University men’sbasketball opening.
He said YSU and the surrounding community is perceived as afootball area because of the success the Penguins’ football team had undercurrent Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.
Coach Dom Rosselli was YSU basketball, recording thesecond-most wins in NCAA Division II history. Rosselli was 589-388 in hiscareer with the Penguins. His most successful season was 1963-64 when YSU went24-3.
“I talked to a lot of people about this job and theysaid this is a very tough job. This was a basketball school prior to that,”Grant said. “Again, because of the basketball team not winning, peoplehave the perception it’s a football school. It’s not a football school. We’regoing to get this basketball program back on its feet again.”
The current Southern University coach has done his homeworkon YSU. He knows success won’t come overnight.
He will lay the foundation with a formula that has workedfor Horizon League stalwarts – Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Illinois-Chicago.
“I’m going to bring a style of play to this place thatonly two other teams in this league are doing, that’s pressing and getting upand down the floor. That’s Milwaukee and UIC,” Grant said. “That’s causeda lot of teams in this league a lot of problems because everyone else in thisleague wants to play a half-court game.”
He’s going to start his formula for success with the playersthat are here. But, Grant, 42, emphasizes that players have to play extremelyhard.
“I can come in and easily say we need to get rid of allthe seniors and juniors and make a lot of changes. I don’t want to do that. Ithink these guys have put in enough time at YSU. They want to graduate fromhere and they want some success,” Grant said. “The only way we’re goingto have success is to teach these guys how to win.
“We have to treat juniors and seniors as freshmen andteach them how to compete and have fun in the game. There’s no fun in the gameright now.”
If hired, Grant will waste no time using the two remainingscholarships for the 2005-06 season.
“We’re going to utilize the two scholarships they haveand bring in two junior-college players – guys that I know that can come in andbe competitive in this league,” Grant said.
He will also hire two assistants as well.
“If I can sign a contract today, I would. And I wouldhave two assistants that would sign quickly too,” Grant said. “I do havepeople in mind that are willing to come in and sign right away.”
Once he starts up the winning perception, Grant said he canbuild upon this foundation.
“Once you keep adding players along with that, not lowmajor players, but some good mid-major, solid players that can be competitivein this league, we can be competitive,” Grant said. “Winning iscontagious. Once you start winning, it continues and continues and continues.We want to make sure we bring good players in there.”
Grant also knows the area.
He is a graduate of West Technical High School in Clevelandand played his collegiate basketball at Malone College in Canton. Incidentally,that’s where he started coaching as a student assistant under Hal Smith.
Grant’s wife, Charmane, is from Canton and his youngerbrother is Gary Grant, former Canton McKinley and University of Michiganstandout and NBA veteran.
“By me getting this job, attendance will go up at least100 with my family members. That’s a plus right there,” Grant said.
He does his job the right way. In his 22 years of collegiatecoaching, Grant said he has not broken not one NCAA violation.
“I take a lot of pride in my job. I take it personal,”Grant said. “I’m going to leave my heart and soul in this job. I’m goingto make sure this program gets where it needs to get to.”